Introducing Gertrude, Gumshoe


Robin Merrill - 2016
    Until now. When her neighbor goes missing, she can't help but get involved, no matter how many people ask her not to.

Murder Strikes a Pose


Tracy Weber - 2014
    Instead, the three strike up an unlikely friendship.Then Kate finds George's dead body. The police dismiss it as a drug-related street crime, but Kate knows he was no drug dealer. Now she must solve George's murder and find someone willing to adopt his intimidating companion before Bella is sent to the big dog park in the sky. With the murderer on her trail, Kate has to work fast or her next Corpse Pose may be for real.

Portrait of a Dead Guy


Larissa Reinhart - 2012
    So when the well-heeled Branson family wants to memorialize their murdered son in a coffin portrait, Cherry scrambles to win their patronage from her small town rival. As the clock ticks toward the deadline, Cherry faces more trouble than just a controversial subject. Between ex-boyfriends, her flaky family, an illegal gambling ring, and outwitting a killer on a spree, Cherry finds herself painted into a corner she’ll be lucky to survive.“An entertaining mystery full of quirky characters and solid plotting...Highly recommended for anyone who likes their mysteries strong and their mint juleps stronger!” – Jennie Bentley, New York Times Bestselling Author of Flipped Out“The tone of this marvelously cracked book is not unlike Sophie Littlefield’s brilliant A Bad Day for Sorry, as author Reinhart dishes out shovelfuls of ribald humor and mayhem. It takes a rare talent to successfully portray a beer-and-hormone-addled artist as a sympathetic and worthy heroine, but Reinhart pulls it off with tongue-in-cheek panache.” – Mystery Scene Magazine“Don’t miss Portrait of a Dead Guy by Larissa Reinhart! Portrait is pure enjoyment, a laugh out loud mystery with some Southern romance thrown in. Five stars.” — Lynn Farris, National Mystery Review Examiner at Examiner.com“Laugh-out-loud funny and as Southern as sweet tea and cheese grits, Larissa Reinhart’s masterfully crafted whodunit, Portrait of a Dead Guy, provides high-octane action with quirky, down-home characters and a trouble-magnet heroine who’ll steal readers’ hearts.” – Debby Giusti, Author of The Captain’s Mission and The Colonel’s Daughter“A sweet, southern stroke of brilliance…Action, humor, mystery and a dash of romance all packed into one quirky creation. Trust me when I tell you—don’t miss this one.” — The Book Boost“Reinhart’s debut sparkles with wit. A fun, fast-paced read and a rollicking start to her Cherry Tucker Mystery Series. If you like your stories southern-fried with a side of romance, this book’s for you!” — Leslie Tentler, Author of Midnight Caller Related subjects include: cozy mysteries, women sleuths, murder mystery series, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), humorous murder mysteries, book club recommendations, amateur sleuth books, small town humor, Southern humor, comic (humorous) crime and mystery, small town and rural.Books in the Cherry Tucker Humorous Mystery Series:QUICK SKETCH (novella in HEARTACHE MOTEL) PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY (#1)STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW (#2)HIJACK IN ABSTRACT (#3) DEATH IN PERSPECTIVE (#4)THE BODY IN THE LANDSCAPE (#5)THE VIGILANTE VIGNETTE (novella)A COMPOSITION IN MURDER (#6)A VIEW TO A CHILL (novella)

Bran New Death


Victoria Hamilton - 2013
    But when a dead body is found on her property, she’s more worried about cooking up an alibi… Merry is making a fresh start in small-town Autumn Vale, New York, in the mansion she’s inherited from her late uncle, Melvin. The house is run-down and someone has been digging giant holes on the grounds, but with its restaurant-quality kitchen, the place has potential for her new baking business. She even has her first client—the local retirement home. Unfortunately, Merry soon finds that quite a few townsfolk didn’t like Uncle Mel, and she has inherited their enmity as well as his home. Local baker Binny Turner and her crazy brother, Tom, blame Melvin for their father’s death, and Tom may be the one vandalizing her land. But when Tom turns up dead in one of the holes in her yard, Merry needs to prove she had nothing to do with his death—or her new muffin-making career may crumble before it starts...

