Book picks similar to
Murder Goes to Church by C.D. Jarmola
mystery
fiction
cozy-mystery
amazon
Freezer Burn
Gayle Carline - 2009
What she does like are clean houses, and dirty martinis. She recently traded in her housecleaning business for a P.I. license. Her timing seems perfect, when she cleans a former client's freezer and finds a severed hand inside, wearing an expensive ring. The client, Benny Needles, is a Dean Martin fanatic who swears he's innocent. But where there's a hand, there's a body, waiting to be found.It's a brand new world for Peri, and she has a lot to learn. Her boyfriend, Skip, a detective in the Placentia Police Department warns Peri that this case could be dangerous, but she can't stop sticking her nose into the middle of things. Her first lesson is that investigating murder can have bad consequences. In the middle of trying to solve the case, Peri takes on a surveillance job. The philandering husband is unhappy with her, and she discovers that even surveillance isn't always low risk. As the two cases collide, will Peri learn the truth behind both of them? And more important, will she ever get that dirty martini?
The Way the Cookie Crumbles: Ginger Burnet Cozy Mysteries Prequel
Clementine Moore - 2021
Recently returned from big city life, and in an attempt to reconnect with her roots and restart her life, she takes up the job of school baker at the esteemed Chiswick Park Academy. Further turning her back on her recent past and following her true aspirations as an amateur baker, stars seem to finally align in Ginger’s life.When a mysterious invitation to a bake-off challenge for a new TV reality show comes up, Ginger takes the opportunity to further cement her presence in the small town. She still has a month until her new job starts, so what harm could possibly be done?As the contestants gather at the highly gated Manor, things take a bloody turn, and all of a sudden ten strangers will need to work together to get out of their host’s murdering sight.Can Ginger solve the mystery and save her life in time? Will her natural instincts protect her from the mansion’s death traps?Find out in this page-turning mystery full of wild turns and family secrets that will rock Little Chiswick to the core, and announce the arrival of a new amateur sleuth in town!*If you like quirky characters, witty dialogue, heart-wrenching twists and turns, and lots of mystery, then you’ll love “The Way the Cookie Crumbles”
The Lake House Secret
Debra Burroughs - 2013
When human remains are discovered not far from town, Jenessa is assigned the story, throwing her into the thick of town drama.Caught between her old boyfriend, with whom she shares a sordid past, and her new love interest, who offers her something she has desperately been wanting, Jenessa is embroiled in a homicide investigation that ends up pointing the finger at someone she cares very much about. Can she uncover the truth of this murder before it destroys her family and any chance she has for a happy life?
Murder in the South of France
Susan Kiernan-Lewis - 2011
Along the way, she finds handsome Laurent Dernier, a sexy if nefarious Frenchman who it's not clear is there to help or hinder Maggie's search for the girl. Meanwhile, her sister's murderer sets his sights on the little girl — and Maggie.The first book of the Maggie Newberry Mystery Series, Murder in the South of France was originally titled Murder on the Côte d’Azur.
Begonia Means Beware
Lyndsey Cole - 2014
Plus, the handsome new guy moves in right next door to Lily. She’s well on her way to a successful and exciting season. But when the groom is found dead in her kitchen just days before he’s supposed to be walking down the aisle, Lily has to arrange the trail of flowers to try to solve the mystery. With the help of her scooter-riding, pot-smoking mother, Iris, her sister, Daisy, and her dog, Rosie, Lily races from one disaster to another, all the while keeping herself out of the killer’s sight. Will she solve the cascade of events in time or get caught by the criminals running illegal gambling and selling drugs in Misty Valley? Will romance blossom between Lily and her new neighbor? **Begonia Means Beware is approx. 33K words and is volume 1 in the Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series.
The Death of Amelia Marsh
MaryJo Dawson - 2007
When Sally Nimitz discovers the body of her charming eighty-year-old neighbor she is devastated by how close violence has come to the quiet life she leads as mother, grandmother, and nurse. Though still recovering from the death of her own husband, Sally can’t put the trauma of the murder behind her until she knows who could have done it and why. With the help of a close male friend and a quirky older lady, Sally begins looking into the life and past of her neighbor and soon discovers there was much more to Amelia Marsh’s life than anyone had ever guessed.
Starboard Secrets
Hope Callaghan - 2015
After months of mourning and moping, Millie is surprisingly hired on a cruise ship as assistant director, where she investigates how a dead body ended up near the atrium bar. The deceased had more enemies than friends. Will Millie delve too deeply and risk losing her job - and possibly her life? (Includes recipe)
The Final Arrangement
Annie Adams - 2012
But there’s a problem—Quincy is now the main suspect in The Vulture’s murder. Armed with only her Zombie delivery van, good intentions, and the business card of a handsome cop named Alex, she must find the killer, save the flower shop, and keep from ending up in the next casket. If she can dodge burning bushes, the plague of a polygamist ex, and her mother's Mormon Mafia Spy Network, her life with Alex and her shop could become the perfect arrangement.
