Town Mystery

Solving murder mysteries has become old hat for former D.C. urbanite-turned-amateur sleuth Lilly Livingston. But please, not at her inn’s first big event of the summer! Having settled into small-town life in Drifter’s Cove, FL, Lilly is thrilled that her recently inherited inn is now on the map! With Magnolia Manor fully renovated and sold out for the Memorial Day weekend celebration, she is eagerly welcoming guests, fluffing pillows, and finalizing the menu. As ex-boyfriend Eric reluctantly mans the front desk, the motley crew of guests checks in—a persnickety chef, a local drifter, ...

Jill's family law career is in a rut. Watching a client go back to her abusive husband, yet again—and then learning she's been passed up for a partnership, yet again-finally prompts her to take a break. She'll have to dip into her emergency fund. But after all those long days in her windowless office, subsisting on leftover cake from the break room, it's time to smell some flowers. When she arrives in picturesque South Cove on the Pacific coast, she finds friendly residents, a peaceful beach, and nature's beauty.

Have your eyes ever deceived you? They’re about to… In sleepy Drifter’s Cove, a fall town raffle to restore the old Starlight Lounge and Theater brings an eclectic crowd—and deadly consequences. Still haunted by a recent car bomb that killed a guest instead of her, amateur sleuth Lilly Livingston tries to juggle managing busy Magnolia Manor with her role as a civilian FBI cold case consultant. Just as the inn's charming reputation had finally been established, an impossibly demanding elite guest arrives—as well as a mysterious job applicant who seems to have risen from the grave. ...

Meet Jen Dawson, mystery writer, coffee lover, and amateur detective? Crime writer Jen returns to her small hometown with a bestselling book behind her and a bad case of writer’s block. Finding sanctuary in the local bookstore, with an endless supply of coffee, Jen waits impatiently for inspiration to strike. But when the owner of the bookstore dies suddenly in mysterious circumstances, Jen has a real-life murder to solve. The stakes are suddenly higher when evidence places Jen at the scene of the crime and the reading of the will names her as the new owner of the bookstore.

Twenty-seven years ago, Sheriff Bree Taggert’s father killed her mother, then himself. Now Bree and her younger brother, Adam, find human bones on the grounds of their abandoned family farm. The remains are those of a man and a woman, both murdered in the same horrible way. When the investigation determines the murders occurred thirty years ago, Bree’s dead father becomes a suspect, forcing Bree to revisit the brutal night she’s spent most of her life trying to forget.

Taking in her lovely face and sweet smile, he knew that he would risk everything for a chance to be with her. The Foster family has breathed life into their ancestral farm by coaxing the beautiful land and cliff side views of Lake Michigan into a majestic golf course known as Bingham Shores. Along with a world-class golf course, the property boasts a century-old restaurant, known for romantic themes and now a mystery. An old Bible found in the restaurant’s attic reveals a treasure map connected to the former farm. As word of the map spreads and speculation of the treasure mounts, new ...

On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander’s personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of Åre. But it’s a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can’t help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow.

What happens when you open the door to the past? In book six of the McKenna Mystery series, Grace locks eyes with Toby Melville, Bridgeton business owner and handyman. It only takes a second to set Grace on the path to justice once again, when visions spin from Toby’s eyes. A stream of blood cascading down a bronzed man’s chin, creating a river that descends his neck and chest, before his body slips beneath a crush of white, foamy water. And then, a horizon of emerald green trees on a blue sky backdrop so beautiful it looks like a painting. With baby Ellie now in the picture, the stakes...

The Heritage Hall book fair was my chance to showcase my bookbinding techniques. Instead, I become the main suspect in a murder. Paper flowers and leather bindings filled my Heritage Hall book fair booth. This was my chance to showcase traditional bookbinding techniques. Instead, I found a dead authenticator in my space. Mark Henderson, known for exposing forgeries, lay sprawled among tools stolen from my exhibit. Making me the prime suspect. Book preservation is my passion - being a murder suspect, not so much. I teamed up with Fitzgerald, my Maine Coon cat and journalist Jennifer Walsh to...

From the bestselling author of the Call Me Tuesday series comes a suspenseful, thought-provoking reminder of our intrinsic connection to one another and the devastating impact our choices can have on the lives of those around us. Addison Quinn was nine when her parents were killed in the worst car crash ever recorded in the sleepy town of Driftwood, Indiana. She alone survived to tell the police about a mysterious blood splatter she'd seen on the outside of the windshield seconds before she was thrown from the vehicle. Addison was convinced the splatter caused her dad to lose control of the...

