International Cozy Mysteries

The lazy, slow month of August at the height of the Sicilian summer is, Inspector Montalbano assures his girlfriend, Livia, as they prepare for a relaxing holiday in a villa he has found for them, far too hot for any murders to be committed. But when Livia's friends' young son goes missing, a chain of events is sparked which will certainly ruin the Chief Inspector's pleasant interlude. A secret apartment and a grisly find in an old trunk are just the beginning as Montalbano navigates his way though the case and copes with the sweltering heat.

Hamelin is overflowing with tourists enjoying the Scottish-themed games - and most of them are donning tartans from Peggy Winn's ScotShop. And her 14th-century ghostly companion, Dirk, has been indispensable, keeping an eye out for shoplifters and matching customers' family names to their clan plaid. Adding to the chaos is Big Willie, a longtime champion of the games, but not everyone is happy to have him in town.

Constable Nick’s beat is modernized, with his police bike replaced by a mini-van. He gets more than he bargained for as his work draws him into closer contact with villagers, in more ways than one. There are compromising positions aplenty in this next charming installment of Aidensfield life. Nick finds himself lost in heavy fog and runs across a couple of illicit lovers trapped in their car. He advises the village grocer about his very respectable lady shoplifter and discovers how farmer Owens copes with his bossy wife.

“We have a secret the Devil and I.” These are the chilling words on the back of an old photograph that Sister Joan uncovers while cleaning out the attic storerooms. What she discovers among the dusty antiques leads to her most dangerous case yet. Joan has the strangest feeling that she's being followed. But the person she thinks she saw died over a year ago . . . Or did he? Then a young secretary turns up dead. She's been strangled. Another body is found and Sister Joan must get to the bottom of things before the murderer strikes again.

Rocco is still reeling from the death of his best friend’s girlfriend, who was murdered as she slept in his bed. There’s no doubt that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid the ultimate price. With the identity of the hit man still unknown, a cloud lingers over Rocco, dulling his judgment and leaving this antihero exposed to other threats. For Rocco has stepped on one too many people’s toes over the years, namely the Mafia that is still being rooted out in Aosta.

It’s the bitterly cold spring season in alpine Aosta, and a girl has been kidnapped. Chiara Berguet, daughter of the owners of a local construction firm, was targeted thanks to the sizable debt her parents owe. But like many a best-laid plan, a blown tire causes the crime to go haywire as the kidnappers’ van skids off the road and crashes into a pair of larch trees. Both the driver and his accomplice die on impact, leaving the girl in the back, gagged and bound and unable to break herself free.

The first book in this awesome series! Come follow in the adventure and mystery as Missy Porter, a young woman, tags along on her father’s trip to Stockholm, Sweden. His company North & North try to uncover a plot against the royal family, whose ruby necklace has been stolen. When she arrives at the palace, she’s not only welcomed by her cousin Jack, who is helping out on the case, but by a sarcastic King. The King asks for her help, leading her into tight situations and comical performances. Before she knows it, she’s tangled up in the case to find the stolen necklace, endangering ...

When Dorothy Martin goes to France—alone because Alan is stuck back home in Sherebury with a broken ankle—she worries about her ability to get along in a language she barely speaks, and in a country she hasn’t seen for over fifty years. But by the time Alan joins her a week later, Dorothy has found herself embroiled in one mystery after another: a woman drowning in quicksand; a man suffering a near-fatal fall in the abbey at Mont Saint Michel; and a missing American archaeologist—all seemingly connected to a monk named Abelard who has been dead for almost nine hundred years.

When world-renowned wine expert Benjamin Cooker's elderly father needs him most, the erudite consultant and his dashing assistant Virgile Lanssien are called away to Burgundy to orchestrate the harvest. More than just picking grapes, the Winemaker Detective must keep a delicate balance between an old-time vintner and his heir as a catastrophic hailstorm endangers some of France's most celebrated wines. Adding insult to injury, the brutal and mysterious murder of a grape picker sends shock waves through the winemaking world.

