Book picks similar to
Cupcakes and Conjures by Kat McGee


paranormal
mystery
cozy-mysteries
first-in-series

A Murder in Hope's Crossing


Brooke Shelby - 2019
    Relocating to the idyllic New England town of Hope’s Crossing, where her family has settled since its founding, should be a welcome refresh. Aunt Clara is eager to retire and hand Maggie the keys to her store. And her new home might even help Maggie awaken her family’s rumored witchy powers. Maggie’s plans have all the makings of a spell for success—until the sorcery turns sour. Not long after the move, Aunt Clara is murdered in retaliation for an act of charity. Since Maggie inherits Clara’s small fortune, shop, and home, all eyes turn to her. With no witnesses and no suspects with an obvious motive, Maggie is framed as the perfect killer. Proving her own innocence is an uphill battle, especially when other descendants of Salem Witch Trial survivors like her are under constant threat and persecution in the pious town. To clear her name, Maggie will have to draw on the kindness of a few quirky residents, her aunt’s crafty cat, and her own blossoming supernatural powers. With a deadly criminal on the loose, the newest witch in town might be the best chance Hope’s Crossing has to defeat murder with magic…

Designs On Murder


Gayle Leeson - 2019
    She didn't realize a ghost came with the property! But soon Maxine "Max" Englebright, a young woman who died in 1930, isn't the only dead person at the retail complex. Mark Tinsley, a web designer with a know-it-all attitude who also rented space at Shops On Main, is shot in his office. Amanda is afraid that one of her new "friends" and fellow small business owners is his killer, and Max is encouraging her to solve Mark's murder a la Nancy Drew. Easy for Max to want to investigate--the ghostly fashionista can't end up the killer's next victim! “As a sucker for a fun ghost story, I can say Gayle Leeson’s DESIGNS ON MURDER scores on many levels including a spunky entrepreneur and a charming setting. Now that I’ve read the first one, I’ll be counting the days until the next in the series arrives.” --Lorna Barrett, author of the New York Times Bestselling Booktown Mysteries In DESIGNS ON MURDER, Gayle Leeson sketches a stylish plot accessorized with a spectral fashionista sidekick. This series debut is a delight!" -Diane Vallere, national bestselling author

Magic and Mystery: Bundle Book 1


Lily Webb - 2019
    So when she gets a job offer in the middle of nowhere, Zoe jumps at the chance to make a name for herself only to find her new home is teeming with magic and paranormal beings—and those aren't its only secrets. During a heated election for Head Witch, the most powerful position in town, Zoe’s predecessor was buried alive—and accusations are flying faster than broomsticks. Despite her editor’s orders to leave the story alone, Zoe can’t resist. From the front-running witch with a secret to the mysterious vampires pulling strings in the shadows, Zoe knows the truth is just under the surface. So after she discovers she has rare telepathic abilities, Zoe realizes she's the only one who can keep digging. Will Zoe’s powers lead her to the murderer and the scoop of a lifetime? Or will they send her to an early grave? 

Spellbooks and Stakings, Book 2:

 Zoe Clarke is going back to school. After learning she’s telepathic and risking her life to solve a paranormal murder, she’s been invited to the prestigious Veilside Academy of Magic to sharpen her newfound powers. But not all the students are spellbound by Zoe, and it isn’t long before she realizes the Academy is brimming with exceptional witches and warlocks—who are as cutthroat as they are talented. So when Zoe’s new favorite vampire professor is found in a pile of ash, all spell breaks loose. Between troublemaking witches and a jealous staff, Zoe knows whoever the murderer is, they aren’t finished handing out suspensions. Can Zoe work her magic to reveal the killer? Or will she fail the ultimate test?

