New Releases For The Week Of October 25th, 2020–Part 4

Small-time Crime, Big-time Danger

Of all the crimes to plague the idyllic small town of Stirling Mills, Texas, Lexie Lincoln never expected jewelry theft. But thieves are breaking into local homes, stealing cheap costume jewelry and stirring up paranoia. When a ghost suggests that the jewelry may be more valuable than anyone realizes, Lexie finds herself delving into forgotten chapters of the town’s strange history.

It seems the jewelry might actually be valuable to those with the ability to use its power, and that poses a real danger as the crimes escalate. Lexie needs to track down the thieves before they can use the gems for nefarious purposes—and before the town tears itself apart with fear and suspicion. She can’t exactly tell local cop Wes Mosby that she’s getting hot tips from ghosts, so it’s up to her to crack the case, stop the thieves, and foil their sinister agenda in time to save the town’s spring festival.

Another Lucky Lexie mystery by the author of the Enchanted, Inc. series. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A mysterious abandoned quilt. A sinister string of murders. Can this amateur sleuth follow the pattern to catch the killer?

After much hard work, Taylor Quinn is finally finding relief from the trauma of losing her mom. Invited to help solve the mystery of an abandoned quilt, she agrees to take on the pleasant distraction. But her innocent investigation leads her straight to a dead body with a pair of sewing shears stuck in its back.

When two journalists reporting on the stabbing are taken out the same way, Taylor faces her worst fear: A monster is targeting everyone she’s talked to about the quilt. Desperate to prevent more deaths, she starts building a patchwork of clues. But piecing them together might land her in an early grave.

Can Taylor uncover the villain before her life is cut short?

Emperor’s New Quilt is the exciting fifth book in the quirky and lovable Taylor Quinn Quilt Shop Mystery Series. If you like witty dialogue, charming settings, and stitching together the truth, then you’ll love Tess Rothery’s page-turning whodunit.

Buy Emperor’s New Quilt today to sew up a chilling case! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle. Paperback

A truth spell is an honest mistake . . .

When the demanding Marina Mercer forces Amelia to do a truth spell over shares in a goldmine, Amelia expects nothing will go wrong. But when Marina’s tenant is murdered in gold blood, Marina’s boyfriend becomes the prime suspect.

Now Alder is furious at Amelia for once again finding herself an Australian Sherlock Holmes searching for nuggets of information—but she can’t worry about that now. The real murderer is difficult to dig up, and with half the townspeople  telling the truth, Amelia is starting to suspect that the truth won’t set you free, but plunge you into trouble.

The Halloween Truth Spell is Book 15 in this cozy mystery series from USA Today Bestselling author, Morgana Best. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Pumpkin tea blends aren’t the only things that are being stirred up in the next baffling whodunit of the Paramour Bay Mysteries by USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne…

All Hallows’ Eve is only a fortnight away, and the residents of Paramour Bay can’t wait to get their hands on all the candy corn, caramel apples, and pumpkin tea blends this fall season. As a matter of fact, the highly anticipated Halloween Festival is about to kick off in town square with the reveal of the largest pumpkin that has ever been grown in their very own local pumpkin patch.

There’s only one itsy-bitsy problem—someone has stolen the town’s prized jack-o-lantern! Raven ropes Leo into solving another mystery, but he goes all in when he realizes that a pilfered pumpkin is the least of their worries!

Fill up your candy bowl, grab your favorite pumpkin-flavored drink, and get ready to solve the perplexing case of the missing prized pumpkin! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

In her debut novel, Susie Sarkozy expertly captures the inner workings of an automobile dealership through the eyes of a delightful heroine, Birdie Alton, the only female car salesperson in the Automall. The well-drawn, colorful characters entertain the reader through the author’s keen sense of humor as Birdie finds herself caught up in the drama of the cut-throat automobile business. The murder of a male adversary at the dealership tests her fortitude and ingenuity and quickly moves the book from a fascinating and humorous study of a female trying to survive in a man’s world to a page turner you won’t be able to put down. Highly recommended! —DUKE SOUTHARD, award-winning author of The Fallacy of Closure and the Detective Parker Havenot series (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

BOOK THREE in the ALL-NEW BARKS & BEANS CAFE cozy mystery series!!