When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore to marry Doctor Ramu, she's resigned herself to a quiet life. But that all changes the night of the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden for some peace—and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour later, the party turns into a murder scene. When a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her and launches a private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious brothel to an Englishman's mansion.

Paris was a property owner's paradise, a place where renters far exceeded the inventory of apartments. So why had the beautiful young French woman been so willing to offer a perfect stranger, an American, her apartment and one month free rent? Yes, there were less expensive places in the world to live, but Zack's heart was set on a place of his own in the 6th Arrondissement. And yes, it did matter that it was in this particular neighborhood, where Gertrude Stein had lived and Hemingway had walked.

While Fanny takes care of the business end of Amy's Travel in New York City, Amy is traipsing around Monte Carlo, managing their first mystery-themed excursion, a road rally in which guests compete to solve a fictional murder along the way. Amy still has reservations about partnering up with her mother. But both women, having lost the men in their lives, need a fresh beginning.

When Kat Denham decided it was to time to become a licensed private investigator, in addition to her successful career as an author, she never expected her first case to take her to South Africa to investigate the murder of a member of the US Trade Commission. Talk about trial by fire! Not only does she have to navigate language and living condition barriers, but she also has to walk a very fine line not to upstage the investigation by the local Cape Town police officials. Ladies of the night, gamblers, old feuds, and jealousy make for a lot of suspects.

At Sir Gerald's medieval festival, the castle is authentic, the jousting is rousing, and the wenches are the sauciest in the land. The only thing missing is decent food. And so Sir Gerald calls in London's gourmet detective, an expert food finder, whose specialties include locating rare ingredients, designing historically accurate menus, and solving the occasional murder. And all three skills will be tested if he is to escape the age of chivalry alive. After the day's first joust, the winning knight falls to the ground, poisoned.

Ari Thor returns to investigate a chilling series of crimes that are rooted in tragic events from the past. Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village on the northernmost tip of Iceland, accessible only via a small mountain tunnel. Ari Thór Arason: a local policeman whose tumultuous past and uneasy relationships with the villagers continue to haunt him.

London's gourmet detective is contemplating an empty bank account and, worse, an empty stomach, when a phone call solves both problems at once. Over lunch, Desmond Lansdown, world-renowned actor and burgeoning restaurateur, hires the detective for a chef-hunt, sending him to Italy to eat until he can decide which cook Lansdown should hire. It's a demanding gig, but this detective is never one to shy away from hard work. However, it doesn't take long for this plush assignment to turn prickly.

When Mike’s friend, Jack Trout, asks Kelly and Mike to join his wife and him on an exploratory trip to a Cuban island, it’s an invitation they can’t resist. Mike’s dream of fly-fishing the saltwater flats on the exotic island is quickly replaced when he’s asked by the local constable to help solve the murder of a British fly-fishing guide, Dudley Samms. Jack becomes a suspect and his wife, Carola, asks Kelly to help solve the crime.

Dorothy Martin and her husband, retired Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, have just visited Buckingham Palace, where Alan was awarded the George Cross, when they and a friend, retired Chief Inspector Jonathan Quinn, stumble across the body of a young girl hidden in St James’s Park. Wondering what led to the unfortunate girl’s demise, Dorothy can’t help but get involved in the case when Jonathan calls the next day and admits he knew who the victim was …

When Dorothy Martin and her husband Alan meet the wealthy Ahmad family, they are charmed by their courtesy, their perfect English, their delightful children, and their commitment to peace. Following a concert at Sherebury Cathedral, the Ahmads offer to host a party afterwards at the Rose and Crown pub. But Mr. and Mrs. Ahmad don’t show up. Their children are asleep upstairs at the inn, but the parents are nowhere to be found. With suspicions of kidnap and even murder being raised, Dorothy and Alan feel compelled to assist the police and MI5 in their efforts to find their new friends.

Jeremy Wheale's well-ordered life is blasted apart when his brother is murdered. The killer was after a family heirloom - an antique gold tray - which sets Wheale on a trail from Devon to the tropical rainforest of Yucatan. There he joins the hunt for a lost Mayan city. But in the dense cover of the jungle, a band of vicious convict mercenaries are waiting to strike....