Review of The Monster Mash

Synopsis:

The day I was drafted into the army of the gods, all I knew about being a MASH surgeon was what I’d learned from Hawkeye Pierce and Hot Lips Houlihan. Now here I am, Dr. Petra Robichaud, in the middle of an immortal war, assigned to a MASH camp with a nosy sphinx, a vegetarian werewolf, and an uptight vampire who really needs to get a life.

At least they’re all too busy with their own dramas to discover my secret: I can see the dead. It’s a forbidden gift, one that can get me killed, so I haven’t told a soul.

Until the arrestingly intense Galen arrives on my operating table, half-dead and totally to-die-for. When his spirit tries to slip out of his fatally wounded body, I impulsively slip it back in. Call it a rash resurrection. One I’ll live to regret.

Now Commander Galen of Delphi knows my secret, and he’s convinced I’m part of an ancient prophecy—one that can end the war for good. But taking a chance could cost me everything. And it would be easier to convince him to leave me alone, except now the prophecies are starting to come true…

Warning: This novel contains a hefty dose of danger, drama, practical jokes, pet swamp lizards, brooding demigods, adventure, romance, and heart—in a MASH camp where everybody knows your business. (Goodreads)

Review:

Petra is a surgeon who is working in a MASH unit that is in Purgatory trying to save all those that need her help.  Galen shows up on her operating table and he is in bad shape.  Before he can die, Petra sees his soul and slips it back into his body.  Petra was not supposed to do that and she is breaking the rules.  You see, Petra can see the dead and if anyone ever finds out, she could be killed. Now she has to be sure that Gaken never tells anyone.  

This book has lots of twists and turns and some very different characters.  I thought that Petra acted younger than her forty years a lot of the time, especially where Galen was concerned.  A lot of the time I wanted her to act her age and be more mature.  That is only my opinion and others may not feel that way.  There was a vast array of other characters, from Werewolves to Vampires, just to name a few, and they all had their own stories to tell.

I enjoyed the fact that this book was unlike anything else I have read.  I also enjoyed the fact that it reminded me of the television show MASH.    

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys humorous fantasy.  

New Releases For The Week Of December 27th, 2020–Part 3

Sometimes, the truth can be a real killer…

When Lily Mason and her human boyfriend Parker Knowles help a friend rescue two abused pitties, they’re determined to find out who abandoned the dogs in a deserted house. But the decrepit home has other secrets, too, such as the dead body in the basement.

For once, Lily hasn’t stumbled upon a corpse, but Parker’s buddy has—and he’s arrested for murder. With the help of their friends, human and non-human alike, Lily and Parker are determined to find out what really happened.

Even if it means putting their own lives in danger. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

There’s a murderous treasure hunt, a vengeful villain hunting prey and a nosy Librarian turned sleuth. Let the mayhem begin.

An all-expenses paid weekend away at a mysterious treasure hunters’ island paradise. At least that’s how Elspeth Harrow explained it to her granddaughter…

She lied.

Xandie Meyers, aka Librarian to the supernatural Great Library of Alexandria, and her family of nosy, Harrow witches, are back in the thick of a new murder investigation. But this one involves a ghost, a vengeful villain, a cursed treasure and a mouthy parrot screaming ‘pieces of eight’.

Xandie has no choice but to swing into Sherlock Librarian mode or walk the plank…

If you like snarky dialogue, murder and mayhem then you’ll love the next installment in Kelly Ethan’s Point Muse Mysteries, a new cozy paranormal mystery series.

Unlock the mayhem of The Vengeful Villain and the Cursed Treasure! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Welcome to Haven, where paranormal is the new normal.

Join witch Kat Sullivan, her snarky feline familiar Albus, and a cast of quirky friends on three fast-paced and funny mysteries.

Potions and Predicaments: Help Kat solve a magical mystery when a competing shop owner turns up dead–will she be able to clear her name?

Wolves and Warnings: Rumors fly about werewolves on the loose, and a government agent sticks their nose where it doesn’t belong…only to end up dead.

Spells and Suspicions: A famed baking championship comes to Haven, but it turns out the desserts really are to die for. With Kat’s cousin Emily the prime suspect, can she solve the mystery in time?

All three novels are clean paranormal cozy mystery reads with no swearing, gore, or adult situations. Perfect for readers young and old, so curl up and enjoy! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Introducing the latest book in the Sunshine Cove Cozy Mystery series!

Everybody’s looking for to Christmas but not Celia.

Why?

Because she’s been making promises all year that she can’t seem to keep.

Promises to take her young children on a luxurious holiday.

Promises to her clients to make them look like a million bucks over the holiday season.

Promises to a friend to sing Christmas carols.

Celia knows if she can work a bit harder, maybe, just maybe, she’ll be able to fulfil her promises.

She’s in for a shock when a client dies at one of the corporate functions she’s a part of. The incident seems coincidental until someone else dies at another corporate function. It seems Celia is the common denominator at both murder scenes.

Celia’s blood pressure goes through the roof when she’s identified as a person of interest by the police. She feels the world closing in on her and wonders if there’s anyway out.

Christmas is meant to be the most wonderful time of the year but it seems Celia’s living in her worst nightmare. Will she piece the clues that’ll lead her to the murderer or become the killer’s next victim?

If you want to enjoy a light-hearted read, with an amateur female sleuth and a gripping murder mystery with a touch of romance, then you’ll love Celia Dube and all the friendly and not-so-friendly characters in Sunny Cove.

No cliffhanger, swearing or graphic scenes!

Get your copy of Christmas Carols and Lipstick Perils to discover how events unfold in this cozy murder mystery.(Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Murder and men!

When Daniel Fuller, a hotshot real estate developer, chases a double shot of bourbon at the Top Shelf with a double shot to the chest in the parking lot, the police arrest Trey Franklin, the grandson of Waterton’s only taxi driver, Mose Franklin. 

It appears to be an open-and-shut case:

—Trey has motive. Daniel was evicting Mose after buying his delinquent mortgage under suspicious circumstances.

—Trey has opportunity. He left the Shelf just minutes before the murder.

—Trey has the means—or at least he might. The police determine a .38 was the murder weapon, and Mose’s .38 is missing.

Mose begs Ricki to prove his grandson’s innocence, and at first, she refuses. But after talking to Trey, she agrees and sets out to find the real killer.

That should be enough to keep Ricki busy, but she’s got more than a murder to solve. Gabriel Russell, the hunky detective who left town to think about their relationship, is back. He wants to pick up where they left off, but Logan Parker, owner/editor of the local paper, wants to fill the vacancy left by Gabe. That’s problem enough, but the real problem is that Ricki wants them both.

And then there’s that FBI agent…

Sometimes Ricki wishes she’d stayed in New York. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

St. Valentine’s Day is THE perfect day for a wedding. Unless a vandal is trying to ruin your life that is.

Callie is finally getting her dream wedding. On St. Valentine’s Day no less. Only a vandal is determined to destroy her bakery before the wedding can occur. Anna, self-proclaimed best cupcake baker this side of the Mississippi, is not letting anything happen to the cupcake bakery. No way. Barista extraordinaire Kristie jumps at the chance to help as well. Together the three women launch a mission to find the jerk who thinks it’s okay to attack the bakery.

Will the gals of Callie’s Cakes find the vandal and save the cupcake bakery before Callie’s dream wedding is ruined?

Cupcakes not included, although recipes for all the delicious cupcakes Anna bakes are. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Being a rich widow isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

I was two days, five hours, and fourteen minutes away from my first appointment with a divorce lawyer I couldn’t afford when my husband, not so fondly known as The Jerk, plowed into a tree at high speed and made me a widow before I could become a divorcée. His death didn’t bother me much, but the fact he’d been driving a brand new Porsche I knew nothing about was a tad upsetting.

And that was before I discovered his various banking and investment accounts stuffed with a whole lot of cash I definitely hadn’t known existed. Widowhood, it turned out, was a whole lot more profitable than I’d ever have imagined.

