Book picks similar to
The Root of All Evil by R.T. Green
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cozy-books
Murder, Curlers, and Cream
Arlene McFarlane - 2016
Not only has she got a meddling mother, a wacky staff, and a dying business, but now she’s got a dead client who was strangled while awaiting her facial.With business the way it is, combing through this mystery may be the only way to save her salon. Until a second murder, an explosion, a kidnapping, death threats, and the hard-nosed Detective Romero complicate things. But Valentine will do anything to untangle the crime. That’s if she can keep her tools of the trade in her bag, keep herself alive, and avoid falling for the tough detective.In the end, how hard can that be?
Tales from Stool 17: Finding Port St. Joe
Kirk Jockell - 2015
Joe is the first of a three-part series that will leave you wanting more!“I’m not running. I’m not hiding. I’m just going. There’s a difference.”Compelled to retire from the only life he’s ever known, retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Nigel Logan discovers his only option is to disappear from a violent past and a murder, he knows will one day catch up to him.In the dead silence of night, he slips out of Norfolk, Virginia on MisChief, his 32-foot Pearson Vanguard sailboat. He set sail for destinations unknown and is ultimately drawn to Port St. Joe on Florida’s beautiful Forgotten Coast. There, he stumbles into the lap of some of the craziest and lovable people which help him to forget his past as he tries to start a new life. And while a new home and friends help distract him from his dark past, Nigel Logan will never get to completely erase it from his mind.If you like Randy Wayne White, John D. MacDonald, and Carl Hiaasen, welcome to the Dark and Crazy World of Nigel Logan!Reviewers say:“A Great Read”“Masterful Storyteller”“Wonderful Characters”“Intriguing and Interesting”“I enjoyed every bit of this book”“PLEASE WRITE MORE!”
Drop Dead, Gorgeous
Mike Jastrzebski - 2016
She had to come back from the grave to convince him she was murdered. Oh, and she brought along the ghost of her mother.What was she thinking? Artie didn't get along with his mother-in-law when she was alive...why would it be any different now?If you like a great mystery and don't mind a couple of ghosts mucking things up, grab this book now. You won't regret it.
Scrabbling for the Culprit
Jane Wallace - 2020
Adult triplets Cassie, Callie and Lonnie Parker, have thrown their hearts and souls into planning the Scrabble tournament Callie is hosting at the local high school. But, when a bookcase full of dictionaries lands on a beloved teacher, murmurs of foul play threaten the entire competition. With the new-to-the-county detective, who doesn't know the townspeople yet and a school full of suspects, can these siblings work together to find the killer, keep everyone else safe, and move all the pieces into place to run spectacular tournament?
Southern Peach Pie and a Dead Guy
A. Gardner - 2015
Gardner comes a deliciously dangerous new series...After an injury derails Poppy Peters' ballet career, she gathers the courage to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and attend Calle Pastry Academy in a small-town in Georgia. Poppy has her work cut out for her not only fitting in with her charming (and not-so-charming ) Southern classmates but also proving her worth to her teachers after her first publicly humiliating attempt at making the school's famous peach pie. But Poppy's pastry problems go from bad to worse when she's suddenly accused of stealing expensive black truffles, and her attempt to clear her name goes awry...resulting in her finding a dead body instead! If Poppy's going to survive this culinary experience, she'll need to find the missing truffles and track down a killer, all while honing her baking skills to compete in the school's dessert competition for a coveted pastry internship in Paris. Can Poppy prove she's one tough cookie? Or is her life about to crumble?**Recipes Included**Poppy Peters Mysteries:Southern Peach Pie and A Dead Guy (book #1)Chocolate Macaroons and a Dead Groom (book #2)Ice Cream Bombes and Stolen Thongs (short story in the "Killer Beach Reads" collection)Bananas Foster and a Dead Mobster (book #3)Strawberry Tartlets and a Dead Starlet (book #4)"A sweet and satisfying mystery that will leave you hungry for more! A. Gardner's Poppy Peters Mysteries have earned a place on my keeper shelf!"~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times bestselling mystery author
Family Matters
Laurinda Wallace - 2013
An unsolved hit-and-run accident claimed her cousin’s life 20 years ago. Dissatisfied with the seemingly lax police investigation, she begins her own. Her friends and family in the rural village of Deer Creek warn her to leave the case alone. And then death strikes again. Although she’s overwhelmed with running her new dog business, and grief stricken over the recent of loss of her husband and unborn child, she’s determined to unravel the mystery of her cousin’s untimely death. With Haley, her intrepid Labrador by her side, Gracie follows a dangerous trail of clues to find a killer.
Money, Murder and Mayhem
K.P. Stafford - 2016
In twenty-four hours her world is shattered. She loses her parents and her job. Rummaging through the attic she discovers her “dead” grandmother is very much alive. She returns to her hometown; a quiet, sleepy little town perched above the sea. The disappearance and death of an elderly couple sets the town on edge. Accusations fly. The past is dredged up. Bodies are found. Some even question her return and the timing of the murders. As she joins the town constable to help solve the case, she finds herself attracted to her main suspect, Jake Donovan. Jake is handsome, charming, and secretive. Is he a threat to her or just a threat to her heart?
