Short Cozy Mysteries

Seven Cozy Stories: Bedtime Stories for Grownups. Some of the stories in this book are also available separately.

Question: What does a dead Kornville councilman, a nationally televised baking competition, and thousands of missing dollars have in common? Answer: Tabitha Clive! Amateur sleuth and baker extraordinaire Tabitha Clive must save Kornville’s new Mayor’s reputation before it is too late. The year is 1966 and Abigail Clive is doing an excellent job as the newly appointed mayor of Kornville, Nebraska. Well, it was going well until her harshest critic turns up dead. To make matters worse, money is missing from the town’s road improvement account, and no one knows where it has gone. Among ...

After several years in the military, Kirby Jackson just moved back to his coastal hometown to open up his dream coffee shop. But his best friend and co-owner, Ryan, just had to add his own flair: Comic books. And the business isn't off to a good start. On the cusp of telling Ryan the grim news, he finds his friend with a knife in his back. The shop’s mascot, a stubborn dachshund named Gambit, might hold the keys to solving the case. But he ain't talking. His woofs are only for treats...Or are they?

Nora Newberry has been working to make her dreams come true and finally, after 10 years, it's time! She's moved back to her hometown of Milburn, Wyoming, and, together with her lifelong best friend, Raquel Madden, is opening the diner they've been planning since high school. Life couldn't be better...and it's time to celebrate!

Passing Out—a compelling addition to the Cecil Whitford series—takes readers back to the formative days of the compassionate funeral director, and to his training at HMS Raleigh. As Cecil faces the challenging selection process, the atmosphere turns tense as recruits begin to mysteriously disappear. Determined to unravel the truth, Cecil finds himself entangled in events that will shape the man we later meet in Suicide in Suffolk. The suspense heightens as the disappearances cast long shadows over the training grounds. Cecil's relentless pursuit of the facts propels him into a web of ...

In "Library Conundrum," excitement brews as Kayla Luna, the vivacious head librarian, eagerly awaits a generous donation from esteemed resident Angus Connolly. His prized books promise to enrich the shelves of the local library with tales of wonder and knowledge. Yet, amidst the anticipation, a startling discovery disrupts the tranquility. A mysterious book, not intended for donation, slips into the collection—an innocuous mistake with profound consequences. This book, "Secrets of Sweethaven," clandestinely records the intimate details and hidden indiscretions of the town's inhabitants. ...

Bad reviews can kill a business. This one killed the critic. When popular TV show "Taste of the Grove" chooses Sweet Springs Bakery for a special feature, cousins Savannah and Holly Stanton are thrilled for the exposure. But their excitement turns bitter when host Blake Harrison's charming on-camera personality proves to be a carefully crafted facade. After he publicly humiliates Holly and threatens to destroy the bakery's reputation, tensions rise faster than perfectly proofed dough. When Blake is found face-down in Holly's award-winning tiramisu, the bakery becomes the center of a murder ...

In the midst of the crush of a lifetime, Milly Dupont finds herself entangled in a murder mystery. Quiet little Milly who runs the quiet little tea shop across from the corner shop discovers that the shop owner has been possibly kidnapped, maybe even murdered. But where's Davina's body?

A dead body. A small town of secrets. One librarian who never signed up for murder. Gabby Keats is no stranger to mystery—on the page, that is. She’s content reading about fictional crimes while managing the quiet Maplewood Library. But her cozy life takes a dark turn when she stumbles upon the body of Councilman Bernard Cass right outside her library. With her golden doodle, Agatha, sniffing out clues by her side, Gabby must put her mystery knowledge to the test when her best friend Brittany is arrested as the main suspect.New-to-town Detective Brandon has his suspicions and a knack ...

Lieutenant Ethan Hendricks’ greatest nightmare just also happened to be his grandfather’s newest business venture. Logan Hendricks is thrilled about his brand new detective agency’s first case, but things weren’t turning out the way they were supposed to, including the attempted murder of one of his brand new employees. But he figures their next case, which involves finding a missing sister, should go a lot smoother. How dangerous could it be? Ethan Hendricks wasn’t quite as confident about his grandfather’s new hobby, or that the supposedly straight-forward case of a missing ...

