Humorous Cozy Mystery

Inspired by vintage Film Noir and Alfred Hitchcock, enjoy this eclectic collection of short stories regarding clumsy attempts at retribution or retaliation, also known as a bit of comeuppance. Come on, everybody has that urge now and then. BTW: resemblance of these characters to ANY colleagues of friends (past or present) is PURELY coincidental! (No, really!). Stories include: OFF THE BEATEN PATH: A bickering couple and a robbery that goes from bad to worse . . . to unexpected. LIVING DOLL(Badgers and Colors): A little girl, a doll who looks like her and people who don’t seem to notice ...

No one should die on their birthday! It should be one of life’s rules. Super-rich John Newberry, the most hated man in Nettleton Top, is murdered at his own lavish birthday party but no one hears or sees anything. How can that happen in a mansion overflowing with guests? Unless they each have something to hide? Can the mystery be solved? The clues are there… if you can find them. Local society columnist and amateur detective, Nettie Pidgeon is on the case. Can she discover who the killer is before they strike again? Helping her along is her granddaughter Libby, who runs the Mrs. ...

Murder Among Heirs When the wealthy and enigmatic Walter Farnsworth, a pharmaceutical tycoon, brings his family to Turtle Cove for a getaway at the Willowrose Inn, the picturesque coastal town braces for a storm—both literally and figuratively. Walter’s hidden motives come to light when his favored heir, daughter Alexandra, is found dead as a fierce tempest rages outside. Suspicion falls on the troubled Farnsworth clan, each with secrets worth killing for. Inn owners Grace and Lily Garrison find themselves entangled in the mystery as the family’s dark history surfaces. With tensions ...

A ditzy investigator looking for love. A dangerous cheating boyfriend. Will Sarah live long enough to get revengeSingle and looking for love, Sarah Winner turns to what she knows best: social media. Finding love online is no easy task, but Sarah is ready to rise to the challenge. After meeting Gary and believing that he was ‘the one’, her illusions are shattered when she discovers he's a criminal and bigamist. She turns him into the police, but when he’s out of prison and hungry for revenge, Sarah finds herself dodging death threats and facing danger at every corner. Under the ...

"Ideal for cozy mystery aficionados craving a thrilling escape into the heart of the Southwest." -NewInBooks Who knew a murder or two would turn Jake Stewart’s life around? Jake was trying to figure out his life after being abruptly downsized from what he considered the best job in the world — being a reporter in a fast moving, big city newsroom. Now, he was wandering the Southwest in the Beast, an aging RV that was his only home in the world. No job, no prospects, no love. Then in the fading moments of a brilliant sunset in the Mesa country of Arizona, he hears cries for help, and ...

Let Sleeping Bones Lie In the quiet seaside town of Turtle Cove the Garrison sisters' inn is the perfect getaway ---until Grace Garrison's curious beagle, Rocky, digs up a human bone in the garden. Grace, a former journalist, left her nosy days behind to run the inn with her twin sister, Lily. But when Detective Sam Carter warns her to steer clear of the case and the locals grow suspiciously tight-lipped. Grace can't resist following the trail. Haunted by her past, and with her ex-husband's cautionary voice lingering in her mind, Grace embarks on a dangerous quest to solve a mystery buried ...

My summer escape to Camp Willow Creek promised campfires and marshmallows, not murder and mayhem. If my clumsy arrival to camp, designed for recovery and relaxation, wasn’t enough, then unpacking to a dead body in the woods certainly didn’t help. Being the first at the scene, Detective Harper, makes me his prime suspect. The camper’s whispers about Donnie’s untimely death makes my curiosity run deep; there’s no way I’m sitting this one out. Biscuit, my trusted sidekick mutt,and I sniff out clues. What we uncover is a web of secrets slicker than the murky lake bottom. The other ...

A wine tasting in Montmartre… What could possibly go wrong? When Ava Sext, a part-time sleuth and transplanted Londoner who sells books from an outdoor stand in Paris overlooking the Seine, is invited to a wine tasting held by a dead man to smoke out his killer, she can't resist. With the help of her fellow book seller, Henri DeAth, a former notary in a country where notaries are a powerful caste, Ava investigates the strange goings-on in the world of Grand Cru wines to try and find the dead man's killer before the killer finds her. Death in Montmartre is a light-hearted cozy mystery set ...

If you’ve finished The Missing Manuscript Murder - A Grace Thompson Mystery Book 1 and are curious to discover what Grace and Chloe decide to name their detective agency, this short story is for you! Follow along as Chloe begins her part-time role with the Sheriff’s office, and learn how she and Grace come together to officially launch their new agency. Get a glimpse into their first few days of this exciting new chapter and the adventures that await!

A peaceful van life retreat at a Florida beachside campground. A shocking murder. Can Julia solve the case before the wrong man is convicted? Julia Ross thought trading suburbia for the camping van life would be the adventure of a lifetime. A year after her divorce, she sells everything, turns her minivan into a camper, and heads to an idyllic Florida beachfront park for a month of sunbathing, biking, and self-care. But when a fellow camper is found dead in his RV, Julia's relaxing getaway takes a dark turn. At first, Julia wants nothing to do with the investigation—she came for peace, ...