It wasn’t long before I’d ditched the Goodwill hand-me-downs I’d been wearing in favor of Versace and Chanel, bought my own brand new Porsche, then driven all the way across country to the Chica Perdida Hotel, the ultra-luxurious resort on Chica Perdida Key in the Florida Keys, which was about as far from California and my old life as I could get and still keep my feet on the ground.

The Chica promised sun, sand, and every luxury a girl could want. I assumed it was just bad luck that it also included a dead body on the beach. That is, I did until the local Chief of Police somehow connected the dead man with my dead husband and promptly started eyeing me for the role of Murder Suspect Numero Uno! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Eve Sawyer is expecting a fun summer vacation until the chef at a popular food truck is attacked. But he’s not the only victim …

Chef Blake Conway has been stirring up the locals with his campaign for a plastics ban on the quaint town’s littered beach. When Eve’s friend Cassie takes her to visit Blake’s crêpe food truck and they discover he’s being rushed to the hospital, the college journalism student can’t just stand by, especially after Cassie’s beach house is burglarized.

Beach Beat reporter Jake Thorne, who takes Eve on as an intern, mentors her while they race to find the answers. The fuse is running short on suspects who oppose Blake’s proposed ordinance. And a killer is lurking at the small town’s quiet beach, where murders are practically unheard of.

As more suspects are embroiled in this web of mystery and crime, what dark secrets will come to light?

Murder at Lolly Beach is the second book in the Eve Sawyer Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Charlotte McKay doesn’t know what to expect when she moves in to take care of her elderly aunt.

When Charlotte discovers a dead body her first day in the cozy town of Sweetwater Falls, she worries she may have made the wrong choice, moving from the big city to a small town. She was hoping for a family feel and a fresh start, not a shakedown from local law enforcement and an aunt who keeps disappearing right when danger nears.

Sweetwater Falls is filled with loveable characters harboring dark secrets. Even though Charlotte is certain none of her new neighbors could possibly be the killer, she is beginning to learn that no one is above suspicion.

Join Charlotte as she moves to Sweetwater Falls, only to discover that not even the sweetest of small towns are without their shadows.

“Vanilla Vengeance” is filled with layered clues and cozy moments, written by Molly Maple, which is a pen name for a USA Today bestselling author. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Samantha Bell isn’t the best witch in Texas. Heck, on her best day, she’s barely average. After a night of too much fairy wine and wild magic, she’s turned her second-favorite cousin, Izzy, into a furry, furious booze-guzzling ferret. So how in the world did a third-rate spell slinger wield enough magic to cast a human-to-animal hex?

As the deadline looms to turn Izzy back into a human, an unknown thief steals Samantha’s spell book, the key to her power. Even with the book and its special enchantment, Samantha isn’t sure she can reverse the curse. But without it, her chances are zero. In her quest to track down the book and save Izzy, Samantha partners with hot and hunky magic investigator, Wade Forrest. Together, they uncover a secret society with a sinister magic-harvesting plan that will destroy their town.

With the help of a wisecracking werewolf, a newly hatched mini-troll, and a necromancer with a passion for pomegranate martinis, Samantha realizes she is the only one who can unravel the plot and save the people she loves. But will it be at the expense of her cousin remaining a ferret forever? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

In the dim and distant past
when the future wasn’t fast
Gramma used to sit and knit
Crochet, tat and babysit
Author unknown

Living the quiet life in remote up-state New York suits Jane Drew right down to the ground. Her role as a caretaker (she prefers Chatelaine) of The Hollow, an estate filled with secrets her family has been charged with keeping for generations, leaves her plenty of time to engage in all the things that grandmothers do.

When her husband is shot unexpectedly, Jane’s orderly world turns upside down. Plans are afoot for the castle at the center of the estate, and a school for butlers is taking over the gatehouse at the entrance to The Hollow. Is she losing her marbles due to the strange goings on, or is this chaos her new normal?

This is the first of three cozy mystery prequels. If you enjoy clean, cozy mysteries with a touch of British humor, pull up your rocker and join Jane in her adventures.

No use trying to stop or block her,
now that Gramma’s Off Her Rocker. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Everyone loves a snow day… don’t they? 

Schools and workplaces closed, replaced by a magical winter wonderland where anything can happen. This is especially exciting in the beautiful seaside village of Chalk Gap, nestled between the majestic snow-covered cliffs of the South Downs. 

But when an unprecedented snowfall cuts the tiny village off from everywhere else, and the first body is found, the snow day takes a sinister turn.

With no one able to get in or out of Chalk Gap, the murderer must still be in the village. But with the police also unable to access the scene, school librarian Edward Crisp must step up once again with limited help. 

Can mystery expert Edward and his enthusiastic teenage assistant, Noah, plough through the secrets, lies and red herrings to solve The Snow Day Murders? 

And can YOU? 

_____________

The Edward Crisp Mysteries are cozy mystery novels suitable for adult and young adult members of the family. They can be read as stand-alone mysteries but may be enjoyed more in order as part of the series. 

_____________

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDWARD CRISP MYSTERY:

‘Wonderfully written with great characters, I can’t wait to read the next one.’

‘Fantastic debut… it took me back to the days of watching Miss Marple.’

‘I laughed, I cried, I shouted aloud and made more than a few wrong guesses.’

‘A fantastic traditional whodunnit brought to modern day.’

‘A real page turner and one I couldn’t put down.’

‘I was gripped the entire time, so many twists and turns.’

‘The first book in a while that has kept me guessing.’

‘Every character is a realistic suspect… that’s what makes this story so great!’  (Amazon)]

Editions Available: Kindle

FOR MOST, FAMILY PROVIDES THE STRONGEST BONDS. BUT FOR A FEW, IT PRODUCES THE GREATEST RIVALS.

Winter: A time when the brilliant colors of fall fade to muted bleakness, the days grow shorter, the nights longer, welcoming all that play in the shadows, including Bellamy Reed. Bellamy, well acquainted with the shadows, has spent his entire adult life hiding in them, hiding from his past, the demons that haunt him, and the very people who claim to be his protectors—his family, the Avellas.
After one misstep into the light, Bellamy cannot return to a life in darkness. In the light, he found something he was never searching for yet cannot live without—love. However, love is not free in the Avella family; love is merely a pawn and one that his family now wields as a weapon to bend Bellamy to their will.
To make matters worse, the Avellas have big plans for Bellamy’s future, plans that don’t include Finley Sharp. With this knowledge, Bellamy is thrust into an impossible situation where choosing love means possibly losing it, becoming strong means forfeiting his freedom, and facing his enemies means embracing his past.
Winter is here, and there’s no turning back. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

After a string of murders at the Ivory Rose Hotel in Shadow Creek, Diana Blaise’s Aunt Jolene made the heartbreaking decision to sell the property.

Determined to keep the business in the family, Diana is now the new owner.

It’s been another year and she’s ready to repair the hotel’s reputation, along with giving it a brand new look.

To celebrate the makeover, she throws one of the largest tea parties in town. Along with some of the locals, Aunt Jolene and Diana’s overbearing mother are guests at the event.

Her mother promises that the night of festivities will end in another disaster. Even though Diana is terrified, she chooses to stay positive.

When Ervin Gaines decides to take their relationship to the next level, she decides that luck is on her side.

She’s wrong.

During the event, she and Clover, the cat, stumble upon the dead body of the new celebrity chef.

When yet another staff member dies, Diana suspects that someone is sabotaging her happiness.

She must find out who that person is before the hotel’s reputation is destroyed completely, and she loses everything she worked so hard for… or even her life. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Emily Hansen, owner of “The Book Addict” in Juniper River, Arizona hosts a weekly book club. A member mysteriously dies after one of the meetings. The police interrogate each woman to find out who has the strongest motive to want her dead.

