Amateur Sleuths Christmas

Meet Marcia Banks...I’m a normal person. Well, I do have an unusual first name, pronounced Mar-see-a, not Marsha. And an abnormal vocation - I train service dogs for veterans with PTSD. But otherwise I’m normal...Except I tend to get sucked into other people’s messes, which has led to my unusual avocation - amateur sleuth. Romp along with me and my four-legged best friend, Buddy through our first three big adventures, plus a bittersweet Christmas tale!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, but private investigator Liz Talbot is struggling to feel festive. She hasn't seen her best friend, Colleen, in weeks and fears she may never see her again in this life. Meanwhile Nate, Liz's husband and partner, is spending money like he prints it in the attic on a mysterious family Christmas celebration. Liz's nerves are shot, and she hasn't even decked a single hall. But there's simply no time to fret.

It's that time of year again! It's always Christmas in Holiday Haven, but this December is a special one. Carolyn Highcrest is preparing for her parents to visit for the inn's annual celebration . . . and to finally meet her boyfriend, Spencer. But when a mysterious package thief strikes the local postal service, Carol finds herself compelled to help Spencer find the culprit. Someone seems intent on ruining the holiday fun, with presents disappearing left and right and a spate of bad luck, which reminds Carol of the havoc the previous year wreaked by an out-of-control wishing box.

The festive month is kicking off in style, and Pearl is rushed off her feet with her restaurant, The Whitstable Pearl. She’s also busy planning her own family Christmas and providing mulled wine for a charity church fundraiser when Christmas cards begin arriving all over town - filled with spiteful messages from an anonymous writer. Pearl’s curiosity is piqued, but having pledged not to take on a case at her detective agency before Christmas, she reluctantly agrees that Canterbury’s DCI Mike McGuire should take over, poisoned pen cards are after all a matter for the police.

When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan's country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie's hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly sweet murder.

As Melanie attempts to deck the halls in a house overrun by pampered poodles, her event planner friend, Claire, is busy playing Santa for the wealthiest clientele on Connecticut's Gold Coast. A personal shopper gig in the affluent town of New Canaan seems like business as usual. Except Claire's stylish stint comes at a higher price than she bargains for when she stumbles over her newest customer's dead body. Named a prime suspect for murder, she begs for Melanie's help, then vanishes like cookies and milk on Christmas Eve.

Kiki is eight months pregnant and trying to cram as much ho-ho-ho into the holidays as possible. When a customer drops dead during an offsite event, this intrepid scrapbooking sleuth is left holding the bag. After her name is cleared, Kiki isn't one to sit around while her friends are threatened with false imprisonment. Instead, she vows to wrap up this case and tie it with a bow. Leave it to Kiki to determine who was nice, and who was very, very naughty, indeed. A nasty Christmas Grinch is targeting one of Kiki's friends—and that's just not kosher.

Festive felonies, keepsakes, and a Christmas conundrum with claws… The holidays are here again, but this year the Christmas season in Hummings Hollow is anything but merry and bright. At first, everything is all fun and games when Ruff discovers a litter of mischievous kittens playing near a Christmas tree farm’s oldest and most majestic tree, but things take a dark turn when the reclusive owner is found dead under mysterious circumstances. To make matters worse, a prized family heirloom—a star-shaped tree topper rumored to hold the clue to a hidden treasure—is reported missing. ...

CHRISTMAS MIRACLES ABOUND Lily, LauraLea and the rest of the Artzy Chicks crew are busy preparing for another merry white Christmas at the Massanutten Mountain resort. Their art gallery has taught dozens of glitter classes and served gallons of Mulled Wine to their patrons. Their friend and local medical examiner, Dr. Kenzie Zimbro stops by to shop. Lily and LauraLea invite her to join them for a celebration but she turns them down, and informs them she will be working through the holiday season. The ladies detect a sadness in Kenzie they hadn't noticed before. A few days later, during a ...

Pru Parke takes on the most serious challenge of her life: cooking an entire Christmas feast alone. But she is distracted by a mysterious plant vendor at a local holiday market, who appears and disappears into the night. He seems familiar, and yet... Join Pru and Christopher as they suss out this stranger while Pru contends with cooking a turkey fit for a crowd. Just how many potatoes and sprouts can two people eat?

