Book picks similar to
Charmed to Death by Constance Barker
cozy-mystery
first-in-series
mystery
part-of-a-series
Witch Is When It All Began
Adele Abbott - 2015
Private investigator, Jill Gooder, has been hired to find a serial killer because, as usual, the police can't buy a clue. Jill, the not so proud owner of a crazy, one-eyed cat, probably can't expect too much help from her PA/Secretary, Mrs V, who spends all day knitting. And just in case all of that wasn't bad enough, Jill's just about to discover she's a witch. ...break out the custard creams.
Pretty Little Fliers
Erin Johnson - 2019
But when they witness a murder, who will squawk first? Cursed and almost powerless, Jolene’s definitely down on her magical luck. Forced to disguise her taboo shifter abilities, she barely makes ends meet by working as a pretend pet psychic. So she eagerly says, “Oui,” to a job securing testimony from a parakeet that watched a woman’s fatal fall. Teaming up with a true blue police officer and his lie-sniffing German Shepherd, Jolene works hard to hunt down suspects. But with an after-hours affair, a disgruntled neighbor, and risqué photos all seemingly connected to the crime, untangling the truth is bound to get hairy.Can Jolene protect her cover and pluck out the clues before she falls from grace?Pretty Little Fliers is the first book in the delightful Magic Market paranormal cozy mystery series. If you like charming characters, picturesque French settings, and spellbinding twists and turns, then you’ll love Erin Johnson’s pet-friendly tale.
Buy Pretty Little Fliers to swoop into a wild case today!
Hopeless Pocus
Rachel Rivers - 2021
What could go wrong?Witch out of water, Violet Vance, believes she’s run out of luck, when the truth is…she never had any in the first place. The poor girl’s not even a witch.Or so she thinks.Fired from her dream job as an investigator, Violet moves to the tiny town of Hex Falls seeking a new start where she discovers her somewhat-wacky, and terribly over-protective family has followed her. Being the only member of a paranormal family born without powers in the last hundred years, Violet has always been the anomaly. She was born human, never to become magical, but her family doesn’t seem to want to give up on that idea. Despite it all, she settles in, becomes an interior decorator, and right away strange things begin to happen. The winds of change begin to blow, and the waterfall next to her house flows backwards. But it’s when Violet’s fingertips begin to twitch, and her nose to itch, and a long-lost heirloom shows up out of nowhere that Violet begins to panic. But the slime really hits the cauldron when she’s followed by an overweight talking fox who claims to be her familiar. Could it be she has powers after all?Violet is then hired to restore a place called Murder Manor, to its former glory. She should have run screaming from the place when the house smelled like rotting corpse and the owner looked as white as a ghost… but, what can she say, she needed the money. Then a head rolled out onto the carpet of the blood-stained study, and well…what was an ex-investigator-turned-interior-decorator to do—just let a perfectly good murder lie there unsolved?Hex Falls Cozy Mysteries Series:Hopeless Pocus, Book 1, Now AvailableBedknobs & BroomHilda Sticks, Book 2, Now AvailableWitchity, Glitchy, Boo, Book 3, Now AvailableAbracastabra, Book 4, Now AvailableIn Charm’s Way, Book 5, Now AvailableWitchy, Glitchy, Glamour, Now AvailableThe Poof! Is In The Pudding ~ a special Christmas Novella to complete the series ~ Now Available
Witchnapped in Westerham
Dionne Lister - 2018
All it takes is one morning for Sydney Photographer Lily Bianchi's life to go off the rails and over a cliff. A well-dressed English woman turns up at her door, swearing she's a witch. If that’s not crazy enough, she explains Lily’s brother, James, has been kidnapped and the Paranormal Investigation Bureau needs Lily’s help finding him. And the craziest part? The Englishwoman tells Lily she's a witch too. Before she can say, “Where’s my coffee?” she’s on a plane bound for Westerham, England. Unfortunately, England’s not as welcoming as she hoped--she's barely arrived before she gets set up, arrested and almost shot. Things can only get better from here, right? Yeah, right…
It's the Great Dragon Molly Brown
Julia Mills - 2020
My precious beauties are their orangey orangest and their roundy roundest, and they’re bigger than any other year in history. They are ready to be loved, carved, and lit up for all the world to see. This is gonna be the best ev… whoooooooa!What the heck just happened? What was that noise? Is there a perpetrator in my Pumpkin Patch? Was that the sound of a gourd smugglin’ son of gun messin’ with my babies? Oh, hell no! I am Molly Brown. Hear me roar. Ain’t nobody gonna mess with my punkins.With Cleo on my shoulder and my trusty Wand back in the house, this Keeper of the Sacred Pumpkin is on the case. No way, no how is anyone gonna rain on my parade.But wait!What’s that sound? What was that flash of scales? Was that…” Could it really be…?Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bat! It’s a ghost! Oh, my gracious, Goddess with googly eyes, it’s the Great Dragon, Molly Brown!Another hilariously amazing addition to the Dragon Guard series – the Dragon Guard Holiday Love Stories demanded to be told. I hope you giggle and swoon, laugh out loud and fall in love with these sassy women and their Dragons who refused to be tamed.