Witch Slapped


Dakota Cassidy - 2016
    With twists, turns, and suspects aplenty, this one will keep you guessing from start to finish.USA Today bestselling cozy mystery author Dakota Cassidy serves up mayhem and murder in Witch Slapped, Book 1 of her series, Witchless In Seattle Mysteries."Oh, good. Not a problem. I'll invoke the Gods of Pilates. I'm sure they'd be happy to help. Hang on just one sec while I dial them up. Oh, wait. I can't. Know why I can't? Because my hands are tied behind my back with zip ties, Win!"A rib-tickling cozy mystery complete with an ex-witch, a dead British spy, a cotton ball bat, and a cast of suspects that will keep you guessing right up to the end! Join the hunt for a murderer with Stevie, Winterbottom, and Belfry, in a race against time as the local police prepare an eight by ten cell for our intrepid ex-witch.What's a girl to do when she's a broke, shunned ex-witch with a very tiny, very hungry bat familiar named Belfry to feed?Hello. My name is Stevie Cartwright, and I've been witchless for thirty days.If only there was a support group for down-on-their-luck ex-witches who've had their powers slapped right out of them (literally). Just as I was licking my wounds after returning to my hometown of Ebenezer Falls, WA, and navigating my suddenly non-magical existence with the help of my familiar, the only friend I have left in the world—things got sticky.Enter an ex-spy and newly departed spirit named Winterbottom, who's infiltrated my life with his sexy British accent and a couple of requests...Thanks to Belfry's successful attempt to use me as a human antenna to the afterlife, I can somehow hear Win. I should be ecstatic; helping departed souls used to be my witch specialty. It's like I got the teensiest piece of my old life back. Except Win's dropped me right at a dead woman's feet.Madam Zoltar, the town's beloved fake medium, has been murdered, and Win wants me to catch the killer.My old life won't be worth much if it gets me whacked before my new life has barely begun--and that seems to be exactly what the killer has planned!This cozy mystery has a complete cast of oddball characters from witches to ghosts and bats to psychics. Witchless In Seattle Mysteries is a spin-off of Dakota Cassidy's bestselling paranormal romance series, A Paris, Texas Romance.

Death at the Chateau Bremont


M.L. Longworth - 2011
    Antoine Verlaque, the charming chief magistrate of Aix, suspects foul play, and when he discovers that Bremont had been a close friend of Marine Bonnet, his on-again off-again girlfriend, Verlaque must turn to her for help.The once idyllic town suddenly seems filled with people who scould have benefited from Bremont's death--including his playboy brother Francois, who's heavily in debt and mixed up with some unsavory characters. But just as Verlaque and Bonnet are narrowing down their list of suspects, another death occurs. And this time, there can be no doubt--it's murder.A lively mystery steeped in the enticing atmosphere of the south of France and seasoned with romance as rich as the French cuisine that inspires it, this first installment in the acclaimed Verlaque & Bonnet Provencal Mystery series is as addictive and captivating as Provence itself.

The Windsor Knot


S.J. Bennett - 2020
    But the preparations are interrupted when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene suggests the young Russian pianist strangled himself, but a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play was involved. The Queen leaves the investigation to the professionals—until their suspicions point them in the wrong direction.Unhappy at the mishandling of the case and concerned for her staff’s morale, the monarch decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian and recent officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen secretly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth will use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth’s voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she’s rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and most importantly a great judge of character.

Deadly Summer


Denise Grover Swank - 2018
    Since then, she’s hit—what gossip sites just love to call—the gutter. Nearly bankrupt, betrayed, estranged from her greedy mother, and just about unemployable, she’s coaxed into that desperate haven for has-beens: reality TV. Winging it as a faux PI, she’ll solve off-the-cuff mysteries in her hometown of Sweet Briar, Alabama. For added drama, there’s police chief Luke Montgomery, inconveniently Summer’s first and only love. It’s when Summer stumbles upon a very real corpse that Darling Investigations takes an unexpected twist. The growing list of suspects is a big draw to viewers, but the reality is that Summer doesn’t know whom she can trust. Someone has written this killer new scene especially for her, and unless Summer gives the role everything she’s got, it could be her last…

A Few Right Thinking Men


Sulari Gentill - 2010
    In Australia's 1930s the Sinclair name is respectable and influential, yet Rowland has a talent for scandal.Even with thousands of unemployed lining the streets, Rowland's sheltered world is one of exorbitant wealth, culture and impeccable tailoring. He relies on the Sinclair fortune to indulge his artistic passions and friends ... a poet, a painter and a brazen sculptress.Mounting tensions fuelled by the Great Depression take Australia to the brink of revolution.

And Then There Were Crumbs


Eve Calder - 2019
    But sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, and soon she finds herself starting from scratch in the island town of Coral Cay, Florida. It has everything she’s looking for: sunny beaches, friendly locals, and a Help Wanted sign in the bakery shop window. Once she convinces the shop’s crusty owner Sam Hepplewhite to hire her, Kate can’t tie on her apron fast enough. Little does she know that trouble, like warm dough, is on the rise. . .WHERE CRIMINALS GET THEIR JUST DESSERTSStewart Lord is a real estate developer with a taste for a different type of dough: the green kind. He knows that he could make a killing by purchasing the Cookie House from Sam, who flat-out refuses to sell. But when Stewart turns up the heat on Sam―then turns up dead after eating a fresh batch of Sam’s cinnamon rolls―all eyes focus on the town’s beloved bakery. When the police arrest Sam for murder, Kate must somehow prove that her curmudgeonly boss is innocent. Enlisting the help of a team of lovable locals, Kate sets out to catch the real culprit with his hand in the cookie jar…before someone else gets burned