 Alchemy and Arson, Book 3: 

Zoe Clarke’s life just keeps getting better. After repeatedly risking her life to solve a rash of paranormal murders in Moon Grove, Zoe’s become a household name. But her newfound attention isn’t all magic. Zoe knows she’s made enemies along the way and that they aren’t above pouring gas on her troubles. So when one of Moon Grove’s most prominent witches dies in an inexplicable house fire, hysteria ignites—and Zoe finds herself standing in the ashes. From the psychedelic new alchemist in town to the werewolves running shady businesses, Zoe’s certain someone’s trying to torch her reputation. And when another building spontaneously combusts, Zoe knows she’ll have to walk through fire and brimstone to stop the arsonist. Can Zoe stamp out the killer before they strike again? Or will she go up in flames? Other Books in the Magic & Mystery Series: Heists and Homicides, Book 4 Covens and Coffins, Book 5 Voodoo and Vanishings, Book 6

The Witch Squad


M.Z. Andrews - 2016
    Causing problems with the law in her hometown, she’s faced with two options. Go to a correctional institution or get shipped off to witch boarding school, or as her mother prefers to call it, finishing school. Choosing the latter, Mercy’s mother, Linda, drives her daughter cross country to the Paranormal Institute for Witches, situated high in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains in cozy, Aspen Falls, Pennsylvania. Upon arrival, Mercy is faced with cheerful smiles, friendly people, and a sticky sweet roommate who has turned their dorm room into an advertisement for the Pottery Barn. Mercy had hoped her fellow witches would be more like her, dark, dreary, and a little bit self-destructive. When the murder of a local teenager takes place on the first day of class, Sorceress Stone, headmistress of the college for wayward witches, takes the class on a consulting job to help the Aspen Falls Police Department solve the murder. Mercy and her mismatched classmates find themselves in the heart of the murder investigation and when the body of the murder victim suddenly goes missing and her roommate turns up abducted, Mercy must put aside her feelings of resentment about her gift and put her paranormal abilities to good use. Throw in a smokin’ hot cowboy wizard, a black cat that seems to be stalking her, and a Black Witch and you’ve got the first book in the new Witch Squad Cozy Mystery Series where the twists and turns just don’t stop!

Lattes and Spirits


Alyn Troy - 2020
    But will she stir up trouble when spirits order assistance in solving their deaths? Barista April Storm longs for more than making a mean macchiato and talking to her ex-boyfriend’s ghost. So when her quirky aunt asks her to help open a hip café in rural Wales, she jumps at the chance to start fresh. But she gets an extra shot of strife when a famous deceased cricketer wants her to spill the coffee beans on his killer.With her ghostly client unable to remember who did him in, April is forced into the role of supernatural detective. Assisted by her spectral ex, a magical secret agent, and an overcaffeinated talking cat, she finds herself in hot water when the clue trail reveals an escaped demon. And if she can’t get control of her own recently awakened power, the next murder she has to solve may be her own.Can April serve up justice before a brewing disaster boils over?Lattes and Spirits is the first book in the delightful Mystic Brews cozy mystery series. If you like sassy heroines, colorful characters, and a side of spells with your cuppa joe, then you’ll love Alyn Troy’s otherworldly adventure. Buy Lattes and Spirits to froth up some whodunnit fun today!

Team Destiny and Gray's Grave


Belinda White - 2020
    Team Destiny answered.Who is Team Destiny you ask? Well, we're a rag-tag bunch of witches and werewolves, with a Shaman and a couple of lawmen thrown in for good measure. When the Goddess needs help, we're there for Her.Sounds like some kind of science fiction or fantasy movie flick, doesn't it?Nope. Just my life as I now know it.The last month or so had been pretty quiet. No dead bodies showing up in awkward places. No crazy entities out to destroy the world. You know… the kinds of things that had become our usual challenges. The Universe appeared to be giving us a break for once.Enough so that Mom and Dad convinced my Aunt Opal and her new husband, Ex-Sheriff Orville Taylor, to go on a belated honeymoon. Heaven knows my Aunt was long overdue for some rest and relaxation.But wouldn't you just know that the very night after we dropped them off at the airport, all heck broke loose.Welcome to life as a member of Team Destiny.We just can't catch a break for long.