Chocolate Grudge
Wendy Meadows - 2020
It is the start of a new venture for Margaret and her son, Zach, setting up their dream candy store, Nichol’s Candy Store. With the business owners around her, there is never a dull moment – from Stacy Koontz the café owner, Mr. Stewart, the dog-groomer who needs a new personality, and Simone Peretti, who is as eccentric as the antiques she sells.It was nothing Margaret couldn’t handle, until their neighbor, Dorothy, was found murdered. A woman who was hated by everyone – making the entire neighborhood a suspect. On top of that long list is the new resident, Kyle, who’s kind-hearted beneath a gruff around the gills hard coating. Wanting justice for Dorothy and Kyle, Margaret decides to investigate this mystery herself. With an attractive detective by her side, it’ll lead to more connections than she ever anticipated.Is she sweet enough to solve this sour blooded mystery?
Previously published as Gumballs and Murder. This version has been completely rewritten.
This cozy mystery is a clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language. It can be read in one to two hours. It is perfect for those moments when you are waiting at an appointment or want to enjoy a quick read.
Stilettos & Scoundrels
Laina C. Turner - 2020
Freelance journalists fight for their assignments, and Presley thinks she’s won the battle when she’s hired to interview pompous womanizer Senator Daniels. But when the senator turns up dead a day later, Presley climbs right to the top of the senator’s security team’s suspect list. A security team run by her high school ex-boyfriend. Can she prove her innocence and not fall for the one guy she swore she’d never look in the eye again, or will she wind up with a lifetime gig in prison?
Cupcakes and Catastrophe
Sue Hollowell - 2021
An escape to a quaint beach town. Will a mysterious murder derail a second chance at her dream?Tilly Griffin did everything by the book. Everyone else’s book. Now it was her turn to write a new chapter, three thousand miles from her former life. Her dream of opening a bakery like her grandma Luna was now becoming a reality.No sooner does she arrive in the charming beach town, when she and her quirky uncle are tangled up in a mysterious death. When a kite competition judge is found murdered in the bookstore next to her uncle's Checkered Past Antiques shop, Tilly questions her decision to move to Belle Harbor, and everything about her new life.As the clues emerge, and the small-town secrets are revealed, Tilly’s uncle finds himself smack dab in the middle of the investigation, and surrounded by suspects. Will the murderer be nabbed in time for the bakery’s grand opening or will this close the book on Tilly’s dreams?Cupcakes and Catastrophe is Book 1 in the Belle Harbor Cozy Mystery series. A light, cozy mystery in a quaint beach town with a fun loving, amateur female sleuth, her quirky uncle, and enough antiques and pastries to fill your home and your belly. No gore, swearing or cliffhangers. Can be read as a standalone.
Southern Magic
Amy Boyles - 2018
It's the worst day of her life. But when Pepper discovers she’s a witch and has inherited the most important store in the magical town of Magnolia Cove, Alabama, she’s as happy as a pig in mud. Too bad the shop is a familiar pet store and Pepper doesn’t like animals—not even a teensy bit. Determined to sell the shop and get the heck out of town, Pepper’s plans go haywire when a local storeowner winds up dead and Pepper gets accused of murder. Thrust into a magical mystery, Pepper teams up with a mysterious private detective and a cat so traumatized by the murder that she’s not talking—and that cat could hold the key to Pepper’s innocence. Now Pepper must avoid trouble, solve the mystery, and placate her new grandmother, who keeps a strict ten p.m. curfew that’s enforced by the talking end of her shotgun. Sounds like a simple day in the life—as if. Can Pepper solve the murder or will she become the next victim of the Magnolia Cove murderer? And most importantly, will Pepper learn to love the animals she’s in charge of? Find out now!
