Book picks similar to
Death Under the Fireworks by Nancy McGovern


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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.

Red Picket Fences


Daphne McLean - 2019
    As a stay-at-home mom, the only danger she comes across is in the true-crime novels she devours at night.But when a house fire results in the death of her two neighbors, Jennifer discovers that things are not always what they seem.By poking her nose in where it doesn’t belong, she puts herself up against a local police chief eager to close the case, a husband desperate to keep her safe, and a killer who wants her out of the way.This cozy mystery begs the question, “How well do you know your neighbors?”Get your copy today!Book One: Red Picket FencesBook Two: Body in the BegoniasBook Three: Death at a Dinner PartyBook Four: Death on Rugosa Bay

Murder by the Bay


Tonya Kappes - 2016
    The Blossom Bay Short Series is a series of short stories based on the characters of Blossom Bay. Some of the short stories will be mystery, some will be romance, while others will be woman's fiction. One thing is for sure, each short story with have the fun and charm of the Tonya Kappes novels you are use to reading. Murder By The BayJulia France has had a reoccurring dream of the same house for years. On her way to meet up with a group of friends for a get-away weekend, the dream house appeared right before her eyes. Lucky her! The house was not only a bed and breakfast for the quaint community, it was for sale! Julia knew it had to be fate and bought the house. Blossom Bay Inn is open for business and Julia's dream come true has come to a halt when someone is found dead at the Inn. Is Julia's dream over before it even started?

A Will to Murder


Kathryn De Winter - 2017
    An expensive heirloom locket... And murder... When Molly Wright, a humble school teacher, agreed to help a stranger recover a very special locket she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Lies and deception become commonplace in her life as she gets deeper into the mystery surrounding the stranger. And then she discovers a murder! What has happened to Molly's quiet village life? Not only that but there is someone following her. Is he planning to murder her too? Mystery + Murder = Trouble. Molly Wright... Accidental Super Sleuth! If you love cozy mysteries then you will love this new series too. Get your copy today!

Euphoria Lane


Tina Swayzee McCright - 2015
    On day one, she finds the body of the Homeowners’ Association president. Day two, she discovers the property manager is her former fiancé. Day three, the new president begins his campaign of violation letters to force her to move. Day four, her sister, the owner of a detective agency, needs her help with the investigation of the murder. And day five, a full-scale neighborhood war! Author Interview: Q: How would you describe cozy mysteries? A: To me, cozy mysteries are set in a small town or community, the mystery is solved by an amateur sleuth, there usually isn’t any graphic violence, and any romance is considered sweet. In Euphoria Lane, the complex has two hundred condos in the suburbs that are set apart from the rest of the city by a wall, this makes it a small community. Q: Where did you get the idea to write Euphoria Lane? A: I live in a community with an HOA, and from time to time there have been issues. I also have friends and family who have told me horror stories about their HOAs. It didn’t take long to realize that these boards have too much power. I decided to write a cozy mystery where the HOA has taken enforcing the rules to the extreme, but their actions are still possible in the real world. Q: Would you consider serving on a homeowners’ board? A: Believe it or not, I was on the board several times. I commend the members who serve in an attempt to better their communities. Unfortunately, I have also witnessed the verbal abuse these board members have received from upset neighbors. In this series, I explore possible solutions. Q: How are your romantic cozy mysteries different from other cozy mysteries? A: My stories include significant romantic elements: there is a couple with a conflict that keeps them apart, they discover they are the best version of themselves together, and eventually find a way to overcome the conflict. They do all this while my female amateur sleuth solves a mystery. In my Homeowners’ Association Mystery, there is a different romance in each story, but the main couple, Andi and Luke, continue to take their relationship to a deeper level. In Super Jax, we begin with her superpower origin story and touch on these romantic elements that will continue to build over the series. Keywords: mystery, romantic mysteries, cozy mystery, cozy mysteries, romantic cozy mysteries, culinary cozy mysteries, amateur sleuth, female sleuth, suburbs, small town, clean romance, sweet romance, Arizona, Arizona mystery, homeowners' associations, humorous, murder, thriller, detective, suspense, romantic suspense, fun, friendship, female protagonist, sister, dating, relationships, dating, singlehood, single women, comedy, private investigators, suburban

Libby the Psychic Dog


A.L. Jambor - 2014
    To his horror, Lord Plep has been reincarnated as a dog - a Jack Russell / Rat Terrier mix to be exact, and when he is adopted by an elderly woman, gains the reputation of being a psychic dog for his ability to find her neighbors' lost eyeglasses and keys. But when something far more precious is lost, Libby is called upon to use her amazing skills for something truly important. My First Christmas is the first book in the holiday series Libby the Psychic Dog. It was written for adults, though there is no offensive language and only one mild amorous reference. This ebook also contains an excerpt from A.L. Jambor's “The Body in the Bungalow,” A Divine Detective Agency Mystery Short.

Risky Relics


E.Z. Pennington - 2017
    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.

A Lonely Death


Gillian Larkin - 2015
     Derek Quill is an elderly gent who can see the ghosts of murdered people. With the help of his ghostly friend, Pearl, he finds out who killed them. In his first investigation, Derek meets the ghost of Eric Malone. Derek knows Eric from his schooldays. Eric bullied Derek mercilessly back then and now he’s asking for Derek’s help. Derek soon discovers that Eric never changed his bullying ways and there is more than one person who could be a suspect.