The investigation gets more complicated when the police discover others have a motive for murder. This leads Juniper river detectives to Aurora, Colorado.

The prime suspect escapes apprehension and a wild car chase leads the detectives back to Arizona. Unexpected delays hamper the chase.

When a home invasion goes wrong, Emily and her friend, Anabelle become the next potential victims. Will they survive? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Lily Williams could have had a long and happy life. A girl from a small town in Maryland, she grew up with a loving family and met the man of her dreams. When she witnessed a murder she had to run. She left everything behind to protect herself and those she loves. She thought she could run forever, but something called her back and then her past caught up with her. With the help of the man she loves, she decides to fight back and stop herself from becoming a victim of circumstance. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

“Complex…a masterly mystery.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Fans of Ruth Ware and B.A. Paris won’t want to miss this complex psychological thriller from an acclaimed author about a powerful Boston family desperate to keep their darkest secrets from coming to light.

While attending a gala at Prescott University’s lavish new campus, Hester Thursby and fellow guest, Detective Angela White, are called to the home of the college’s owners, Tucker and Jennifer Matson. Jennifer claims that someone broke into Pinebank, their secluded mansion on the banks of Jamaica Pond. The more Hester and Angela investigate, the less they believe Jennifer’s story, leaving Hester to wonder why she would lie.

When Hester is asked by the college’s general manager to locate some missing alumni, she employs her research skills on the family and their for-profit university. Between financial transgressions, a long-ago tragedy, and rumors of infidelity, it’s clear that the Matsons aren’t immune to scandal or mishap. But when one of the missing students turns up dead, the mystery takes on new urgency.

Hester is edging closer to the truth, but as a decades-old secret collides with new lies, a killer grows more determined to keep the past buried with the dead. . . .

“Hits that elusive sweet spot yet again with an impeccable blend of intelligent and relatable characters confronted with a dangerous and complex crime in a fascinating setting. Hill masterfully ratchets up the tension until it’s impossible to look away. Hester Thursby fans will not be disappointed!” 
—Karen Dionne, award-winning bestselling author of The Wicked Sister

“Suspenseful…a grade-A mystery.”
—Publishers Weekly (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Perfect town. Perfect homes. Perfect families. It’s enough to drive some women mad…

In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting.

And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village.

The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall. So does the sinister secret of a little boy who vanished decades ago. And unless Joan is imagining things, a frighteningly familiar figure from her past is on watch in the shadows.

Her fiancé tells her she’s being paranoid. He might be right. Then again, she might have moved to the deadliest small town on earth. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

New Releases For The Week Of December 27th, 2020–Part 2

A mysterious mansion, a suspicious death, and a cat too smart for its own good…

When Laura Lee took the summer job as a housekeeper at the old Thornberry Estate, she knew it was a creepy place, but she had no idea how creepy. Mrs. Fitzwater warned her to keep her mind on her work and her nose in her own business, but one thing after another leads her astray, between the mansion giving up its puzzles as she goes about her work, fun secrets to share with the clever ladies in her book club who are always up for a mystery, and a cat that seems to know more than she does.

The death of a chauffeur just outside the estate gates changes everything and suddenly creepy turns to deadly as Laura Lee finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. When the police seem unable to solve the crime, can Laura Lee and her intrepid club find the killer before the killer finds Laura Lee? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Ivy’s sly sow is perfectly capable of murder … but has this pig been framed?

Wilma has been voted “most likely to kill” among Runaway Farm’s feisty menagerie. The huge sow is light on her feet, smarter than she looks, and starving for freedom.

When Wilma goes on the lam again, she roots up terrible trouble. There’s another dead body in Clover Grove, and the pig is the prime suspect. Meanwhile a reality TV show has arrived in town and the cast and crew are getting way too close for Ivy’s comfort.

There’s no love lost between sleuthing sheepdog, Keats, and the formidable hog. But if one of his charges is unfairly targeted, he’ll put his smarts and heart on the line to help Ivy get to the bottom of the muddy mess.

Can the farm’s crime-solving team sort out this slippery mystery before someone else dies?

The next book in the Bought-the-Farm Mystery Series is a perfect page-turner for lovers of animals, cozy mysteries and funny, spunky aspiring sleuths. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Mike Faricy is the winner of the

2019 Crime Master’s of America Poison Cup Award.

He is the winner of the 2020

Crime Master’s of America Poison Cup Award

for the Best Selling series.

He has been nominated for the 2018, 2019, & 2020 Silver Falchion Award.

ALLEY KATZ

Dev Haskell is running late for dinner at his girlfriends house when he rear ends a car in the parking lot. Small world, the car is driven by a Dev’s former high school English teacher. . In lieu of paying for damages Dev agrees to work Tuesday and Thursday evenings helping kids with homework. From there he ends up searching for an art forger with ties to local crime lord, Tubby Gustafson.

Along the way he’s beat up by a petit woman in a thong, searches for a missing boy… Oh, and he sets a homeless kid on a career path.

Another hilariously delightful Dev Haskell tale.

A wonderful read to remind you that, actually, your life is pretty good!

As always, Morton, Dev’s Golden Retriever, provides a dose of sanity.

”Faricy is America’s hottest new mystery writer… and Dev Haskell is one of the looniest and most enjoyable characters inhabiting the world of fictional private investigators out there today”

The Dirty Lowdown 

If you like Carl Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey Janet DeLeon, Laurence Shames, and Janet Evanovich- make room for one more! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

“Romance, a lovable bunch of eccentrics, and a collection of recipes with murder most foul.”
–Kirkus

“Scrumptious… Fans of culinary cozies will have fun.”
–Publishers Weekly

“A sweet Southern mystery with a delightful plot and quirky characters who quickly make you feel at home.”
–San Francisco Book Review

Solving murders come easy for Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies. Trying to solve a cold case is proving a bit challenging.
Mae has been having memories about the house fire that killed her family, leaving her orphaned.

As a child she couldn’t do much to prove the fire wasn’t an accident, but as an adult and with a group of friends to help, Mae is on the case to put the clues of the past together to bring out the truth.

Their investigation heats up making this cold case come to a rolling boil! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

With his first case in Stone County under his belt, former big city detective Dan Cutter is settling into rural life.
While enjoying an early Spring afternoon on the river bank, he makes a stunning discovery.
Within hours, the entire Stone County Sheriff’s Department becomes embroiled in a search for the truth that is MISSING ON THE RIVER.

****************
MORE FROM JOHN C. DALGLISH

STONE COUNTY JUSTICE(Clean Suspense)

MURDER AROUND THE BEND – #1
MISSING ON THE RIVER – #2

THE CITY MURDERS SERIES(Clean Suspense)

BOSTON HOMICIDE – #1
MIAMI HOMICIDE – #2
CHICAGO HOMICIDE – #3
DALLAS HOMICIDE – #4
DENVER HOMICIDE – #5
SEATTLE HOMICIDE – #6
NEW ORLEANS HOMICIDE – #7
MEMPHIS HOMICIDE – #8
ATLANTA HOMICIDE – #9

DETECTIVE JASON STRONG SERIES(Clean Suspense)

WHERE’S MY SON? – #1
BLOODSTAIN – #2
FOR MY BROTHER – #3
SILENT JUSTICE – #4
TIED TO MURDER – #5
ONE OF THEIR OWN – #6
DEATH STILL – #7
LETHAL INJECTION – #8
CRUEL DECEPTION – #9
LET’S PLAY – #10
HOSTAGE- #11
A CIRCLE OF FEAR – #12
DEADLY OBSESSION – #13
DEAD OF NIGHT – #14
SHADOW OF DOUBT – #15
FATAL AFFAIR – #16
DRIVEN TO KILL – #17
BOUND BY BLOOD – #18
WEB OF DECEIT – #19
BURNING DOWN – #20

THE CHASER CHRONICLES (Christian Adventure Fiction)

CROSSOVER – #1
JOURNEY – #2
DESTINY- #3
INNER DEMONS- #4
DARK DAYS – #5
FAR FROM HOME – #6

KEIKO’S WAR – (Clean Historical Fiction)
DEADLY SECRETS – (Clean Mystery Suspense) (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

When fledgling bookseller Max Sayers agrees to host Snug Harbor, Maine’s new mystery writers’ group, she envisions filling Seaside Cottage Books with literary conversation, warm, fresh-baked cookies, and a community to support her assistant Bethany’s mystery writing dream. But the group has barely begun its inaugural meeting when local author Martha Crabtree accuses young Bethany of plagiarizing her novel. The next morning, Martha turns up a half mile from the bookstore, a letter opener plunged into her bony chest and her face covered in black ink. When police learn that an almost identical murder happened just last week–in Bethany’s unfinished murder mystery—Max’s beloved assistant rockets to the top of the suspect list.