Miss Spelled


Morgana Best - 2015
    Her boyfriend dumps her when she inadvertently gives him food poisoning. Her workplace, a telecommunications center, fires all their staff as they are outsourcing offshore, and she is evicted due to smoke damage resulting from her failed attempts at baking. Amelia thinks her luck has changed when she inherits her estranged aunt’s store, two mysterious cats, and beautiful Victorian house.Yet has Amelia jumped out of the frying pan into the fire? To Amelia's dismay, the store is a cake store, and she discovers that her aunt was a witch. To add to the mix, the house has secrets of its own. When a man is murdered in the cake store, will Amelia be able to cook up a way to solve the crime? Or will her spells prove as bad as her baking? All Morgana Best books are clean cozy mysteries.

Witch Unleashed


Kate Allenton - 2018
    I smile at the complaining guests and accommodate their weird and unusual needs. It's my job. I'm the glue that keeps my brother and dad from feuding and scaring the others away.I've ignored my curiosity and the pull to explore the rest of the world for far too long. Twenty-four more hours and I'll wipe the fake smile off my face and set sail for my first off-island vacation.But my plans change when the unimaginable happens...A notoriously wicked witch dies and someone starts pointing fingers at my father. Walking away is no longer an option with the suspects and motives multiplying.All that matters is proving Dad's innocence and I'll use every trick in my super sleuthing book to help.Witch Unleashed is an emotional mystery with twists and turns that leave readers guessing until the very last page.The rest of the books in this series build on each other, but can be read as stand alone.

These Haunts are Made for Walking


Rose Pressey Betancourt - 2014
    Ripley Van Raden, or Rip as her friends call her, has come back to her hometown to start her own ghost tour business. That’s not her only career path though. Librarian by day, and ghost tour guide by night, Rip is ready to take on the ghosts following her around and the mysterious residents who show up for more than the tour in the Devil’s Moon Cemetery. Her first day on the job as librarian, Ripley finds a dead body and a ghost who can only communicate through electronics. Who knew ghosts could send text messages? To make things even more complicated, Ripley meets a hot cop who happens to also be a ghost hunter. She doesn’t know if Brannon Landon is interested in helping her or just around for the paranormal activity. When Rip discovers threatening notes between the pages of a novel, she must solve the library patron’s mysterious death before she unwillingly joins the other side of her haunted tour.

Risky Bisqueness


Elizabeth Rain - 2020
    It should be the other half~The Best Half...That's what Julienne Mason told herself as she stared at herself in the mirror the morning after her 40th birthday...Husbandless...Jobless...Childless...Julienne Mason's Ego has taken a Beating. In the space of a day, she nearly burnt down the pizza parlor, lost her job, and walked in on her cheating rat of a husband.To top it all off? She's 40 and no one has noticed.With nothing to show for a lifetime of chasing the Joneses and trying to conform to everyone else's expectations but her own...Juli is more than ready for a change of lifestyle. But nobody ever told her that answering the summons to a strange letter would turn her entire life on a dime, and challenge every notion she's ever had on what normal is...Add in a Strange Inheritence, an Overbearing Ghost, A Snobbish Talking Cat, and a Sentient Recipe Grimoire; Sprinkle Liberally with Magic...And Maybe even Misfits like her deserve a second chance to get things right...But first she'll need to solve her Uncle's Murder and learn to Embrace her inner Witchiness...before she runs out of time and the killer Strikes Again...