A historic lighthouse, a murdered curator, and a French Bulldog with a nose for trouble... Professional dog trainer Bea Whitman thought life in Palm Harbor was settling into a peaceful routine. But when a valuable artifact goes missing and the museum curator's body is found in the lighthouse, Bea and her extraordinary furry companions—therapy dog Luna and the irrepressible Max—find themselves at the heart of a mystery. With her keen understanding of both canine and human nature, Bea discovers that Palm Harbor's picturesque lighthouse holds deadly secrets. As forgeries surface and ...

In the town of Thirty-Four Corners, Colorado, Matt Jensen rides into a savage blood feud. Thirty years ago two friends came West and built a thriving cattle business. Now, their families have become kill-crazy enemies and the town is awash in a frenzy of killing. Add in hired gunmen on both sides of the fight, and two lovers crossing the dividing line, and the terror will never end. Eager to put as many miles between himself and Thirty Four Corners, Matt Jensen just can't bring himself to leave without trying to stop the bloodshed.

Failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife, Eudora, have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family's old estate - the Savoyard Plantation - and the horrors that occurred there. At first, the quaint, rural ways of their new neighbors seem to be everything they wanted. But there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice.

When the lights go out, more than just the movie ends. Lena Thompson's quiet life in the charming town of New Oslo is about to get a supernatural shake-up. With her spectral grandmother as an unlikely sidekick, Lena finds herself thrust into the role of amateur sleuth when a glitzy movie premiere party turns deadly. As a former classmate-turned-Hollywood-star lies dead in Lena's Victorian home, the list of suspects grows longer than the credits of a summer blockbuster. With the local sheriff overwhelmed, it's up to Lena and her ghostly Granny to sift through a cast of colorful characters, ...

One small town billionaire + One hippie hearted girl back to restart her life = a satisfyingly sweet second chance short clean romance with all the feels! After years apart, Grace returns to her hometown only to cross paths with her first love, Tucker Ellison, a man tied to the family that once tore them apart. Tucker, now a successful businessman, offers Grace an unexpected job opportunity, rekindling old feelings she thought were long buried. As they navigate the tension between their unresolved past and Tucker’s complicated family dynamics, Grace must decide if she can trust Tucker ...

When Jane's husband left her and their children for greener pastures, she had no choice but to take as many housecleaning jobs as she could get to support them. Little did she know that during one of those jobs she would discover that a valuable ring her client owned had been stolen. Even more unexpected is when her client asks her to investigate the theft and find out who stole the ring. Jane soon discovers she has a knack for solving crimes as well as locating a treasure that has been missing for over a hundred years. When she looked at a long-lost map that a treasure seeker had ...

True crime podcaster Trinity Scott is chasing breakout success, and her brand-new serial may get her there. Her subject is Clayton Jay Pelley. More than two decades ago, the respected family man and guidance counselor confessed to the brutal murder of teenage student Leena Rai. But why he killed her has always been a mystery. In a series of exclusive interviews from prison, Clayton discloses to Trinity the truth about what happened that night beneath Devil’s Bridge. It’s not what anyone in the Pacific Northwest town of Twin Falls expects.

Family, friends, an unexpected sisterhood, the magic of new beginnings...mothers, daughters, brothers and sisters, sons and cousins...all finding their inner strength, facing life’s unexpected challenges, and sometimes starting over after tragedy and heartbreak, and every once in a while...finding the one true love of a lifetime. Everyone has a story... Amanda’s legacy was simple and unbelievably complicated...her sons were determined to make it happen exactly as she wanted. Hannah was distraught and in a downward spiral after her father’s death...her cousin Patricia understood but ...

From NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Josie Litton, writing as J.K. Litton, a wickedly funny cozy romantic mystery for the holidays The charming Westchester County village of Mulberry Falls is ringing in the New Year in style. On the village green, revelers are counting down the seconds to midnight. But when the pop of champagne corks is interrupted by gunshots, the fun goes flat. It’s up to local sleuth Verity Valence and her former high school boyfriend, Detective Ethan Lowell to cut through the confetti and catch a killer. Either that or risk Mulberry Falls’ new year ...

It's been said that all great literature boils down to one of two stories—a man takes a journey, or a stranger comes to town. While mystery writers have been successfully using both approaches for generations, there's something undeniably alluring in the nature of a stranger: the uninvited guest, the unacquainted neighbor, the fish out of water. In the newest collection of stories by the Mystery Writers of America, each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst, featuring stories by prolific mystery writers.