As Max struggles to clear Bethany’s name, she discovers that some old roots in Snug Harbor run deeper–and are more twisted–than she ever dreamed possible. She soon uncovers a network of deceit that sprouted from a bad seed planted in the bookstore itself, almost a century earlier. But someone doesn’t like her digging. A rash of threatening anonymous phone calls–and a heavy inkwell hurled through the shop window, barely missing Max’s head–send a clear and deadly message. Back off… or else.

Can Max clear her assistant’s name in time? Or will she—and Seaside Cottage Books—be the killer’s next victim?

Want a chance to name a character in Inked Out? Details on http://www.karenmacinerney.com soon! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A dangerous race. The peal of wedding bells. Will this psychic sleuth catch a bouquet or a bullet?

Mitzy Moon finally has a chance to spend a normal, murder-free day with family. And she’s super-excited to support her legendary snowmobile racer dad as he’s honored for his place in the record books. But instead of a celebration on the podium, she finds a corpse under the snow.

With a holiday wedding at her bookshop looming, it’s a terrible time to take on a new case and an orphan. Somehow, Mitzy hopes to juggle the investigation, the nuptials, her meddling Ghost-ma, and an interfering feline. But when her new house guest sees something he shouldn’t, her secrets start to unravel…

Can Mitzy solve the case before midnight strikes, or will her resolution end in tragedy?

Hopes and Slippery Slopes is the eleventh book in the hilarious paranormal cozy mystery series, Mitzy Moon Mysteries. If you like snarky heroines, supernatural misfits, and a dash of romance, then you’ll love Trixie Silvertale’s twisty whodunit.

Buy Hopes and Slippery Slopes to solve a New Year’s Eve mystery today! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

From #1 Amazon, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Gemma Halliday comes sass, lies, and rock ‘n’ roll in a humorous mystery that’s sure to leave you guessing!

Her name is Bond. Jamie Bond. And her life has never been more dangerous…

Clients are usually beating down LA private investigator Jamie Bond’s door, looking to hire her and her crew of Bond Girls. But lately business has been slow, causing Jamie to take on some unusual clients. Case in point: the aging rock star who is sure his young alien-enthusiast wife is cheating on him. While Jamie has a feeling three decades of rock ‘n’ roll may have clouded his vision, she takes the case anyway—hey, money is money, right?

Only when her client ends up dead under suspicious circumstances, Jamie is rethinking her career choices. Especially when a second band member hires her, this time to put to rest an argument over the rights to the band’s one hit song, “Hot Waitress.” The song was mildly popular in the eighties, and after being recently used in a millennial-aimed TV commercial it’s started generating big royalties—possibly big enough to kill over? Did the drummer with a temper finally snuff out his bandmate? Or was it the guitarist with a secret? The keyboard player with a decades-long grudge? Or did the younger wife simply decide she’d make out better as a widow than a divorcee? Between more suspects than she can trail, a side case involving frisky senior citizens, and two hot men both vying for her attention and demanding a decision, Jamie has more than she can handle. Can she make it out alive? Or will this be the case that finally breaks her?

The Jamie Bond Mysteries:
Unbreakable Bond (book #1)
Secret Bond (book #2)
Lethal Bond (book #3)
Bond Bombshell (short story)
Dangerous Bond (book #4)
Bond Ambition (short story)
Fatal Bond (book #5)
Deadly Bond (book #6)

Here’s what critics are saying about Gemma Halliday’s books:

“A saucy combination of romance and suspense that is simply irresistible.”
~ Chicago Tribune

“Stylish… nonstop action…guaranteed to keep chick lit and mystery fans happy!”
~ Publishers’ Weekly, starred review

“Smart, funny and snappy… the perfect beach read!”
~ Fresh Fiction (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

December 1925

Severine DuNoir has discovered who killed her parents. She knows why. Now she needs to make him pay. As the foes circle each other, their friends and family get drawn into the conflict. 



Just who can Severine trust? How can she stop the rogue? And what will happen to those she loves if she fails? She’s all too afraid the answer is one she won’t be able to live with. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Lily Dickinson’s discovery of a dead gamekeeper in a cottage near a country lane leads to a search for his killer. Suspects range from employees of the nearby Grangehurst estate to a number of dangerous characters much closer to home.

Before Lily can face the murderer, she needs to enlist the aid of her younger sister Iris. But with Lily still refusing to share the secret of the trunk in the attic, will Iris be willing to help when Lily needs her most? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Will the Knight sisters solve a murder and prove the innocence of an old man, and reveal the secret histories that have brought these shadows down on their beautiful autumn day?

Rita and Rhonda Knight set out to enjoy the annual Clovedale Falls Pumpkin Festival. They arrive at the local fairgrounds on a crisp autumn morning full of excitement. With their purses full of money and the morning ahead of them, what could possibly go wrong? Only murder.

When Sheriff Bluestone shows up at the festival and tells Rita and Rhonda that a murder had taken place at the remote Clovedale Falls Retirement Home mansion, a dark cloud rolls over the fun morning. Suddenly, the smell of pumpkin pies, funnel cakes, and apple cider is replaced by the foul stench of crime, involving uncaring kitchen staff and suspicious nurses…and one innocent old man who can barely remember his own name. Together, Rhonda and Rita dive into a mystery that takes them into a mansion filled with secrets and heartbreaking truths as they track down a killer lurking in the shadows.

Will the Knight sisters solve a murder and prove the innocence of an old man, and reveal the secret histories that have brought these shadows down on their beautiful autumn day? Or will they fall victim to a hideous crime and never be remembered again?

This cozy mystery is a clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

A Magical Jewelry Box, a New Friend for Gus, and Murder by Family?

When Betty, the Farmer’s Market chief flower booth operator, is killed, all eyes turn to her philandering husband and drug addicted son. But Betty owned a Jewelry Box that was rumored to be magical and now it’s missing. Did the husband or son kill Betty for the insurance money, or did the cursed jewelry box have a hand in a sinister murder?

Since Betty was a dear friend, Elle and Gus are determined to find her justice, much to the chagrin of deputy and panther shifter Jason.

And Gus gains a new friend, but not the kind you’d expect. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

After celebrating Christmas at Inheritance Ranch, Meg Miller returns to her cottage with renewed motivation to embrace her intuitions. Her abilities will come in handy to reunite her with her brother and rekindle a friendship. After she settles her plans for Inheritance Ranch, meets with a crusty old codger, and celebrates the New Year, Meg is ready to face the future with fresh plans,
As always, with Meg, there are complications. A new courtyard project uncovers a bone, reminding Meg’s neighbor that a strange family once inhabited Meg’s cottage. Is it human? She will turn it over to Detective Crawford, but in the meantime, she has a robbery to solve, an old friend to nurture, two businesses to consider, and a birthday party to plan. She will come full circle and face new facts from the original murder mystery she helped solve in A Dickens of a Crime. Tom Richards will be there along with Detective Crawford, Jean, Dorie, Petra, LaRue and a cast of new characters equally as vibrant and lovable.