An Imperfectly Perfect Witch


Kate Satori - 2021
    Only time will tell. Sit for a spell and enjoy a new cozy mystery with witches, magic, and a snarky cat. Kate Brody’s café serves up enchanted drinks boosted with a touch of magic and tasty treats. Unfortunately, trouble finds its way to her door.Betsy Ambrose is aghast that a witch owns the shop beside her store. She’s made it perfectly clear, she not a fan of witches living or working in Keystone County. Even worse, her daughter is newly engaged to Kate's brother. There's no way she'll let her daughter get tangled up with witches—it would ruin her family’s reputation. She promises to stop the couple from tying the knot, no matter what it takes.When Betsy dies at the newly engaged couple’s party, all eyes are cast on the Brody family. After all, they hosted the fest and prepared the food. If that wasn't enough, Kate's mother threatened Betsy within days of her death. With a police detective convinced the witchy duo had something to do with the murder, and a local reporter digging up dirt that doesn't want to be unearthed, Kate is determined to figure out who the killer is to clear her family name.Will witches be cast out of the small Pennsylvania town they call home? Or can Kate find answers that don't want to be found? An Imperfectly Perfect Witch is the first book in a new paranormal cozy mystery series. Enjoy a fun, easy read that's twisted with magic, mystery, and a cauldron full of mayhem.

Southern Spirits


Angie Fox - 2015
     When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she’s saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can’t refuse from the town’s bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with. Ellis Wydell is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland Tennessee’s finest former citizens. Only some of them are growing restless—and destructive. He hires Verity to put an end to the disturbances. But soon, Verity learns there’s more to the mysterious estate than floating specters, secret passageways, and hidden rooms. There’s a modern day mystery afoot, one that hinges on a decades-old murder. Verity isn't above questioning the living, or the dead. But can she discover the truth before the killer finds her?

Bound for Magic


Constance Barker - 2021
    But when a witness claims to have seen a strange animal with a human in its mouth, can Mary believe it, even if her instincts tell her it's true?Her cat Ugly seems to be making noises other than the usual meows...like she's trying to communicate. Is Mary losing it or is Ugly attempting to speak or something even more unusual?Mary's dreams are also trying to tell her something....that a group called the Soul Brokers are in need of payment. Make remuneration or forfeit an innocent soul. What the heck has she gotten herself into?***Find out in the First book of the Tortie Kitten Mystery Trilogy***

Black Magic Kitten


Sara Bourgeois - 2020
    At seventeen, she’d left Coventry and didn’t look back. But after a messy divorce, she packed up her stuff and drove toward the only place that she knew would accept her. Life hadn’t been easy for Kinsley since she left town. Despite wanting a family desperately, she was childless. She had a college degree but had just been fired… again… She’d spent her entire adult life rebelling against what she was, and that meant hiding her true self from the world. Kinsley left Coventry on a mission to be ordinary. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans… Coventry isn’t your typical small town. It’s home to the most powerful family of witches in the world. Two ancient witch families united when her parents married, and she was supposed to be their leader. Nobody ever asked Kinsley if that’s what she wanted, though. Funny how the universe worked because there she was divorced, childless, and jobless… again… rolling into Coventry in her broken-down car with a U-Haul full of everything she owned. The joyous welcome home party was short-lived, because a dead guy turned up, of all places, behind the diner. Of course, the town’s hunky sheriff starts to give Kinsley the side-eye. But, a lot of people wanted the victim dead, and that only complicates the investigation. There’s a murderer on the loose in Coventry, and Kinsley’s got to learn to harness her powers to avoid the killer’s snare. Oh! And, then there’s Meri, the black cat familiar. Someone decides to grant him one wish for his faithful service to his coven, and it doesn’t go as planned either… Welcome back to Coventry. The events in this story take place thirteen years after the final scene the Wicked Witches of Coventry series. It can be fully enjoyed on its own and is suitable for all ages. You’ll find no swearing, gore, or adult situations, but you will find magic, mystery, and a hint of lighthearted mayhem.

A Maryland Witch (Witches of Crabtree Bay Book 1)


Catherine Mesick - 2019
    While the town is still reeling from the news, Chloe’s high school rival is attacked and another young girl is placed under the infamous Sleeping Beauty Curse. Suspicious eyes soon turn to Chloe, and the whole town believes she is guilty. As Chloe investigates the attacks, with a little help from the handsome but irritating Professor Mike Fellowes, she discovers that there may be a deeper and deadlier plan afoot—one that’s focused on her. Can Chloe unravel the mystery in time? Or will she fall prey to the malevolent figure lurking in the shadows?