Book picks similar to
Murder at the Blue Plate Café by Judy Alter


mystery
mystery-cozy
cozy-mystery
cozy-mysteries

A Crusty Murder


J.M. Griffin - 2013
     But then Melina’s entire life veers off course when she finds her temperamental landlady in her best friend’s psychic shop next door, lying in a pool of blood, with a crust of bread sticking out of her mouth! Which means she and her friend BettyJo are suspects in the murder. Then BettyJo finds another dead body, and they realize their lives are in danger as well. Meanwhile, Melina's seventy-year-old grandmother takes a walk on the wild side, and ends up breaking a few laws too. Not to mention, Detective Graham, lead investigator on the case, takes a fancy to Melina and her muffins, but that won’t stop him from charging both her and BettyJo with the crimes. Unless, Melina takes matters into her own hands and finds the killer herself. But finding a killer is a heck of a lot tougher than baking bread!

Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse


Sherri Bryan - 2015
    Eves, nestled in the south-west corner of England. While she loves the tranquility of St. Eves, where crime is almost unheard of, and nothing really exciting ever happens, her good friend, Chief Inspector Nathan Costello, is longing for a good, juicy felony to get his teeth into.When the arrival of newcomers to the community of St. Eves triggers a chain of events that end in tragedy, Nathan relishes the thrill of investigating his first murder, while Charlotte unwittingly turns amateur-sleuth to help solve the case and restore peace and harmony to the town as quickly as possible. Twists and turns abound in Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse, the first book in the Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery series.

Poison in Paddington


Samantha Silver - 2016
     After a car accident ended her medical career before it even started, Cassie moved to London on a whim, expecting to see the sights and live the typical tourist backpacker lifestyle. Instead she finds herself accompanying a French private detective, Violet Despuis, as they attempt to find out who poisoned four people in the middle of London. Cassie's life soon includes this crazy detective, an ancient landlady with a curious past, a mischeivous orange cat who likes going for walks on a leash, and a super hot pathologist that Cassie is sure is out of her league. And they haven't even found the murderer yet... The Cassie Coburn mysteries are a cozy mystery series featuring a Sherlock-holmes style sleuth. If you want a light, fun, modern mystery featuring a San Francisco girl totally out of her element in London, and a crazy French woman who happens to be very good at noticing things, then this is the series for you.

Never Buried


Edie Claire - 1999
    Too bad his body didn't!Advertising copywriter Leigh Koslow doesn't pack heat--just a few extra pounds. And she doesn't go looking for trouble. When she moved into her cousin Cara's refurbished Victorian house, she wasn't planning on discovering a corpse--certainly not one that had been embalmed ten years before. But as anyone in the small Pittsburgh borough of Avalon could tell her, her cousin's house has a history attached. A history dating back to two mysterious deaths in the summer of 1949.Someone wants Leigh and Cara out of the house--someone who has something to hide. But that someone doesn't know Leigh's impetuous cousin, and when Cara digs her heels in, Leigh looks to her old college chum, local policewoman Maura Polanski, for help. But the answers the trio find only point to more questions. Were the scandalous deaths of fifty years ago really an accident and a suicide? Or were they murder?The nearer the women get to the truth, the more desperate someone becomes. Because some secrets are better off kept. Especially when they hit close to home!

White Satin & Murder


Harper Harris - 2018
    A clingy Yorkie. And a dead Maid of Honor. It’s the first wedding Valerie Masters has ever planned and the start of her new business.There’s money flowing in Buckingham Downs, California, a small coastal town largely taken over by the rich, where weddings are a billion-dollar business. Val works tirelessly to make sure this one- the very first that she’s been hired to plan- is perfect, juggling a temperamental florist, a diva cake baker, and a self-obsessed DJ who’s threatened to walk off the job if the Chicken Dance is requested.Not to mention the biggest Bridezilla Val has ever seen, the bride’s “unique” family and snooty Maid of Honor.Starting a new business is hard, and this first wedding is turning out to be more than Val bargained for. Right before the wedding, Val finds the Maid of Honor dead and the expensive, one-of-a-kind wedding dress missing!Now, on top of getting a hitch-filled wedding to go off without a…well…you know, she has no choice but to solve this mystery. No wonder half of all new businesses fail!The stakes couldn’t be higher. This socially influential family has already threatened to ruin Val if any part of the wedding is ruined.But who among this motley cast of characters could be a murderer and a dress thief? And will Val figure it out in time to pull off the perfect wedding? Or will her business crash before it’s even started?White Satin & Murder is a full length cozy mystery novel full of humor, intrigue, and an adorable furry friend named Buttons. It's the first book in the Val Masters Wedding Planner series, which can be read in any order and are best enjoyed together.

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.