Following Meg’s inheritance, her life will change, but even she couldn’t predict the growth in her family and relationships, or the mysteries she will confront. She embraces all of it with a newfound resolve that enhances everything she touches.
Book Four can be read as a stand alone novel, but for the picture of Meg’s growth, there are other stories:A Dickens of a Crime, Book One, Pelican Beach Murder, Book Two, and Mystery on Inheritance Ranch, Book Three. Meg’s just getting started. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

The grannies hit the road for vacation but still find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery.

Another hilarious cozy mystery from USA Today Bestselling Author Shannon VanBergen

Nikki and the grannies are heading to one of America’s premier vacation destinations. Branson, Missouri. But even when they’re looking for some rest and relaxation, murder is on the itinerary. When a beloved Branson entertainer turns up dead, can Nikki and the grannies find the killer, or will they be sent on a permanent vacation?

Road Trip is part of the Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery series. If you like fun cozy mysteries and outrageous characters, you are going to love Crack the Code.

Download Road Trim and start solving your next mystery!

Always free with Kindle Unlimited (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A highly inaccurate vision. A grumpy writer. And a corpse. Welcome to Starry Falls. Running from the mob can be murder.

A MURDER IN THE MIX / MEOW FOR MURDER crossover!

Confession. I’m no psychic. But I can sort of see the future—albeit not accurately. And you better believe, I’ve never let that little detail stop me from prognosticating my way into a pickle. So when I ticked off the mob, the feds, and my wily ex, I decided to take my Uncle Vinnie’s advice and start over with a new name and new hair color while relying on my old shtick—getting my psychic wires crossed and putting myself in danger.

It’s beginning to look a lot like murder. It’s winter in Starry Falls, the snow is falling and the mobsters are coming in strong. My freedom is in the balance and the only question on my mind is should I stay or should I go now? Shep is willing to risk it all for me—and as a thank you, I might just get us both killed.

Living in Starry Falls is proving to be deadly.


A laugh out loud cozy mystery by New York Times Bestseller Addison Moore and her partner in cozy crime, USA TODAY Bestseller Bellamy Bloom.

Cosmopolitan Magazinecalls Addison’s books, “…easy, frothy fun!” (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

New Releases For The Week Of December 27th.2020–Part 1

Pastry chef and amateur sleuth Juliet Capshaw finds herself on thin ice as she attempts to solve her latest case of small-town murder in Ellie Alexander’s Chilled to the Cone: A Bakeshop Mystery.

The deep freeze has thawed in Ashland, Oregon and Torte is gearing up for a busy spring. When a surprise opportunity to launch a pop-up ice cream shop comes her way, Jules jumps at the chance to showcase Torte’s signature iced drinks and cold custards. But selling the desserts of her dreams comes at a price. . .and, before she knows it, Jules’s life swirls into a nightmare. One of the town’s most colorful characters, a street performer known for wearing capes and a cone-shaped hat, turns up dead just as Torte 2.0 is set to open its doors. Can Jules get the scoop on what happened to “The Wizard” of Ashland before her new business venture reaches a chilling conclusion?

The Bakeshop Mysteries are:

“Delicious.”—RT Book Reviews
“Marvelous.”—Fresh Fiction
“Delectable.”—Portland Book Review (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

In the fifth book of the popular Seaside Café Mysteries, Closely Harbored Secrets, Everly Swan just wants to make Halloween-themed treats and specialty teas for her customers. But when it seems that she’s being haunted by the phantom of a sailor straight out of a ghost story, her plans are capsized. Could this be the bitter end for Everly?Hitting all the sweet-tea spots, this series is:A delightful Tea Shop and Café Culinary MysteryThe ideal cozy beach readPerfect for fans of Laura Childs and Kate Carlisle

It’s almost Halloween, and the small island of Charm, North Carolina is decked out for the festivities. When Everly Swan agrees to close her iced tea shop early to help her aunts host their annual haunted historic walking tour, she expects some good-natured spooks. But the night turns grave when one of the ghostly actors is found dead. To complicate matters, the victim scratched Everly’s name into the ground before she died, making her a key suspect.

The murder mystery heats up when Everly’s potential boo, Detective Grady, takes the case―and he definitely doesn’t want her getting involved. Will their seaside romance be threatened by all the ghostly drama? But when a phantom sailor straight out of local legend starts leaving Everly threatening messages, she has to get involved… With a local election under way, ghosts on the loose, and a search for long-lost buried treasure, Everly can’t help but stir the pot!

The fifth tea cozy in Bree Baker’s acclaimed Seaside Café Mystery series, Closely Harbored Secrets is culinary fiction with a frighteningly fun twist!

INCLUDES DELICIOUS FOOD AND DRINK RECIPES (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

For bargain hunter extraordinaire Sarah Winston, starting life over in Ellington, Massachusetts, has been a true trash-to-treasure success story, except when there’s a run on dead bodies…

Sarah’s latest client, Alice Krandle, is sure she has a fortune in antiques on her hands. She’s already gotten a generous offer for the whole lot before her garage sale has even begun, but she thinks she can earn more with Sarah’s expert help. The problem is that while Sarah’s sorting through items from decades past, her landlady, Stella, faces a clear and present danger.

Stella’s kidnapper has contacted Sarah with a set of instructions, and “Don’t call the police” is at the top of the list. But they didn’t say anything about Sarah’s friend Harriet–who happens to be a former F.B.I. hostage negotiator… (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

FBI handler Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue K-9 partner are heading south where it’s hunting season. But this time the prey is human.
 
“For dog lovers and action fans. Dogs-in-action junkies will be transported.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Fascinating…Fans will look forward to Meg’s further adventures.”
—Publishers Weekly

One arrow through the heart could be a tragic hunting accident. A second one, within days, looks more like a crime. That’s when Meg Jennings and Brian Foster of the FBI’s Forensic Canine Unit head to Georgia to investigate. With their dogs Hawk and Lacey, Meg and Brian are enlisted to follow the scent of a killer. At first, nothing seems to connect the two victims–a county commissioner and State Patrol officer.  But the blood sport around the southern town of Blue Ridge is just beginning.

As the body count rises, the compound bow killer becomes even more elusive, appearing and vanishing like a ghost. However, with each new slaying Meg is beginning to suspect the grim design that’s escalating in the shadows. At its heart, a tragic event that reaches back nearly two centuries in Georgia’s history is now turning Blue Ridge into a hunting ground. But as Meg gets closer to solving the puzzle, the closer she is to stepping into the crosshairs of an elusive murderer with deadly aim, and motives as deep and dark as the woods . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover

In Pennsylvania’s Amish country, Daisy Swanson finds herself going back to school expecting to serve tea–only to get a crash course in criminal justice . . .
 
 The faculty of Willow Creek High School are having a get-together after the spring concert with refreshments provided, courtesy of Daisy’s Tea Garden. Oolong tea and chocolate biscuits are just what the staff needs to help them unwind from Althea Higgins’ demanding curriculum. Her lessons on such controversial subjects as school uniforms and underqualified substitute teachers are earning her an F from her colleagues.
 
But a failing grade was preferable to Althea falling victim to foul play. Daisy was there when her body was discovered in the school swimming pool, murdered by strangulation. Althea was certainly a strict, opinionated taskmaster, unliked by both teachers and students, but would any of them actually want to kill her? As Daisy starts asking questions, she gets a real education in Althea’s history, discovering more than enough enemies with more than enough motives to cancel her classes permanently . . .  
Includes delicious recipes!
 
Visit us at kensingtonbooks.com (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

A Gilded Age ghost helps psychic painter Celeste Cabot catch a killer . .
 
Rising up against the beautiful backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Biltmore Estate is a magnificent mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, built as a summer home for George Washington Vanderbilt II—yes, of those Vanderbilts—during the Gilded Age. Nowadays, it’s the site of an annual craft fair. Unfortunately, it’s also about to become a crime scene . . .
 
