Humorous Mysteries

Dan Starkey is a young journalist in Belfast, who shares with his wife, Patricia, a prodigious appetite for drinking and dancing. Then Dan meets a beautiful and apparently impoverished student. And then, terrifyingly, she is murdered. Is it because she was not exactly who she claimed to be? Is it the IRA? A Protestant extremist group? A jealous lover? Before long, Dan is a target himself.…

I got me a date with Death… When Marty Zack shows up at my office at Spook Society, asking for my help, I dunno what to think. See, Marty and me… well, we’re at cross purposes when it comes to ghosties—I like to help the dead move on at their own speed, and Marty’s more like an uptight landlord kicking them to the curb. So, when Marty tells me the spooks of Haven Hollow have been disappearing for no good reason, and he needs my help to find out why, I gotta wonder what in the heck is going on. With the deceased Cain Morgan at my side (actually, it’s more fittin’ to say—...

Cassandra Thompson is the first Earth reporter with access to the classified Martian research colony of Darwin. While reporting on Darwin's transition to a free colony she quickly discovers the citizens are barely clinging to survival. Neighborhoods are split by race and class, robots make human labor obsolete, and anarchists and nationalists wrestle for control. Caught up in Darwin's power struggle, Cassandra must find a way to stop a civil war, outsmart local thugs, and avert a robot takeover, all before filing her next report.

It’s Halloween in Abbott Cove, and Grandma Grant is keen to win the pumpkin pie competition. In fact she’s so eager to win, Harper suspects her grandmother may have used magic to enhance her entry. Already concerned and on the lookout for odd signs of magic, Harper’s stress levels shoot through the roof when someone is poisoned during the competition. Fearing her grandmother may be the number one suspect, Harper gets to work, determined to solve the mystery of the poisoned pumpkin pie. Note: this is a 15,000 word short story.. This story was first published under the name D. S. Butler...

Tour guide and amateur sleuth Lana Hansen is back on the road! And where Lana travels, trouble is sure to follow… When Lana’s boyfriend, Alex Wright, gets into a jam during his first tour as a guide for Wanderlust Travels, Lana is sent to Costa Rica to help out. Yet nothing could prepare her for the mess she finds—a guide in the hospital, a hysterical client calling for Alex to be fired, and bickering guests threatening each other. This is not how Lana wanted to start touring again! Thrown into the deep, she has no choice but to help Alex overcome his problems with their clients, ...

Lexi’s life is a balancing act and it’s about to come crashing down. She was considered the best bank fraud investigator in the country. Unfortunately, now she’s in disgrace and working at the last bank that will employ her. And even that bank president would love to find any excuse to fire her. But when the bank's wealthiest client insists on hiring Lexi to find his missing daughter, the bank president can’t refuse. Lexi tracks the naive young heiress to a remote resort, deep in the jungles of Sumatra. It’s a place where rich guests disappear and things don't add up. Even worse, ...

History says it was suicide... Carly was thrilled to inherit her ex-husband's Victorian after he died. Of course, that was before she knew she was also inheriting his ghost, a 100-year-old curse, and the kind of strong mediumship skills that has every spirit in town begging for her to solve their mysteries. And Bessilyn Hind is first in line. According to history, in 1906 suffragist and local women's rights leader, Bessilyn Hind, committed suicide at her thirty-fifth birthday party after her fiancé broke up with her. Only one problem: her ghost doesn't remember it that way. And, she ...

Welcome to Inspector Flytrap's Detective Agency, home to the world-renowned solver of Big Deal mysteries. Inspector Flytrap, a Venus flytrap, works tirelessly with his assistant Nina the Goat, a goat, on his community's unsolved cases. There's no case too big, but there are definitely cases too small for this endearingly self-important plant detective.

"Ideal for cozy mystery aficionados craving a thrilling escape into the heart of the Southwest." -NewInBooks Who knew a murder or two would turn Jake Stewart’s life around? Jake was trying to figure out his life after being abruptly downsized from what he considered the best job in the world — being a reporter in a fast moving, big city newsroom. Now, he was wandering the Southwest in the Beast, an aging RV that was his only home in the world. No job, no prospects, no love. Then in the fading moments of a brilliant sunset in the Mesa country of Arizona, he hears cries for help, and ...

A peaceful van life retreat at a Florida beachside campground. A shocking murder. Can Julia solve the case before the wrong man is convicted? Julia Ross thought trading suburbia for the camping van life would be the adventure of a lifetime. A year after her divorce, she sells everything, turns her minivan into a camper, and heads to an idyllic Florida beachfront park for a month of sunbathing, biking, and self-care. But when a fellow camper is found dead in his RV, Julia's relaxing getaway takes a dark turn. At first, Julia wants nothing to do with the investigation—she came for peace, ...

