Category: Cozy Mystery

Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings by Liz Ireland

Posted November 13, 2020 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments

It’s the first Christmas in Santaland for April Claus–but it may also be her last unless she can uncover a villain with a killer Christmas wish. . .

Love is full of surprises–though few compare to realizing that you’re marrying the real-life Santa. April Claus dearly loves her new husband, Nick, but adjusting to life in the North Pole is not all sugarplums and candy canes. Especially when a cantankerous elf named Giblet Hollyberry is killed–felled by a black widow spider in his stocking–shortly after publicly arguing with Nick.

Christmastown is hardly a hotbed of crime, aside from mishaps caused by too much eggnog, but April disagrees with Constable Crinkle’s verdict of accidental death. As April sets out to find the culprit, it’ll mean putting the future of Christmas on the line–and hoping her own name isn’t on a lethal naughty list.

Titles in the Mrs. Claus series include — Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings – Mrs. Claus and the Halloween Homicide (summer of 2021) –

Tags: Cozy Mystery, Liz Ireland, Mrs. Claus #1, Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings

Mrs. Morris and the Ghost of Christmas Past by Traci Wilton

Posted November 9, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Paranormal Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

Salem, Massachusetts B&B owner Charlene Morris is looking into a holiday hit-and-run, with a little help from her ghostly housemate . . .

Charlene’s parents are in town for Christmas, and her mother is driving her up a tree. Her bed-and-breakfast’s resident ghost, Jack, isn’t fond of her either–and he’s showing it with some haunting high jinks. But when Charlene takes her mom and dad out for dinner, the less-than-seasonal spirits take a deadly turn.

David Baldwin has just won a fortune in the lottery–and it adds a lot of drama to the charity auction he’s hosting at his restaurant. When he caps off the evening by playing Santa and handing out checks to some of the attendees, the mood shifts . . . and Charlene observes mysterious tensions between David and his flashy, bleached-blonde wife, his neglected teenage son from a previous marriage, and his hostile business partner, among others. And they’re only a few on the long list of potential suspects when David runs into the road and is mowed down by a fleeing motorist. Now it looks like it’s going to be homicide for the holidays . . .

Titles in the A Salem B & B Mystery series include — Mrs. Morris and the Ghost – Mrs. Morris and the Witch – Mrs. Morris and the Ghost of Christmas Past –

Tags: Cozy Mystery, Mrs. Morris and the Ghost of Christmas Past, Salem B & B Mystery #3, Traci Wilton

A Case for the Toy Maker by Candace Havens

Posted November 8, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

Ho. Ho. No…

It’s Christmas in Sweet River, Texas, and the whole town is feeling festive apart from Ainsley McGregor. Ainsley has never enjoyed the holidays and would rather ignore them, but with her shop Bless Your Art busier than ever and filled with happy shoppers, even she’s feeling some Christmas spirit. That is, until her Great Dane, George Clooney, sniffs out a dead body in the Santa House at the Christmas Festival.

When one of her favorite crafters becomes the prime suspect, Ainsley is determined to prove his innocence. The case is full of so many twists and turns that even Ainsley begins to fear the truth. Is she protecting a killer?

With help from her friends and some extremely nosey townsfolk, Ainsley and her dog hurry to find the truth—as long as they can outwit and outrun the killer first. Otherwise, this Christmas might just be her last.

Titles in The Ainsley McGregor series include – A Case for the Winemaker – A Case for the Yarn Maker – A Case for the Toy Maker –

Tags: A Case for the Toy Maker, Candace Havens, Cozy Mystery, The Ainsley McGregor series #3

What Not To Wear to a Graveyard by Debra Sennefelder

Posted September 11, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments

After trading her Manhattan digs for her upstate hometown, fashionista Kelly Quinn has big plans for her grandmother’s consignment shop. But this All Hallow’s Eve someone is already dressed to kill . . .

A socialite’s missing dog has made front-page news in Lucky Cove—complete with a hefty reward. But between renovating the consignment shop, planning her costume for the 1970s themed Halloween party, and scouting a location for a fashion shoot, Kelly doesn’t have time to search. Yet a visit to the local colonial-era cemetery—ideal for the moody atmosphere she’s after—soon turns up the precious pooch. Kelly’s looking forward to collecting the check—until she makes a gruesome discovery in an abandoned farmhouse: The dog’s owner, stabbed through the heart.