Celeste is hard to miss as she pulls up with her pink and white Shasta trailer and adorable Chihuahua, Van Gogh—Van for short. But before she can show off her artwork at the fair, a tour guide is found strangled by a velvet rope barrier and a valuable painting goes missing. With a rogues’ gallery of sketchy suspects, Celeste welcomes the help of a pair of handsome detectives—and a ghost with a special interest in the case . . .
 
Includes tips and recipes!
 
Praise for Rose Pressey and Her Haunted Craft Fair Mysteries
 
“Plucky, self-employed heroine, cute pet, scary ghost, and two eligible suitors: everything a cozy needs.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“The paranormal twist adds a bit of flair to this quirky new series.” —The Parkersburg News & Sentinel
 
Visit us at http://www.kensingtonbooks.com (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

Librarian Josie Way moved to small-town Oregon to lay low. Instead, thanks to newfound magic abilities—and a killer on the loose—she’s leapt out of the frying pan and into a cauldron of trouble . . .
 
Josie Way loved working among the Library of Congress’s leather-scented stacks—until she uncovered corruption and made herself a target. As Wilfred, Oregon’s new librarian, Josie can stay undercover until the case goes to court. But life in this little town isn’t as subdued as she expected. The library, housed in a a Victorian mansion, is slated to be bulldozed. Still digesting the news that her safe haven is about to become scrap lumber, Josie discovers a body in the woods . . .
 
Almost as shocking, Josie learns that she’s descended from a long line of witches—and her powers have suddenly sprung to life. With help from a spoiled alley cat who just may be her familiar, Josie’s thumbing through a catalog of suspects, hoping she can conjure a way to save her library—and her life. . .(Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

Sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons are used to catering lip-smacking treats to an artsy group of book lovers—until fiction spills into reality . . .
 
If anything can be said about endearingly predictable Margo Hemsley, it’s that she always serves elaborate desserts at her mystery book club meetings. That’s why everyone fears the worst after she doesn’t pick up her order from Bernie and Libby and skips out on the monthly gathering. The Simmons sisters can’t imagine their acquaintance vanishing like a character from one of her favorite novels, at least not willingly.
 
When the search ends with the discovery of a dead body, Bernie and Libby agree to help the nine remaining book club members prove their friend was murdered. But a speed read through Margo’s background reveals there was more to the victim than harmless hobbies and frumpy cardigans would suggest. As the sleuthing sisters unearth scandalous secrets about the book club members, they’ll have to determine who was connected to Margo’s shady dealings—and who sent her to an early grave . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover

Emma Reed and her beloved Corgi move from London to Cornwall with the dream of opening a tea shop—but first they’ll have to collar a criminal in the first book in a charming new series.

Emma leaves London and her life in high finance behind her and moves to an idyllic village in Cornwall, with its cobblestone streets and twisting byways. She plans to open a village tea shop and bake the recipes handed down to her from her beloved grandmother, and of course there’ll be plenty of space for her talking corgi, Oliver, to explore. Yes…talking. Emma has always been able to understand Oliver, even though no one else can.

As soon as Emma arrives in the village she discovers that the curmudgeonly owner of the building she wants to rent for her shop hates dogs and gets off on the wrong foot with Oliver. Although some might turn tail and run, Emma is determined to win her over. But when she delivers some of her homemade scones as a peace offering, she finds the woman dead. Together, Emma and Oliver will need to unleash their detective skills to catch a killer. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

A killer may craft the perfect crime, but as every knitter worth her yarn knows–murder wool out.

Mother’s Day should be a cinch for the good folks of the Crandalsburg Craft Fair, and knitting enthusiast Lia Geiger has a good feeling about this year’s yield. But things quickly get knotty when Lia’s daughter announces she’s quit her job and Lia finds herself tangled up in the murder of her best friend’s ex-husband. While Belinda’s alibi quickly gets her off the hook, nasty rumors spread throughout Crandalsburg that shroud the entire fair in suspicion.

Could the vendors be responsible for the murder of a man hell-bent on unraveling the fair just days before his death? Lia and her crafty group of Ninth Street Knitters must put down their needles to gather clues and save the crafting community they’ve grown to love. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

When a heartless killer ruins a Valentine’s Day wedding, teddy bear shop manager Sasha Silverman vows to solve the crime . . .

At the Silver Bear Shop and Factory, Sasha will be selling plenty of bride and groom teddy bears come springtime. But this Valentine’s Day weekend, she’d take any of those silent, stuffed couples over the real thing. Sasha and her sister Maddie are bridesmaids at Cissy Davidson’s upcoming wedding in Silver Hollow. Cissy is fuming over the worst choice of best man—the jerk who broke her sister Debbie’s heart—and the groom-to-be won’t budge in his decision. At the rehearsal dinner you could cut the tension with a wedding cake knife.

That is, until best man Dylan is found dead, impaled with an ice pick. Although jilted Debbie is the most likely suspect—the blood on her dress doesn’t help her case—the bride begs Sasha to prove her sister’s innocence. If anyone’s going to walk down the aisle, Sasha will first need to find the cold-hearted killer who iced Dylan . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

What happens when your past catches up with you?

Lillian Frost and Edith Head investigate a series of bizarre poison pen letters sent to a leading Hollywood actress in this mesmerising mystery.

1939, Los Angeles. Marion Davies has a problem. The actress has received poison pen letters highlighting an embarrassing event in her past from the mysterious ‘Argus’. Can Lillian Frost and her friend and partner-in-crime, celebrated costume designer Edith Head, expose the writer before they expose Marion? Lillian’s boss, millionaire inventor Addison Rice, seems to think so, but when Lillian speaks to her idol, Marion is reluctant to reveal her secrets, fearful of jeopardizing her affair with newspaper tycoon W.R. Hearst.

Is a prankster simply trying to tarnish the reputation of one of Hollywood’s leading ladies, or is something more sinister going on behind the scenes? As Lillian and Edith are drawn into increasingly dangerous and disturbing territory, their enquiries take an unexpected and stunningly dark twist . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover

Catching a kidnapper takes teamwork

…and a St. Bernard.

Alanna Morgan was raised in remote Alaska by a couple who called themselves her parents—not kidnappers. A jailbreak brings her face-to-face with the past she wants to escape and on a collision course with the woman who stole her childhood. Alanna can’t let other helpless victims be abducted and sets out with Chance, a therapy St. Bernard, by her side. But Desparre rookie police officer Peter Robak has other plans for the civilian investigator. Together, in the mountain wilderness in frigid temperatures, criminals aren’t the only threat they face. A wary alliance and a rescue dog will have to be enough to keep them alive and to catch a desperate fugitive.

From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.

A K-9 Alaska Novel

Book 1: K-9 Defense

Book 2: Alaska Mountain Rescue (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

I’m Barbara Gold. Age: 71. Height: 5’5″. Eyes: blue. Hair: gray. Weight: none of your business. Specialties: Undercover surveillance, small arms, chemical weapons, Middle Eastern and Latin American politics. Current status: Retired CIA agent, widow, and grandmother.

Barbara Gold, a retired CIA agent, volunteers to accompany her thirteen-year-old grandson, Martin, on a group camping trip with his peers. Out in the wilderness with no phone coverage, the teens and their guardians are enjoying fresh air and mountain views… until Martin’s photography teacher is found dead in an abandoned mine.

Barbara quickly gathers evidence before the rain can wash it away, but she and the campers quickly become the hunted. A psychopath is loose in the woods, tracking their every move. Barbara must use her old spy and combat training to outsmart the killer and keep the kids safe. But doing so might reveal secrets from her past to her beloved grandson.

Read the hilarious 9th book (30,000 words) in the Secret Agent Granny mystery series. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A brand new thriller by USA TODAY Bestselling Author Gina LaManna

For fans of Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, and Kendra Elliot…

Summer in the Twin Cities is hard to beat, and Detective Kate Rosetti is excited to show FBI Agent Jack Russo a nice, relaxing time while he’s back in town. Unfortunately, her plans go belly up when Tommy “Two-Toed” Bianchi is found floating face down in Kate’s favorite lake.