On the edge of the Navajo Nation, rookie paralegal Naomi Manymules pauses on a lakeside clifftop to enjoy a moonlit moment. She hears someone swimming in the darkness far below her, and a boat drifts out of the shadows. When she glimpses something that might be a naked butt shining in the moonlight, she decides to head for home. What she saw was the bare behind of a murdered local sleaze. His passing upsets exactly no one, but his wife can offer only a coyote for an alibi.

Meg Langslow's summer is not going swimmingly. In her small Virginia hometown, she's the maid of honor at the nuptials of three loved ones - each of whom has dumped the planning in her hands. One bride is set on including a Native American herbal purification ceremony while another wants live peacocks on the lawn. But when an offensive newcomer, who hints at skeletons in the guests' closets, is found dead under suspicious circumstances, level-headed Meg's to-do list extends from flower arrangements and bridal registries to catching a killer - before the next event is her own funeral.

Can an 80-year-old widow, two quirky ghosts, and a little black cat with short legs find the problem causing unrest and solve the mystery at Willow Hill Mansion? When Edith buys an old mansion, she hopes for peace and quiet. Instead, she gets a lively adventure! With Molly, her playful Munchkin cat, by her side, Edith discovers the house is haunted by two very different ghosts—Lydia, a friendly spirit, and Margaret, a grumpy soul who believes her past was turbulent, causing unrest and an inability to move on to the other side. Together, this unlikely team embarks on a quest to uncover the...

Her small town is filled with mysteries and Rebekah is sure that she, along with her best friend Mouse, will be able to solve every last one of them. Rebekah and Mouse are on a fun field trip with their classmates when Rebekah, as usual, finds a mystery to solve. Will her detective work pay off or land her in a lot of trouble with Mrs. Konti and the tour operator at the museum?

Lookout, Dr. Frankenstein, because here comes Wanda Depraysie… It’s not as though I meant to create a life. I didn’t, but that life is still here, all the same. And the worst part? I created it with… sigh… my detested cousin, Maverick. Now, before you think I’m a double-timing, good-for-nothing witch, I’m not. It was all an accident. Swear. And the even craziest part? This little mixup isn’t even the worst thing that’s happened to me this week. No, that award goes to the invitation I receive to my own funeral—a party sponsored by the leader of the vampires, Rupert, ...

When Adeline Bertrand-Verdon, the haughty, conniving president of the Proust Association, is murdered, Inspector Jean-Pierre Foucheroux is called on to lead the investigation. Soon Inspector Foucheroux is overwhelmed by a seemingly endless list of suspects: from her assistant to her colleagues, her fiancé to her lover, almost everyone Adeline knew had motive to kill her.

In the nation’s Capital, someone is re-enacting the murders from a series of grisly horror books, and all the evidence points towards the author as the perpetrator. The big problem with that? He died a year ago. In suspicious circumstances. There were rumours of murder, but no arrests followed the original investigation. Now the victims are those who were closest to him, and it looks like the author has come back from the dead to exact his revenge. Hired by the author’s wife, who fears she may be next, Amanda and Tempest head to London for a case that will challenge the premise on which...

A luxurious beach resort, a missing friend, and secrets to die for. Emily Parker, meticulous bookbinder and amateur sleuth, thought a getaway to Azure Bay Resort would be the perfect escape from solving mysteries. But paradise quickly turns perilous when her best friend, investigative journalist Jenny Walsh, vanishes without a trace, leaving behind only a treasured pen near the murdered resort owner, Blake Montgomery. Accompanied by her intuitive Maine Coon, Fitzgerald, Emily teams up with Josh Reynolds, a charming local artist whose gallery hides clues as expressive as his paintings. The ...

He's snarky, but ever since Jameson became Isabella's familiar, he's had her back. Now it's time for her to return the favor. She promised to rescue his sister from a fraternity stronghold. The only problem is, she'll need help from her sorority. That's right, the women who hate her. In a desperate attempt to get the witches to work together, Hope asked a highly-regarded witch, Inanna, to train Isabella and her group. Isabella's pretty sure the Geneva Convention was violated in her training but it doesn't matter. Inanna was found dead on the library steps. The warning is clear, but a ...

A twist of fate finds Tiffany and Ian dressed up as Tiffany Toucan and Ian Emu - restaurant staff who pretend to be birds, complete with face paint, fake beaks and appropriate squawks - at a client's animal-themed restaurant... A Cupcakes-and-Crime Caper When a treasured family heirloom goes missing, Tiffany and Ian are called in to discover which errant family member might have stolen it. What should've been an easy case soon becomes a dangerous one, as dead bodies begin to appear and the seemingly sweet family turns out to have quite a few skeletons in their cupboard. Meanwhile, Nanna ...