Truly, Madly


Heather Webber - 2010
    But when her parents temporarily step down from the family business, Valentine, Inc., it’s Lucy’s turn to step up and help out—in the name of love. Plus, her rent is due. Here’s the problem: Lucy doesn’t have the knack for matchmaking. According to family legend, every Valentine has been blessed by Cupid with the ability to read “auras” and pair up perfect couples. But not Lucy. Her skills were zapped away years ago in an electrical surge, and now all she can do is find lost objects. What good is that in the matchmaking world? You’d be surprised. In a city like Boston, everyone’s looking for something. So when Lucy locates a missing wedding ring—on a dead body—she asks the sexy private eye who lives upstairs to help her solve the perfect crime. And who knows? Maybe she’ll find the perfect love while she’s at it…

Murder in the Manor


Fiona Grace - 2019
    She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire.Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn’t want to go back home—and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop.Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction—until her new star customer turns up dead.As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it’s up to her to clear her own name.With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve – is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be?

This Pen for Hire


Laura Levine - 2002
    Daring declarations of love. Writer-for-hire Jaine Austen has penned them all. But when one of the love connections she made is broken up by murder, Jaine finds herself freelancing free-of-charge--and uncovering more than she bargained for. . . No one seems to need her help more than geeky, gawky Howard Murdoch. His request is simple enough: a letter proclaiming his undying love for Stacy Lawrence, a gorgeous aerobics instructor. The fact that he's never actually met the woman gives Jaine pause--but she soon overcomes her misgivings, warms up her computer, and starts pitching woo on Howard's behalf. To Jaine's surprise, the letter is a success--the unlikely Romeo lands a date! But his triumph is, sadly, short-lived. On Valentine's Day, Howard finds Stacy bludgeoned to death with a Thigh Master--and is quickly named the prime suspect. Upon hearing the news, Jaine is shocked. Sure, Howard's awkward, eccentric, and a tiny bit odd. But a murderer? That's hard to believe. Especially after a little sleuthing turns up a whole bunch of people who harbored less-than-loving feelings towards the svelte Stacy. But Jaine had better wrangle her clues quickly, before a crafty killer catches on--and puts a whole new spin on her ghost writing career. . . "This book is laugh-out-loud funny. A real winner!" --Laurien Berenson

A Dream of Death


Connie Berry - 2019
    Among the invited guests is American antique dealer Kate Hamilton. Returning to the island where her husband died is brutal, but Kate is determined to repair her relationship with her sister-in-law, Elenor Spurgeon, the proprietor of Rothsay's deluxe country house hotel.Kate has hardly unpacked when a body turns up, murdered in an eerie recreation of an infamous unsolved murder two hundred years before. And the only clue to the killer's identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. When Bo Duff, the gentle handyman who had tried to save Kate’s husband's life, is taken into custody, she teams up with vacationing Detective Inspector Tom Mallory to clear Bo’s name. To accomplish that, they’ll have to unmask a killer who seems bizarrely fixated on the past…because two hundred years is an awfully long time to hold a grudge in A Dream of Death, the tantalizing series debut by Connie Berry.

Living the Vida Lola


Melissa Bourbon - 2008
    After paying her dues as an intern, she's now a full-fledged detective at Camacho and Associates. Her boss is Manny Camacho, a "muy caliente" former cop with a mysterious ex-wife, a Lara Croft look-alike girlfriend, and a sudden personal interest in Lola. Her first big case? A missing mother who may not want to be found. And to make her already busy life even more complicated, Lola's helping her cousin plan her "quinceanera, "and battling her family and their old-fashioned views on women and careers. She's also reunited with the gorgeous Jack Callaghan, her high school crush whom she shamelessly tailed years ago and photographed doing the horizontal salsa with some other lucky girl.Lola takes it all in stride, but when the subject of her search ends up dead, she realizes she has a lot more to worry about. Soon she finds herself wrapped up in the possibly shady practices of a tattoo parlor, local politics, and someone with serious---maybe deadly---road rage. To top it all off, her treasured postcoital pictures of Jack are missing! Still, Lola is well-equipped to handle these challenges. She's a black-belt in kung fu, and her body isn't her only weapon. She's got smarts, sass, and more tenacity than her Mexican mafioso-wannabe grandfather. A few of her famous margaritas don't hurt, either.Debut author Misa Ramirez, a blond-haired, green-eyed gal with a passion for the Latino culture and authentic Mexican food, has penned a delicious mix of mystery, romance, and all-out fun. Filled with sizzling scenes and side-splitting humor, "Living the Vida Lola" is a thrilling ride that will have you up all night.