Book picks similar to
Chaos in the Countryside by Astoria Wright


mystery-cozy
mystery
cozy-mysteries
paranormal

Brewing Up Trouble


Constance Barker - 2020
    Her family lives near the lighthouse, which her uncle operates. Her cousin Blanche helps her at the botany store and a flaming drag queen ghost interrupts her on a daily basis. Moira, the ghost, was Marvin in real life. After death she barged out of the closet with a martini in one hand and a long sleek cigarette holder in the other.When Ivy's regular customer ends up missing, she becomes entangled with a private investigator who is also searching for her. Everette has hot cars and a tight ass as Moira describes it. But Ivy's not that easily swayed by good looks and his weird charm.Can they discover what has happened to the woman or will they be next on the missing list?***Find out in the first book in the Ivy Botany Shop Cozy Witch Mystery Series***

Dying to Remember


Karin Kaufman - 2018
    But Ray’s memories of the killing are at odds with the official report, and most people in town would rather forget about the tragic event. When Ray’s investigation turn deadly, past and present collide and Kate must act quickly to uncover the truth.As Kate hunts for clues, she makes a discovery that will change her life forever. It seems that Ray’s talk about fairies in the woods of Smithwell was more than just talk—and reality isn’t quite the ordinary thing Kate imagined it to be. Can she and her new sleuthing partner, a determined little fairy named Minette, solve two murder cases before a third body shows up? This light, cozy mystery offers a clean read with a female amateur sleuth in a small-town setting. No foul language, sex, gore, or graphic scenes of any kind. It can be read as a standalone, but it will be enjoyed more as part of the series. Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited. THE SMITHWELL FAIRIES COZY MYSTERY SERIES: Book 1: Dying to Remember Book 2: Dead and Buried Book 3: Secret Santa Murder (coming soon)

Meows, Magic & Murder


Madison Johns - 2015
    It’s bad enough that her cat, Pansy, had gotten into his house—especially when Pansy wasn’t a cat at all, but Jeremy Walters, a man she gave a love potion to, which transformed him into a cat.

The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum


Kirsten Weiss - 2016
    Railroaded into managing the local paranormal museum, she’s certain the rumors of its haunting are greatly exaggerated. But a new ghost may be on the loose. A fresh corpse in the museum embroils Maddie in murders past and present.With her high school bully as one of the officers in charge, Maddie doubts justice will be served. When one of her best friends is arrested, she’s certain it won’t be.Maddie grapples with ghost hunters, obsessed taxidermists, and the sexy motorcyclist next door as outside forces threaten. And as she juggles spectral shenanigans with the hunt for a killer, she discovers there truly is no place like home.

Ghostly Paws


Leighann Dobbs - 2014
     At least that’s how it seems to former crime journalist, Wilhelmina Chance, whose near-fatal accident has given her a strange side effect ... she sees ghosts. After a messy divorce sends her fleeing back to her hometown of Mystic Notch, nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Willa finds herself haunted by the tenacious ghost of the town librarian who insists Willa solve her murder. Luckily, she has lots of help, including a quirky cast of small-town characters, the cat she’s inherited from her grandmother, and her best friend, Pepper, who claims her herbal teas can work magic. But just when Willa thinks she’s discovered who the killer is, she finds out that things are not what they seem in Mystic Notch, and the case takes a strange turn that has Willa adding even some of her long-time friends to her suspect list. Can Willa find the real killer in time to keep the magical balance in Mystic Notch on the side of good, or will evil prevail?

Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case


Kristen Painter - 2016
    Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now...private investigator. Sort of. Needing someone he can trust, her father sends her undercover to Nocturne Falls to find out why employees at the Santa's Workshop toy store are going missing. Doing that requires getting to know the town, which leads to interesting encounters with a sexy vampire, an old flame, and an elevator that's strictly off-limits. The more Jayne finds out, the more questions she has, but the answers lead her deeper into danger. Will her magic save her? Or will she come up cold?

Karma Inc.


Melanie James - 2015
    Oh my! Waiting for Karma is fine—for the patient. But for the rest of us, it sure would be nice to give Karma a little nudge every once in a while. Too many dates that turned out to be losers or liars? Have a problem with two-faced backstabbers? And don’t even start with the so-called customer service centers. There comes a day when enough is really, truthfully, enough already. For Kelly and Esmeralda, two snarky single witches, that day was yesterday. After applying their witchcraft to dish out a little magical payback, they realize they have a penchant for the dark art of revenge. And who’s to say a witch can’t make a few bucks with a talent like that? Doing the odd job was fun and gratifying. Then along came an unusual client with a pitch for an idea, “Karma Inc.-Reality TV.” The witches set up shop in the sleepy little town of Caldron Falls, Wisconsin. By enabling the good citizens to settle old scores, they hoped to transform the town into a virtual coliseum of televised revenge. It didn’t take long before a few inconvenient and unexpected dead bodies began to pile up. To complicate matters, Caldron Falls just happens to have more than its fair share of paranormal creatures, not to mention a Chicago mobster seemingly bent on taking over the town. Can Esmeralda and Kelly solve the rash of unexplained deaths before they get the blame and end up behind bars? What will Marie Laveau and the Witches Union have to say about this? And as any fool knows, Karma carries a roundtrip ticket. ©2015 Melanie James

Who Killed the Ghost in the Library? (Ghost Writer Mysteries, #1)


Teresa Watson - 2014
    When she gets a reply and meets the client, she gets more than she bargained for. She's thrown into a 60-year-old mystery, but somebody doesn't want the truth to come out, and they are willing to go to any lengths to keep that from happening...even if it means killing Cam.