Pineapple Pack II
Amy Vansant - 2018
Amateur sleuth Charlotte Morgan is commissioned to solve Bucky’s murder, but soon finds herself embroiled in a competition masterminded by her boyfriend’s crazy ex, the ever-nefarious Stephanie. When the Pineapple Port crew pack up a snake-bus and head to North Carolina for a vaction, the Outer Banks will never be the same... Pineapple Beach House The Pineapple Port crew takes a road trip to the Outer Banks, North Carolina, only to discover “body bits” in their vacation home. The nursing home next door is run by some suspicious characters and one of their residents is missing. Hmm... As the bits o' somebody pile up (and Mariska keeps the neat and safe in a butter dish), amateur sleuth Charlotte Morgan and her friends must solve the murder before a storm blows them all back to Florida! Pineapple Disco Humor, thrills and mystery abound in the SIXTH Pineapple Port Mystery. Charlotte, the 55+ community's young female sleuth is thrust into a thrilling struggle to survive when her friend Jackie's underground "mature" disco is infiltrated by violent criminals intent on claiming the club as their own. Even more frightening --- the ridiculously vengeful Gloria is back and on the warpath after a playful suitor goes missing. Charlotte must search for the connection between the two cases with the help of Declan, whose own secret past with crazy, serial killer-spawn Stephanie is beginning to show... Fans of female-sleuth authors like Jana Deleon, Lilian Jackson Braun, Gina Lamanna and Janet Evanovich will love the Pineapple Port series' abundant humor and clever plots --- as well as Charlotte's sharp intellect and the love and loyalty she holds for the wacky 55+ community who raised her.
The Reindeer Caper
Valerie Tate - 2017
But when Dasher disappears, children and parents alike are devastated, and the mayor fears an international incident.In desperation, the mayor turns to the Mallorys to save the town's Christmas, but the more Chris and Alicia investigate, the more they realize it isn't just Christmas that's in jeopardy.
Death By Honeymoon
Jaden Skye - 2011
Cindy finds her newly beloved taken away from her, drowned in a freak accident in the ocean. The local police are quick to declare it an accident, to insist that he was caught in a sudden riptide. But Cindy, left all alone, is not convinced.Cindy must return to her and Clint’s now-empty home in New York and face her in-laws, who never wanted Clint to marry her, and who did everything to make her engagement and wedding hell. She must deal with all of these women’s backbiting, gossiping and unspoken accusations, while she tries to get a handle on her own grief and to get clear on what really happened to Clint.Cindy is mailed an anonymous photo of a woman she had never met, addressed to Clint. As she tries to unravel the mysterious package, as she begins to dig deeper into Clint’s emails and files, she realizes how many secrets Clint had been hiding from his past. She realizes that she didn’t really know the man she loved. And she also realizes that Clint was murdered.She digs deeper, into the depths of Clint’s massive corporation, DGB oil, and as she starts to unearth information she shouldn’t, she goes too far. Soon her own life is in peril. On the run, she realizes that the only way to get answers, and to save her own life, is to return to where it all began: Barbados. As she heads into the dark underside of the island, into the heart of the local villages, she is shocked to discover what really happened to her husband on their honeymoon.But by then, it may already be too late.Books #2--#7 in the Caribbean Murder series (DEATH BY DIVORCE) are now also available!
Merry Christmas Murder (A Reporter Roland Bean Cozy Mystery)
Rachel Woods - 2020
Love Me If You Must
Nicole Young - 2007
For a start she discovers something unsettling in the basement that interests the police officer next door.
One O'Clock Hustle
Joanne Pence - 2014
This is their first full-length story. When San Francisco Homicide Inspector Rebecca Mayfield arrives at the scene of a deadly shooting, she's shocked to find that the witnesses have caught the killer, and that he's someone she knows. Rebecca's a by-the-book detective, and she's always done her job according to the rules, without hesitation ... until Richie Amalfi comes back into her life. Richie knows his way around everything and everyone in his city. When people say they "know a guy who knows a guy," Richie's the guy they're talking about. He can usually help people out of tight situations, but suddenly finds he can't get himself out of hot water when he's accused of murder. Richie's on the run, and he runs straight to Rebecca to help him prove his innocence. From the nightclubs of North Beach to the scenic heights of Twin Peaks, dangers lurk and more deaths happen. As Rebecca discovers there's a lot more to Richie than she thought, and a lot more to like than she imagined, she soon fears not only for her life, but also her heart.
Center Stage
Denise Grover Swank - 2016
Ten years ago, Magnolia Steele fled Franklin, Tennessee after an incident that left her with hazy memories and a horror of the place where she had been born and bred. Though her abrupt departure destroyed most of her treasured relationships, she vowed never to return . . . until she has no choice. When Magnolia’s breakout acting role in a Broadway musical ends in disgrace, there’s only one place she can go. She finds herself on her momma’s porch, suitcase in hand. Drama follows Magnolia around like a long lost friend. She reluctantly agrees to help her momma’s catering company at a party for a country music star, only to find herself face-to-face with a sleazy music agent from her past. After a very public spat, Magnolia not only finds him dead but herself center stage in the police’s investigation. Now she must scramble to prove her innocence, relying on the help of acquaintances old and new. But the longer Magnolia stays in Franklin, the more she remembers about the big bad incident that chased her away. The past might not be finished with her yet, and what she doesn’t remember could be her biggest danger.