Book picks similar to
Bones & Boxes by Anna Drake


mystery
mystery-cozy
cozy
first-in-series

Murder by Chance


Pat Dennis - 2013
    At fifty, Betty is unemployed, divorced and penniless, but with her stunningly beautiful niece Lori, she opens Take A Chance Tours, a Chicago-based company specializing in gaming destinations. Betty quickly becomes close friends with Tillie, the perky, effervescent bus driver who happens to be an ex-con. As soon as the tour bus arrives at Moose Lake Bay Resort and Casino in northern Minnesota, Betty and her driver Tillie, discover a dead body in the locked bathroom of their motor coach. The 350-pound corpse is riddled with stab wounds. With Tillie and Lori's help, Betty puts her amateur sleuth ability to work and searches for the killer.

Murder in Tropical Breeze


Mary Bowers - 2015
    When Vesta Cadbury Huntington, one of its oldest, wealthiest and most eccentric citizens, dies in her sleep, nobody is surprised except for Vesta herself. It wasn't her time, and she didn't appreciate being bumped off into the Land of the Dead prematurely. The granddaughter of an archaeologist, she calls upon an Egyptian goddess for help. Bastet, the protective cat goddess, responds, and Taylor Verone, Tropical Breeze's modern-day cat rescuer, is going to help - whether she wants to or not.

Wilde Murder


Ruth Rowland - 2015
    When the chance to purchase the Cosset Cove Advertiser, a small weekly newspaper in the New England seaside town she'd spent many happy childhood vacations, it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. Charlotte soon settles in to her new role as owner, chief reporter and general gofer of the Advertiser. Life is sweet, her new friends and colleagues Clara, Abigail and Amy, along with Barney, the huge Maine Coon cat, can both delight and frustrate in equal measure. This idyllic new life is disturbed when Charlotte has to interview a blast from her past. It is completely shattered when that interview leads to murder. Things only go from bad to worse as Charlotte is suspected of being the culprit. Can Charlotte, and her new found friends, clear her name and bring the real murderer to justice? Or will being on the trail of a cold blooded killer only put their own lives at risk? “A charming traditional cozy mystery in a modern day setting. Contains plenty of light witty humor and will keep you guessing right to the end!”

The Locked Room Murder


Nancy McGovern - 2016
      She has a job working at her mother's salon in the small town of Lledrith.  She has a fiance with whom she's in love.  And, after years of trial and error, she has finally found a dye that effectively masks her naturally neon-blue hair, allowing her to blend in for the first time in her life! But things are about to go bad...fast! When her fiance is found murdered and Bluebell wakes up in the middle of a field with no memory of the night before, even she has to wonder if she could be to blame.  After all, he had just broken her heart, effectively turning her perfect life upside down.   But could Bluebell have done it?  The fact is, with the body being found alone in a locked room, no one seems to have a clue as to what happened.  It's almost as if it were...MAGIC! And speaking of magic... The Locked Room Murder is the first Bluebell Knopps Mystery, a witch-based cozy mystery, written by Nancy McGovern.  Nancy McGovern is also the author of "A Murder In Milburn", a culinary cozy mystery series containing delicious mysteries and even tastier recipes!

Dead Wrong


Leighann Dobbs - 2013
    Some have been buried for a long time and some are sitting closer to the surface. Morgan and Fiona Blackmoore enjoy their simple life in the sleepy ocean-side town of Noquitt Maine where they offer herbal remedies and crystal healing for locals and tourists alike. ...Until Morgan is accused of killing the town shrew, Prudence Littlefield. Suddenly the girls find themselves scrambling to find the real killer while they battle a crooked Sheriff, planted evidence, and a long list of suspects that all had a reason to want Prudence dead.Handsome Jake Cooper is new to the Noquitt Maine police force, which is exactly why Fiona Blackmoore doesn't trust him. But with time running out and the evidence against her sister piling up, Fiona has to make a choice - will she trust Jake with her sisters case ... and her own heart? Add in an old mansion on the cliffs of Maine, an attic full of mysterious treasures, and a cat that has the uncanny ability to show up at exactly the right time and Fiona has her hands full proving the Sheriff's accusations about her sister being a murderer are Dead Wrong.