Crime Chowder


Hillary Avis - 2018
    So when her real estate developer boyfriend offers her a sweet catering gig, she jumps at the chance to cook for his gala and rub elbows with the town’s elite. The problem? That fancy gala is only happening because her best friend’s home was burned down by an arsonist. And the more Bethany learns about her boyfriend’s planned development, the more she suspects that he might have had something to do with it.Determined to uncover the arsonist’s identity, Bethany cooks her way through the gala, listening to the secrets, lies, and gossip swirling around Hosanna Street. But when someone close to her is killed during the party—and the murder weapon is found in her pot of clam chowder—Bethany finds herself in more than a little hot water.---------------------------------------If you like smart culinary mysteries with quirky characters and quaint seaside towns, you’ll love the Death du Jour series that follows Bethany Bradstreet as she builds her career and solves crimes with the help of her friends. Crime Chowder is the first book in the Death du Jour series. This book has clean language and mild suspense with no cliffhangers. It contains depictions of an LGBT relationship.P.S. – There’s a dog in it.

Hubbert & Lil: The Complete Series


Gallagher Gray - 2018
    Everybody’s favorite senior amateur sleuth is eighty-four years young, with a taste for Bloody Marys at any time of day, a fine-tuned appreciation of life’s other pleasures, and a world class talent for detecting. Her nephew, Theodore Hubbert—T.S. for short—is her witty, beleaguered sidekick in a quartet of wild adventures that careen from the staid Wall Street bank where T.S. spent thirty years, through Hell’s Kitchen and Manhattan’s fashion world, with a grand finale at the ballet. The dynamic partners in crime reveal an impressive array of smarts, street savvy, and moxie, mixed with a poignant compassion for those embroiled in the professional jealousies, chilling family secrets, and sexual predation they uncover. They’re a thoroughly endearing odd couple—T.S. with his perfectly groomed appearance and impeccably ordered existence (overseen by his imperious felines, Brenda and Eddie) is the perfect counterpoint to the captivating force of nature that is Auntie Lil. Fans of Miss Marple, Miss Silver, Miss Seeton, Mrs. Pollifax, Jessica Fletcher, Agatha Raisin, Henrie O, Hercule Poirot, and their many distinguished silver-haired colleagues, will be thoroughly delighted. Aficionados of cozy authors like Dorothy Cannell, Carolyn Hart, M.C. Beaton, Joanne Fluke, Jana DeLeon, and Alexander McCall Smith will be equally charmed! PARTNERS IN CRIME (Hubbert & Lil Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) SENIOR SLEUTHS, BLOODY MARYS, AND BOTH KINDS OF FAT CATS… Before he’s even had his first post-retirement cup of coffee, a murder in the stuffy Wall Street bank from which T.S. retired hours earlier launches his second act. With partners dropping like flies, his flamboyant Auntie Lil steps in to facilitate his career change from personnel manager to amateur sleuth. CAST OF KILLERS (Hubbert & Lil Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) A MYSTERIOUS GROUP OF ELDERLY ACTRESSES—WITH SECRETS TO KILL FOR… Auntie Lil has “volun-told” T.S. into serving lunch at a Manhattan soup kitchen when suddenly a little old lady jumps up, clutching at her throat… and drops dead. The soup kitchen regulars, a crew of snooty failed actresses from the Eisenhower era, appear so grief-stricken that Auntie Lil (once again) offers up her nephew’s services, this time to sort out the woman’s real identity. After all, T.S. muses, it’s not like she was murdered.Famous last words. DEATH OF A DREAM MAKER (Hubbert & Lil Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) THE SECRET LOVES OF SENIOR SLEUTHS--AND A MOST UNTIMELY MURDER! As we should expect, the brilliantly vital Auntie Lil has a colorful past—which includes a larger-than-life love affair with a fabled multimillionaire. But when the gentleman suddenly asks to see her after twenty years and then is killed in a car bomb explosion in Manhattan, Auntie Lil sets out—with trusty T.S. by her side—to solve the puzzling crime and clear Max’s name of suspicions of mob-entanglement.

Massage & Murder


Jenn Cowan - 2018
    A professional. A healer. Not a killer. When a client ends up dead on my massage table, I become the number one suspect. I have Means. Motive. Opportunity. But I didn't kill her. The clock is ticking, someone is stalking me, I have to find out who before I end up in jail or worse...dead.

Murder & Spice and Everything Nice


Caryn Thomas Mitchell - 2017
    Baby books in the nursery, entertaining books in the dining room and romance reads in the ladies boudoir. It looked like it would work out great right up until the moment that the leader of a local religious cult turned up dead in the driveway. Soon his wife is dead as well.Through no fault of her own, Ivy feels she has to meddle...uh help, investigate. It's not at all because the lead investigator is her high school crush. It's because her livelihood is at stake. After all, who wants to shop at a bookstore where people keep dying? This is a novella, the perfect length to read in an afternoon in your favorite cozy chair.

Raspberry Ripple Murder


Abby Byne - 2016
    The only drawback to her new life as a baker is the dead electrician in her kitchen.Was the electrician the victim of a tragic on-the-job accident, or is there something much more sinister afoot? It’s up to Bitsie to find out with a little help from her sister-in-law, her recently-retired-from-the-police-force brother, and her too-handsome-to-be-real shop assistant.It’s not easy finding a murderer when your most compelling clue is a half-eaten raspberry ripple cupcake, but perhaps a pleasantly-plump cupcake connoisseur is the perfect woman for the job.

A Crafty Crime


Eryn Scott - 2018
    When a cat-sitting job turns into a murder investigation, life no longer seems so perfect.Her twin brother, a deputy sheriff, is on the case but they've always done everything together and she can't help but get involved. Following a trail of crafty clues, the James twins learn that their sleepy town might be harboring more darkness than they could've imagined.

Reunion and Revenge


Karen Musser Nortman - 2018
    Does that mean they are amicable companions? Not at all. But when, during a family reunion, the murder of a family friend throws suspicion on their shiftless younger brother, they put their heads together to try to save him.