Short Cozy Mysteries

I must have missed the "Santa Clause"… When I won an all-inclusive vacation to a luxury mountain resort over the holidays after entering a sweepstakes on the back of my cereal box, I assumed it was Fate announcing it was finally Merri Bianchi’s time to relax and have a little fun. But you know what they say about assumptions.... As it turns out I neglected to read the fine print, aka the "Santa Clause," and now I’m dressed as an Elf working my red-and-white striped stockings off at Santa’s Toyshop to make sure every parent finds the perfect gift for their precious little snowflake ...

There is a dead body at The Lodge - a dead body that just happens to hail from Nikki's own hometown of Atlanta. As the newest, and arguably the nosiest, neighbor in the area, she knows all eyes will soon turn her way and tongues will start to wag. Nikki has no choice but to garner her new friends and put her extensive experience as a big city reporter to use, playing a modern-day Nancy Drew against a backdrop of gorgeous hills and the Canadian border.

For fans of Hallmark Christmas movies - a light hearted holiday story to get you in the spirit of the season. Jenny King is trying hard to raise enough money for the local children's home. When a confused old man arrives on her doorstep, she welcomes him with open arms. Is Jenny's guest a trickster like her boyfriend suspects, or is he just a lost soul, looking for a warm haven? Curl up with this short cozy read this season and share it with your family and friends. **Candy Canes and Christmas is a light hearted short story set in the town of Pelican Cove. This is a bonus read for fans of ...

Shortly before the holidays, inventor and former assassin Missi Bombay gets orders to perform one last job. It's the granddaddy of all hits-to be carried out on Christmas Eve, no less. Missi knows she has only one chance at success, so she enlists the help of her cousins Gin, Dakota, and Coney. Together the Bombay cousins come out of retirement to stamp out the world's most evil cabal.

Ph.D in Murder is a cozy mystery short by best-selling author R. Barri Flowers. A doctoral student's independent study reenactment of the well-known and still unsolved murder of Marilyn Sheppard ends with a modern day murder and killer on the loose. Also includes a bonus mystery suspense short, "Kill and Say Goodbye". A woman discovers a dead woman on the beach that bears a striking resemblance to herself.

Her life was once filled with love and the promise of new beginnings. But she'd given up on her hopes and dreams of marriage and a family and instead buried herself in her big city career and the small home in her quiet home-town neighborhood. Then everything changed. Jessie Richards found herself in just about the worst possible position. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been in difficult situations before in her life, but this one pretty much outdid all the others. And it didn’t help that she had no choice but to tell her new boss. The feelings that she had for the man…romantic feelings...

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.

From USA Today best-selling author Christina A. Burke comes a laugh-out-loud collection of three full-length novels featuring temp-turned-rock-star, Diana Hudson. This collection includes Queenie Baby: On Assignment, Queenie Baby: Out of Office, and Queenie Baby: On Tour.

April Fools' Day has arrived and Leger can't help himself from playing tricks. With his new-found reading skills, as basic as they are, he manages fool Ginger's human, John, into believing he is a psychic cat who can predict the winner of dog races. Thinking Leger is the key to untold riches, John takes Leger's signs and signals seriously and plans to gamble with Leger's help. However, a trip to the local pub, and the slot machine there sheds light on the shady dealings of of the pub's owner.

This is a collection of Merryville Mystery Books 1-3 and includes Brownies & Betrayal, Cupcakes & Contempt and Daiquiris & Death. Book 1: Meredith is a divorced empty-nester who bakes brownies for cash. In her tiny rural town of Merryville, the last thing she expects is to stumble upon a dead body. But that’s what happens. And what’s worse is she dreamt about it the night before it happened. To avoid being a suspect, she must figure out who wanted the town’s general contractor dead. And it would be great if she could wrap things up before Christmas! Luckily she’s not alone. She’s ...