Body at the Crossroads
Cate Martin - 2020
Her career as a book illustrator not yet exactly launched, Ingrid faces two options: live in her battered old Volkswagen, or go back to her mother's small town in northern Minnesota.The small town that still haunts her dreams more than a decade since she last visited it. Or rather, not the town but the grandmother.All of the drawings she fills notebooks with witches and the trolls that do their bidding? Not as whimsical in her nightmares as she sketches them in the bright light of day.If not for her beloved cat Mjolner, living in the Volkswagen just might tempt her.But the cat wants four walls and a door, so north she goes. And finds trouble in the form of a dead body before she even finds her grandmother's little town. How much can a town of stoic fishermen possibly be hiding?As Ingrid is about to find out, quite a lot.
Tide Dance
Danielle Garrett - 2018
Tourist season is underway in the coastal community of Beechwood Harbor. Holly Boldt is up to her eyebrows in work. Between the coffee shop and her potion business, things are moving at a break-neck pace. But when a teenage runaway starts causing trouble around the harbor, she has to step in, especially when she realizes the terrified girl isn’t just another out-of-towner on summer vacation. With her posse of magical misfits, Holly’s ready to kick up some sand and get to the bottom of the guarded teen’s dilemma. After all, summer in Beechwood wouldn’t be any fun without a little magic mystery. **Previously published in the Spell or High Water Anthology.** ***Fits in the timeline after the events of Lucky Witch, book five in the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery series.**
Spooky Business
Addison Creek - 2017
That is, the haunted house populated by real vampires, ghosts, and skeletons is exactly how she left it. Jane Garbo has tried to live a normal life, but given that she's a witch, that just isn’t possible. Her family runs a world-famous haunted house in an old mansion in Maine, and when Jane runs out of options she moves back home. What her family has neglected to tell her is that there are serious problems at the mansion, and no one knows what’s at the root of the trouble. If Jane can’t solve the mystery, more lives could be lost. Including her own.
Pineapple and Poison
Allyssa Mirry - 2019
Ever bitten off more than you can chew? Sticky sweets can lead to a sour case of murder. Lydia Doherty is about to achieve her dream by opening up her very own saltwater taffy shop on the Jersey Shore boardwalk. A sweet dream soon turns into a nightmare, however, when a prominent local realtor is poisoned, apparently after consuming one of Lydia’s free samples. Determined to clear her name and save her business, Lydia dives into investigating, despite the potential danger. Who would have wanted the realtor dead? What was the real motive behind his murder? And why did the killer choose her delicious pineapple taffy as the way to commit this crime? Lydia is determined to get to the bottom of it all – no matter how sticky the situation becomes!
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.
Glossy Lips
Barbara Silkstone - 2018
When Olive’s grandmother dies and leaves her a condo in Florida and a secret recipe for miracle cold cream, she grabs the chance at a new life in Starfish Cove, Florida, making designer creams for ladies who spend far too much time at the beach. Business is brisk and life is good! Olive even makes a wild new best friend in Lizzy, the real estate agent who handles the transfer of Nonna’s condo. When a dead body is found in the trunk of Lizzy’s car, Olive despairs that life in Starfish Cove won’t be any different than the one she thought she’d escaped. But this time, instead of listening to confessions of murder, Olive’s going to have to solve one. Maybe two… Contains a recipe for Olive & Lizzy’s super-creamy homemade lip gloss! Book I in a series ~ Book 2 available for pre-order SMOKEY EYES ~*~ “Barbara Silkstone is beyond clever. She's an engaging writer who, with great skill, manages to make her skewed world ring true. The best thing about her characters is that they are not caricatures; they are real with all their dimensions intact. The best thing about Silkstone is that she manages to exhibit equal measures of talent and imagination.” ~ Kindle Reader Author of the Florence Nightingale Comedy Mystery Series, The Giggling Corpse, The Killer Corset, and The Cheeky Corner, Barbara Silkstone is also the creator of the best selling Mister Darcy series of comedic mysteries ~ 9 Books plus 10 Regency novels and novellas, all with a light, humorous touch. She is also the author of the Wendy Darlin Comedy Mysteries – 5 Cozy Romantic Adventures combining Nick and Nora Charles with Lara Croft. Check out her Amazon Author page or visit her at the https://secondactcafe.com Most books are available in paperback and audio! Barbara Silkstone’s Amazon Author’s page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Silksto...