Dark and hazy nights were both their sword and shield... Liz Danger surrounded her. Escape seemed impossible. Hope came from the last place she expected. She knew his name...everyone did. But she knew nothing about the man he really was. Or if he had any chance at saving her. Sam The plan was a good one. If it worked. He had the perfect cover story. He’d be the one asking all the questions. Looking for answers was the story of his life and everyone knew it...expected it. This time though...the stories could turn out differently than expected. Sam and Liz knew the trip wouldn’t be easy ...

Harry wanders into Gretchen's Kitchen for lunch and ends up taking custody of Mulligan, a nine-year-old with adult sized problems. He soon finds out that Mulligan may be only nine, but she has a mind of her own, doesn't hesitate to express herself, often times offering her take on "You seriously old people." To solve Mulligan's problems, Harry searches for a missing cousin and his denim collection, has a deadly encounter with bad guys, and robs the town office building. Cat does battle with bad guys to protect her new buddy, despite her irritating habits, and like Mulligan, doesn't hesitate...

Leger witnesses the kidnapping of a small child and pursues the victim and the perpetrator onto a long-distance train. Unknown to Leger, he is followed by Annabella and Nicole who are determined to get him off the train. Leger must uncover the truth about this kidnapping and put right the wrongs, with a little help from another non-human passenger. What Leger doesn't realise is, he isn't the only one watching this situation closely...

Halloween means parties and the local residents association are planning a get-together at the Queen Languoreth to celebrate Halloween. However, with everyone out in the street at the same time, this opens the window for a gang of cat-phobic robbers to come in and take advantage. Leger and Ginger have overheard the men planning the robbery in an alleyway but can they uncover the identity of Gus and Andy in time? Meanwhile, a local man has discovered the body of a cat who looks just like Leger and taken the body to Annabella for burial. Annabella isn't sure it's really Leger who has died but...

It’s just one thing after another for magician Eli Marks: The bizarre death of a barista. Performing close-up magic at a funeral. A homicidal husband looking for ideas. An unexpected customer encounter. An impossible stabbing during a show. A Halloween murder. A life-changing magic lesson. A mystifying murder/suicide. A puzzling jewel heist and an even odder painting theft. And more! A dozen new Eli Marks short stories (10 never-before published), which means you now have a dozen more reasons to spend some quality time with Eli Marks.

Do pandas dream? And if so, what do they dream of? That question is asked in this anthology of stories by the award-winning author of Daemonic Mechanical Artifacts and Deep School Tuition. Enter the weird and wonderful worlds of Denton Salle, where a Slavic myth asks for help, an Austin PI is asked to recover a demon-possessed blade, and a Countess recruits help in a Steampunk French Empire. Ranging from sweet romance to steampunk adventures to urban fantasy, with characters running from heroes to whores to ghouls, Salle's stories range across genre and from North Texas to South France. ...

Katie has only one dream to be the best wilderness scout ever. And to win all ten badges available during their five-day camping trip to Kangaroo Island, and most important to beat all the other girls to the Camp Cup, the once-a-year prize for the best wilderness troop. With her four troop members in tow, she sets up camp in a remote location where a strange giant rock dominates the beach … Was that rock there last year? In the night, something is slaughtering the roos in the night… If the adults find out Katie and her troop will be sent home. The competition for the Camp Cup is heating...

Leger isn't the detective this time - he's the witness. After saving Poppy from an attack, Leger must guide troubled teenager Daniel Goldsworthy on the right path to discovering the crime has been committed, solving the mystery and putting the perpetrator behind bars. However, it proves an almost impossible task since Leger himself has a lot to deal with. Between a potentially lethal trapped hairball causing him extreme pain, a group of friends who are determined to do his job for him and a mischief of vigilante mice, Leger finds it difficult to tackle the task. Will Leger put his own ...

Christmas is no time for a mystery...or is it? Celebrate two Christmas's with kooky best-selling author and Private Investigator, Stormi Nelson as she discovers the true meaning of the season despite her family's mishaps and misadventures! Indulge in this Christmas holiday small town cozy mystery by a best-selling, award-winning author. Warning: These stories are not in any chronological order with rest of the series. You may see someone who had died or gone to jail in one of the other books.

In the idyllic yet deceptive beauty of Cannes on the French Riviera, Sophia's world shatters when she is thrown out of a car and left with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Lost and vulnerable, she must navigate a landscape filled with strangers, danger, and fragments of a life she can't remember. As Sophia pieces together her identity, her father embarks on a desperate search to find her. His journey is fraught with obstacles and heartache, each step revealing more about the daughter he thought he knew and the dangerous world she has fallen into. As he follows her trail, the ...