As the Christmas decorating season approaches, Thyme & Seasons proprietor China Bayles feels overwhelmed. While she tries to balance her new roles of wife and step-mom with the demands of her thriving herbal shop, her business partner and best friend, Ruby, mysteriously disappears. Soon China's cantankerous mistletoe supplier Carl turns up dead. With Ruby missing and friends suspected of murder, China must investigate before tragedy strikes again.

What’s scarier? An ax murderer or a family Christmas? Mom wants to make the most of Christmas in Montana. I want to catch a killer. Surprisingly, my girlfriend meeting my family isn’t the worst thing to happen. Turns out killers don’t take off the holidays. If I can solve this murder quickly, I can guarantee all the killer gets for Christmas is a pair of handcuffs and a jail cell. Is that too big of a Christmas miracle? Holt Jacobs isn’t for everyone. He’s a sarcastic introvert who can never get quite enough coffee. Becoming a sarcastic sleuth was unexpected, but as an engineer, ...

It's Christmastime, but not everyone is jolly - especially not Vonne Barnett. Her dead body has been found in Victoria Square. Katie Bonner, the manager of Artisan's Alley, happens to be at the tea shop Vonne's mother, Francine, owns when the news is delivered. Vonne left a trail of men behind her so the suspects are many - but the clues are few. A broken teacup leads Katie to one of the suspects, but before she can investigate, she's attacked. Katie may be closing in on a murderer, but time is ticking because the murderer is definitely closing in on her.

A remote country manor. A Christmas party with some unwanted guests. A dead host. Christmas cheer is running high in Swan Creek, Oklahoma. Meera and family are attending the annual Christmas party at the local millionaire's country estate. A nasty blizzard brings everything to a stand still. Meera and family are stranded at the secluded country house, just as their host is shot dead. One of the people present is a cold blooded killer. Is it the feuding heir, the prodigal son, the shady psychic or the ancient butler? Meera joins forces with local cop Stan Miller to trap the perpetrator and ...

Slàinte! A Christmas Eve party at snow-covered Vik castle, where the Christmas Star diamond is on display. Good food, dancing and a visit from Santa. What could possibly go wrong? When Santa appears down the chimney, looking far more crispy than expected, it is clear that something has gone very wrong. With the castle cut off from help, a murderer in their midst and the Christmas Star stolen, it's up to Losers Club to investigate. As they follow the network of secret passages to learn more about their fellow guests, they realize that everyone has a motive. Including one of their own.

When her boss resigns, she’s out of a job and at loose ends. But it is when her friend’s father is killed that she hones her skills as an amateur sleuth. Can Amanda track down the killer before someone else dies? No one knows why her friend’s father was in the family’s vacation home in Hyannis on Cape Cod in early December. The discovery that he changed his will and was poisoned confuses his family and baffles the local sheriff. An ongoing property feud with a neighbor, a disgraced young man wronged by the family, an art dealer who suspects something is fishy, and a resentful ...

Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square - if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake's talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter. Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a puzzling mystery that the town thought was solved.

Amateur sleuth and proud owner of Dogwood Donuts Maggie Sharpe was gearing up for the holidays and having just another normal day in charming southern Missouri, when an unfortunate accident occurred in front of her shop in the wee hours of the morning. When a bus full of elderly potential witnesses on their way to a Christmas event puts out a distress call, Maggie feels obligated to find some answers. She discovers that what she thought was an accident was actually a murder, which makes things anything but jolly in Dogwood Mountain.

As radio reporter Carol Childs investigates a series of Beverly Hills jewelry heists, she realizes her FBI boyfriend, Eric, is working the same case. Even worse, she may have inadvertently helped the suspect escape. The situation intensifies when the suspect calls the radio station during a live broadcast, baiting Carol deeper into the investigation. In order for her to uncover the truth, Carol must choose between her job and her personal relationships. What started out as coincidence between Carol and Eric becomes a race for the facts—pitting them against one another—before the thieves...

A trio of sweet-toothed Halloween cozy mystery tales by nationally bestselling authors: Halloween Cupcake Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper by Liz Ireland, and A Triple Layer Halloween Murder by Carol J. Perry.