To complicate matters, Alastair Gem turns up with a brand-new girlfriend… which is all fine and dandy until his girlfriend goes missing. Gem begs the already-strapped-for-time detective for help, and Kate can’t refuse.

One murderer, one kidnapper, and one boyfriend are a lot for the detective to handle. But if Kate doesn’t focus on finding the killer before time runs out, she’ll be the next victim in his deadly spree…(Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

 

Review of 12 Dog Days of Christmas

12 Dogs Days of Christmas

Paula Munier

5 Stars

Synopsis:

A Christmas story from USA Today bestselling author Paula Munier.

Zach and his rescue dog Ringo are back in this heartwarming holiday story of reindogs, romance, and the true meaning of Christmas. With Zach’s mom in Bali and the woman of his dreams gone AWOL, he’s facing a Christmas alone with Ringo—until Tessa the cute veterinarian appears at his door with an offer he and Ringo can’t refuse.

It’s a Christmas he’ll never forget….  

Review:

This was a cute short Christmas story.  The characters are great, and the small town setting was very enchanting.  Add in the reindogs, a pregnant dog and a bunch of puppies, and you have a feel-good Christmas tale.  I would really love to read more about Zach, Tessa and Ringo.  Maybe the author will write more about them.

I cannot wait to read the next book in her Mercy and Elvis series.  I would recommend this book for a little holiday cheer.

Review of Framed in Christmas River

Framed in Christmas River

Meg Muldoon

5 Stars

Synopsis:

It’s Christmastime in the cozy, magical town of Christmas River again. But not all is merry and bright for pie baker extraordinaire and mystery solver Cinnamon Peters this holiday season.

When her best friend is accused of stealing money from a rival craft vendor at the Last Chance Holiday Market, Cinnamon finds herself in a race against the clock to prove Kara’s innocence in time for Christmas. Will Cinnamon and her Sheriff husband find the true culprit in time? Or will Kara end up spending this holiday behind bars?

Full of heartwarming twists and holiday charm, the latest novella from the Amazon bestselling cozy mystery series is sure to brighten your heart this Christmas season. So curl up with a cup of cocoa, cozy up by the fire, and get ready for a long afternoon of joyous holiday reading!

WITH RECIPES!

Review:

This Christmas River novella is a heartfelt, heartwarming addition to this fantastic series.  I really wish that I could go to Christmas River and spend time with my friends, that would be a real Christmas present to me.

The characters are well rounded and well developed.  Cinnamon and Kara are working at the Last Chance Holiday Market, selling Kara’s holiday ornaments.  When someone steals money from a vendor, Kara is accused of being the thief.  With the help of Cinnamon’s husband, Daniel, the sheriff, they have to get to the bottom of it before Kara is sent to the slammer.  Anytime I get to spend time with Cinnamon and her family and friends is time well spent.  And getting to spend time with Cinnamon’s grandpa, Warren, is just icing on the cake. 

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing  and it brought the book to life in my mind’s eye.  I enjoyed the fact that there was not a murder to solve, but the was still a mystery.

I would highly recommend this nivella, and the whole series, to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery.  Give yourself an early Christmas present and read it.

New Releases For The Week Of December 20, 2020–Part 3

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS
And a bouquet of murderous intrigue…

Amateur sleuth (and ace baker) Claire Andersen is back! Winter melts to spring in scenic Galway, Maryland, uncovering blooming friendships new and old, a shyly budding romance, the rotten stench of organized crime, and family drama more garish than Claire’s emerging blood lilies.

Settling in just fine to her new Appalachian digs (and getting the hang of this whole proprietress of a B&B thing, too!), NYC native Claire Andersen is living a cozy small town fairy tale. There are quirky local characters and adorable little shops, not to mention a kitchen full of mouth-watering baked goodies. She’s a veritable June Cleaver—if Leave It to Beaver were nestled in the mountains and June were a recently retired empty nester, that is.

There’s just one problem. Claire can hardly say “Gee, golly” before her newly-acquainted and much-beloved neighbor winds up murdered in cold blood, right before Galway’s annual Easter parade. Hot off the heels of her last murder, Claire can’t help but get involved (much to the chagrin of the well-meaning albeit bumbling town sheriff). She can hardly help herself, after all. The murder did take place right next door … and the victim’s family is staying in her B&B… Ever the hostess, poking around is the least she could do.

Little does Claire know the victim’s family is just the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the iceberg consists of age-old secrets so duplicitous, they’d make Eddie Haskell run for the hills.

Mix in Claire’s feisty sidekick Evelyn, her ever-lovable bloodhound Rupert, and a mountain of mocha and strawberry buttercream cupcakes—and Claire finds she’s in business. The sleuthing business. Perhaps even the mafia business. But she’d better tread carefully—or she’ll wind up another discarded, frozen body in the aforementioned iceberg (with a spring thaw nowhere in sight). (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

When a gorgeous man dressed as Bridgette Bardot buys her a Scofflaw and asks her out on a date, Anna McGregor begins to suspect her murder investigation has taken a wrong turn. Her previous work as a medical anthropologist exposed her to a variety of unexpected situations, but none quite like this.

It all seemed so simple: fix up the Cape May Victorian mansion she’d inherited from Great Aunt Louise and re-open it as the exceptional B&B it used to be. Everything’s going great, until her very first guest turns up dead at the breakfast table, crumbs from Anna’s blueberry scones scattered on the lace tablecloth.

As the town’s gossip mill goes into overdrive, Anna leaps into the fray to save her reputation, her business and Great Aunt Louise’s legacy.

With help from a handsome handyman eager to solve all of Anna’s problems and a young police officer new to murder investigations, Anna does her best to convince the town — and her future guests — that while her scones may be killer, someone else was responsible for this murder. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Meadow McKerrell wants a new start. Escaping an abusive husband, she agrees to house-sit for her cousin Chloe in a tiny one-street hamlet in the Scottish highlands called Candlelight Lane. Initially, everything seems to be going well. She’s settling into small-town life, has a job delivering flowers for the local florist and has set up a doll-making business from her new spare room. She even has a date with a handsome, but awkward neighbour, Finn. When the date arrives, everything starts to go wrong, and she and Finn discover a dead body guarded by a mysterious black cat. Then another body shows up, and another. Soon there are three victims and many questions to be answered. Just when she thinks she can’t be any more traumatised, Meadow is convinced that Baudrons the cat has spoken to her and asked her to help solve the murders. She knew she was a little bit overwhelmed recently, but she’s never had an auditory hallucination… until now. Meadow is ready to pack up and move back to Edinburgh when Baudrons and her new boss Isla convince her to stay. But the appearance of a blood-stained knife in her spare room and the rumours circulating that someone who recently moved to Candlelight Lane has a previous murder conviction mean that the evidence is stacking up against her – or Chloe. Nobody knows anything about her, and she has no way to defend herself from the gossip. The only ones who seem to believe her are Finn, Isla and Baudrons, but how can she solve three murders with only a strange cat and her own mental health problem to assist her? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

“You really nailed it” – words every paranormal chef on The Kitchen Witch Wars would love to hear. But for some on the show, this statement proves the final nail in their coffin! Unfortunately for them, amateur witch Christelle Seabright finds she must once again hang her hat as TV show host and become a homicide detective.

The paranormal TV execs only care about ratings, and contestants continually trying to kill one another off has made The Kitchen Witch Wars a hot new program. But if the culprit is not exposed, how long before a judge—or even the host—ends up on the menu? More twists and turns gurgle from beneath the surface of an innocent cooking competition; a viscous love triangle, family secrets and of course, murder.

