Cozy Mystery England

Murder is the last thing on the wedding itinerary… but in Merrivale, trouble is always on the guest list. Emma Sharpe is thrilled to host the wedding of the season at the Old Bell Inn. With her best friends—Lily the florist, Rose the baker, and wedding planner Kate—everything is in place for a perfect celebration. But when controversial developer Richard Sterling is found dead in the inn’s garden, the festivities come to a screeching halt. Richard’s plans to bulldoze Merrivale’s historic farmlands had already divided the village, igniting old feuds and unearthing long-buried ...

A visit to the local village fete for a spot of fun and relaxation turns into a nightmare for Agatha Raisin when she discovers the body of the local landowner in the woods with an arrow in his chest and trousers round his ankles. Agatha’s old adversary, Detective Chief Inspector Wilkes, declares the death a tragic accident, believing the victim has been hit by a stray arrow from an archery demonstration. Agatha is convinced of foul play, however, and is shocked when Wilkes eventually agrees … with her as his prime murder suspect.

The last thing DS Stephanie Johnson and DS Andy Carter expected during their much-needed canal holiday was a murder. When retired folk musician Annie Shipton is found stabbed through the neck at the helm of her barge, the couple can’t help investigating the seemingly impossible crime. Nobody else boarded Annie’s boat—so how was she killed from behind?

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #6 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."SUMMONED TO AN ISOLATED maximum-security hospital, DI Skelgill inadvertently catches the eye of a notorious female serial killer. Does she read his censorious thoughts? Is this the trigger that turns a routine investigation into a rollercoaster of murder, mayhem, escapes and hostage taking? And what of the establishment? Are these crises purely coincidental, or is some conspiracy afoot? Could it be blackmail, corruption, a power struggle ... or something ...

Vivienne Lane thought she left the drama behind when she traded big-city chaos for the quiet charm of Foxwick Harbor. Now, she spends her days running Lane & Co. Antiques, sipping lattes at Bean & Bloom, and avoiding her nosy neighbor’s unsolicited opinions. But when she stumbles upon the town’s most scandalous socialite dead in a wedding dress—and in a very inconvenient place—Vivi suddenly finds herself at the center of a mystery far messier than her shop’s storage room. Gwendolyn Fairchild wasn’t just any bride-to-be; she was a journalist with a reputation for unearthing ...

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #17 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY." TWELVE CLOSE FRIENDS, ONE DEADLY ENEMY. A Ouija board spells out ‘MURDER’ and next morning wealthy widow Daisy Mills is found drowned at a Lakeland beauty spot. Was this a warning from beyond the grave, or an agent provocateur among the house party? Could the earlier death of successful businessman Simon Mills really be the accident it seemed? And was it by coincidence that the same clique of old school friends had met before each tragedy? Pitched into ...

A body was found in a Trunk at Kings Cross Station. Nothing unusual, except Chief Inspector, Lord Ralph McGinnis is sent down from Scotland Yard to investigate. Recognized as retired Police officer Casper Fellen, Ralph suspects he stumbled into gang warfare, and what is the Royal connection with horseracing at Epsom? Professor Claire Lane senses the truth. Will she side with Ralph, or take another view, agree to disappear undercover with renowned Gang boss Alexander Carrington. Is this the end, or does this spell disaster for not only Claire’s reputation, but to Ralph’s heraldic ...

Kitty Underhay is looking forward to a week of long lunches and wedding planning with her husband-to-be, Captain Matthew Bryant. But the plan is derailed when he is called on to collect a former comrade-in-arms, arriving on the 15:50 from Paddington. As the train bearing Simon Travers pulls up to the platform, a piercing scream rises over the screech of its brakes. Travers is dead in his seat, a dagger in his heart. Only a few individuals had access to Travers’s compartment, and Kitty must find out which of these seemingly benign passengers is, in fact, a cross-country killer.

Chief Inspector, Lord Ralph McGinniss and Professor Claire Lane have conceded defeat and married. Then war is declared, and both are called on to help defend the Empire. Ralph to his Uncle’s regiment and Claire invited to Bletchley Park. A shift in the government’s plans for both results in the discovery of a German Spy embedded in an old murder case. They are running out of time. Will Ralph with Claire’s help unravel the mystery and prevent a National catastrophe? Or will Johannes Liebert be successful in a kidnap attempt which will change their lives forever?

When a celebrated actor is found murdered in his dressing room, all signs point to Drew's old flame. But behind the curtain nothing is what it seems, and this quickly becomes his most puzzling case yet. Just as Drew Farthering thinks his life has calmed down some, Fleur Landis reenters his life in dire need of his help. She's married now, no longer an actress--but the lead actor in her former troupe's production of The Mikado has been murdered, and Fleur is the police's number one suspect. Drew would rather focus on his fiancée, Madeline Parker, and their upcoming wedding, but he can't ...