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

With the one-year anniversary of the now-successful Barks & Beans Cafe approaching, siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield set up an iced coffee booth at the state fair. Taking a break from brewing, Macy bumps into Carolina, a long-lost childhood friend who’s now sitting pretty as a country superstar. Macy tries not to fangirl too hard when her old friend extends an invitation to meet the rest of the Carolina Crush band before their opening show.

But when Carolina falls victim to not one, but two near-death experiences, Macy takes it upon herself to find out who has it in for her old friend. Fortified with plenty of roasted corn, cinnamon rolls, and her brother’s signature iced maple latte, Macy takes to the Ferris wheel to get the lay of the land from the air. She discovers too late that this year’s fair isn’t all fun and games…but she’s already locked in for the ride.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown…with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series in order:
Book 1: No Filter
Book 2: Iced Over
Book 3: Fair Trade (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Escape to the Pacific Northwest, where magic and mountains meet murder and mayhem.

Ali’s life is going pretty well. Almost too well. And sure enough, her win streak comes flying to a halt when an elf is killed in Mt. Rheanier and Willow is accused of the murder.

Swearing to clear her best friend’s name, Ali finds herself once again at odds with the Enforcers as she insists on solving this murder. But the closer she gets to solving the crime, the closer she gets to becoming the killer’s next target as well. Will Ali solve the murder and clear Willow’s name before it’s too late?

Potion for your Thoughts is the fifth book in the Pacific North Witches series of humorous paranormal cozy mystery novels. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Fun, wacky with spit-your-drink laugh-out-loud moments, Brooms Away will have you up way past your bedtime.

An enchanted world. A missing sister. And suspects with dangerous supernatural abilities around every corner.  

When Arabella Black is swept away to a fantastic and faraway land by her cat, who she thought was an everyday Maine coon, she discovers everything she knew about her life was a lie. The biggest lie of all: she’s not human. Not even close. And to top that off, her sister is missing, her family home is threatened and a mysterious shapeshifter is following her. So what’s a half-banshee, half-dryad to do, but get her sleuth on.

Can Arabella harness her new powers to unlock her family heritage, help her sister and save the family home in this place of secrets and sorcery?  

If you like murder with a splash of magic, a dollop of wonder and a cast of quirky characters then you’ll love book one in D. A. Kelly’s new fantasy cozy mystery series. 

Unlock the fun of Brooms Away today! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

You made your bed, now die in it…

Bored barista Selena Smith’s life is so normal it hurts — until an eccentric old woman claiming to be her aunt appears in the cafe. She insists on Selena coming to work at the Kindred Spirits Inn, her remote bed-and-breakfast. The only problem? The inn and its guests are anything but normal.

When Selena arrives at Kindred Spirits, she discovers magic radiating from the inn’s every surface, paranormal patrons prowling its halls, and an inexplicable new ability to see flashes of the past.

But Selena’s newfound powers aren’t spiriting away all the guests. Someone — or something — lurking in Kindred Spirits is desperate to exorcise her from the inn before she exposes all the skeletons hanging in the closet of Room 666.

Will Selena’s psychic sleuthing lead her to the truth? Or will the killer make sure she checks out for good?

Dead and Breakfast is the first book in the Visions and Victims series of paranormal cozy mysteries. If haunted hotels, visceral visions, and supernatural suspects get your wand waving, then you’re sure to fall under the spell of this new spinoff series that expands Lily Webb’s magical universe.

Buy Dead and Breakfast to start speaking with the spirits of Starfall Valley today! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Stolen memories. Stolen lives. How far will she go to get it all back?

Some women want their husband to remember their anniversary. Allison just wants hers to remember her name. The library of memories she guards may hold the key. If she can return Paul’s memories to the magical books, she just might get her life back, too.

The question is—how far will she go to get what she wants?

