Flowers and Foul Play


Amanda Flower - 2018
    Her fiancé left her for their cake decorator. Then, her flower shop wilted after a chain florist opened next door. So when her godfather, Ian MacCallister, leaves her a cottage in the Scottish Highlands, Fiona jumps on the next plane to Edinburgh. Ian, after all, is the one who taught her to love flowers. But when Ian’s elderly caretaker Hamish MacGregor shows her to the cottage upon her arrival, she finds the once resplendent grounds of Duncreigan in a dreadful shambles—with a dead body in the garden.Minutes into her arrival, Fiona is already being questioned by the handsome Chief Inspector Neil Craig and getting her passport seized. But it’s Craig’s fixation on Uncle Ian’s loyal caretaker, Hamish, as a prime suspect, that really makes her worried. As Fiona strolls the town, she quickly realizes there are a whole bouquet of suspects much more likely to have killed Alastair Croft, the dead lawyer who seems to have had more enemies than friends. Now it’s up to Fiona to clear Hamish’s name before it’s too late in Flowers and Foul Play, national bestselling author Amanda Flower’s enchanting first Magic Garden mystery.

Off Kilter


Hannah Reed - 2014
    At the urging of her best friend, bestselling author Ami Pederson, Eden decides to embark on an open-ended trip to the picturesque village of Glenkillen in the Scottish Highlands, to do some hands-on research for a book of her own. But almost as soon as Eden arrives in the quaint town, she gets caught up in a very real drama… The town’s sheep shearer is found murdered—clipped with his own shears—and the locals suspect Vicki MacBride, an outsider whose father’s recent death left her the surprise heir to his lucrative sheep farm. Eden refuses to believe the affable heiress is a murderer, but can she prove that someone is out to frame her new friend before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror?

Liar, Liar


K.J. Larsen - 2010
    It taught her everything she needed to launch the Pants On Fire Detective Agency. Now armed with spy glasses, camera and chocolate, Private Investigator Cat DeLuca catches cheaters. She scales balconies and dangles from hotel windows to nail the 8X10 glossy that'll sweeten a client’s divorce settlement.Life takes a strange turn when a reporter for the Chicago Tribune (Rita Polansky) masquerades as a client with a liar-liar husband. Rita retains Cat to follow Chance Savino, a seriously hot guy with a pocketful of smuggled diamonds. The detective is fast on his heels when an explosion hurls her out of her sling-backs and into the hospital. The FBI claims Chance Savino was killed in the blast but concussed Cat’s choppy memory plays a different scenario.Cat escapes the hospital to meet with her client. When Rita fails to show, Cat finds her at home with a knife in her chest. Cat learns the reporter was researching a ball-buster case involving a gangster, gun smuggling, and a pocketful of diamonds. She discovers two clues at the murder scene: a clutch of Starburst candy wrappers and the “dead” Chance Savino rummaging through Rita’s drawers.As no one else sights Chance, everyone around Cat believes she’s crazy. Everyone except a determined killer who’s added Cat to his “kill” list. A botched attempt puts ex-husband Johnnie Ricco on the short list of suspects. When the bullets start flying, Cat will need more than chocolate for back-up. This is Cat’s first big case and she’s determined to prove she’s more than a hootchie stalker. The question is can Cat, catcher of cheaters, catch a killer before he gets her?Cat DeLuca is an unlikely heroine and her partner, a beagle named Inga, is quite likely to eat the evidence. K.J. Larsen’s characters sizzle to life. Liar Liar delivers steamy romance, intrigue, and laugh out loud humor for a wickedly delicious read.

The Circular Staircase


Mary Roberts Rinehart - 1908
    And then -- the madness seized me. When I look back over the months I spent at Sunnyside, I wonder that I survived at all. As it is, I show the wear and tear of my harrowing experiences. I have turned very gray -- Liddy reminded me of it, only yesterday, by saying that a little bluing in the rinse-water would make my hair silvery, instead of a yellowish white. I hate to be reminded of unpleasant things and I snapped her off. "No," I said sharply, "I'm not going to use bluing at my time of life, or starch, either."

