The Madams of Mischief


Sherry M. Siska - 2012
    I lifted the hinged lid of the trash can, swung it open, and tossed in the diaper. That's when Destiny not only called my name, she also spit in my face, thumbed her nose, and blew me a big old raspberry. Lucky me."         Those crazy Madams of Mischief, Destiny, Lady Luck, and Fate seem to be out to get Marty Sheffield! Marty just wants to live her quiet life in her quiet town while recovering from being left at the altar by up-and-coming country music star, Ricky Ray Riley. The Doom Divas seem to  have other ideas, though. While babysitting her sister's kids, Marty finds the body of a former classmate wedged in a ninety-gallon trash container at a local park. With the help of her sister, Marty sets out to solve the mystery and save her own hide before it's too late.    Also available in the Doom Divas series of humorous mystery novels for Kindle and in paperback: The Divas of Doom (Doom Divas Book 2) and The Floozies of Fate (Doom Divas Book 3)

House of Secrets


Jeffrey S. Savage - 2005
    Yet, here it was, deeded to Shandra in her grandmother's will.Shandra, single, aggressive, and an accomplished journalist, has tender memories of the time spent as a young girl in the old house on the hill, and her curiosity and sentimentality lead her to a final visit to the forgotten home. What she discovers shocks Shandra to her very core. Not only is the house still filled with her grandmother's old belongings, but there is also a body, long since dead, and covered with the same thick layer of dust as the rest of the items in the house.Returning with the sheriff and his handsome deputy, Clay, they find the body missing. In its place is another body-this one dead less than 12 hours. And all evidence points to Shandra.Desperate to clear her name and uncover the truth behind these troubling mysteries, Shandra puts her journalistic training to use. Between the reluctant townspeople, ominous warnings, and physical threats, Shandra learns the truth, little by little —knowing full well that someone is determined to keep old secrets buried, even it means burying Shandra as well...

Killer Apple Pie


Carolyn Q. Hunter - 2017
    HUNTER!!!Bertha Hannah’s two passions in life are books and piping hot homemade pies, and when an opportunity arises for her to open her own pie and book shop, she jumps in headfirst, only to find that preparing to open her own shop isn’t exactly a piece of cake.In the midst of getting organized and putting the pieces in place for her grand opening, tragedy strikes, far too close for comfort. All the while mourning the untimely death of an old friend, Bertha finds herself having to deal with pompous detectives, money-grubbing investors and unruly customers, which truly threatens to upset her apple cart.Will she be able to unravel the mystery which has presented itself at the worst of times? Or, will her dream business be finished before it even starts?

Gemini Moon


Maria Grazia Swan - 2013
    until a strange encounter on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy predicts a very different future.Upon returning from her vacation, Lella is shocked to find that her best friend, Ruby, has not only accidentally shot her own husband, but also mysteriously disappeared. To Lella's horror, her son Kyle is accused of kidnapping the missing woman. And the fact that he is driving around in the dead husband's Ferrari Testarossa is not helping his case. With her son in jail, her best friend vanished, and her life turning into a soap opera, the last thing Lella expects to encounter is a police lieutenant who gets her heart racing in more ways than one. Homicide Lieutenant Devin stirs feelings in Lella that she hasn't felt since becoming a widow four years ago. But can she trust his agenda? Lust, guilt, and confusion mix together in a dangerous game of cat and mouse as Lella tries to untangle the web of lies and deceit that's quickly closing in around her.

A Dead End


Keeley Bates - 2015
    Blackballed by the producers of her hit TV show, she returns home to the affluent town of Westdale, chock full of Mayflower descendants, to enroll in college and lead a quiet life...until she discovers a skeleton in her house. Kit quickly finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation led by the handsome detective, Romeo Moretti. With the help of her new neighbors, Kit channels her former character, hotshot detective Ellie Gold, in order to solve the murder so she can get back to renovating her house and avoiding the Mayflower Madam, who also happens to be her hypercritical, gin-swilling mother. Saints & Strangers cozy mystery series: Book 1: A Dead End Book 2: The Deep End Book 3: The Bitter End

Carrots


Colleen Helme - 2011
    Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots. As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber's mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer. The next thing she knows, she's lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head. Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn't suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly 'hears' what people are thinking. With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she's bossy and too old to understand them, but that's nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn't want her to know? As if that isn't enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he's out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone's thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.

Give Me Chocolate


Annie Hansen - 2013
    She accepts her sister's generous offer to live in the apartment above Chocolate Love, her sister's specialty dessert shop in the Historic District of Geneva. Kelly's life starts to turn around when she reconnects with an old flame. Just when it looks like she's getting her life back on track, she stumbles over a dead body. The suspicious death sends her hopes for a better future plummeting. Has her violent past and the danger she faced in California followed her home to Geneva?

Murder at the Breakers


Alyssa Maxwell - 2014
    She also has a job to do—report on the event for the society page of the Newport Observer.But Emma observes much more than glitz and gaiety when she witnesses a murder. The victim is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s financial secretary, who plunges off a balcony faster than falling stock prices. Emma’s black sheep brother Brady is found in Cornelius’s bedroom passed out next to a bottle of bourbon and stolen plans for a new railroad line. Brady has barely come to before the police have arrested him for the murder. But Emma is sure someone is trying to railroad her brother and resolves to find the real killer at any cost…

Spying in High Heels


Gemma Halliday - 2006
    shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears - along with $20 million in embezzled funds - and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by the LAPD's sexiest cop. With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300 pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer. But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her...

