Book picks similar to
Pasta, Pirates and Poison by Paula Lester
paranormal
mystery
cozy
fiction
Baking is Murder
Kathy Cranston - 2016
Luckily for Jessie, Springdale is every bit as quirky and idyllic as she remembers, and Bee’s baking is just as mouth-watering. Then the unthinkable happens and there’s a murder on the outskirts of town. Worse still, Jessie’s new friend is the prime suspect. The cops think the case is cut-and-dry, but Jessie’s gut tells her there’s more going on than meets the eye. Can she get to the bottom of it? Baking is Murder is the first book in the Bee’s Bakehouse Cozy Mystery series. Each book is a standalone mystery.
Shop and Let Die
Kelly McClymer - 2014
But an online job suddenly has her questioning everything about her life, including whether it is wise to keep shopping when there is a serial killer targeting mall shoppers. When the FBI enlists her help to find the serial killer, Molly isn't sure she's ready to be more than a domestic-level spy.
Heard It Through the Grapevine
Lizbeth Lipperman - 2013
The problem is that Tessa is not in the coffin. Dealing with the wisecracking ghost of her sibling, Lainey and her three surviving sisters set out to fulfill Tessa's wish from beyond the grave--to find out who killed her.But hidden among the vines of the dead sister's multi-million dollar wine-making business lurks a killer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Medicine Wheel
Kelly Running - 2013
Her efforts to clear her brother's name lead her on an odyssey of Navajo visions, sweat lodges, medicine wheels, and mysticism. The journey promises to waken her latent psychic abilities if she survives numerous attempts on her life and figures out who wants her dead.
Murder In Half Moon Bay
Nancy Jill Thames - 2010
But a startling discovery draws Jillian and her garden club friends into solving a mystery that threatens her life and changes her future.The unlikely team helps the chief uncover a series of mysterious events that lead to solving several murders, both past and present. Could it be the mean spirited conference director? Perhaps it's the wealthy widow on the make for her next husband; or maybe the killer is the haughty business woman who shows no regard for her brow beaten husband.“Murder in Half Moon Bay,” Book 1 in The Jillian Bradley Mystery Series, introduces Jillian's little companion Teddy, a Yorkie who falls prey to danger but rises to become a sleuth dog in the next book.
Mastiffs, Mystery, and Murder
Sandra Baublitz - 2017
Not dead bodies. Clarissa’s boyfriend is tracking a suspect in the death of a dog fancier. It’s up to Clarissa and Paw to provide him cover as they compete in the show. But the competition turns deadly when another dog owner is murdered. Are the deaths connected? Clarissa and Paw must sniff out the clues to solve the crime before the killer collars them. Will Best in Show become Best in Death?
A Haunted Murder
J.A. Whiting - 2015
After the death of her grandfather, Lin Coffin returns to the island of her birth, Nantucket, Massachusetts, to make a new start in life, but things don't begin smoothly. After not seeing one for twenty years, a ghost appears in her back yard and her cousin, Viv, becomes a suspect in a murder. Lin and Viv, with the help of several others, work to solve the crime before the killer strikes again. This story has ghosts and some mild paranormal elements. About 190 pages in length in paperback format. In The Lin Coffin Mystery series: 1. A Haunted Murder 2. A Haunted Disappearance.- Coming soon ! Thank you for reading !
Literally Dead
Eryn Scott - 2017
Literally. While the detectives focus on crime scene forensics, Pepper can’t ignore the Shakespearian clues left by the killer.With the help of a handsome library clerk, a dog named Hamburger, and The Bard himself, this unlikely sleuth might just close the book on this case.
The Secret of Chestnut Hall
Olivia Swift - 2017
Evan – He’s quite a famous mountaineer who is trying to leave behind a shattered life and an ex-wife that almost ruined him. Chestnut Hall – Evan’s house and garden have a mysterious past that intrigues Jazz and Evan. The discovery of a secret grotto leads them both into situations that they would never have dreamed about… and into unforeseen dangers. Will Evan be able to leave his past behind? What dangers lie within the grotto? Will there be a happy ending for Jazz and Evan?This is an alternate cover edition - ASIN: B075LR3JSV.
Murder at the Snowed Inn (Claire Andersen Murder for All Seasons Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)
Imogen Plimp - 2020
She knew her fresh start would be exciting, but she never expected it to be tinged with enthralling adventure, romance that’s sweet as sweet can be … and murder!Adorable and resilient, former NYC chef Claire Andersen is no stranger to second chances. She and her stock trader husband George had decided long ago to trade in their life of ambition for one of quaint & quiet adventure—by opening up a cozy neighborhood coffee shoppe on the ground floor their Brooklyn brownstone. He was the coffee-connoisseur, she was the baker extraordinaire. Claire was so happy, she could just die. But fate had other plans—it came for her husband instead.After George’s passing, Claire decides (with a nudge from her doting foster daughter Al) to trade in her life of brews and baked goods for breakfast—bed and breakfast, that is! And what better setting in which to start over than Galway, Maryland—a charming, snowy mountain town (and favorite cross-county ski destination of Claire’s youth).All is well in Claire’s new B&B venture—and with her new oven constantly in use, it’s mouth-watering, even—until her first guest is murdered in-house. It’s not long until one of the suspects Claire questions about the murder winds up dead, too. Suddenly, Claire finds herself starting over yet again—and trading in her hostess hat (she’d just dusted it off, too!) for a secret life as an amateur sleuth.But it’s not all B&B business and bodies: Claire also finds herself in the throes of not one, but two potential romances—each more toe-curling and butterflies-in-the-stomach inducing than the other.Alongside her trusty new pal Evelyn (who’s feisty enough to make anyone blush) and her faithful bloodhound Rupert, Claire races the clock to get to the next victim—before the killer does. And she knows she’d better hurry. Because if the killer catches her first, she might run out of second chances.Author's Note: This book contains a non-binary character whose preferred pronouns are they/them. If the notion of a non-binary character (and its resultant use of grammar) is offensive, then this book is not for you!