Nestled between fast track Ft. Lauderdale and nouveau riche Boca Raton, the once sleepy beach town of Palmetto is plagued by progress. The latest news has Ocean Vista condo board president Stella Sajak and other residents in an uproar. Developers plan to raze the property and put up a glitzy resort. But when Stella says she’ll go to City Hall and fight this to the death, no one thinks to take her statement literally. And when Kate Kennedy begins to investigate the murder, she discovers that this little corner of the sunshine state is cursed with corruption, unsavory characters, and a very...

A visit to Notre Dame... What could possibly go wrong? For Ava Sext -- Parisian bookseller and part-time sleuth -- everything. Roped into attending an impromptu seance, she's faced with a spirit's desperate plea to solve his murder. Dubious but curious, Ava's skepticism shatters when death strikes Notre Dame itself. Alongside Henri De’Ath, her bookselling partner, she races against time to unmask the killer. Turns out that talking to the spirits is easier than avoiding becoming one. “Death in Notre Dame” -- a lighthearted cozy mystery set in Paris, a city where food, wine and crime ...

In the heart of Amblewood’s bustling downtown, Café Cozy is the go-to spot for warm conversations, freshly brewed coffee, and a touch of autumn magic. Owned by Emma Blake, the café is more than just a place to grab a latte—it’s a community hub where friends gather, secrets are shared, and the espresso is always made with love. But when ruthless food critic Derrick Matheson collapses after sipping the café’s newest seasonal drink, the cozy atmosphere turns cold. Whispers of poisoning spread through the town like wildfire, and business drops as suspicion swirls around Emma and her ...

This cozy series has everything you want and more: an eclectic cast of characters, a mystery or two, and diligent detectives on duty. The detectives, feline and canine, figure it all out, but they have a dickens of a time getting the humans to understand them. The series, Tiger Lily’s Café, is set in a Midwestern town nestled into the sunset coast of a Great Lake. The setting itself acts as a character, bringing the reader into the sights, sounds and smells of the small resort community of Chelsea. Read the series in order, or read any book alone. Each volume stands alone with a clear ...

The Mayor was murdered? And a magical plant from my garden is to blame? Even if I wanted that jerk dead, running my Bed & Breakfast takes all my time. There’s no way I could sneak a murder into my busy schedule, but obviously, someone I know did. A plant stolen from my garden poisoned the Mayor. Who could have done this? And why would someone frame me? I'm certain that my hard-working assistant, the delivery driver, and my gardener are innocent. And I’m sure it wasn’t the sexy water witch who spends an absurd amount of time staying at my little Bed & Breakfast…but he does know way ...

Three urban fantasy mystery novellas in one volume: I’m Ivy Weiss, the Stone Whisperer. Though most part-demons in the Demon Underground have incredible powers, like dream walking, fortune-telling, or phasing through matter, I just talk to rocks. But somehow, I end up taking on the most difficult tasks... Sapphires & Souls When a seer makes a vague prophecy that says I am the only one who can save “Selene’s son” and prevent widespread bloodshed in Colorado Springs, I reluctantly head to Colorado to check it out. With the help of my snarky hellhound, a water demon, a vampire, and a ...

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 ...

He's snarky, but ever since Jameson became Isabella's familiar, he's had her back. Now it's time for her to return the favor. She promised to rescue his sister from a fraternity stronghold. The only problem is, she'll need help from her sorority. That's right, the women who hate her. In a desperate attempt to get the witches to work together, Hope asked a highly-regarded witch, Inanna, to train Isabella and her group. Isabella's pretty sure the Geneva Convention was violated in her training but it doesn't matter. Inanna was found dead on the library steps. The warning is clear, but a ...

They did it again. What an amazing mystery. The author definitely made this entertaining. The characters were a delight. 5 STAR review from BookSprout reviewer Who knew my dog had a nose for murder? One gala, one fall, and now we’re fetching clues faster than I can frost a cupcake. Oh, sweet sugar and spice. Just when my bakery catering business sees new heights at a light house gala, my ritzy employer plummets to her death from the tippy top. When the Sheriff refuses to believe she might have been murdered, I start nosing around with my Golden Retriever, Cinnamon, to find clues as to who...

Book One in the Maggie Kelly Mystery Series by New York Times Bestselling Author Kasey Michaels Maggie Kelly, writing as Cleo Dooley (she thinks O's look good on a book cover), is the author of the best selling St. Just Mystery Series set in the English Regency Era. This should make her a happy woman, and it does, mostly. Professionally, she's a hit. Personally? No, not so much. But never fear, a hero has come to rescue her from her dull, boring, and faintly neurotic existence. The only problem is that said hero is Alexandre Blake, Viscount St. Just, her fictional hero, in all his handsome,...