Short Cozy Mysteries

Meghan Truman always had a dream to become a Hollywood actress. Hollywood decided she wasn’t good enough. She left Hollywood broken but with a burning desire to start afresh in the Pacific Northwest, pursuing her second dream - opening a bakery. She never expected that the owner of a rival establishment would be found dead and all eyes would be focused on her as the prime suspect.

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. ...

Mira’s snarky cat, Arnold, finally gets his own story. Told from the point of view of Mira’s trusty cat, Arnold, this short story is about the trials and tribulations of being a cat-dad to three rambunctious kittens during the Christmas holiday. Even more challenging, Arnold’s rivals arrive with Mira’s sister Darla, on Christmas eve. The twin cats are psychic and annoying, forcing Arnold to use every ounce of patience to be a good cat for Christmas. To make matters worse his kittens go missing and he must partner with Darla’s twin menaces to save them. Quickly things go sideways, ...

In Nathalies Cafe findet der alljährliche Käsekuchen-Wettbewerb von Earlsraven statt. Doch statt eines Preises für den leckersten Kuchen gibt es einen Toten! Stuart Ridlington, Chefjuror und Inhaber der erfolgreichen Bäckereikette "Baker's Belly", fällt während der Verkostung tot um. War es Mord? Und hat Rita Buffridge, seit zehn Jahren in Folge die Gewinnerin des Wettbewerbs, womöglich etwas mit seinem Tod zu tun?

All Gus wanted to do was take a day trip up to the big city to get away from his constituents. However, some constituents are harder to avoid than others. He inadvertently bumps into Father Xavier while at an antique show. Neither this chance meeting or Gus’s appraisal are the worst thing to happen to the sheriff while out of town, because the other thing that’s hard for him to avoid is getting involved in a murder case. When one of the big winners at the antique show turns up dead it’s up to Gus to figure out who the murderer is. With the Father’s help, can Gus sort out the clues ...

A short read paranormal cozy mystery with a touch of later in life romance. Take a… A heartbroken retired rock and roll superstar looking for peace and quiet. A workaholic CEO who had no choice but to take an early retirement. Mix in… A quirky small town with a secret past. Strange things that go bump in the night. Angry witches, a couple of helpful shapeshifters and rumors of a buried treasure. And You’ve Got… An unpredictable adventure that will warm your heart and have the hair on the back of your neck standing on end, all at the same time! ***** The House on Whitmore Road is a ...

A cozy mystery short story. Honorable mention in NYC Competition. In, The Missing Butler, Inspector Nigel Brown faces his first case as Chief Inspector with determination and a fresh batch of brownies. When the plump and cheerful Miss Abigail Rochelle proclaims her butler robbed her before meeting an untimely demise, Inspector Brown dives headfirst into the mystery. The case seems insurmountable, given Miss Rochelle’s eccentricities and the lack of tangible evidence. Yet, as Inspector Brown meticulously unravels the threads of Miss Rochelle’s life, from her lonely existence to her ...

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 ...

Seal Island is home to a moonshine-making billionaire, a pot-growing fisherman, a celebrity flower child, a handsome romance writer, a sex-addicted realtor, a womanizing pub owner, a cop, a pot-bellied pig…and a serial killer. The island is serene and remote. It is only accessible by boat. The residents like it that way, until those with the deepest and darkest of secrets start dying in the most bizarre of ways.

Every town has one. The big old house which has stood empty for so long that no one really remembers anyone living there. The iconic subject of lore and folktales which hints at supernatural occurrences, tragedy, and family curses that can be neither confirmed nor denied. For the town of White Eagle, Montana, the house that served as the subject of ghostly stories by the campfire was a huge old mansion built more than 50 years ago by a wealthy industrialist as a summer home for his wife and five children.

Mary Ann is hosting a party in the heart of a small town called Green Springs, in New York State at her newly opened pie shop in celebration of a business achievement and serving her famous lemon meringue pies. However, the party turns sour when one of her guests (a friend of a friend she invited) falls dead. Mary Ann is one of the suspects as the victim was poisoned - possibly by one of her pies.