Craks in a Marriage
Barbara Barrett - 2018
A few days later, the husband is found dead, his head bashed in. Fearing she’ll be considered the most likely suspect, the widow prevails upon Sydney and her three friends—Marianne, Kat and Micki—to find out who really killed him. Though none of these four fun-loving, take-charge retirees has any training as detectives, the women agree to launch a secret investigation. As they dig under the happy veneer of their community’s social life, they find more than enough suspects, from shady ladies to resentful golf buddies, to keep them looking over their shoulders. Could the murderer be lurking among the talent in a chaotic production put on by Sydney’s husband, who will do anything to keep busy in retirement? Could the sheriff, who may have more than a professional interest in chanteuse Kat, end up pinning the crime on the women instead? Each discovery during their investigations and their weekly mah jongg game keeps them running as they close in on the killer—but the killer may also be closing in on them. This cozy mystery, the first in the Mah Jongg Mystery series, features four retired amateur sleuths who live in the small Florida town of Serendipity Springs, all female and all friends who play the game of mah jongg together. Though they don't set out to investigate murder, after their first experience in this story, others start looking to them to help investigate subsequent homicides and questionable accidents. In this first book, Sydney Bonner takes the lead, although she turns to her three friends for help. Though this series features four protagonists, the others will take the lead in subsequent stories. Two are married, one is divorced and the fourth, who has been single all her life while she tended to her ailing mother, now finds herself the object of the sheriff's attention in this series. The four don't seek out murder; somehow the circumstances and those affected drag them in. Meanwhile, as they attempt to gather information, life goes on in their community in such activities as a women's club, a social group for those over 50, real estate transactions, numerous stops at the local coffeehouse, and even a shopping trip to Naples. Sydney's husband, Trip, and her friend Marianne Putnam's husband, Beau, are golf buddies who spend many a day on the course. When not there, Trip is busy seeking to build a new post retirement life, and Beau is often prevailed upon to join in Trip's latest activity, which in this first book is a town follies. Kat Faulkner has lived a frugal life until winning big in a lottery shortly after her mother's death; suddenly, Kat has money and doesn't know how to spend it. But her divorced friend and freelance writer, Micki Demetrius, does, even if it's to guide Kat through a makeover and wardrobe change for her lounge act. This cozy mystery is the first book in the Mah Jongg Mystery series. Barbara Barrett is already published in contemporary romance. She is a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America. Like her protagonists, she is retired and is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in her home state of Iowa. She spent over three decades as a human resource management analyst with Iowa state government. She can be contacted at barbarabarrett747@gmail.com. Check her website at barbarabarrettbooks.com.
Wine's Up?
Wendy Meadows - 2019
They have been struggling with money and regular blow-ups – except this time, one snick of a match to light a candle causes Reginald to go up in flames.Rumors circulate in the small community of Rosemary Harbor. Was it an accident, or was there more to it? Chief Preston is sent out to investigate: the first step, tracing where the gift basket was purchased.Sometimes the best cure for a broken heart is a fresh start.Hilary Sheridan is a widow who has just opened her shop with her daughter, Annabelle, to lead a normal life out of the spotlight after so many years caring for her late husband. Being questioned about a possible murder case is not a welcome she expected. It doesn’t stop her curiosity, especially when the whole town is talking about it – inside and outside – of her shop.For Chief Preston, everything must be conducted by the book, but Reginald’s past comes back to haunt him. He was a man who had many debts, making investments that his body couldn’t insure.Debt wreaks havoc with people’s hearts and minds – even to commit the unthinkable. In this cozy mystery, expect more than one blow up!
Crime and Nourishment
Miranda Sweet - 2017
Neither does the island of Nantucket. A NEW RELEASE cozy mystery perfect for fans of Agatha Frost, Cynthia Ellingsen, Cindy Bell and CeeCee James When Agnes Mary Clarissa Christie Prouty, a.k.a. Angie, abandons her fiancé and her analyst job at a big Manhattan investment firm, she doesn’t expect to end up back where she started—the island of Nantucket. It’s not every day you get a chance to open a bookstore, complete with bookmark-eating cats and cantankerous great-aunts. Especially when your childhood friends agree to provide you with the world’s best pastries from their bakery down the street. Everything goes great until one of the locals turns up dead on the fourth of July, the sound of the gunshots covered by the local fireworks display. But did it have to happen right after Angie delivered a book to his home making her a prime suspect? Angie and every gossip on the island, including her great-aunt and her friends, are on the case. But trying to discover the truth is going to take more than a simple murder investigation. Someone’s guilty and the deadly secret might cut closer to home than anyone wants to admit.Being an amateur detective is harder than it looks, even when you’ve been named after the Queen of Crime.
This cozy mystery/amateur sleuth novel is book one in the Angie Prouty Nantucket Cozy Mystery Series
Plateful of Murder
Carole Fowkes - 2016
Ordinary objects like roller coasters and men's hairpieces make her knees knock loud enough to be a band's rhythm section. Unfortunately, the only job Claire can find is working for her Uncle Gino in his seedy detective agency. Until now, her cases have all be middle-aged men with trophy wives who needed watching. But when Gino retires and leaves her in charge, Claire gets swept up in a murder case despite her fears. Both the client who hired her and the handsome police detective want her off the case. When the wrong person is charged, it's up to the terrified detective to summon all the courage she can to find the true killer.