Eat, Pray, Die


Chelsea Field - 2016
    The one side of the job that lives up to expectations is the money. Which is just as well for Izzy, since she needs an awful lot of it. Who knew when she made a lifelong commitment to a man that it would be one year living with him and the rest of her life paying for it?But even her scoundrel ex-husband doesn’t look so bad compared to her new client. He’s competent, condescending, and annoyingly attractive, and Izzy doesn’t know whether to sleep with him or poison him herself. Throw in a loan-shark, a nosy neighbor, and a murder attempt, and Izzy will have her work cut out for her.

True Blue Murder


Elise M. Stone - 2016
    The former librarian has developed her first hybrid, a plant with unusual deep blue flowers, and hopes to win a first place ribbon. Maybe even best in show. But her excitement turns to dread when the aggravating Bette Tesselink, her fiercest rival, turns up dead, and she becomes the logical suspect. There’s never been a murder in the village of Rainbow Ranch, and it soon becomes apparent that the young Chief of Police is in over his head. Under pressure from the mayor, Lilliana is afraid he’ll arrest her in order to close the case. Her only option is to begin her own investigation and find the murderer before she winds up in jail. The first in a new cozy mystery series sure to engage you with its fascinating characters and twisty plot.

Dying for a Date


Cindy Sample - 2010
    Right, or Mr. Every Other Saturday Night, divorced mother of two, Laurel McKay reluctantly joins THE LOVE CLUB, a popular local dating service. Dressed to kill, she meets bachelor number one at a trendy restaurant. But the date is a bust, literally, when the guy decides Laurel is dessert, and she breaks his nose with her cell phone. It gets even worse when the man is found murdered the next morning, and Laurel has his blood on her clothes.Despite her now being a person of interest to the police, Laurel bravely ventures out on date number two. When that unlucky bachelor disappears during dinner, Laurel’s only alibi is a bottle of Dom Perignon. The sexy investigating detective thinks she’s innocent and is worried she may be the next target. That’s more than enough motivation for Laurel to find a murderer determined to kill her social life––before dating becomes a dead end she can’t escape.

It's Just a Little Crush


Caroline Fardig - 2013
    Residents are stunned when the body of a young woman is found strangled, and reporters at the Liberty Chronicle are thrilled, rather disturbingly, over the biggest news story to hit town this century. Lizzie Hart has even bigger problems. Lately, she can’t seem to concentrate on her job as copy editor at the Chronicle with the new hunky investigative reporter, Blake Morgan, swaggering around the office. How can a girl work when she’s using all of her energy combating Blake-induced hot flashes and struggling to repress the giggly inner schoolgirl that’s constantly rearing her dorky head? It’s a good thing that Blake barely knows Lizzie exists. After an odd string of events, however, Lizzie begins to wonder if Blake is really as fabulous as she has fantasized. When Lizzie and Blake find a co-worker dead, Blake’s personality changes completely—and not in a good way. Even though the police rule the death as an accident, Lizzie immediately suspects foul play and senses a connection to the recent murder. She is determined to bring the killer to justice, but is having some trouble getting her Nancy Drew on thanks to the pesky stalker she’s picked up—Blake Morgan. Wait, didn’t she want him to follow her around and pay attention to her? Not like this. Blake has turned from cool and smooth to cold and downright scary, making Lizzie wonder if he should be next on her suspect list.

Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun


Lois Winston - 2010
    She's left with two teenage sons, a mountain of debt, and her nasty, cane-wielding Communist mother-in-law. Not to mention a loan shark demanding fifty thousand dollars.Anastasia's job as crafts editor at American Woman magazine makes life even stickier when she discovers the dead body of über-ambitious fashion editor Marlys Vandenburg hot-glued to Anastasia's office chair. Marlys collected enemies and ex-lovers like Jimmy Choos. When evidence surfaces of an illicit affair between Marlys and Anastasia's husband, Anastasia becomes the prime suspect. Can she sew up the case and keep herself out of jail before the real killer puts a permanent end to her investigation?Praise:"Oddball characters, uproariously funny situations, and a heroine with a strong sense of irony will delight fans of Janet Evanovich, Jess Lourey, and Kathleen Bacus."—Booklist, starred review"Crafty cozies don't get any better than this hilarious confection.  Anastasia is as deadpan droll as Tina Fey's Liz Lemon."—Publishers Weekly, starred review"North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum. Funny, gutsy and determined, Anastasia has a bright future in the planned series."—Kirkus Reviews"Lovers of funny mysteries, outrageous puns, self-deprecating humor, and light romance will all find something here as Anastasia progresses through repeated misadventures to emerge triumphant in the end."—ForeWord Magazine"Winston has turned a sticky situation into a delightful romp through the halls of who-done-it."—Star-Ledger"Quirky, laughable, and loveable . . . Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun is clever and thoroughly entertaining—a must-read!"—Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author of Trust Me and Watch Me

A Dead Red Cadillac


R.P. Dahlke - 2011
    But when her trophy red Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask why a widowed piano teacher, who couldn’t possibly see beyond the hood ornament, was found strapped in the driver’s seat. Reeling from an interrogation with local homicide, Lalla is determined to extricate herself as a suspect in this strange murder case. Unfortunately, drug running pilots, a cross-dressing convict, a crazy Chihuahua, and the dead woman’s hunky nephew throw enough road blocks to keep Lalla neck deep in an investigation that links her family to a twenty-year old murder only she can solve.