Death Comes to Town


K.J. Emrick - 2013
    But she isn't ordinary. She has a connection to the other side that seems to draw her into mysterious situations more often than not. Add to the mix the antics of a rather naughty, slightly psychic cat and the eccentric ghost of her great-aunt Millie, and you have a recipe for anything but the ordinary.When Darcy's neighbor is murdered she is drawn into the mystery against her will when she finds the body. She tries to leave the investigation to the police, one of which is her sister, but an overheard conversation and a small nudge from the other side has her investigating the murder. The stakes are raised when the murderer strikes again. Who was killing the people in her life?Things are complicated even more by her building attraction to her sister's new cop partner, who makes it clear he does not appreciate Darcy's interference in the investigation. Sparks fly between the two of them as they get further into the mystery surrounding the deaths.With a town full of suspects how will Darcy work out who the murderer is? None of the pieces to the puzzle fit. Things become more complicated and dangerous as Darcy's own life is threatened. Will she survive to see justice served?

Skeletons in the Closet


Jennifer L. Hart - 2008
    As the wife of retired Navy SEAL, and the adoptive mother of two little hellions, Maggie is constantly looking for ways to improve her family’s financial situation. She accepts a cleaning position for her new neighbors (who redefine the term ‘eccentric’), never imagining she will end up as the sole alibi for a man with a fascination for medieval torture devices when he is brought up on murder charges.While Maggie struggles to prove the man’s innocence, her deadbeat brother arrives, determined to sell Maggie and Neil on his next great scheme and to mooch with a vengeance. If that isn’t bad enough, her in-laws, (the cut-throat corporate attorneys) descend on the house, armed with disapproval and condemnation, for the family’s annual Thanksgiving celebration.As the police investigation intensifies, Maggie searches for the killer among the upper echelon of Hudson, Massachusetts in the only way she can— by scrubbing their thrones.Of the porcelain variety, that is…

Gone With The Ghost


Erin McCarthy - 2017
    Except that’s exactly what happened. Ryan is very much dead, having shot himself with his own police-issued gun. Guilt and grief shouldn’t cause hallucinations though, but six months after Ryan went into the ground, Bailey is freaking out and swearing his ghost is standing in her kitchen. Which he is… Ryan claims he didn’t commit suicide, but was murdered, and he needs Bailey to help him find his killer so he can earn his ticket out of purgatory. Ryan’s counting on a stairway to heaven, as opposed to wings, since that might be a little unmanly for a cop, even a dead one. An expert in home design, with her own staging business, Bailey can tell you where to place a couch to improve flow and comfort, but solving a crime? Not her area of expertise. But with help from Ryan’s former partner, Marner, she is unraveling the mystery of what happened to Ryan that day… and unwittingly putting herself in grave danger. Murder By Design Series Book 1- Gone With The Ghost Book 2- Silence of The Ghost Book 3- Once Upon a Ghost Bestselling author Erin McCarthy offers her signature humor in this fun series about an uptight fashion-conscious home stager who finds herself stiletto-deep in murder...

A Good Man Gone


A.W. Hartoin - 2013
    Louis and Mercy Watts is on vacation from her parents. The great detective and his nosy wife are on a cruise and Mercy thinks she’s off the hook for doing any investigating for them. But when a family friend has a fatal heart attack, Dad has one of his famous feelings and orders Mercy to look into it. Mercy tries not to get sucked in. She really does, but she’s her father’s daughter. Soon Gavin’s death leads to a more grisly one, the death of a bride on her wedding day. Can the two be connected? Was Gavin murdered? Now Mercy can’t stop. You do for family. That’s all there is to it.

