Book picks similar to
Dead Man Calling by Kendra Ashe


mystery
paranormal
cozy-mystery
fantasy

Secondhand Spirits


Juliet Blackwell - 2009
    Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance to make friends in San Francisco....Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet. With her magical knack for vintage fashion -she can sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry—her store becomes a big hit.But when a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area, Lily may be the only one who can unravel the crime. She tries to keep her identity a secret while investigating, but it's not easy—especially under the spells of sexy "mythbuster" Max Carmichael and powerful witch Aidan Rhodes. Will Lily's witchy ways be forced out of the closet?

A Potion to Die For


Heather Blake - 2013
    A local soothsayer has predicted that a couple in town will soon divorce—and now it seems every married person in Hitching Post, Alabama, wants a little extra matrimonial magic to make sure they stay hitched.But when Carly finds a dead man in her shop, clutching one of her potion bottles, she goes from most popular potion person to public enemy number one. In no time the murder investigation becomes a witch hunt—literally! Now Carly is going to need to brew up some serious sleuthing skills to clear her name and find the real killer—before the whole town becomes convinced her potions really are to die for!

The Hummingbird Wizard


Meredith Blevins - 2003
    AND SO HELPFUL IN A FAMILY MURDER! Once you marry into a gypsy clan, just try to get out! Annie Szabo loved her husband, but after his death, she was only too happy to leave his outrageous clan behind, especially her pushy mother-in-law, Madame Mina. But Mina wasn't just any pushy relative. As the heart of the close-knit Szabo family, she was also powerful, stubborn, and devoutly to be avoided. Well, too bad for Annie! When her oldest friend, Jerry, turns up dead, she’s plunged back into the family she tried to leave behind. She knows Jerry was murdered, but how is she supposed to prove it? Easy, if you’ve got a gypsy family. Or anyway, easier. So before you know it, Annie’s knee-deep once again in ancient curses, petty theft, and, everyone’s favorite--love magic. All thanks to Madame Mina’s psychic skills and a certain wildly sexy gypsy and his shady P.I. father.

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.

Tempest in the Tea Leaves


Kari Lee Townsend - 2011
    But when she uses tea leaves to read the frazzled town librarian, what lies at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful.

The Sweet Dreams Bake Shop


J.A. Whiting - 2015
    The building's new owners are not renewing the bake shop's lease and Angie is running out of time to find a new location. When one of the town's long-time residents is murdered, Angie finds herself on the suspect list. With the help of her three sisters and a huge orange cat, Angie works to uncover the killer's identity. A cozy mystery with recipes ! This story has some mild paranormal elements. The main mystery is solved in each book but you will enjoy the series more if the books are read in order as some story threads run from book to book. In The Sweet Cove Mystery series: 1. The Sweet Dreams Bake Shop 2. Murder So Sweet 3. Sweet Secrets 4. Sweet Deceit (Coming late July 2015) And more to come ! Thank you for reading

The Locked Room Murder


Nancy McGovern - 2016
      She has a job working at her mother's salon in the small town of Lledrith.  She has a fiance with whom she's in love.  And, after years of trial and error, she has finally found a dye that effectively masks her naturally neon-blue hair, allowing her to blend in for the first time in her life! But things are about to go bad...fast! When her fiance is found murdered and Bluebell wakes up in the middle of a field with no memory of the night before, even she has to wonder if she could be to blame.  After all, he had just broken her heart, effectively turning her perfect life upside down.   But could Bluebell have done it?  The fact is, with the body being found alone in a locked room, no one seems to have a clue as to what happened.  It's almost as if it were...MAGIC! And speaking of magic... The Locked Room Murder is the first Bluebell Knopps Mystery, a witch-based cozy mystery, written by Nancy McGovern.  Nancy McGovern is also the author of "A Murder In Milburn", a culinary cozy mystery series containing delicious mysteries and even tastier recipes!

The Trouble With Witches


Kristen Painter - 2019
    The sun never shines, the gates decide who enters, magic abounds, and every resident bears some kind of curse. No one knows this as well as raven shifter Deacon Evermore, who, like everyone in his family, has a curse. While his position as Shadowvale’s peacekeeper lets him use that curse for good, he’d rather live anywhere else. He stays for his family, but doubts he can last much longer.Fledgling witch Emeranth Greer is determined to escape her past and make a fresh start in Shadowvale with the aunt she’s never met. Her aunt and the town prove to be far better than she imagined. There’s no way Em is leaving this magical place. Especially when staying means more time with the handsome Deacon.But when Em’s troubled past catches up with her and nearly destroys the romance budding between her and Deacon, her instinct is to run again. Except there’s magic in the mix now and the town won’t let her leave. Only Deacon can save her, but can a cursed man clear her name…or will her history destroy them both?

