Cozy Crime Fiction

Twenty-five years ago, on a hot summer night, Tim Bell drove to a secluded spot with talented young musician Dinah Taylor after their date at the village fair. But Dinah was never seen again, and Bell - with blood spatters on his clothing - was sent to prison for her murder. Now freed, Bell has returned to Cherringham and his life is in danger from those who feel that justice hasn't really been served. But Jack and Sarah wonder: was Bell really guilty - or did the real killer escape detection all those years ago?

Seventy-seven-year-old Judith Potts is blissfully happy. She lives alone in a faded mansion in Marlow, sets crosswords for The Times, and there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink. One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. When the local police don’t believe her story, Judith and two unlikely friends decide to investigate for themselves. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

Working Mom Davis Way Cole's secrets for fostering positive relationships with school administrators at her twin daughters' preschool.

Imagine this: You're driving with your feline friend in the passenger seat, minding your own business, when suddenly your cat starts bossing you around like a backseat driver. You try to ignore it, but their judgmental meows just won't quit. It's like you're stuck in a never-ending episode of "Paw & Order: Special Felines Unit". I’ve realized this is now my life. I had just left my sister's house, determined to make a life for myself. But first I had to solve the crime of the kidnapped cat, which wasn't a mystery because I knew who took her. The owner didn't believe me. So, here I am in ...

Jack's a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in Cherringham. Sarah's a Web designer who's moved back to the village find herself. But their lives are anything but quiet as the two team up to solve Cherringham's criminal mysteries. This compilation contains episodes 28 - 30. A DINNER TO DIE FOR. When a new restaurant with a starred American chef opens in Cherringham, it seems the Spotted Pig has a worthy rival. But a series of disturbing incidents turns that rivalry into something dangerous - perhaps even fatal.

When Edward Townes - famed writer of novels about knights and maids, and castles and conquering - attends a medieval launch party for his latest book, he arrives ready to do more than celebrate. But party night brings a blizzard, a once-in-a-century storm that sees Townes staggering home, alone ... only to be found dead the next day. With Cherringham cut-off and the blizzard still raging, Jack and Sarah start investigating. Their questions reveal that many of those still stranded in the dark village have secrets. And Townes' killer is still in the village.

It’s love at first sight when Penelope Kite sees Le Chant d’Eau - The Song of Water - the stone farmhouse tucked high in the hills above the Luberon valley. For years, Penelope put her unfaithful ex-husband and her ungrateful stepchildren first. Now, she’s going to start living for herself. Though her dream house needs major renovations, Penelope impulsively buys the property and moves to St. Merlot. But Penelope’s daydreams of an adventurous life in Provence didn’t include finding a corpse floating face down in her swimming pool.

Doc Brady became an orthopedic surgeon to avoid being surrounded by death. But now it's everywhere around him. One spring day in 1994 Houston, Dr. Jim Bob Brady witnesses his neighbor's ten-year-old son killed by a hit-and-run driver. An accident, or an act of murder? After the death, Brady enlists the help of his twenty-year-old son J. J. and his wife Mary Louise in chasing down clues that take them deeper and deeper into a Houston he never imagined existed. In the process, they discover a macabre conspiracy stretching from the ivory towers of the largest teaching hospital in Texas, to ...

When the penniless FitzHenrys, proprietors of the rundown Combe Castle Heritage Site, find themselves victims of a threatening campaign to oust them from their ancestral home, Jack and Sarah are called in to track down the culprit. But nothing is what it seems at this castle - from the curious and unnerving waxwork displays of the 'Odditorium' to the in-laws and neighbours who can't wait to see the last of aristocratic couple. Soon Jack and Sarah discover that truth is often stranger than fiction, and in Combe Castle things do indeed go bump in the night.

Hugo Hawksworth is on the tail of rogue Cold War agents at a top-secret government facility, while back home at Selchester Castle they're awaiting the arrival of the new earl - an American, the long-lost son of the murdered Lord Selchester.