If you like small-town settings, love stories that transcend memory, and twisty magical mysteries, you’ll love Libraries & Labradors, the third and final book in the Magic Library Mystery series.

This series is best enjoyed in order:

Tomes & Terriers (Book 1)
Pages & Pyrenees (Book 2)
Libraries & Labradors (Book 3) (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Ho. Ho. No…

It’s Christmas in Sweet River, Texas, and the whole town is feeling festive apart from Ainsley McGregor. Ainsley has never enjoyed the holidays and would rather ignore them, but with her shop Bless Your Art busier than ever and filled with happy shoppers, even she’s feeling some Christmas spirit. That is, until her Great Dane, George Clooney, sniffs out a dead body in the Santa House at the Christmas Festival.

When one of her favorite crafters becomes the prime suspect, Ainsley is determined to prove his innocence. The case is full of so many twists and turns that even Ainsley begins to fear the truth. Is she protecting a killer?

With help from her friends and some extremely nosey townsfolk, Ainsley and her dog hurry to find the truth––as long as they can outwit and outrun the killer first. Otherwise, this Christmas might just be her last. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Ten crime writers of color have teamed up to offer you the gift of escape this holiday season. From Christmas crime capers to Thanksgiving thrillers, historical hard-boiled to contemporary cozies, mystery fans of all genres will find something to love in this limited-time collection of exclusive, never-before-published seasonal short stories.

What you’ll find inside:

• “The New Year’s Hex” by Carolyn Marie Wilkins. Carrie McFarland finds her New Year’s plans derailed when a psychic vision pulls the 1920s African American amateur sleuth into someone’s evil scheme.
• “Pipe Dreams” by S.G. Wong. In this hard-boiled Crescent City short story, infatuation and passion drive Minnie Chen straight into danger as she tries to best the City’s most glamorous private detective in a reimagined 1930s-era Chinese Los Angeles.
• “A Christmas Tip” by Elizabeth Wilkerson. A surprise Christmas bonus becomes too tempting for Philadelphia nursing assistant Brianna Byers to resist—even if accepting requires some skillful skirting of the law.
• “The Stranger in the House” by Stella Oni. This London House Mystery prequel stars Elizabeth Ojo, a Nigerian housekeeper at a posh guest house, who finds her Christmas intersecting with that of a mysterious resident in trouble.
• “What Lies Inside” by Kia Dennis. A tormented university professor falls deeper and deeper into a destructive obsession in this harrowing tale of love and longing.
• “A Pub, Bed & Breakfast & A Dead Body” by Forest Issac Jones. A dark past becomes the deadly present when North Carolina police detective Ike Coates and his intrepid young partner are tasked with determining the cause of a suspicious death.
• “A Deadly First” by Delia C. Pitts. Thanksgiving takes a fatal turn when New York private eye SJ Rook finds himself thrust into his first murder case in this darkly atmospheric tale of noir.
• “The Holiday Murder Mélange” by Myra Jolivet. This Sarah Doucette Jean-Louis short story follows the Creole P.I. around the San Francisco Bay Area on her quest to figure out who killed a man outside of her office.
• “Those Holiday Blues” by Jennifer J. Chow. Jasmine, aka “Jazz,” can’t escape the tragic past when an old boyfriend asks to meet on the anniversary of his mother’s death.
• “Holiday Holdup” by Paige Sleuth. In this Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Short, Imogene Little gets tangled up in a Christmas Eve bank robbery orchestrated by none other than Santa Claus himself.

This anthology is only available for a short time, so grab it now before it’s gone. It would be criminal to miss it! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

How can a perfectly planned Halloween party go really, really wrong? Easy. A dead body shows up in my decorated coffin. Welcome to my witchy world.

Hi, I’m Glinda Goodall, the good witch from the south, who is a hopeless snoop turned amateur sleuth. I had one job this October, and that was to decorate for the annual Halloween fest at my aunt’s restaurant. It was organized to the max: ghosts floating on the ceiling, a coffin with a vampire, and a small cemetery surrounded by pink painted pumpkins. Spooky yet festive.

