Cozy Reads

Good old fashioned Southern Crime Fiction by Norman E. Morrison set near the city of Cowchip Alabama. See also the other Cowchip/AL related works. Clang! A most satisfying, if short ringing sound, unlike a bell, but every bit as rousing. The nerves of the hand and wrist perceived the minute vibrations of the instrument even as the music quickly melted. It was the sound of cast iron whacking a melon, only it was a large frying pan and it wasn't a melon at all. Mr. Poppin's Basement Improvement is a murder mystery set near Cowchip/AL in the rural Poppin Hill community. It's the culmination of...

Bernie is new to the area. Neighborhood drama draws him into the community in a hurry. With help (?) from an established busy-body and a relative with issues, he tries to solve the mystery. He never really thought much about Leprechauns before now. Is there a connection or is it all in his very Irish imagination?

Vella Day brings you another crazy time travel story of a haunted saloon and hidden treasures. The last thing I expected to see today was John, our timeline agent--or whatever he was calling himself these days--in our hometown. Millie, my best friend and time traveling buddy, was thrilled. I was not. John claimed that he needed our help to keep the timeline from falling apart. Why us, you might wonder? He claimed we were good at knitting and asking questions. And where did we have to go? To Dry Gulch, South Dakota. In freaking 1880. Even John admitted that it was a fairly lawless mining ...

Now settled in his new home as a hotel cat on a tiny Scottish island, Leger is searching for activities to keep him busy. As always, his mind turns to sleuthing... At a Burns Supper hosted by Tony, the hotel's manager, in honour of the Lithuanian girls he has employed to work for him, the mystery of three recent thefts is apparently solved when two of the stolen wallets turn up in one of the girl's bags. However, Leger is not convinced that the accused, Emilija, is guilty and using his feline instincts, sets about searching for the true culprit to clear Emilija's name.

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 ...

Comedy meets drama in this cosy, heart-warming tale of a man, his dogs, and his dreams. Join Mark as he struggles with zany patients, gets fleeced by his ex-wife, and makes a friend called “Shovelhead”. Sometimes Mark’s ahead, mostly the world tramples him into the dirt, but so long as he has his dogs to go home to, his caravan (which IS home), and now Diane - Mark’s optimism never falters. Well, hardly ever... “Eyes Up” is the story of a home-visiting optician, written by—a home-visiting optician! WHAT READERS HAVE SAID: ‘The Optometrist equivalent of James Herriot?’ ‘...

Witch’s Cove might have a rejected gargoyle familiar and a vandalized yarn shop, but even murder can’t stop this love story. As an amateur sleuth, who happens to be a witch, I, Glinda Goodall, eventually get to the bottom of the whodunits. But when a gargoyle goes missing from atop a church, I don’t know where to begin to look. If that wasn’t troublesome enough, a vandal has strung pink yarn across the French-inspired yarn shop. Was it kids again? Or someone more nefarious? My only hope of figuring out this mystery is to join the women’s knitting group. I’m such a sucker for ...

A short read (very short - 21 pages) set in January 1921 in New York City. Join Sadie Brown, investigative reporter, and Roger Siebert, photographer, on their picture-perfect honeymoon. At least it started out as perfect. But, when a large steamer trunk mysteriously appears in their honeymoon suite, it's the beginning of a cozy mystery. The strange trunk and its even stranger owner draw the newlyweds into a scheme involving stolen goods, a ransom note, and blackmail.

Little Jenna is stolen… …and the cat who must rescue her. Little Jenna Richardson has been taken, and Scottie finds her trapped nearby. He must save this little girl. But being only a cat, his options are rather limited. The two heinous criminals … and one vicious dog … watching over her make that rescue even that much more urgent, as they have devious plans for her. Scottie’s gonna need all the help he can get … except that there are very few friends here … if any … to help save her. Time is running out for precious little Jenna. Can Scottie get her out before she ...

A murder plot... ...and the cat who must stop it. Jamie’s girlfriend wants him dead. Scottie needs to save his human’s life. But how? He’s just a cat. The intended victim goes about his daily life not knowing his girlfriend and her secret lover are plotting against him. Scottie knows, but the soon-to-be murdered man doesn’t understand the feline’s attempts to save his life. Jamie is an easy mark and his death is imminent. His girlfriend will not give up until he’s six feet under...with his cats. Will Scottie rescue his human or perish along side him? Will he get the help he ...

