Humorous Cozy Mystery

Inspired by vintage Film Noir and Alfred Hitchcock, enjoy this eclectic collection of short stories regarding clumsy attempts at retribution or retaliation, also known as a bit of comeuppance. Come on, everybody has that urge now and then. BTW: resemblance of these characters to ANY colleagues of friends (past or present) is PURELY coincidental! (No, really!). Stories include: OFF THE BEATEN PATH: A bickering couple and a robbery that goes from bad to worse . . . to unexpected. LIVING DOLL(Badgers and Colors): A little girl, a doll who looks like her and people who don’t seem to notice ...

When Victor Kensington, heir to one of the wealthiest fortunes in Cedar Grove, drops dead at the glamorous Midnight Masquerade, whispers of foul play ripple through the grand estate. The Kensington family’s wealth and secrets are a dangerous combination, and everyone in attendance is a suspect. Lila Harrington, a local innkeeper and amateur sleuth, is no stranger to mystery. She can’t resist the call to uncover the truth hidden behind the family’s gilded facade. As secrets unravel and connections to a missing heirloom emerge, Lila is drawn into the glittering yet treacherous world of ...

*Awarded Best Mystery/Suspense Novel ~ N.N. Light's Book Heaven* Cupcakes make everything better - even murder investigations! I may be the best cupcake baker this side of the Mississippi, but that doesn't mean I'm some sweet, innocent thing. Nope! When I discover my friend murdered, no way am I sitting back and letting the police handle it. Together with my bakery buddies, Callie and Kristie, this murder is getting solved. I don't care how dangerous it gets. Bring it on. Some stupid undercover cop who decides he's my protector is not stopping me. Click BUY NOW to find out if the gals of ...

When an inheritance includes murder… As a 30-something-year-old living in her mother’s basement after her divorce, Carly Taylor never considered herself particularly lucky… until her ex-husband died and left her his house. She couldn’t wait to move into the Victorian mansion in the picturesque lakeside town of Landover, Wisconsin. But, as soon as she unpacked her stuff and got comfy, she realized why she got the inheritance. Her ex-husband’s ghost is hovering in her living room, haunting the place, and wanting her to solve his murder. Carly can think of a million people who ...

Welcome to Sarah’s Eatery, where the food is to-die-for! Kylie’s move to Camden Falls didn’t go quite as she expected: now she's got two hunky men fighting for her affections, more culinary mishaps on her café's Oops Board, and ex in-laws who won’t leave her alone. "Winters will have you giggling into your book!" And, of course, there's the latest murder that Kylie gets drawn into... When local real estate bigshot “Mean Mike” Pratt is found dead in his office, accusations fly from every other storefront—in no small part because he owned them! Kylie’s hairdresser, Susie, is ...

Who could’ve hated Janice Wilkerson enough to kill her? She didn’t have many friends, and everyone who knew her admits that they never liked her much. But what other secrets are Janice’s acquaintances hiding? Meanwhile, Tiffany's friend, Ian, is forced to disguise himself as a woman, and Nanna insists she should help with the investigation....

When cupcake critic Vanessa Sweet drops dead, Maggie Harper takes the heat—unless Lena can prove who really had an appetite for revenge. Lena Merritt just wanted a cupcake. What she got was a front-row seat to murder. Vanessa Sweet, the town’s most feared food critic, took one bite of Maggie Harper’s new signature cupcake - Midnight Mocha - then dropped dead. Right there, in the middle of Buttercup Bakery. Now, Maggie’s the prime suspect. The cops are convinced it’s an open-and-shut case. But Lena knows Maggie would never hurt anyone. With the help of a sharp-eyed retired ...

Waking up thin is one thing. But waking up gaunt, hangry, and undead makes for a very bad day. Mallory's killer better hide, because she's just discovered blood, meat, and dairy don't agree with her, and a future with no cheese is grim indeed. She's out to find her killer...and maybe a vegan cheese that doesn't melt her nose hairs.

He’s trying to forget all about crime. But now targeted as a suspect, can he keep from going down for murder? England, 1964. Retired inspector Tom Ramsay wants to leave the past behind. Hoping to get on with his plans to hike the beauty spots of his homeland, a vacation to North Yorkshire strikes him as just the ticket. Yet while exploring the beach with his young border collie, he’s shocked to discover a decomposing body hidden in a cave. Happy to put the case in the hands of local police, he’s relieved not to be involved in the ugly matter. But as the small-town rumor mill churns ...

There’s a literary niche for all tastes including those who think that either Agatha Christie wasn’t funny enough or that PG Wodehouse didn’t feature anywhere near as many baffling murders as he could have. The Case of the Canterfell Codicil is a classic, cozy, locked-room mystery written in the style of an homage to PG Wodehouse.