Just my luck, someone was murdered at the party. I might not have inserted myself into the investigation had the corpse not been a very important person to our family. At first, it seemed like an open and shut case since several witnesses saw Spiderman kill the vampire. The problem? A ton of guests had similar outfits. What was worse was that many people were dressed as vampires–just like the dead guy. The big question was whether our friend was the intended victim or not.

With the help from my psychic cousin and my talented computer expert business partner, we’re sure to get to the bottom of this. So, stop in at the Tiki Hut Grill for a cup of java, and you just might see me. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

She can’t skip town until her aunt makes it to the altar. When a killer crashes the party, can she save the bride-to-be from honeymooning in jail?

Glory Wells thinks her life can’t get much worse after her con artist husband runs away with her money and her pride. Low on self-respect and high on misery, she reluctantly returns to her small hometown for her eccentric aunt’s fourth trip down the aisle. But she finds herself in hot oil when the wedding planner is discovered dangling from the ship’s mast like the fresh catch of the day.

With her food-loving aunt as the prime suspect, Glory sets out to rustle up the truth. But a pirate-themed wedding, a bedazzled chicken, and a zany cast of characters from her past may be a recipe for disaster. And as Glory struggles to manage this homicidal mutiny, the culprit simmers frighteningly close to home.

Can she pick up the pieces of her life, survive two weeks of Southern-fried family time, and solve the puzzle before she’s the next overcooked victim?

The Bride and Doom is the hilarious first entry in the Wedding Crashers humorous cozy mystery series. If you like outrageous hijinks, small-town gossip, and a sprinkle of Southern charm, you’ll love this lighthearted whodunit.

Buy The Bride and Doom to say “I do” to death today! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

The lean years following World War I can lead to desperate acts—even in the quiet English village of Walmsley Parva. When a series of burglaries seems to culminate in murder, brash American Beryl Helliwell and proper Brit Edwina Davenport are eager to solve the case . . .

World-renowned adventuress Beryl Helliwell cited for “reckless” motoring? Why, the very idea! Constable Gibbs just has it in for her. The solution? Charm the magistrate, of course. But days after Beryl’s appearance before the bench, she and Edwina pay a visit to the magistrate only to find his home ransacked and the man himself lying dead at the bottom of a grand staircase.
 
Given the state of the house, his death appears to be connected to a rash of robberies in the village. Declan O’Shea, the handsome helper Beryl hired to assist their aged gardener Simpkins, falls under suspicion after having had his own run-in with the magistrate—but mostly, Beryl believes, because he’s Irish.
 
While unofficially looking into the magistrate’s murder, the ladies are hired in their official capacity as private inquiry agents to find census reports that have gone missing. Is someone trying to hide something from the census takers—and could that theft have anything to do with the magistrate’s death? Beryl and Edwina are once again in fine form as they engage in a little reckless sleuthing to bring these assorted mysteries to a speedy conclusion. . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

After spending a year perfecting his knitting skills in the Peruvian mountains, Taren Winn-Jones returns to England to transform his late Nanna’s house into a yarn shop. But when he discovers it has quite literally vanished, he doesn’t know what to do. Luckily for him, he has just befriended a strange young woman heading to the mysterious hamlet of Willow Tree Farm…

Sadie Thornton is following her father’s instructions. “If I disappear, you must find your way to the Winterbournes of Willow Tree Farm”. Well, her father has gone, so she’s had no choice but to leave the Tibetan monks behind and fly halfway across the world to start afresh with a family harbouring a badly kept secret—that they are, in fact, witches.

When it becomes apparent that a murder has been committed, a house has been stolen and ghosts are hanging around, three generations of the Winterbournes will do everyone in their power to protect their new friends and if that means waging a war against Cinnamon Grove’s obnoxious Mayor, then so be it.

Little Shop of Borrows is the first full-length novel in The Winterbourne Witches series. If you like quirky characters, magical mysteries and moments that will have you laughing out loud, then you’ll love Suzy Turner’s Little Shop of Borrows. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle