Clarissa's amateur sleuth uncle has died, evidently from a heart attack. But was the death truly an accident? An anonymous note hints that her uncle was murdered, and now Clarissa and Paw are determined to sniff out the truth. Soon the duo find themselves nose deep in their uncle's final baffling case: the theft of the fabulous Blue Dolphin diamonds. Clarissa's determination to find her uncle's killer leads her deep into a world of glittering gems and deadly secrets, where each new discovery threatens to bring her to the notice of a ruthless murderer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. Can Clarissa and her detective dog Paw crack the case, or will they become the killer's next victims? This is a 5200 word short story/mini mystery. Read time is approx. 30 minutes.

    Each book features a different classic author. ;) Happy reading!Book One: Literally DeadTo solve or not to solve?When a visiting professor is found dead, English major Pepper Brooks is caught in the middle of the investigation. Literally. While the detectives focus on crime scene forensics, Pepper can't ignore the Shakespearian clues left by the killer.With the help of a handsome library clerk, a dog named Hamburger, and the words of The Bard himself, this unlikely sleuth might just close the book on this case.Book Two: Literally MurderA Farewell to BlondesWhen a young woman shows up dead in Campus Creek, amateur sleuth Pepper Brooks is warned not to get involved. She's fine with that. It's her final quarter of college, she's immersed in Hemingway and planning her future. Plus, things are already complicated enough trying to figure out where everything stands with Alex, her maybe-boyfriend.But when two more fair-haired women show up drowned, Pepper literally can't stay away. Especially when her best friend may be the next one For Whom the Bell Tolls.Book Three: Literally GoneIt is a truth universally acknowledged that an overly inflated ego must be in want of the spotlight.When the actor set to play Mr. Darcy is found murdered in his dressing room, Pine Crest's annual AustenFest is derailed. Pepper Brooks must set her pride and prejudice aside to differentiate between rumor and truth as she searches for the killer.Between running her new bookstore and trying to decide who is a Darcy and who is a Wickham, Pepper quickly finds that her story might not end as happily as those written by Jane Austen.

    But when her eccentric Aunt Ginger passes away, she leaves Loretta her prized cat sanctuary. Her aunt's dying wish is that the seven remaining felines are allowed to live out the rest of their days in comfort on the little farm.Recently widowed and ready for a change, Loretta relocates to the town of Saint Wales, Florida to honor her aunt's wishes thinking how hard can it be to look after a few cats.Only, the neighbors aren't exactly hospitable and several have been trying to shut down the sanctuary for years. Worse, someone is out to sabotage the farm by any possible means putting the cats and Loretta in danger. Not only that, a close friend of her aunt's doesn't believe Aunt Ginger died of natural causes.Can Loretta settle into her new role as cat mom and protector while fending off the cat haters and a possible murderer?

    When the stressful situation lands Desi in the hospital with pregnancy complications, Jill must navigate her own mom-life crisis, sift through a tangled web of secrets and lies, and discover the identity of the real killer before it’s too late for Desi and her unborn baby.

    She never thought she’d discover something shocking about her own past. She never dreamed she’d have an opportunity to fall in love. She never expected she’d soon be fighting for her life after getting too close to the truth.After the unexpected death of her father, Shay moves back home and discovers her father left her a legacy to live out her dreams. Her new business is set to open in just a few weeks, and she needs to figure out why there’s a dead guy in one of the newest escape rooms. Join Shay as she reconnects with her best friends from childhood, tries to solve a murder, and locks horns with the attractive detective assigned to the case. Sparks fly and danger lurks where Shay least expects it.

    

    But for love of his caramel chicken and cherry fudge brownies, everyone has a story to share regarding their fellow citizens—Stories that too often find their way into his weekly gossip-filled newspaper column, "Heard About Town." When the great chef and his admirers, the Sausalito Ladies of Liberty, take offense to a newly arrived Manhattan power couple, their insular world of tasty sauces and stinging insults leads to deadly results.Everyone has their own theory about who killed Warren. But it takes the combined efforts of Rob Timmons, the local newspaper publisher, and Eddie Austin, his childhood friend and Marin County’s top detective, to unravel this tale of delicious dishes and malicious deception.

    All of her customers and their pets are like family. It had been a typical day at Pet Palace. Leah was going to meet some friends for dinner where she suddenly finds out one her customers had been found dead at home. Was it from natural causes or could it have been murder?

    The strange thing is that Pauline had been gone for years, simply disappearing from the face of the earth. Then one day, Becky received a letter via her aunt's lawyer, telling her she'd inherited an antique shop. She wasn't a very impulsive person, but Becky took up the offer, packed up her life and moved to Rose Hollow. Rose Hollow was a tiny town in Maine, wildly wealthy and full of strange residents: there was always something going on. An uncomfortable chill runs just below the surface, belying a community that plays for keeps but plays it closer to the chest. The residents are nice, but nosy and Becky feels sort of out of place after she moves in and re-opens the store that that been closed for years. Then, after one late night, a dead body turns up in Becky's store, and it is up to her to find out who did it or risk losing her store and the new life she's just begun! This Cozy Mystery Novel is packed with quirky characters, rousing romps and a whodunnit that wraps up cleanly. No cliffhangers, no curse words and no obscenity.

    

    With the local Bigfoot festival just days away, there many who stand to benefit from Kevin’s death - from the well-known Sasquatch believer Roy Turner, to the event organizers who profit from the festival each year, to the Bigfoot “researchers” who despised Kevin. In between working at her aunt’s bakery café, Jean finds time to slip into the woods and the festival campground in her quest to uncover the truth. But will her hunt lead her straight into a bear’s den - or worse, into the hands of a killer? This is a humorous cozy mystery featuring a strong female protagonist, some unusual friends and family, and a mystery that needs solving! It has no graphic gore, bad language or sex.

    So when a childhood friend asks Ditie to babysit her kids for a few days, she jumps at the chance. She never imagined she’d be solving a murder too . . .   Despite growing up together, Ditie hasn’t seen Ellie Winston in two years, and she didn’t even know Ellie was living in Atlanta. But when Ellie asks her to take care of Lucie and Jason for the weekend, she thinks nothing of it. They’ll bake cookies together, play with her dog—it’ll be fun! Until the police call with terrible news . . .   Ellie may not have been the best friend, but who would want her dead? Could it have something to do with the vague get-rich-quick scheme she mentioned to Ditie? Or the men in a black truck following her and breaking into her home? Not sure who to trust other than her best friend, Lurleen, Ditie’s buried maternal instincts kick in to protect the kids and find their mother’s killer—before they’re orphaned again . . .   Includes Family-Friendly Recipes!

    She has the unfortunate habit of finding murdered people. In this story, Julia travels to Edinburgh University to visit her son, Sam. It’s not long before she stumbles upon a dead body. Julia is happy to leave the murder investigation to the police – until her son becomes one of their suspects. Julia has no option but to get herself involved, despite the danger she puts herself in.

    A quiet evening with her best friend turns spooky when they encounter a ghost in her basement. Not just any ghost, though — the town’s storied founder herself.Now Kat, Pepper, and her snarky familiar Albus have a job to do. A grieving neighbor needs their help, and it wouldn’t be a holiday without a little ghostly intervention, right?And a witchy New Year!

    She lives with her beloved dog Vanilla ("Nilla" for short) in a cozy neighborhood that is quite "active" due to what occurred in the distant past. Though legally blind, she plays an integral role in helping to solve pressing and puzzling mysteries, one right after the other, which, without her, might remain unsolved. The question is: How can she do any of that with such a handicap?