This was the moment in life they'd prepared for without believing anything would ever come of it...they were wrong. Danae knew before she ever heard her brother’s voice that it was bad...and it didn’t take long to find out just how bad it was. She and everyone in her family had always understood the high cost of secrets...and quickly learned that sometimes the price of truths was far more costly. It took her even less time to realize that she’d never really known true heart-stopping fear. She did now and knew that the heart-pounding terror she’d experienced in those handful of ...

Two days before Hogmanay, after the Christmas glitter has settled, a mysterious new neighbour is poisoned. Knowing that Amber and this young man could not have met the same fate by coincidence, Leger begins the investigation into what happened, with Lily's help. When that leads him to the newly opened Queen Languoreth pub, he comes face to face and clashes with the new manager. To put his own safety and Annabella's happiness first, he resolves never to go back to the pub, even if this means that another life could be at stake. However, Lily has other ideas.

The festive season should be a time for generosity and goodwill, but in Glasgow, Leger finds that is not the case. His human companion's attempt to raise funds for a CT scanner for a local hospital has been thwarted by a callous thief who has stolen decorations from her seasonal garden display. Now Leger resolves to mend Annabella's broken heart by finding the thief. With Ginger nursing her newborn kittens, Isabella confusing him with erratic behaviour and Bob more interested in Hugh's discarded slipper than helping solve this mystery, Leger's only clue comes from an unexpected source - a ...

Spring is about to arrive in Glasgow, but it's already been a busy year and Leger needs a break, especially after he cheats death through sheer luck and uses up one of his lives. When he turns to Annabella for sympathy, he finds her cold and distant - a clear signal that something is wrong. After some coaxing she confides that she has been robbed and threatened by her attacker. If she contacts the police, they will kill Leger. Terrified, she retreats into herself and Leger vows to catch the culprit. However, it's not going to be as simple as that. The reappearance of an old friend distracts...

Sometimes it is better leaving the past in the past… The Paul Madison PI cozy mystery series continues… A determined private investigator learns that even heroes aren’t perfect. A compassionate Medical Examiner must watch as the past begins to destroy the present. A vengeful crime boss systematically eliminates everyone who has wronged her. A shadowy spirit guide always shows up in the nick of time. A short read cozy filled with mystery, romance, and a touch of magic. Paul Madison finds himself facing family secrets that have the power to change his life forever. An unwelcome relative...

Revenge isn’t always sweet… The Paul Madison PI cozy mystery series concludes… A resolute private investigator will not rest until justice is served or he’ll die trying. A worried Medical Examiner wants answers, but not at the expense of the man she loves. A fearless crime boss will stop at nothing to destroy the relative she despises. A shadowy spirit guide watches, waits and will do whatever it takes to protect his human. A short read cozy filled with mystery, romance, and a touch of magic. Paul Madison is on a deadly personal mission – a mission that could possibly cost him his...

Having decided life in the highlands, however temporary, is not for her, Annabella has given care of Leger to her niece Carol while she is Christmas shopping in Germany. Leger strongly objects to the decision, but has no choice in the matter. Leger is frequently left out in the chilly December rain with no catflap to use and questions Annabella's judgement, until one day he meets Saffron, a neglected child who lives across the street. The pair connect on a deep level in a short time, with Saffron more than once coming to Leger's aid. So when Saffron's mother is murdered one night, and Leger...

A Historical Romantic mystery novella When her father is killed in a train crash, twenty-one-year-old Marian Jamison is left to care for herself and her mother. She admires Thomas Hawthorn, who enters her life by design. Mysterious occurrences and a voice in the night make Marian question her mother’s sanity. She is left not knowing whom to trust, including her own heart. Love and intrigue are woven into an intricate design, fitting perfectly inside the walls of her dress shop, but a loose thread could unravel her entire world.

The Staggered Births of the Triplet Witches Reuniting after years apart, three sisters find their latent powers springing to life, evolving into potent shields against looming darkness. Despite sharing a birthright, they've grown up unaware of their shared lineage, thanks to being brought up by a secretive grandmother and an enigmatic great aunt. As the shadows of an unsolved serial murder case resurface, troubling signs emerge— their young cousin bears unexplained bruises, and the townsfolk are growing increasingly sinister. Can the sisters, bound by blood but unaware of their profound ...