A Cupcakes-And-Crime Caper Roger Owen’s business isn’t doing well, and when he takes his wife and son to glitzy, glamorous Las Vegas for some quality family vacation time, he brings along a surprising +1: his mistress! "Winters will have you giggling into your book!" Life seems to pick up for Roger when he wins a huge jackpot… until someone gleefully kills him on the casino floor. Caught in the hot seat as suspect number one, Roger’s wife Wendy hires Tiffany and Ian to clear her name and to solve the mystery of who really killed Roger Owen—even though it may very well be black ...

Dan Armstrong hasn’t done much retiring since moving to Tuscany, and with his new career as a successful private investigator taking off, it seems murder seems to follow him. He’s hoping a much-needed trip to beautiful Portofino will give him the break he needs and quality time with girlfriend Anna. Portofino is a celebrity paradise, and holidaying on a nearby superyacht is a group of British media stars, all famous for being infamous. Dan isn't impressed by their status or wealth, but when he overhears an argument between two of the group, he suspects something fishy could be going on…

Spring, 1935. Newlywed Kitty Underhay has been enlisted by her old nemesis Mrs. Craven to help organize the Miss Dartmouth Jubilee pageant at the Dolphin Hotel. Being bossed around by her arch enemy is not quite what Kitty had in mind for the start of her married life, but she’s excited to launch the glamorous show. Sparkling smiles are quickly replaced by audible gasps, however, when one of the girls goes missing during the interval....

A film shoot in Paris… What could possible go wrong? For Ava Sext, an amateur sleuth and transplanted Londoner who sells books from an outdoor stand overlooking the Seine, an early morning knock on her door leads to a job on a film shoot. Her film career gets off to a roaring start with murder on her first day on the job. With the help of her fellow bookseller, Henri DeAth, a former notary in a country where notaries are a powerful caste, Ava investigates the strange goings-on in the production while rekindling a relationship with the film's producer, an old flame who may or may not be ...

The small village of Kilbane is hosting a poker tournament at the local pub, and card sharp Eamon Foley, a tinker out of Dublin, is set to win the tournament. But when Foley is found at the end of a rope, it’s time for the garda to take matters into their own hands. Macdara Flannery would lay odds it’s a simple suicide, but Siobhán suspects foul play, as does Foley’s pregnant widow.

The staff of a small book publishing company gather to celebrate the launch of a new murder mystery novel by their bestselling author Joseph Tombs. Little do they know they are about to become characters in a real-life murder mystery. Shortly after raising a toast to the new book, editorial director Ian Stone falls down dead, seemingly from poison slipped into his champagne. His colleagues are shocked, but Ian's murder is only the start of the evening's horrors. The party is being held in the Moonlight Lounge, a luxurious function room complete with its own roof garden on the top floor of a...

The Cotswolds, 1924. At the Old Forge in the quiet village of Maybury-in-the-Marsh a cry of anguish rings out: lady of the house Amy Phelps has been discovered dead. But with all the windows and doors to her room locked from inside, how – and by whom – was she killed? Arbuthnot ‘Arbie’ Swift finds himself in the unlikely position of detective. The celebrated author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost-Hunting is staying at the Old Forge to investigate a suspected spectre, but now the more pressing matter of Amy’s murder falls to him too.

Addi and the gang are expecting an enjoyable, relaxing cruise when the theme is cupcakes. The cupcake addicts seem like a fun-loving group of people - until rivalries come to the surface, and a popular baker is murdered. Addi scrambles to uncover the truth before the killer strikes again... and some shocking truths are revealed about the kidnapping-related messages she's received. Praise for A.R. Winters: "The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - Jaycie D, Amazon.com "A fun cozy mystery with engaging and entertaining characters" - lq, ...

When Dr. Georges Moutte is found murdered, investigator Antoine Verlaque is stumped. Certainly the director of theology at the Universite d'Aix had his enemies. Moutte was just about to name the recipient of an elite fellowship as well as his own successor - a highly coveted position - when his lips were sealed permanently. But Verlaque isn't convinced anyone in the tiny community of academics is capable of murder.

Dr Nell Ward is delighted when her childhood friend Percy announces she's engaged to handsome businessman Hawke McAnstruther - and rashly offers to host the wedding at Finchmere, her family's estate. But she hadn't anticipated Percy's parents' fiery disapproval of the groom. The ceremony is barely over before Hawke's shady personal and professional life starts to unravel, and tension ripples through the assembled guests.