Short Cozy Mysteries

Leila is on her way home for the holidays. She has a big surprise for her family and friends…only to find out there is a surprise of a different kind waiting for her. Lizzie is so ready for Christmas…she’s also ready to solve the mysterious puzzle Harry found carved into the front of the saloon’s very antique bar. A suggestion from Leila has them searching the saloon yet once again for something else they might be missing. If it exists, it could help solve the old puzzle they were beginning to believe was an impossible feat. Kevin is ready for the holidays too. His and Lizzie’s ...

Leger returns for his fourth book set at the hotel on "the island" far away from Glasgow. Kevin the swan has confessed to killing a local man by drowning him in the loch, but is he telling the truth and why would he claim he is a murderer? While trying to uncover the real story, Leger and Bob also have to look for Carole, who Lily is convinced is the real killer. Can they clear her name?

Leger has a plan to get Amber feeling like a true Glaswegian again. He wants to set up a detective school and recruit her as a teacher so she sees how valuable she is to the community. It also has the added benefit of passing on their skills to a new generation of cats, so when they're gone, Glasgow won't be left vulnerable. However, the students who turn up aren't kittens, but Leger's nearest and dearest friends. When Leger has to leave his first lesson halfway through to find a restless Amber, the others witness a crime being committed and assume Leger has set this up to test his students...

Every nosy neighbor, gossipy friend, and meddling relative is just one good mystery away from becoming a detective. From behind locked doors or out in broad daylight, driven by chance or curiosity, amateur sleuths get in over their heads in these six hair-raising, hilarious stories.

Meghan Truman always had a dream to become a Hollywood actress. Hollywood decided she wasn’t good enough. She left Hollywood broken but with a burning desire to start afresh in the Pacific Northwest, pursuing her second dream - opening a bakery. She never expected that the owner of a rival establishment would be found dead and all eyes would be focused on her as the prime suspect.

When Cherringham's Council debates selling the historic village hall for development as a luxury restaurant and hotel, all of Cherringham is up in arms; some seeing the sale as needed, others deeply opposed. For many, the centuries-old hall is the very heart of the community! But when the leader of the protestors is attacked after a raucous meeting and death threats are made, Jack and Sarah are asked to investigate. Can they find a possible killer before the crucial Council vote? And maybe stop a murder?

Lieutenant Ethan Hendricks’ greatest nightmare just also happened to be his grandfather’s newest business venture. Logan Hendricks is thrilled about his brand new detective agency’s first case, but things weren’t turning out the way they were supposed to, including the attempted murder of one of his brand new employees. But he figures their next case, which involves finding a missing sister, should go a lot smoother. How dangerous could it be? Ethan Hendricks wasn’t quite as confident about his grandfather’s new hobby, or that the supposedly straight-forward case of a missing ...

Hollister Daily has a mission. It's been his mission since his best friend's father gave him the task: Keep Fitzie out of trouble! Sometimes, that's easier said than done. When Fitzie gets a bee in her bonnet to turn an old furniture store downtown into a theatre, Hollie, Miss Minnie and the gang are all behind her. Fitzie is the guiding light during the building's renovations and agrees to star in the musical that will open the place to the public. It's all Hollie can do to keep up with her -- until she disappears. Then it's up to Hollie to throw on some drag and take Fitzie's place in the...

Hazel Arnold's mother has a strong sense of what is proper for a woman of the Arnolds' financial stature and is determined that Hazel marry a man she despises. This sets Hazel on a quest to prove the man is not who he appears to be. She enlists the help of her family's handsome chauffeur and her lady's maid. Her search takes her along a path of lies and deceit, resulting in death and destruction. Still, at the end of her quest, Hazel finds something worth much more than proving her mother wrong.

Everyone has a story…and a dream. Patricia didn’t trust easily. Her ex-husband had taught her all the reasons not to. But Daine didn’t give up easily. Andrew wanted to make certain his granddaughter was happy with her life…then his daughter showed up. Jillian was determined to learn more about her family’s history and the mystery surrounding the woman in the painting at Daine’s house…she didn’t count on Nic being just as interested in it as she was. Hannah couldn’t be happier with her new husband…or so she thought. Livy was thrilled with her and Patricia’s business ...

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

Every town has its secrets, but no one has a secret like hers. Amber Blackwood, lifelong resident of Edgehill, Oregon, has earned a reputation for being a semi-reclusive odd duck. Her store The Quirky Whisker is full of curiosities, from extremely potent sleepy teas and ever-burning candles to kids' toys that seem to run endlessly without the aid of batteries. The people of Edgehill think of the Quirky Whisker as an integral part of their feline-obsessed town, but most give Amber herself a wide berth.

A missing artifact. A town losing its magic. And a feisty librarian. Two decades ago, Elara Blackwood’s parents died in a mysterious accident. Since then, Quillhaven’s magic has disappeared, along with her own. When historical manuscripts relating to the town’s history are stolen on her watch, she is determined to find the thief. As she digs deeper into the mystery with Jasper, Quillhaven’s quirky journalist, she uncovers a startling secret. The stolen books contain clues about her parents’ death and the powerful artifact they had with them when they died. With the help of Leo and...

"Manuscript of Madness" follows Professor John Castellanos, a writer and academic, who receives an invitation to deliver a keynote lecture about his first novel, "Bridge of Souls," at an academic conference. Excited yet anxious about speaking publicly again, he travels to Cambridge, where he finds himself in a grand historic setting filled with eager attendees. His lecture goes surprisingly well, reigniting his passion for academia. However, the atmosphere quickly darkens when a body is discovered in the library, a researcher clutching a page from an ancient tome. As more murders occur, ...

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 ...

When Alex King, leader of legendary 90s rock group Lizard, hosts a party to get the band back together, old grudges surface. At dawn Alex is found floating in the pool of his Cherringham mansion. To the police it's a drug-fueled accident. But when Jack and Sarah get involved, they quickly discover that while a song may never die - the person, who wrote it, might have been murdered.

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister had been dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. Tobias Blaise never expected to find any woman he wanted to spend his life with, let alone one who looked at him the way Ellis did, ...

In the charming town of Brindlewood Bay, baker Becca Lane’s world is turned upside down when a suspicious death occurs in her shop. Determined to clear her name, she teams up with her sharp-witted journalist friend, Tessa, and her ever-loyal dog, Ranger, to uncover the truth. As they follow a trail of cryptic clues, secret dealings, and unexpected betrayals, Becca realizes the mystery runs deeper than she ever imagined. With the town’s annual baking competition fast approaching, the pressure is on—not just to perfect her scones but to outsmart a dangerous opponent. With humor, heart, ...

"Mrs. Latimer Had a Fat Cat" by Bart J. Gilbertson is the first place winner in Cozy Cat Press’s recent Cozy Mystery Poem Contest. This anthology contains this winning poem and all of the many other finalists selected from 266 entries. With over 100 selections, this volume is filled with poems about many different types of mysteries––scary, funny, silly, frightening, sad, and enlightening. The entrants come from around the world and their interpretations of “mystery” will leave you enchanted, delighted, and––hopefully––mystified!