Whiskey Rebellion


Liliana Hart - 2011
    You might be under the assumption that my life went to the dogs when my fiance left me at the altar for the home economics teacher, or when I got notice that my apartment building was going to be condemned, or even when I was desperate enough to strip to my unmentionables to earn some extra cash. The truth is that I'm pretty much used to disasters following me around on a daily basis, but I could have gone without finding my principal dead in the parking lot of a seedy gentlemen's club. After the initial shock of finding my first dead body, which included throwing back shots of Jack Daniels like it was water, I decided to take stock of my life. I was in a desperate situation and if the school board ever found out I'd been a stripper, even a bad stripper, I'd be jobless as well as fiance-less and homeless. Fortunately, I had a friend who felt sorry enough for me to give me a job doing some surveillance work at her detective agency. Not to mention the fact that I was now able to stick my nose into other people's business for a good cause, find a murderer, and pick up helpful tips from an incredibly attractive detective. Come check out my story and be thankful your life is relatively normal.

The Darkness Knows


Cheryl Honigford - 2013
    Big city. Brutal murder. Chicago, 1938. Late one night before the ten o’clock show, the body of a prominent radio actress is found dead in the station’s lounge. All the evidence points to murder…and one young, up-and-coming radio actress, Vivian Witchell, as the next victim. But Viv isn’t the type to leave her fate in the hands of others—she’s used to stealing the show. Alongside charming private detective Charlie Haverman, Vivian is thrust into a world of clues and motives, suspects and secrets. And with so much on the line, Viv finds her detective work doesn’t end when the “On-Air” lights go out…The gripping first novel in a new series from debut author Cheryl Honigford, The Darkness Knows is a thrilling mystery that evokes the drama and scandal of radio stardom in prewar Chicago.

The Gilded Shroud


Elizabeth Bailey - 1992
     When a murder is committed a lady’s companion finds herself as an amateur sleuth… 1789, London When Emily Fanshawe, Marchioness of Polbrook, is found strangled in her bedchamber, suspicion immediately falls on those residing in the grand house in Hanover Square. Emily’s husband - Randal Fanshawe, Lord Polbrook - fled in the night and is chief suspect – much to the dismay of his family. Ottilia Draycott is brought in as the new lady’s companion to Sybilla, Dowager Marchioness and soon finds herself assisting younger son, Lord Francis Fanshawe in his investigations. Can Ottilia help clear the family name? Does the killer still reside in the house? Or could there be more to the mystery than meets the eye…? THE GILDED SHROUD is the first book in the Lady Fan Mystery series: historical romance murder mysteries with a courageous woman sleuth embarking on a traditional British, private investigation in eighteenth-century London.

Hollywood Homicide : The First Detective by Day Humorous Mystery


Kellye Garrett - 2017
    All the semi-famous, mega-broke black actress wants is to help her parents keep their house. After witnessing a deadly hit-and-run, she figures pursuing the fifteen-grand reward isn’t the craziest thing a Hollywood actress has done for some cash.But what starts as simply trying to remember a speeding car soon blossoms into a full-on investigation. As Dayna digs deeper into the victim’s life, she wants more than just reward money. She’s determined to find the poor woman’s killer too. When she connects the accident to a notorious Hollywood crime spree, Dayna chases down leads at paparazzi hot spots, celeb homes and movie premieres. She loves every second—until someone tries to kill her.And there are no second takes in real life.