Kelly can’t help wondering why Constance Lane was traipsing around the farmhouse in stilettos. But as Kelly gets decked out in a vintage disco caftan, that isn’t the only fashion misstatement spooking her. Hidden in the dead woman’s past is a secret that could be the motive for the murder. And as the Halloween party gets started, even a menacing clown and a threatening bearded lady can’t keep Kelly from trick or treating for the truth—even if it means her last dance.

Titles in the Resale Boutique Mystery series include – #1 Murder Wears a Little Black Dress – #2 Silenced in Sequins – #2.5 What Not to Wear to a Graveyard – #3 How to Frame a Fashionista –

Tags: Cozy Mystery, Debra Sennefelder, Resale Boutique Mystery #2.5, What Not to Wear to a Graveyard

15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Brecher

Posted August 23, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments

As Stella Wright’s Nantucket candle store thrives, her knack for solving mysteries burns equally bright–especially when a Halloween haunted house uncovers evidence of a centuries-old murder . . .

When Stella’s friend inherits a creaky, abandoned home in Nantucket, she knows it’s the perfect setting for the town’s annual Halloween fundraiser. A deserted, boarded-up building on the property–once used as a candle-making shop–adds to the creepy ambiance. But as Stella explores the shack’s dilapidated walls, she discovers a terrible secret: the skeleton of a Quaker woman, wrapped in blood-soaked clothing and hidden deep within a stone hearth . . .

While the police investigate the murder scene, Stella wastes no time asking for help from friends with long ties to Nantucket’s intricate history. The key to the murder may lie within a scorching 18th-century love triangle that pit two best friends against one another over a dubious man. But before the case is solved, another life will be claimed–leaving Stella to wonder who in Nantucket is friend, and who is foe . . .

Titles in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series include – Murder’s No Votive Confidence – Murder Makes Scents – 15 Minutes of Flame –

Tags: 15 Minutes of Flame, Christin Brecher, mystery, Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery #3

Night Shift by Annelise Ryan

Posted August 16, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Kensington Books, NetGalley, Series / 0 Comments

When social worker Hildy Schneider commits to an after-hours side job, she finds herself drawn into the darker side of small-town Sorenson, Wisconsin—and the twisted mind of an unnamed killer . . .

Strange things have been happening since Hildy started moonlighting with local police, but a desperate late-night call involving a former patient from Sorenson General Hospital tops the list. Although Danny Hildebrand has been tormented by hallucinations for years, he swears he’s being haunted for real by the victim of a grisly murder . . .

The rambling ghost story seems like another delusion. But after a body turns up in a neglected farmhouse crawling with secrets, Hildy and the magnetic Detective Bob Richmond rush to explain Danny’s knowledge of the incident. As the crime-solving partners unwittingly grow closer while examining a series of eerie leads, they realize that surviving past sunrise means shedding light on a criminal willing to do whatever it takes to stay in the shadows.

Titles in the Helping Hands Mystery series include – Needled to Death – Night Shift –

Tags: Annelise Ryan, Cozy Mystery, Helping Hands Mystery #2, Night Shift

Behind the Frame by Tracy Gardner

Posted August 14, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

When art in the park leads to murder in the dark, the Shepherd sisters have another crime to solve.

Savanna Shepherd, an art expert turned elementary art teacher, is planning the Art in the Park festival for her hometown of Carson. But apparently, someone isn’t happy that Carson got to host the event: the beloved statue in the park is destroyed. Not long after, Savanna finds the dead body of one of the people on the planning committee.

Savanna and her sisters are convinced that the arrested murder suspect didn’t do it, despite strong evidence to the contrary. With the help of Dr. Aidan Gallager, Savanna’s new romantic interest, they uncover hidden resentments and intrigue. Several people in Carson had a motive for the murder. Can they find out which one of them is behind the framing of an innocent person?

Titles in the Shepherd Sisters Mystery series include — Out of the Picture – Behind the Frame –

Tags: Behind the Frame, Cozy Mystery, Shepherd Sisters Mystery #2, Tracy Gardner

A Sprinkling of Murder by Daryl Wood Gerber

Posted July 31, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

Fairy garden store owner Courtney Kelly believes in inviting magic into your life. But when uninvited trouble enters her shop, she’ll need more than a sprinkling of her imagination to solve a murder . . .

