Book picks similar to
Sweet Delicious Madness and the Many Mysterious Deaths of Silvio Berlusconi by Julie Sarff
mystery
chick-lit
romance
humor
Escape From Danger (Escape from Reality Cozy Mystery, #1)
Courtney McFarlin - 2020
She never thought she’d discover something shocking about her own past. She never dreamed she’d have an opportunity to fall in love. She never expected she’d soon be fighting for her life after getting too close to the truth.After the unexpected death of her father, Shay moves back home and discovers her father left her a legacy to live out her dreams. Her new business is set to open in just a few weeks, and she needs to figure out why there’s a dead guy in one of the newest escape rooms. Join Shay as she reconnects with her best friends from childhood, tries to solve a murder, and locks horns with the attractive detective assigned to the case. Sparks fly and danger lurks where Shay least expects it.
Elly's Ghost
John R. Kess - 2012
Suddenly, he finds himself on the run when he disrupts the attempted kidnapping of pop star Elly Wittenbel. Jay's survival and combat skills as a Force Recon Marine, or "Ghost," are tested as Elly and Jay flee through the vast wilderness while the FBI investigates her disappearance. The two must learn to trust each other despite their completely different backgrounds. Jay and Elly’s relationship grows as he deals with the effects of war and losing his best friend, and she strives to overcome a drug addiction and to regain control of her chaotic life.
Double Whammy
Gretchen Archer - 2013
But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies. Davis learns the truth and it does not set her free—in fact, it lands her in the pokey. Buried under a mistaken identity, her hot streak runs cold until her landlord Bradley Cole steps in. Make that her landlord, lawyer, and love interest. With his help, Davis must win this high stakes game before her luck runs out.
Still Waters
Misha Crews - 2010
A disturbing photo that can't be explained... A woman drowning in an ocean of secrets... In 1950s Virginia, beautiful, serious Jenna Damont seems to have found the life she's always wanted. But underneath the shallow gleam of her bright suburban world, murky truths are waiting to surface. On the morning that her husband dies in a tragic accident, Jenna finds a shocking photograph of him in the arms of a beautiful woman. And before she can ask him about it, he's gone forever. Five years later, Jenna has buried her questions and remade her life. But the reappearance of an old love stirs up guilty questions, and she realizes that some secrets weren't meant to be hidden. The deeper she dives for answers, the darker the water gets. How will she find happiness for herself and her family, when every step she takes towards the strange and awful truth seems to lead her right back to her own home shores?
Prior Engagements
Sarah Goodwin - 2013
She’s been jilted at the altar by Stephen-the-indecisive, is paying off a mountain of wedding debt by holding down two jobs, and her flat is mostly made of cardboard and spackle. Then at work she meets a man in need of a date to his ex-fiancée’s wedding. Annie goes, and one wedding and four bottles of wine later, she finds herself getting married in Vegas to Dorian, an erotic illustrator.Of course, it’s all great and romantic, until someone loses an eye, which here means, ‘until Annie gets home, and realizes that her best friend (and boss) Will, has kind of been working up to popping the question himself. Will is not happy to see Annie married, in fact he’s willing to trade his Mohawk and every Ke$ha CD he owns to get Dorian out of the way.As if that wasn’t enough to make things tense at work, Annie’s best-work-friend Yvonne (who knows something really fun you can do with a rugby player, some roller skates and chocolate spread) can’t resist getting involved in Annie’s love life. Neither can Dorian’s kleptomaniac sister Fifi, Dorian’s ex-bride and Annie’s mother.In between breaking into cafés, having her door kicked down by the police and trying not to kill each and every one of her friends and relatives, Annie tries to work out how the hell her life got so complicated.
Resort to Homicide: A Merrifield Mystery Novella
Christine Chianti - 2016
Giving in to her brother's request, she goes to visit his new island resort during a special weekend for the investors. Spending time at Rim Runners should have been the perfect prescription to help rebuild her life, but the mood at the resort is like the weather-stormy. As hurricane Anna cuts them off from the mainland, tempers flare resulting in threats and sabotage. When the body of one of the guests is found, Laura is forced to rely on her training to find the killer before the storm lets up and they can slip away.
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.
If Looks Could Kill
Kate White - 2002
Smart and savvy, she's got a sixth sense when it comes to seeing the truth in a story-especially if it's murder. Bailey's in bed with her commitment-challenged lover K.C. when she gets a frantic call from her high-maintenance boss at Gloss magazine. Grabbing coffee and a cab outside her Greenwich Village apartment-the consolation prize in her divorce settlement-Bailey reluctantly heads uptown. At Cat Jones's Upper East Side town house, she finds something that seriously clashes with the chic décor: the dead body of the family's live-in nanny. As Bailey-unofficially-delves into the murdered girl's past, she finds no shortage of A-list suspects. But when a startling discovery suggests that Cat may have been the intended victim, Bailey is suddenly up to her bed head in high-profile investigation that's perfect fodder for a tabloid headline: Is someone trying to kill the editor's of women's magazines? With the spotlight on New York's glitzy media world, Bailey interviews back-stabbing editors, straying husbands, and one sexy, six-feet two psychologist who could make her decide to kick K.C. to the curb. Sporting her pair of red slingbacks and armed with the investigative skills she's honed as a true crime reporter, she sets out on a search that takes her from Manhattan's exclusive Carnegie-Hill area-the nanny heartland of America-to the ritzy weekend estates of Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Bailey will need all her street smarts and some lightning-fast detective work to catch a killer who could end up deleting her name from the masthead for good.
Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love
Lora Lindy - 2012
Little does she know she would meet that one special love, an unexpected love. That one true love is Mike Ramsey and he's a U.S. Marshal. As their love grows, so do their troubles. Someone is stalking Lana. Mike has to figure out who it is before the stalker gets Lana. Not only does he have to protect her, he must find the connection between Lana and the killer before it's too late. They soon find out this stalker also wants Mike dead, and he'll go through any lengths for that to happen. Mike's team find out how desperate this man is when he starts murdering.
Ghost a la Mode
Sue Ann Jaffarian - 2009
The only trouble is, Granny was framed, then murdered. For more than one hundred years, Granny's spirit has been searching for someone to help her see that justice is served--and she hits pay dirt when she pops in to a seance attended by her great-great-great-granddaughter, modern-day divorced mom Emma Whitecastle. Together, Emma and Granny Apples solve mysteries of the past--starting with Granny's own unjust murder rap in the final days of the California Gold Rush. Along with a sprinkling of history, this spirited new mystery series features the amateur sleuth team of Emma Whitecastle and the spirit of her pie-baking great-great-great-grandmother, Granny Apples. Praise: "A delectable first in a new paranormal cozy series from Sue Ann Jaffarian."--Publishers Weekly "A fun new series. Ghostly puzzles are one of the trendy new themes in cozy mysteries, and this is a good one."--Booklist "Jaffarian has done a nifty job of incorporating Julian's history into her tale of unresolved ghosts, uncanny psychics, unsolved murders and unhappy divorcees, while handily introducing some characters, alive and dead, to carry the series forward."--North Country Times "Emma handles her 'gift' of seeing the dead with aplomb, and class. I'll look forward to seeing where the sequel will take Emma and Granny."--Deadly Pleasures "A charming tale, as appealing as apple pie. I predict a long life (and afterlife) for Sue Ann's latest series."--Harley Jane Kozak, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Award-winning author of Dating Dead Men
"Take colorful characters in a charming setting, mix in a dash of romance, add a pinch of the paranormal, and serve it up like one of Granny's famous pies. I guarantee you'll be back for seconds."--Deborah Sharp, author of Mama Rides Shotgun
Wisteria Witches
Angela Pepper - 2017
When she learns a ghost is haunting her new home, she teams up with a local police detective to unravel a mystery!Zara Riddle moved to a charming new house in a small town so her life could be simple. But now that her witch powers have kicked in, life is anything but simple. Long-lost relatives are coming out of the woodwork. It turns out the family tree is riddled with magic.When a ghost shows up, Zara finds out her powers come with a cost. She must solve the woman's murder. Zara teams up with her handsome neighbor, a wolf shifter who's both mysterious and perfect. Maybe too perfect? He did save her life during an attack, but he's definitely hiding something behind that sly smile.The town of Wisteria may be quaint on the surface, but danger lurks around every corner. To protect her family, Zara must risk her heart and her life. Forces of good and evil will face off in a battle where one side has a secret advantage.One thing's for sure. Zara Riddle is keeping these new powers, blue lightning balls and all.Once you go witch, you never switch.
Murder on the High Seas
Sara M. Barton - 2011
Pestered by a man who can't take no for an answer and wooed by a man who seems too good to be true, Kate has to figure out what is real and what is not. It's not easy to be a middle-aged, baby boomer femme fatale, but the ever feisty, confident Kate does her best to solve the mystery.
Murder in an Irish Village
Carlene O'Connor - 2016
Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago. It’s been a rough year for the O’Sullivans, but it’s about to get rougher. One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest. With the local garda suspecting the O’Sullivans, and their business in danger of being shunned—murder tends to spoil the appetite—it’s up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.
Finding You
T.M. Cromer - 2020
Due to adult themes, this book is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18.Heat level: 3.5Tissue consumption level: 1 boxShe didn’t see this one coming.Samantha Holt had the perfect relationship—until one day, she didn’t. For a woman with psychic abilities, she definitely missed the important signs leading to her boyfriend’s tragic accident. One moment she’s blissfully happy; the next, her world is turned upside down.It takes Samantha two interminable years to rebuild her life, and despite a new love interest, she can’t rest until she learns the truth. Her persistent inner voice won’t stop until she takes a trip to the city where all her romantic dreams were so ruthlessly crushed.A stranger could be the key to discovering the answers she needs.A chance encounter makes Samantha question what really happened that day so long ago. Forced to delve into the mystery of her soulmate's disappearance or accept the new love that life has offered her, Samantha faces a difficult decision.
A Charming Crime
Tonya Kappes - 2012
Bubble...June Heal has nothing to lose when she relocates her homeopathic cure shop, A Dose of Darla, from the flea market booth in her home town, to a quaint shop in the cozy but unusual little town of Whispering Falls, Kentucky. Or so it seems. Cures and trouble... Whispering Falls has a lot of secrets. From talking snow globes to whispering animals not to mention a few sprinkles of fairy dust, June realizes Whispering Falls is more magical than she thought. . .literally.