Christmas Witch
Willow Monroe - 2015
They’re still married, thanks to an evil warlock and a binding spell, and Angelo has promised to make it snow in Jagged Grove, just for her.Trinket can’t wait.But thoughts of snow and shopping fall by the wayside when Bilda and Rain start handing out enchanted Christmas cookies. The cookies are supposed to bring luck for the coming New Year, but this batch turns everyone in Jagged Grove into a scrooge.Now Trinket and Angelo have to figure out what happened and fix the goof before Christmas is ruined forever.
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.
Sewing Suspicion: A Quilting Cozy Mystery (Quilting Cozy Mysteries Book 1)
Kathryn Mykel - 2021
Sweet Revenge
Morgana Best - 2016
The truth of the matter was that her love of eating chocolate had caused her to become excessively overweight. Some years later, a car wreck leads to her undergoing extensive plastic surgery on her face and body. Now that she is medically unable to gain weight, she decides to indulge her love for chocolate by opening a designer chocolate shop.When people who bullied her at high school are murdered one by one, she becomes the prime suspect. Will she be able to prove her innocence when the police think she’s out for revenge? Will Carl, her best friend, stop flirting with the police long enough to help her find the real killer?
Marigolds and Murder
London Lovett - 2017
With her pet crow Kingston and a tabby cat named Nevermore, she is settling right into her new life in the small coastal town of Port Danby. With a flower shop opening soon and a full cast of quirky neighbors and friends, her new digs are exactly what she's been looking for. Away from the hectic hustle and bustle of the city Lacey has found peace and happiness. However, her heightened sense of smell proves to be of use once again when a Port Danby neighbor turns up dead. Lacey finds herself caught up in an unexpected murder investigation alongside the handsome local detective, James Briggs. She’s determined to find the killer and solve the murder mystery before any more bodies turn up.Book 1 of the Port Danby Cozy Mystery Series. 1. Marigolds and Murder2. Carnations and Chaos (October 15, 2017)3. Mistletoe and Mayhem (November 2017)Full-length novel ~50,000 words.
Splendid Summer's Grace, Jack & Magical Cats Boxed Set
Mary Matthews - 2012
In Splendid Summer, when Grace Wentworth loses her last living relative and all her money, hot Detective and WWI Aviator Jack Brewster gets the case. Grace is learning to lead her own life instead of just following it around. Startled by Grace's lack of deference to him, Jack recognizes his romantic equal.In Emeralds, Diamonds and Amethysts, Jack, Grace, and magical Tatania battle bootleggers to find a special collection of jewels. Emeralds, Diamonds, and Ametheysts is about a code known only to women who fight for the rights of all women.One reviewer called A Christmas Feral a story that would do Charles Dickens proud. Judge Scrooge won't even heat his home for Christmas in this Roaring Twenties' short story. Judge Scrooge says that when you pay the bill, you don't feel the cold. When Judge Scrooge rules incorrectly in a cat dispute, Tatania and her companion Zeus teach him the meaning of keeping Christmas and cats.In Cher Ami, two people drop dead within minutes of each other. They appear unrelated. Grace, Jack, Tatania and Zeus reveal the story of Cher Ami, a WWI carrier pigeon with the heart of a lion. With his heart still beating in a badly wounded body, Cher Ami soared above bullets and saved a lost battalion.
Home Sweet Witch
Bettina M. Johnson - 2020
An aspiring artist who is living in New York State and discovers a mystery unfolding around her when a letter from her deceased mother shatters everything she has ever believed about herself. When Lily opens the package left to her by her mom, she finds an ornate key, a careworn journal, old photos, and a peculiar letter with curious instructions to head to Sweet Briar, Georgia. Lily not only discovers her birthplace, and a plethora of new relatives but also come to realize they are all witches. She is, in fact, a witch herself. A dark one. As she humorously wanders her way through discovering her new reality, Lily manages to find a place to call home, makes a new best friend, meets a bevy of great looking men to keep her distracted and learns to deal with her whacky relations. Throw in a decades-old murder along with a new body to cross her path, and Lily is embroiled in a tale that tests her resolve and has her questioning whether or not being a little wicked can make everything right in her world! Book one of the Lily Sweet Mysteries is here for you to enjoy...with many more in the series to follow!
The Judge: Part One
Ian R.B. Morris - 2018
Bobby has been brutally murdered, and someone had tried to cover it up. But who, and why? Peter cannot rest until he knows the truth. And so begins a rollercoaster ride for him and his on-off girlfriend Naomi, that will see him pitted against some powerful enemies, and everyone he ever knew or cared for in mortal danger. Set in 1990’s London at the peak of Blair Brittania, Peter is forced to turn detective in order to find Bobby Black’s killer, and he has to break all the rules to do it. Forced to go on the run, a desperate Peter plays a terrifying game of cat and mouse to the bitter and surprising end.