Since childhood, Courtney has loved fairies. After her mother died when Courtney was ten, she lost touch with that feeling of magic. A year ago, at age twenty-nine, she rediscovered it when she left her father’s landscaping business to spread her wings and start a fairy garden business and teashop in beautiful Carmel, California. At Open Your Imagination, she teaches garden design and sells everything from fairy figurines to tinkling wind chimes. Now she’s starting a book club tea.

But the light of the magical world she’s created inside her shop is darkened one night when she discovers neighboring dog-grooming business owner Mick Watkins dead beside her patio fountain. To make matters worse, the police suspect Courtney of the crime. To clear her name and find the real killer, Courtney will have to wing it. But she’s about to get a little help from an unexpected source.

Titles in the Fairy Garden Mystery series include — A Sprinkling of Murder –

Tags: A Sprinkling of Murder, Cozy Mystery, Daryl Wood Gerber, Fairy Garden Mystery #1, Paranormal Cozy Mystery

Killing Time by Suzanne Trauth

Posted June 9, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

BAD BLOOD

With Halloween just around the corner, Dodie O’Dell is making preparations to transform the Windjammer Restaurant on the Jersey Shore into a haunted house, while the Etonville Little Theatre is staging Dracula. But casting the titular Transylvanian is proving challenging. The amateur actors in the company are not shy about chewing the scenery, but who among them can convincingly sink their fangs into a victim’s neck? When a mysterious newcomer with a transfixing Eastern European accent lands the part, rumors that he might be an actual vampire start to take flight—not unlike the bat who’s recently been spotted in the town park.

But everyone’s blood really runs cold when a stranger is found in the cemetery with a real stake in his heart. Dodie decides to put her Halloween theme menu on the back burner and stick her neck out to bring the killer into the light of day. She’d better keep her wits about her, though—or Dodie may be the next one to go down for the Count.

Titles in the Dodie O’Dell Mystery series include — Show Time – Time Out – Running Out of Time – Just in Time – No More Time – Killing Time –

Tags: Cozy Mystery, Dodie O'Dell Mystery #6, Killing Time, Suzanne Trauth

Deadly Sweet Tooth by Kaye George

Posted June 9, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

In a darling tourist town like Fredericksburg, Texas, a vintage sweet shop offering delicious old-fashioned favorites is a perfect fit—until someone decides to debut a recipe that’s lusciously lethal…

With Tally’s Old Tyme Sweets finally—well, almost—turning a profit, Tally Holt is taking one busy Saturday off to host a grand party for her parents, traveling performers who spend most of their time on the road. Tally’s counting on the publicity and free treats to attract new customers. And the event is a sweet success—at least until Fran Abraham, the town’s foul-tempered theater director drops dead after a bitter confrontation with Tally’s mother.

Murder was definitely not on Tally’s menu, but it’s clear that Fran’s death wasn’t natural. The list of possible culprits includes not just Tally’s mom, but her protective dad too. Relying on Yolanda Bella, her best friend and the proprietor of Bella’s Baskets next door, for help, Tally will need to unwrap the sticky pasts and unsavory presents of everyone from her own parents to her new hires before Fran’s death sours everybody on her fledgling shop.

Titles in the Vintage Sweets Mysteries include — Revenge Is Sweet – Deadly Sweet Tooth –

Tags: Cozy Mystery, Deadly Sweet Tooth, Kaye George, The Vintage Sweets Mysteries #2

Mrs. Morris and the Witch by Traci Wilton

Posted May 10, 2020 by Marsha in Cozy Mystery, Series / 0 Comments

Halloween is the biggest holiday of the year in Salem, Massachusetts–but when B&B owner Charlene Morris finds the dead body of a witch, it spells trouble…

Charlene, recently widowed, has renovated her historic mansion just in time to greet guests arriving for the town’s annual Halloween festivities. She’s lucky to have a helpful staff to provide support–as well as a handsome ghost named Jack standing invisibly by her side.

Unfortunately, while the revelers head out on haunted tours, have their fortunes told, or grab a drink at Brews and Broomsticks, a killer walks among them. When Charlene discovers Morganna, a local Wiccan, dead in her shop, she starts getting cozy with the local coven, looking for clues to locate the crafty culprit. Salem may be famous for the false accusations of witchery in centuries past, but this time someone is genuinely guilty–of murder…