Nights out are hard to come by for new parents. So when Kate’s new mommy club, Roo & You, holds a dinner cruise, she and her husband leave baby Laurie with Kate’s mom and join the grown-ups for some fine dining on the San Francisco Bay. But when one of the cofounders of Roo & You takes a fatal spill down a staircase, the police department crashes the party. Suddenly, every mom and her man has a motive. Kate’s on deck to solve the mystery—but a killer’s determined to make her rue the day she joined the first-time-mom’s club....

Felicity Griffith’s barely had time to acclimate herself to her new role as assistant to her grandmother, the famous online advice columnist “Dear Dolores”, when a series of events sends her life spiraling out of control once again. When her best friend Cindy wins a modeling contest, the photographer ends up dead, and the clues point to Cindy as the prime suspect, leaving Felicity with no choice than to investigate the murder herself. Meanwhile, Felicity’s grandmother wants to see her married and thinks Hidden Bay’s mayor, Tim, is the perfect match. What starts out as giving the ...

Quinn is in the middle of a midlife crisis. Forty-six, divorced, and having recently walked away from her practice as a psychologist, she fears her best years are behind her. Fiona, Quinn's best friend since childhood, has a plan to get her out of her rut — a trip to Ireland! Quinn loves everything about Ireland: the people, the culture, the scenery and especially a little town called Ballyfrannen. On a whim, she decides to move there, and Fiona is eager to do the same. At first, things seem to be working out perfectly. They find a charming little stone cottage to buy and set about ...

Let Sleeping Bones Lie In the quiet seaside town of Turtle Cove the Garrison sisters' inn is the perfect getaway ---until Grace Garrison's curious beagle, Rocky, digs up a human bone in the garden. Grace, a former journalist, left her nosy days behind to run the inn with her twin sister, Lily. But when Detective Sam Carter warns her to steer clear of the case and the locals grow suspiciously tight-lipped. Grace can't resist following the trail. Haunted by her past, and with her ex-husband's cautionary voice lingering in her mind, Grace embarks on a dangerous quest to solve a mystery buried ...

"I love, love this author. Funny, smart, entertainment. Couldn't put it down. The characters just grab you and never let go" A crime only she can see. A community hellbent on keeping secrets. Can she crack a homicide and live to tell the tale? Goth artist Trinity Goode never needed to fit in. Despite finding her creative niche in the big city, she longs to return to the simple life of her salt-of-the-earth hometown. So she races back to her farming roots in search of answers when her grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances. Suspecting foul play, Trinity teams up with a dashing ...

FIVE STARS “A fun read. Took me back to Beatlemania & the story was really clever.” - reader Sharon How did you first discover the Beatles? For British teenager Helen Spencer it was in 1962, right before the Beatles exploded across Britain, America, and the rest of the world. A local band on the verge of stardom... Helen didn’t realize she’d rise from obscure Liverpool fan club employee to acceptance into The Beatles’ inner circle, propelling her through a fun-filled, world-changing decade, figuring out one big mystery at a time. This is how it all began...with Helen rising from ...

Still spinning from the hustle and bustle of city life, Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is glad to be back in the Cornish village she calls home. Having quit the Met Police in search of something less dangerous, the change of pace means she can finally start her dream catering company and raise her daughter, Daisy, somewhere safer. But there’s nothing quite like having your first job back at home be catering an ex-boyfriend’s wedding to remind you of just how small your village is.

Paranormal Women’s Fiction from #1 Amazon bestseller, J.R. Rain, and New York Times bestseller, H.P. Mallory! So, this whole returning Lorcan’s vampire “kiss” (which would also allow me to shed my Blood Witch status) isn’t turning out the way I’d hoped. First, no matter how many times we attempt it, the spell fails. Not only that, but I’m starting to develop… ahem… extremely sensual feelings towards the incorrigible man, which doesn’t exactly float my boat or power my broom, as the case may be. But, the worst side effect of our blood bond is that now whenever Lorcan ...

Sinister secrets hidden by the tranquil waters of an Ozarks lake. Can married amateur sleuths bait and capture a killer before the truth slips away? Kirkus Reviews—“A fine whodunit featuring a delightful cast whom readers will love—or love to hate.” After newlyweds Elizabeth and Jonas Trout arrive to settle her grandmother's estate, they quickly find themselves embroiled in a treacherous mystery when Elizabeth is implicated in the murder of the property manager. With mounting evidence and the Southern small-town sheriff convinced of her guilt, Elizabeth and Jonas must fish for clues...

Oopsie. The Gray-Haired Knitting Detectives accused the wrong person of murder. Poor Milly is furious after being hauled into the police station to be interrogated. She is not letting those knitters get away with pointing their fingers at her! Absolutely not. Instead, she insists they solve the murder and clear her name. Naturally, the knitters jump at the chance to solve another mystery. They don’t care if the victim was hated by one and all. They’ll find the murderer! Can the Gray-Haired Knitting Detectives wade through the suspects to find the actual killer? Each book in the Gray-...