Above the Bridge


Deborah Garner - 2012
    However, it's not long before her instincts tell her there's more than a basic story to be found in the popular, northwestern Wyoming mountain area. A chance encounter with attractive cowboy Jake Norris soon has Paige chasing a legend of buried treasure, passed down through generations.From the torn edge of a water-damaged map to the mysterious glow of an antler arch, Paige will follow clues high into the mountainous terrain and deep into Jackson's history. Side-stepping a few shady characters who are also searching for the same hidden reward, she will have to decide who is trustworthy and who is not.

Scent of a Killer


Lisbeth Reade - 2015
    Which turns out to be a nice surprise, after all.But just as she’s getting to know her eccentric Aunts and learn to harness her newfound magic, a shocking murder threatens the entire world she’s just uncovered. Her mother’s best friend is found dead, with her Aunts’ fingerprints all over the murder weapon, and Ella must act to save her family.Combining forces with Rory, the cute mailman she’s been crushing on, Ella uses her skills of scent and sense to track the killer. But when clues cross social classes, Ella realizes that catching the killer could alienate Rory.Will Ella catch the killer and still get her man?

Flowers and Foul Play


Amanda Flower - 2018
    Her fiancé left her for their cake decorator. Then, her flower shop wilted after a chain florist opened next door. So when her godfather, Ian MacCallister, leaves her a cottage in the Scottish Highlands, Fiona jumps on the next plane to Edinburgh. Ian, after all, is the one who taught her to love flowers. But when Ian’s elderly caretaker Hamish MacGregor shows her to the cottage upon her arrival, she finds the once resplendent grounds of Duncreigan in a dreadful shambles—with a dead body in the garden.Minutes into her arrival, Fiona is already being questioned by the handsome Chief Inspector Neil Craig and getting her passport seized. But it’s Craig’s fixation on Uncle Ian’s loyal caretaker, Hamish, as a prime suspect, that really makes her worried. As Fiona strolls the town, she quickly realizes there are a whole bouquet of suspects much more likely to have killed Alastair Croft, the dead lawyer who seems to have had more enemies than friends. Now it’s up to Fiona to clear Hamish’s name before it’s too late in Flowers and Foul Play, national bestselling author Amanda Flower’s enchanting first Magic Garden mystery.

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.

Brownies and Broomsticks


Bailey Cates - 2012
    So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees. While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells! When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer..

£6.19 per Witching Hour


Joanna Mazurkiewicz - 2013
    Her normal day at the office consists of seeing clients, searching for new vacancies, updating CVs and visiting employers.It seems as though she has an ordinary life but in reality Julia is half elf and she works for a recruitment agency for paranormals. She is normally calm, confident and is not afraid to stand up for herself, but when the meeting with La Caz Corporation doesn’t go as well as she hoped, she wants to bury herself under the ground and die. Nathaniel La Caz is a player and he wants to seduce Julia. The incredible sexual chemistry that builds up between them complicates her life to the point where she can’t control her magic. La Caz not only wants her but he also has a craving for her blood. Then her ex-boyfriend Jasper comes back on the scene and nearly exposes the whole paranormal world to humans when trying to protect her.It doesn't end well when vampires and elves mix. The problems start escalating when Julia witnesses the kidnapping of her cousin Claudia on the busy street. From then on things only go from bad to worst. More elves and fairies begin to vanish in London without trace and the police suspect vampires. Julia is determined to find Claudia even if it means she will get herself into more trouble.*Adult Paranormal Romance novel - contains adult situations, graphic sexuality, violence, suited for ages 18 and up*

The Curious Case of the Cursed Spectacles


Constance Barker - 2017
    An antique and curiosity shop is a mystical place. The items held within have their own story, sometimes centuries old. But there are other more sinister curiosities held within certain antique shops throughout the world. These antiquities are cursed and can cause ill effects to the owner and even death. Cecilia's uncle is one such collector who searches for cursed antiques to hide them away from unsuspecting souls and those who want to use their power for nefarious reasons. Join Cecilia and her companions as they delve into the unknown and discover mysteries within mysteries in this first book in the Curiosity Shop Cozy Mysteries Series.