Leger and his family have been unsettled for a few weeks. He is particularly worried about Annabella, especially when she starts talking about no longer being here. She tries to settle her anxious mind by treating herself to some new jewels, but just a few hours after purchasing them, someone steals them. Leger has his suspicions about who the culprit is, but unmasking them will risk the newfound closeness he has developed with his mother. Forced to make a choice between his loyalty to his human mother and his feline one, Leger finds that the decision is taken out of his hands.

Nora Newberry has been working to make her dreams come true and finally, after 10 years, it's time! She's moved back to her hometown of Milburn, Wyoming, and, together with her lifelong best friend, Raquel Madden, is opening the diner they've been planning since high school. Life couldn't be better...and it's time to celebrate!

Passing Out—a compelling addition to the Cecil Whitford series—takes readers back to the formative days of the compassionate funeral director, and to his training at HMS Raleigh. As Cecil faces the challenging selection process, the atmosphere turns tense as recruits begin to mysteriously disappear. Determined to unravel the truth, Cecil finds himself entangled in events that will shape the man we later meet in Suicide in Suffolk. The suspense heightens as the disappearances cast long shadows over the training grounds. Cecil's relentless pursuit of the facts propels him into a web of ...

There have been many changes in Leger's life recently and Annabella is now leaning on him for support so much that she won't go anywhere without him. So, on a chilly September afternoon, Leger finds himself leashed to Annabella and travelling in her bag on her way to have lunch with Nicole in Glasgow's west end at a cafe that accepts animal diners. However, when they get there, they find the cafe empty and a violent robbery taking place in the kitchen. Can Leger help the two women track down the perpetrator with no knowledge of the area and no clues to work with except the getaway vehicle -...

In the midst of the crush of a lifetime, Milly Dupont finds herself entangled in a murder mystery. Quiet little Milly who runs the quiet little tea shop across from the corner shop discovers that the shop owner has been possibly kidnapped, maybe even murdered. But where's Davina's body?

Stormy Summers gets a surprise visit during the holiday season. This stranger delivers unexpected magical news.

Harry wanders into Gretchen's Kitchen for lunch and ends up taking custody of Mulligan, a nine-year-old with adult sized problems. He soon finds out that Mulligan may be only nine, but she has a mind of her own, doesn't hesitate to express herself, often times offering her take on "You seriously old people." To solve Mulligan's problems, Harry searches for a missing cousin and his denim collection, has a deadly encounter with bad guys, and robs the town office building. Cat does battle with bad guys to protect her new buddy, despite her irritating habits, and like Mulligan, doesn't hesitate...

Returning to Glasgow after a brief spell in his new island home has left Leger feeling homesick and heartbroken. His son and daughter have grown up without him, his beloved Ginger has found a new tom and a thief is running amok in the area while his former sidekick, Amber, is uninterested in catching the culprit. On the plus side, the extra pounds he gained during his brief retirement have done nothing to ruin his appeal with the local mollies. Leger faces uneasy choices. Should he help Amber collect clues and point her in the right direction? How can he win back Ginger? Did he make the ...

In Nathalies Cafe findet der alljährliche Käsekuchen-Wettbewerb von Earlsraven statt. Doch statt eines Preises für den leckersten Kuchen gibt es einen Toten! Stuart Ridlington, Chefjuror und Inhaber der erfolgreichen Bäckereikette "Baker's Belly", fällt während der Verkostung tot um. War es Mord? Und hat Rita Buffridge, seit zehn Jahren in Folge die Gewinnerin des Wettbewerbs, womöglich etwas mit seinem Tod zu tun?

Do pandas dream? And if so, what do they dream of? That question is asked in this anthology of stories by the award-winning author of Daemonic Mechanical Artifacts and Deep School Tuition. Enter the weird and wonderful worlds of Denton Salle, where a Slavic myth asks for help, an Austin PI is asked to recover a demon-possessed blade, and a Countess recruits help in a Steampunk French Empire. Ranging from sweet romance to steampunk adventures to urban fantasy, with characters running from heroes to whores to ghouls, Salle's stories range across genre and from North Texas to South France. ...