Last Christmas, Callie Aspen left her tour-guide job and settled in Heart's Harbor, Maine. Now, she helps out at Book Tea, her great aunt’s vintage tearoom, where each treat has a bookish clue. Although she’s excited to start her new life, Callie worries she may regret having burned her bridges behind her. Fortunately, she finds immediate distraction in the preparations for a spectacular Fourth of July tea party, which will recreate key moments from the town's rich history.

Ready for some rest and relaxation at the end of the school year, seventh grade teacher Autumn Spencer gets on a cruise ship, hoping it’ll whisk her away to Paradise so she can clear her mind. Instead, she encounters nosy fellow passengers who won’t leave her alone, more drama than she sees in her hormonal students … and a couple of attempted murders. No matter what she does to avoid the crazies, she keeps getting thrown right smack dab into the middle of all the action.

It’s Christmastime in the quiet Los Angeles County city of Vista Beach, home of computer programmer and tole-painting enthusiast Aurora (Rory) Anderson. The magic of the season fills the air as residents enjoy school concerts, a pier lighting ceremony and the annual sand-snowman contest. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Rory plans on painting ornaments to sell at the local craft fair and joining in on the holiday fun. But she finds the season anything but jolly after the house across the street is torn down, revealing a decades old crime. Past meets present when her father is ...

When Mabel Wickles begins suffering from a recurring nightmare, Flori offers her some sage advice: write it out! Fourteen years before, in order to save Flori's life, Mabel had been forced to rob a bank. To escape from their kidnapper, the two women had to run through a thick forest. It is this chase that keeps returning to haunt Mabel. Will the advice work? Mabel figures there's no harm in trying, especially after the last nightmare caused her to fall down a flight of stairs. And so the story, Missed by a Hair, is created.

Grace had never been more terrified...the pain was relentless. Nothing in her life prepared her for this. She desperately needed somewhere safe...someplace she could hide. Someone she could trust with her life. It was dark...and getting darker. Ronan Hendricks didn’t recognize her voice. Not family...not friends. Probably not an enemy. But he didn’t need the years he’d spent as a detective to recognize what he did hear... Fear. In a desperate moment of hope, a single number saved her life. Then a complete stranger opened his home offering safety yet Grace knew danger surrounded them.....

Royalty...it was more than just a word to her. It was her life. But not for long. Marlie loved her family dearly, even when she didn’t like them very much. But their life wasn’t the life she wanted for herself. Maggie had always fulfilled her responsibilities, she’d always done exactly as she was expected to...she knew no other way. Until now...until after reading a letter from her father suggesting she visit her niece and learn how to do as she pleased every once in a while, including the joy of eating pizza at her slightest whim. The last thing Maggie expected when she showed up at ...

When Tabitha Clive is on the case, nothing stays hidden for long. Question: What does a jailhouse interview, a fugitive out for revenge, and a kidnapped judge have in common? Answer: Tabitha Clive! Amateur sleuth, part-time reporter, and baker extraordinaire, Tabitha Clive is back to make sure justice is served. Now that the Butler cousins are locked away, Tabitha and the good people of Kornville, Nebraska, are returning to their peaceful way of life. The Clive family won’t let their guard down while one smart and dangerous mastermind remains at large. When a well-respected judge vanishes...

The neighbours of Glasgow's Creamery Crescent are taking a festive break. Of course, no trip would be complete without their pets so Leger and his closest friends travel north to enjoy the Christmas period in a secluded cottage in the Highlands. The celebratory mood changes when Nicole Goldsworthy witnesses a man and woman burying a body in a shallow grave. The murderers attempt to knock her down in their car but with help from her animal friends, old and new, Nicole survives the hit and run. The situation is complicated further by the arrival of Poppy, who followed the group from Glasgow ...

Leger's lifestyle has finally caught up with him and he is now living in hiding in the highlands with Annabella and Nicole. Life in the wilderness has many benefits but Leger finds it difficult to adjust to his new, temporary home and gets lost one evening. When he is rescued by a kindly American lady and her son and returned home by them, he is filled with gratitude. The visiting Americans invite their new Scottish friends for Thanksgiving dinner the following day, but Annabella has a bad feeling about this woman. Leger decides to throw himself into the celebrations until he accidentally ...

Leger McInnes is ready to retire. He still loves detective work, but after a lifetime of investigating crimes in the local area and beyond, his priorities have changed. Ginger has lost her sight, Bob has seizures, Nicole suffered sepsis and now his beloved Annabella has found a frightening lump. It's time for Leger to move onto his next life as a nurse. However, there's just one last job to do before he retires and that's to find the people who robbed Meg, his next door neighbour. All the suspicion seems to fall on Ingrid, a mysterious woman who has turned up on their doorstep claiming to ...