Dixie Divas


Virginia Brown - 2009
    "Where? Mexico? Paris? In Tupelo with a cocktail waitress?" "In your closet," I answered. "Dead." Break out the hoop skirts and the zinfandel. The Divas are on the case. Wine. Chocolate. Transvestite strippers. Just another good-time get-together for the Dixie Divas of historic Holly Springs, Mississippi, where moonlight and magnolias mingle with delicious small-town scandal. But Eureka "Trinket" Truevine, the newest Diva, gets more than she bargained for when she finds her best Diva girlfriend Bitty Hollandale's ex-husband in Bitty's hall closet. He's dead. Very dead. Now Trinket and the Divas have to help Bitty finger the murderer and clear her name. Virginia Brown is the nationally acclaimed, award-winning author of fifty novels.

Knit One, Kill Two


Maggie Sefton - 2005
    Now, in the first in a brand-new series, she learns how to knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt's murder. — Kelly Flynn would be the first to admit her life in Washington, D.C., is a little on the dull side. But coming back to Colorado for her beloved aunt’s funeral wasn’t the kind of excitement she was seeking. The police are convinced that her Aunt Helen’s death was the result of a burglary gone bad, but for the accountant in Kelly, things just aren’t adding up. After all, why would her sensible, sixty-eight-year-old aunt borrow $20,000 just days before her death? With the help of the knitting regulars at House of Lambspun, Kelly’s about to get a few lessons in cranking out a sumptuously colored scarf -- and in luring a killer out of hiding...

Love Me If You Must


Nicole Young - 2007
    For a start she discovers something unsettling in the basement that interests the police officer next door.

Million Dollar Baby


Amy Patricia Meade - 2006
    Her tranquil life is disrupted when Creighton Ashcroft, a British heir with time and money to burn, purchases a deserted mansion with a mysterious history on the outskirts of town. Instantly smitten with the talented and beautiful Marjorie, Creighton craftily arranges an intimate meeting, but the mood is spoiled when they stumble across a body while touring the ample grounds of Creighton's new estate. With the intention of reaping the story's literary benefits, the two forge an unlikely partnership and research the mansion's sordid past, but they soon find themselves in the middle of an unfolding series of hidden murders and family deceit. On top of this, the handsome detective assigned to the case has caught Marjorie's attention--and Creighton's suspicious eye. The trio must work together to break through a web of deceptively demure townspeople and the discreet upper class to solve the mystery of the mansion's past before becoming victims themselves. Filled with rumor and humor, this historical thriller delights to its captivating close.

Mayhem at the Orient Express


Kylie Logan - 2013
    South Bass, an island on Lake Erie, is home to an idyllic summer resort, but these three ladies keep disturbing the peace.The initial book choice is Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, and that sets their mouths to watering. The Orient Express is the island’s newest Chinese restaurant. They might not agree about much, but the ladies all love the orange chicken on the menu. But their meal is spoiled when the restaurant’s owner, Peter Chan, has the bad fortune of getting murdered. Now, with Christie as their inspiration, the League of Literary Ladies has a real mystery to solve…if they can somehow catch a killer without killing each other first.

Mum's the Word


Kate Collins - 2004
    She's determined to track down the driver, but when the trail turns deadly, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral.

Death by the Book


Beth Byers - 2019
    Her only hope is to bring her account out of overdraft and possibly buy some hens. The problem is that she has so little imagination she uses her neighbors for inspiration. She little expects anyone to realize what she’s done. So when Chronicles of Harper’s Bend becomes a bestseller, her neighbors are questing to find out just who this “Joe Johns” is and punish him. 
 Things escalate beyond what anyone would imagine when one of her prominent characters turns up dead. It seems that the fictional end Georgette had written for the character spurred a real-life murder. Now to find the killer before it is discovered who the author is and she becomes the next victim. Book ONE in The Poison Ink Mysteries. Georgette Marsh might be a quiet wallflower and treated as such, but it’s time for this wallflower to blossom. Are you ready to journey with her as she decides to craft a new life? If so, you’ll love Miss Marsh! For fans of Carola Dunn, Jacqueline Winspear, Georgette Heyer, and Lee Strauss. A light, cozy historical mystery. No swearing, graphic scenes, or cliffhangers.