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 ...

Spring is in the air. Gus is feeling pretty good about the change in seasons until an unknown man decides he would rather change from being alive to being dead. He clearly drank something toxic, and it didn’t agree with him. The question is, did he really decide to do that, or did someone make that decision for him. Only that question is buried under a lot of other layers of questions. Why did the man visit Gus a few days before his death proclaiming the end times were near? Why didn’t he take enough poison to kill him near instantly instead of lingering around for days slowly dying? ...

Folge 10: Ganz Palinghuus ist in heller Aufregung: Das Watt'n'rennen findet wieder statt! Der traditionelle Lauf durchs Watt lockt Teilnehmer aus der ganzen Umgebung an. Natürlich läuft James auch mit. Sarah feuert ihren Ehemann kräftig an, und kurz sieht es sogar aus, als würde er gewinnen - bis den Zuschauern klar wird, dass nicht James schneller, sondern alle anderen langsamer werden. Der Grund ist schnell gefunden: Alle Läufer zeigen Vergiftungserscheinungen! Will jemand den Lauf sabotieren? Doch dann entdeckt Sarah eindeutige Beweise, dass das Gift nur einen der Teilnehmer treffen sollte.

Grab a special boxed set featuring romantic detectives, Grace and Jack, and their magical cats. Magical white cat Tatania helps her human operatives solve mysteries without missing a nap. In Splendid Summer, when Grace Wentworth loses her last living relative and all her money, hot Detective and WWI Aviator Jack Brewster gets the case. Grace is learning to lead her own life instead of just following it around. Startled by Grace's lack of deference to him, Jack recognizes his romantic equal.

Leader of the Underworld Halloween LaVeau is attending an award ceremony. Brothers Liam and Nicolas have been nominated for Coven Leader of the Year. Things take a strange turn when ghosts and magic collide during the ceremony. There will be no awards given out if Halloween doesn’t gain control of the event.Previously published in the Spell of the Ball anthology.

The turning point in history came with the exposure of the government's betrayal of basic freedoms. The spy agency BIM cloaked itself behind the computers, cell phones, and postal service communication systems of World Aid organizations. Albert, a simple, honest accountant, exposed the truth behind the illusion of freedom for all the world to see. The day the world stopped being a secure place began like any normal day. Albert Bach enjoyed his job and loved the thought of providing a needed service. He viewed himself as a loyal citizen. He believed in the country's policies until he saw ...

After several years in the military, Kirby Jackson just moved back to his coastal hometown to open up his dream coffee shop. But his best friend and co-owner, Ryan, just had to add his own flair: Comic books. And the business isn't off to a good start. On the cusp of telling Ryan the grim news, he finds his friend with a knife in his back. The shop’s mascot, a stubborn dachshund named Gambit, might hold the keys to solving the case. But he ain't talking. His woofs are only for treats...Or are they?

A tea shoppe along the coast of Maine is connected to a year's worth of mysterious deaths. Starting one winter day, Georgina finds the mayor poisoned by a plate of petite fours. That spring, Evie's favorite customer and recipe tester is killed. While out delivering scones for her summer job, Ashley discovers a crime scene to practice her student training in forensics. Against a backdrop of vibrant fall foliage, Ladessa discovers a corpse at table number four. How can one small shoppe's employees be connected to so many deaths, and will the business ever recover?

Unicorn Airlines Flight 739 with no pilot, no crew, and no passengers lands at Anchorage International Airport. As the authorities are wondering what happened, a ransom demand is made for the passengers: $25 million in diamonds. Chief of detectives for the Sandersonville, North Carolina, police department Captain Heinz Noonan is visiting his in-laws in Anchorage when he is called onto the case.

Don't be fooled. She may be sweet, but she's one smart cookie. As Kara Summer's second year of law school was coming to a close. Little did she know, her boring and predicable life was about to get turned upside down. When an answer key to an exam is found in the library, the accusations began to fly. When the professor discovers this unethical and crummy behavior, Kara is caught in the middle. The only way to defend herself is to figure out who the real culprit is. However, she may lose a person she loves in the process. Chocolate Chips and Cheaters is the prequel novella short to Key Lime...

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.

Still coming to terms with all the changes in their lives, Annabella decides it's time for the family to take a summer vacation. On the spur of the moment, she takes Leger and Bob back to the island to reconnect with Hugh and reminisce about old times. However, when a mysterious grey-haired man is discovered beaten and left for dead on the beach just as they arrive in the town, Leger decides to solve the case. It's not going to be easy since he's facing a lack of support and an injury to his paw but with the help of some new faces, Leger becomes extremely determined to solve the case.

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.

The second of the Leger Hotel Mysteries Series sees an unexpected visitor with a massive grudge against Leger arrive - his son, August. Confused when August first arrives at the hotel, Leger asks how the young tomcat made the journey from Glasgow. He learns that August travelled with Verity, the sister of the man who attacked Hugh almost two years ago. Unaware who Verity is, Annabella and Hugh give her a job at the hotel but alarm bells ring when the young girl falls victim to one crime after another. Leger suspects she is conning her trusting employers and friends out of money. August is ...

The seasons have changed in Scotland and rather than prowl in the cold, Leger has chosen to spend his evenings dining at his good friend Winter's home or sleeping in front of the fire. But peaceful nights watching snow fall from the windowsill will have to wait as there is a new case to solve. His friend Winter has gone missing! Leger has his paws full and is distracted from the job in hand. He has a new hibernation spot to find for an insomniac hedgehog friend, hears news of an unexpected pregnancy and as ever, Leger struggles to communicate with his human companion, Annabella. If he did ...

Spring has arrived in Glasgow and Leger has a new mystery to solve! When his neighbours return from their winter break in Spain, they begin fighting with the other residents on a daily basis and losing friends at every turn. Someone deliberately sets their garden shed on fire, endangering all humans and animals in the nearby homes. Leger then learns that his hedgehog friend was hibernating in the shed has suddenly vanished and he knows he must track down the arsonist. It won't be easy but this time he has the help of not one but two mollies. Ginger's daughter Amber has finally come of age ...

To Leger, Halloween is a nuisance. Everyone is talking about superstition and as a black cat he is in the firing line at this time of year. When his human's great-niece, Brianna, decides to dress as a black cat to go trick or treating and dress Leger in his very own costume, Leger decides enough is enough and leaves home, planning never to return. But just hours later on a stormy autumnal night, Leger embarks on his most difficult investigation so far... Following in Leger's footsteps, Brianna has gone on the prowl and he must find her before anyone else with sinister intentions does. ...

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.

Now that Amber has been located, it's time to bring her home. The residents of Creamery Crescent and Livingstone Avenue gather together at the Goldsworthy home to hold a surprise welcome home party for Amber. However, the guest of honour has not arrived. Flooding in Kilmarnock has meant that Nicole and Peter couldn't reach her and they are left devastated when Amber's new human refuses to meet them to hand her over. However, in the middle of the night, Amber mysteriously turns up at her old home, with apparently no recollection of how she got there and who was responsible for bringing her ...

The gang from The Last Stop Retirement Community is back in 12 hilariously inspiring short stories and 14 new issues of "The Last Stop Bulletin"! "Finders Keepers": Find out what happens when new resident, Benji Little, takes to the halls with his FX-458 Gold Digger X-treme Model 2 Metal Detector.