Inspector Ralph McGinniss, Lord of the Realm, returns to his ancestral seat at Daroonga Castle in Oxfordshire for his annual holidays, only be called upon to investigate the housekeepers’ death from his cousin’s estate. Agnes Tonbridge is found dead on the front lawn. Was this an accident, or a chance to cover up other dealings by the inhabitants? Bedwin Hall is full of surprises. Lady Petunia, the daughter of the house is under suspicion. Ralph’s brother Stephen McGinniss is making a nuisance of himself with the Inspector’s fiancé, Lady Annabelle Frampton. Claire Lane, noted ...

Charles Bentley, sometimes retired professor of English at Opal College in Opalsville, Massachusetts, once again deals with crime in a small New England college town. HIs investigations take him both on campus and off campus, frequently to some unlikely places, as he and his wife, Joanna, chief of police, pursue those who would commit murder even in a place of pastoral beauty. Charles discovers that as he gets older there is always something new to learn about the hearts of others and about his own.

A mystery that surrounds Julianna’s family could lead her to the man that steals her heart. Miss Julianna Newton is struggling to return to a society that does not want her. A year after her brother’s death, she has been blessed with a kind sponsor, who helps her secure invitations to the most exclusive events of the London Season. Much to her surprise, she finds that one Lord Sharpe is determined to help her make the right acquaintances, due to a promise he made to her late brother, Francis. When Lord Sharpe and Miss Newton spend more time together, strange happenings occur, forcing ...

From Hollywood to Yorkshire, from fame to murder... Barbara Lucci has it all; a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, money, a loving husband, and a starring role in the long-running American soap opera Forever and a Day, a job she's cherished for forty years. Then everything changes. Barbara's soap is canceled, and her husband runs off with her all money. With nowhere to turn to, Barbara returns to her native England and the sleepy Yorkshire seaside town of Whitborough to stay with her mother June, who runs a bed and breakfast. When someone from another bed and breakfast is strangled to ...

Professor Claire Lane interrupted by a sudden telephone call to help in a murder investigation leaves the tranquility of Edinburgh for the country lanes of Oxford. Lord of the Realm, Inspector Ralph McGinnis is puzzled. Unlike his colleague Miss Lane is adamant this is a copycat murder. Last seen in the seventeenth century by an overzealous Venetian statesman. A well-known Australian financier is dead. Propped up in the Nativity scene outside the church. The vicar is acting strangely, could he have been persuaded to preach peace and good will during this festive season, or will Claire work ...

Chief Inspector, Lord Ralph McGinniss has booked his boat fare to Australia to find his wife, Professor Claire Lane. Then a mysterious cold case file is handed to him from Sgt Pennyworth. British Army Intelligence has requested his help. Can he find Squadron Leader Mike Bristol? Was he last seen leaving The Fur & Feathers Pub in Stow on the Wold on the date stated on the warrant, 30th August 1944? Suspected of murdering two women. A well-known West End Actress Mia Jones and local shopkeeper Mrs Anne Tumbler. The Chief Ralph McGinniss is not convinced. With the war over, the cases of ...

The Yarn Studio’s Seaside Knitters have their hands full designing new classes for vacationers, as well as testing each other’s originality by creating a single blanket together. Birdie’s teenage granddaughter is also visiting for the season. Meanwhile, the Lazy Lobster and Soup Café’s local fare is gaining newfound attention with the addition of a well-known Boston chef. It’s sure to be another beautiful, busy time in their tight-knit town… Until Birdie spots a huge blaze from her balcony one evening, frighteningly close to knitter Cass’s lobster business.

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #12 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."WHEN DI SKELGILL TAKES under his wing a talented fell-runner – his underprivileged cousin, Jess – little does he realise in what jeopardy he places her. For Cumbria is being targeted by the infamous ‘county lines’ drug gangs. As turf wars break out, Jess inadvertently finds herself in the crossfire – but family ties blind her to the danger of her association with Skelgill. As the body count increases, Skelgill finally recognises the threat to his ...

Chief Inspector, Lord Ralph McGinniss and Professor Claire Lane are sent to investigate the link between the murder of a Police Constable on a lonely road, and the presence of German Zeppelin Commander Ludwig Mathieu, left behind in England after the War. Ralph McGinniss is the victim of a pickpocket on a Motorbus in central London and realises the woman responsible is connected to Jack the Top, a notorious thief and pimp. Claire Lane is convinced the two are linked. When Ralph uncovers a plot to assassinate a well-known Judge from the High Court, the duo must act to discover what is the ...

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #14 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."‘A KILLER IN OUR MIDST?’ cried a newspaper headline to commemorate the disappearance of Mary Wilson. It is two decades since Britain’s first mass DNA sweep failed to incriminate a single local male. Mary was listed merely as a missing person. Now archaeologists have unearthed human remains in Cummacatta Wood. The forensics match – age, sex, fragments of clothing... and dental records. But the murder hunt has only just begun when an outsider, a convicted...