Grab yourself a succulent snack and rejoin Christelle as she works her magic on and off the stage. The only missing ingredient is your eye on the second installment of The Kitchen Witch Wars. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

An attack on Santa’s elves proves to be Claus for concern at the North Pole’s Christmas Village

When Oliver’s parents go missing from the Natural History Museum in London, things go from bad to worse as he searches for a missing Santa, and uncovers the body of an elf. With fear looming over the North Pole’s Christmas Village inhabitants, can Oliver and the reindeer hunt down the Yule Cat killer before Christmas is cancelled for good? More importantly, will Oliver ever be free of Beryl the foster home’s Social Worker?

Deerly Departed is the first book in the ‘Murder at the North Pole’ cozy mystery series.  (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum and Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune will find a new character to love in Holly Hands!

Holly Hands. 29. Single mom. Disgraced, former boxing pro. Repo woman.

Repossessing Lamborghinis and other exotic toys from criminals is second-hat for Holly.

But finding a dead body—and solving a murder—is not.

Luckily, Holly has Lucky by her side—a neglected pit bull she found on the wrong side of a job, who refuses to leave her side—and who, like her, has nowhere to go but up.

Together, maybe they can crawl their way out of the urban hell of their bad slice of Baltimore, where coming home at night is even more dangerous than going to work. Maybe Holly can manage to get her young daughter the medical treatment she desperately needs, and manage to get her out of her dangerous public school and into the private school of her dreams. Just maybe, she can fall in love with that private school Dad from the other side of town and start a whole new life.

Or maybe not.

Life has never been easy for Holly. And if the past few days—and the dead body in her trunk—are any indication—it’s about to get a whole lot worse.

KNOCKOUT (A HOLLY HANDS COZY MYSTERY) is book #1 in a riveting new cozy mystery series, a page-turning thriller that grabs you from page one and does not let go. Get ready to find yourself reading all night, bleary-eyed, and falling madly in love with a new character who will fight her way into your heart.

Book #2 (SUCKER PUNCH) and Book #3 (BELOW THE BELT) in the series are also available. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Miss Marple meets Oscar Wilde in this new series of cosy mysteries set in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bunburry. Here, fudge-making and quaffing real ale in the local pub are matched by an undercurrent of passion, jealousy, hatred and murder – laced with a welcome dose of humour.

This compilation contains episodes 4-6.

DEATH OF A LADIES’ MAN

The summer tourist season is in full swing. Among the visitors is Mario Bellini, a gelateria owner with film-star good looks, who is considering opening an ice-cream parlour in Bunburry. But shortly after his arrival, he is found dead – a tragic accident, or something more sinister?

DROP DEAD, GORGEOUS

Deb’s Beauty Salon becomes the last resting place for merry widow and property magnate Eve Mosby, whose passions include haute couture and a young lover. Plenty of people disliked Mrs Mosby, but enough to kill her?

MURDER IN HIGH PLACES

Oscar will brave the Cotswolds for the first time! Alfie has tried for months to convince his best friend to visit him – but when a glamorous High Society Party in honour of celebrated actor Dorian Stevens is announced, Oscar just can’t resist. He is – after all – Dorian’s greatest fan and can’t wait to meet his hero. But the evening at the lovely Saville mansion takes a murderous turn…

Helena Marchmont is a pseudonym of Olga Wojtas, who was born and brought up in Edinburgh. She was encouraged to write by an inspirational English teacher, Iona M. Cameron. Olga won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2015 and recently published her second book in the Miss Blaine mystery series. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

The callous taking of two lives by an act of pure self-interest brings together DCI Arnold, WPC Desai, Linden Lea, the twin to one of the victims, and Jasper, the deceased’s terrier. This coalition of the willing pursue events, both global and personal, past and present, through the jungle of media and politics and into the inner sanctum of the English aristocracy. During their investigations they find redemption for some, retribution for others and discover that revenge is not exclusively a human trait; they confirm the certain knowledge that what goes around comes around. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Sara Middleton, just short of fifty, spent twenty-six years of her life as a widow and single parent, bringing up her twins in the safe, secure environment she created for them.

She is a soloist chorister at Ripon Cathedral. When York Minster’s choir joins Ripon for a Christmas performance, despite a sixth-sense warning her that beneath his charm and easy manner there may be a darker side, Sarah experiences an unnerving, unexpectedly strong attraction to their bass-baritone, Harry Martin.

A chance meeting weeks later causes Sara to throw her common sense to the wind, and she allows herself to fall deeply in love, but soon discovers that Harry’s life holds a terrible secret that haunts and torments him.

Their love proves a strong weapon in the fight to save him from the follies and consequences of his catastrophic past. But their future happiness is in jeopardy. Will they win the battle and be able to make sweet music again? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Anna Hartman is going to need more than a good cup of coffee to solve her latest case.

With the grisly murder of a surrogate, a shaky alibi, and a mountain of evidence stacking up against her client, proving his innocence won’t be easy. And that’s before you start factoring in a fake pregnancy and thousands of dollars’ worth of motive!

But, with the best crew in the city on the case, nothing can stop the Hartman and Malone team. Except maybe for being pulled into an FBI investigation or having the fiancé of the murder victim breathing down your neck.

Looks like it’s time to put those new case jitters aside and get to work!

Does Anna have what it takes to prove the innocence of a man who already has both feet on the path to a long prison sentence?

Forgotten Promises is the 2^nd full-length installment of the explosive Hartman and Malone Mystery series. If you love spunky characters and complicated mysteries, this is the book for you!

This book can be read as a standalone, but spoilers may exist due to ongoing characters from previous installments. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Piper has disappeared. Just as Peter was going to take their relationship to the next level, she ran away.
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Or she was abducted.
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Now, Peter will stop at nothing to get her back, no matter what the consequences.
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Divided in Crime is the third book in the Partners in Crime Thrillers series. It is an international thriller and action adventure romance and includes sex trafficking, shooting, international intrigue, and luxury hotels. And sex…I always forget about the sex!
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“Elise Sax will win your heart.”—New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis
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“Sax will make you laugh. Her larger-than-life characters jump off the page and make crazy seem like a fun place to hang out.”—New York Times bestselling author Christie Craig
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“With quirky characters reminiscent of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and a small-town heroine redolent of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse” –RT Book Reviews

“Fans of laugh-out-loud romantic suspense will enjoy this new author as she joins the ranks of Janet Evanovich, Katie MacAllister, and Jennifer Crusie.”—Booklist, on An Affair to Dismember
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“A lighthearted and amusing caper with a sexy side order of romance . . . Gladie is an endearing mess of a character, and the book is fast-paced and amusing, with a large cast of quirky, small-town characters.”—Kirkus Reviews, on Matchpoint
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“There’s plenty for fans to enjoy in Sax’s third Matchmaker installment, complete with energetic narration, zany humor and a mystery that’s as engaging as the details of Gladie’s love life.”—RT Book Reviews, on Love Game (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Inheriting her late aunt’s Massachusetts farm is no gift for app developer Mabel Skinner, who is about to learn that even the best-grown garlic can’t ward off murderous intent…
 
Mabel’s hope of finding an enthusiastic farmer to buy Stinkin’ Stuff Farm is dying a little bit every day. So far, all she’s found are double-dealing developers. But after a heated dispute over grass clippings with an obsessive local rhubarb breeder, she discovers something even more distressing—the breeder in question undisputedly dead in his greenhouse. . . .
 
Uncomfortably aware that she might be a prime suspect, Mabel stops digging in the dirt long enough to dig up more information about the dead man, and anyone else he might have argued with. The list is longer than she imagined, and includes a persnickety neighbor and a rival rhubarb breeder. With all the ingredients for a homegrown mystery, Mabel must unearth a killer—before the next plot to be dug is her grave. . . .
 
“Growing garlic might be my newest obsession thanks to Six Cloves Under!”
—Lynn Cahoon, New York Times bestselling author of the Farm-to-Fork mystery series (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback Audiobook