A Body in the Bargain


Charlotte Moore - 2016
    She writes, paints watercolor landscapes and reads Jane Austen over and over. Kylie’s been married since she was 19, has twin boys and loves hunting for bargains and selling her crafts on-line. Kate and Kylie have been best friends since third grade at River Valley Elementary School. When Kate inherits her grandmother’s old house and decides to move back to peaceful River Valley, she finds there’s anything but peace in the Valley. First, she arrives to find that all her late grandmother’s old furniture has been stolen. Kylie comes to the rescue, and just a few days later the two of them are right in the middle of a murder investigation. Through it all, with Kylie’s help, Kate’s turning the old house into her own home with yard sale and thrift shop bargains and getting to know two very different men. From the author of the Hunter Jones mystery series, A Body in the Bargain is about people you might know and one or two you might just want to avoid.

One Tequila


Tricia O'Malley - 2015
    The original cover edition is here.Tequila Key is just like any other small town and I'm just like any other small town psychic. Scratch that. Tequila Key is a world onto itself and some people might think that I am one crayon short of the box. And, if we're being totally honest, Tequila Key is just like any other small town – if that town boasts a voodoo priestess and a few white witches for flavor. Turquoise blue water and the best margaritas this side of Mexico make it hard to leave. I'm Althea Rose, co-owner of Luna Rose Potions & Tarot Shop, and I've just stumbled into a love triangle while trying to save my best friend from being accused of murder. See? Just like any other small town.

Scraps of Paper


Kathryn Meyer Griffith - 2003
    It’s made her sympathetic to the missing and their families.Starting her new life, Abigail moves to small town and buys a fixer-upper house left empty when old Edna Summers died. Once it was also home to Edna’s younger sister, Emily, and her two children, Jenny and Christopher, who, people believe, drove away one night, thirty years ago, and just never came back.But in renovating the house Abigail finds scraps of paper hidden behind baseboards and tucked beneath the porch that hint the three could have been victims of foul play.Then she finds their graves hidden in the woods behind the house and with the help of eccentric townspeople and ex-homicide detective, Frank Lester, she discovers the three were murdered. Then she and Frank try to uncover who killed them and why…but in the process awaken the ire of the murderer. ***

The Art & Craft of Murder


Cozy Cat Parker - 2015
    But when the local gallery owner, Hilary Small, is poisoned in Misty's teahouse, and it begins to look as if the man Misty is in love with committed the murder, Misty must turn amateur sleuth in order to save the reputation of her teahouse and her hopes for romance. Set in an enchanting location, this cozy mystery will delight with its entertaining cast of humorous characters, including Misty's cat Miss Mabel, who plays a crucial part in revealing the true murderer.

Death Comes eCalling


Leslie O'Kane - 1996
    After a twenty-year absence, Molly has relocated her family to her childhood home in a suburb of Albany, NY, only to have her husband's reassignment abruptly changed to overseas. Molly's least-favorite high school teacher dies on the very same day that Molly receives both a letter from that teacher and an anonymous email that threatens Molly's life. All too soon, Molly finds herself knee deep in gossip...and murder. This third edition, new in 2017, has been updated to include Molly Masters' cartoons! This was Leslie O'Kane's original vision for the book, and she is thrilled to finally see that vision come to fruition. These illustrated editions of the Molly Masters Mysteries will all be complete by the end of 2017. Look for the subtitle "Illustrated Edition!"

Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse


Sherri Bryan - 2015
    Eves, nestled in the south-west corner of England. While she loves the tranquility of St. Eves, where crime is almost unheard of, and nothing really exciting ever happens, her good friend, Chief Inspector Nathan Costello, is longing for a good, juicy felony to get his teeth into.When the arrival of newcomers to the community of St. Eves triggers a chain of events that end in tragedy, Nathan relishes the thrill of investigating his first murder, while Charlotte unwittingly turns amateur-sleuth to help solve the case and restore peace and harmony to the town as quickly as possible. Twists and turns abound in Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse, the first book in the Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery series.