Murder Most Pumpkin


Stella Berry - 2019
    He will take whomever he can. He’ll take an animal each Halloween. But he’d rather have your children if he hears them scream. So, when resident witch Morgana finds the body of a man with a pumpkin for a head on Halloween, she instantly recognizes what it’s supposed to be. The trouble is that the body in question had upset a lot of people, most notably by destroying everyone else’s pumpkins in order to take first prize at the village show.She knows she should leave it to the police to figure out, but it wasn’t the pumpkin that killed him, it was the knife in his back, and the knife belongs to her.

Beached & Bewitched


Emery Belle - 2018
    The most boring job on the planet? Check. A boyfriend of eight years who still hasn’t put a ring on it? Double check. A squirrel that can’t stop gorging itself on her tomato plants? Make that a triple. But on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Wren can’t shake the feeling that things are about to change. And they are. Just not in the way she planned. After a series of unexplainable events makes her question her sanity, a strange little man arrives to deliver an even stranger message: Wren isn’t so ordinary after all. She’s a witch, and in order to claim her powers, she must leave everything behind and journey to a place she never even knew existed. Suddenly, Wren is thrust into a fantasy world come to life, where taxis sprout wings and take to the skies, merwomen teach sold-out water aerobics classes, and scent-challenged ogres panhandle on street corners for unusual delicacies. Add in a new job, a hunky coworker, and a full schedule of magical lessons, and Wren’s formerly boring life is nothing but a distant memory. But before she’s able to even test out her training wand, Wren is confronted with a murder she feels compelled to solve, a list of suspects with plenty to hide, and a mysterious man in black who seems to be tracking her every move. Turns out even fantasy worlds have their dark sides.

Gone With The Ghost


Erin McCarthy - 2017
    Except that’s exactly what happened. Ryan is very much dead, having shot himself with his own police-issued gun. Guilt and grief shouldn’t cause hallucinations though, but six months after Ryan went into the ground, Bailey is freaking out and swearing his ghost is standing in her kitchen. Which he is… Ryan claims he didn’t commit suicide, but was murdered, and he needs Bailey to help him find his killer so he can earn his ticket out of purgatory. Ryan’s counting on a stairway to heaven, as opposed to wings, since that might be a little unmanly for a cop, even a dead one. An expert in home design, with her own staging business, Bailey can tell you where to place a couch to improve flow and comfort, but solving a crime? Not her area of expertise. But with help from Ryan’s former partner, Marner, she is unraveling the mystery of what happened to Ryan that day… and unwittingly putting herself in grave danger. Murder By Design Series Book 1- Gone With The Ghost Book 2- Silence of The Ghost Book 3- Once Upon a Ghost Bestselling author Erin McCarthy offers her signature humor in this fun series about an uptight fashion-conscious home stager who finds herself stiletto-deep in murder...

Mind If I Come In


K.L. Phelps - 2014
    Married, widowed, and with no memory of either event, Kat suddenly develops the ability to communicate with comatose people. But what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there — especially when it comes to the supernatural. Even back in Houston, trouble still haunts her. After agreeing to try to help the coma-stricken daughter of a mob boss, Kat discovers the assault that placed the poor girl in the hospital was only the beginning. Aided by her amnesic vampire housemate, a former Vegas detective, a spunky turtle, and a man who may or may not have a neck, Kat vows to discover who is behind it all … before she becomes the next victim.

The Long Paw of the Law


Laurie Anne Marie - 2015
    Ashley Crane is busy nursing a broken heart, working tirelessly as a cook, and hanging out with her family and best friends when her boss at the restaurant is murdered. At first the investigation is left to Nathaniel Thompson, the local handsome police detective. But when Thompson arrests the wrong suspect, Ashley takes the investigation into her own hands. Solving the case won't be easy. She'll need help from her parents April and Burt, her best friends Sean and Lara, and her cute and clever cat Charlie. It's up to Ashley Crane to find the real murderer in Comfortville before they strike again.

Second-Hand Murder


Blair Merrin - 2016
    Will Cassie, and her P.I. pal Dash, find out the meaning behind the unusual artifact before it's too late? This Paranormal Cozy Mystery is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, and make you laugh out loud too!

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!