The Murder Pit


Jeff Shelby - 2014
    A new husband. A bunch of kids. A charming old house. What she doesn't want is a dead body. When a frozen pipe in the basement of her century-old home leads her and her husband downstairs into a newly discovered crawl space, they find a coal chute they didn't know they had. And a corpse inside of it. Things become complicated when Daisy realizes she knew the victim. And things get even worse when it becomes increasingly clear that the body was placed there to make Daisy look like the killer. Against her husband's advice and her own common sense, Daisy makes it her mission to prove to the denizens of Moose River that she is innocent. But doing so may be more dangerous than she planned.

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.

Sunshine Hunter


Maddie Cochere - 2012
    Often, she is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and things go downhill quickly. All of the books cross genres of chick lit, mystery, romance, humor, and action, bringing you a fast-paced, easy-breezy read.Working in a weight-loss center by day and a racquetball club by night, Susan Hunter enjoys her life, the sport, and her friends. ... Sunshine Hunter opens with Susan finding out her new boyfriend of three months is married. To escape the drama, she accepts an offer from her best friend to tag along for a week in Florida. Here the mystery begins, and Susan believes she and her friend are being stalked. She also learns of a murder back home in Ohio and soon finds out she's wanted for questioning. The story takes an adventurous turn when she ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. ... Humorous, sometimes ominous, Sunshine Hunter is quirky and fun! Approx. 52,000 words.

To Catch a Bad Guy


Marie Astor - 2012
    When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?

Wilde Murder


Ruth Rowland - 2015
    When the chance to purchase the Cosset Cove Advertiser, a small weekly newspaper in the New England seaside town she'd spent many happy childhood vacations, it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. Charlotte soon settles in to her new role as owner, chief reporter and general gofer of the Advertiser. Life is sweet, her new friends and colleagues Clara, Abigail and Amy, along with Barney, the huge Maine Coon cat, can both delight and frustrate in equal measure. This idyllic new life is disturbed when Charlotte has to interview a blast from her past. It is completely shattered when that interview leads to murder. Things only go from bad to worse as Charlotte is suspected of being the culprit. Can Charlotte, and her new found friends, clear her name and bring the real murderer to justice? Or will being on the trail of a cold blooded killer only put their own lives at risk? “A charming traditional cozy mystery in a modern day setting. Contains plenty of light witty humor and will keep you guessing right to the end!”

Raspberry Ripple Murder


Abby Byne - 2016
    The only drawback to her new life as a baker is the dead electrician in her kitchen.Was the electrician the victim of a tragic on-the-job accident, or is there something much more sinister afoot? It’s up to Bitsie to find out with a little help from her sister-in-law, her recently-retired-from-the-police-force brother, and her too-handsome-to-be-real shop assistant.It’s not easy finding a murderer when your most compelling clue is a half-eaten raspberry ripple cupcake, but perhaps a pleasantly-plump cupcake connoisseur is the perfect woman for the job.

Death Comes to Town


K.J. Emrick - 2013
    But she isn't ordinary. She has a connection to the other side that seems to draw her into mysterious situations more often than not. Add to the mix the antics of a rather naughty, slightly psychic cat and the eccentric ghost of her great-aunt Millie, and you have a recipe for anything but the ordinary.When Darcy's neighbor is murdered she is drawn into the mystery against her will when she finds the body. She tries to leave the investigation to the police, one of which is her sister, but an overheard conversation and a small nudge from the other side has her investigating the murder. The stakes are raised when the murderer strikes again. Who was killing the people in her life?Things are complicated even more by her building attraction to her sister's new cop partner, who makes it clear he does not appreciate Darcy's interference in the investigation. Sparks fly between the two of them as they get further into the mystery surrounding the deaths.With a town full of suspects how will Darcy work out who the murderer is? None of the pieces to the puzzle fit. Things become more complicated and dangerous as Darcy's own life is threatened. Will she survive to see justice served?

Murder in the Manor


Fiona Grace - 2019
    She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the fast life. Making good on her childhood promise to herself, she decides to walk away from it all, and to relive a beloved childhood vacation in the quaint English seaside town of Wilfordshire.Wilfordshire is exactly as Lacey remembers it, with its ageless architecture, cobblestone streets, and with nature at its doorstep. Lacey doesn’t want to go back home—and spontaneously, she decides to stay, and to give her childhood dream a try: she will open her own antique shop.Lacey finally feels that her life is taking a step in the right direction—until her new star customer turns up dead.As the newcomer in town, all eyes are on Lacey, and it’s up to her to clear her own name.With a business to run, a next-door neighbor turned nemesis, a flirty baker across the street, and a crime to solve – is this new life all that Lacey thought it would be?

Cliffhanger


Amy Saunders - 2012
    Even worse, Belinda must return to the events surrounding a tragic sailing accident to set things right.But new possibilities emerge in the form of security expert Bennett Tate. Between her connections and his know-how, they're bound to catch the killer - and kick the skeletons out of the closet for good.