New Releases For The Week Of December 13, 2020–Part 2

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists, and the end brings a surprising revelation. Strongly recommended for the permanent library of any reader who enjoys a very well-written thriller.”
–Books and Movie Reviews (re Almost Gone)

DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) is book two in a charming new cozy mystery series by #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose Once Gone has over 1,500 five-star reviews. The series begins with MURDER (AND BAKLAVA)—BOOK #1.

When London Rose, 33, is proposed to by her long-time boyfriend, she realizes she is facing a stable, predictable, pre-determined (and passionless) life. She freaks out and runs the other way—accepting instead a job across the Atlantic, as a tour-guide on a high-end European cruise line that travels through a country a day. London is searching for a more romantic, unscripted and exciting life that she feels sure exists out there somewhere.

London is elated: the European river towns are small, historic and charming. She gets to see a new port every night, gets to sample an endless array of new cuisine and meet a stream of interesting people. It is a traveler’s dream, and it is anything but predictable.

In Book 2, DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL), the cruise takes them into Vienna and Salzburg, home of Mozart and the birthplace of music, and all seems picture-perfect. Until, that its, their tour guide turns up dead after giving the passengers a tour of Mozart’s theatre. Suspicion falls on them. Who could have killed her? And why?

Laugh-out-loud funny, romantic, endearing, rife with new sights, culture and food, DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) offers a fun and suspenseful trip through the heart of Europe, anchored in an intriguing mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very last page.

Book #3 (CRIME AND LAGER), #4 (MISFORTUNE AND GOUDA), #5 (CALAMITY AND A DANISH), and #6 (MAYHEM AND HERRING) are also now available! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

The Christmas Eve party at Buttercup Manor is tradition. Murder is not.

Book 6 in the Poppy Peters mystery series! A light-hearted cozy mystery featuring quirky small-town characters, southern charm, and recipes. This book does not contain cliffhangers, graphic violence, gore, or profanity. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

What could possibly go wrong?

Bubba Snoddy is a good ol’ boy with a wonderful family. His beauteous wife, a sheriff’s deputy, Willodean, is wondrous, his baby has starting sleeping through the night, and his hound, Precious, has taken to the changes with great aplomb. All is well.

Then the sound of bagpipes fills the air. His mother, Miz Demetrice, has organized a Scottish appreciation festival, and everyone in Pegram County is celebrating their Scottishness, whether they have it or not. Bubba is trying his best to take care of the baby while going about his business when he stumbles across…a dead body.

Worse than that, it appears as though Sheriff John Headrick himself is the murderous culprit, and the Pegramville Chief of Police, Big Joe, doesn’t seem interested in whether Sheriff John is innocent or not.

Willodean is barred from investigating the crime, but Bubba isn’t. He might be toting around an infant with a Bassett hound trailing behind them, but he’s going to get to the bottom of the late lamented lassie come hell or high water. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Magic and mystery are only part of the Southern Charms of Honeysuckle Hollow…

Charli Goodwin’s future seemed to be nothing but smooth sailing…until the last spell she cast changed the course of everything! Now, it’s not only her life but the lives of others she cares deeply for that are tied up in her fate. Not even help from the creepy and mysterious soothsayers, the Weird Sisters, can give her a clue how to get out of the mess she’s in.

If Charli can’t figure out a way to fix what she’s done and get things back on track, according to the premonitions from the sisters, the future for herself and all of Honeysuckle Hollow is at stake. Will she be able to reverse the effects of her spell in time?

Find out now in Preserves & Premonitions: A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 7! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Murder has never been this easy…

When Sunny Charles arrives in small-town Parfait, Florida, the last thing she expects is a note from her aunt instructing her to take control of the famous Sunny Side Up Café. After going through a vicious divorce, losing her entire life savings, and, oh yeah, having the Russian mob on her tail, Sunny’s willing to give it a shot, even if it means trying her hand at cooking. Let’s face it, eggs over easy aren’t exactly ‘easy’ to make, but they beat facing off against armed men with guns.

All things considered, her first day in the café goes well, that is, until one of the customers, a food vlogger, tries her aunt’s eggs over easy and drops dead on the spot. Sunny’s set to lose the café unless she can prove her innocence. But with a handsome chef as a distraction, the creeping suspicion she’s being watched, and a detective on her case, she’s got her work cut out for her.

Can Sunny solve the mystery before the murderer stops her? Find out in this funny starter in a brand new cozy mystery series! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

The big day is on the way, and Holly’s got the jitters.

She also has a house full of royal vampires out for blood.

When Lacey Vaughn comes back to Beechwood Harbor, she sure knows how to throw one heck of a welcome back party.

Catch up with Holly and her gang of paranormal pals in Men Love Witches, the eleventh book in the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries series by Danielle Garrett.

Welcome back to Beechwood Harbor, the small town where witches, vampires, shifters, and werewolves all work, play—and mostly—get along! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

The senior sleuths love a good laugh, but this conundrum is no laughing matter. A missing journalist, an African Grey parrot, and a possible mob connection sound like the beginning of a bad joke. Unfortunately, there is no punchline and no one, aside from the seniors, who would dare to take the case on.

Will their first chance to handle a case on their own prove to be way too much for them to handle, and more importantly, could this first be their last? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Astrid Atwood is homeward bound.

It was never part of the plan to move back to Raven Bay, but things just didn’t work out in the city. Her mom is more than willing to welcome her back, and it seems that not much has changed in the sleepy old lake town, or has it?

Astrid seems to be bumping into old high-school classmates at every turn, and when her old best friend, Rachel, shows up at her birthday party she is thrilled. The feeling is short lived however, a body has turned up on the shores of Raven Bay, and the ghost has sought Astrid out, to help solve a murder.

Seeing ghosts is one thing, learning you’re a witch is another.

Astrid always had Raven Bay down as a quaint lakeside getaway. Upon returning home she realizes nothing is further from the truth. She’s only back in town a few days when she uncovers a decades old secret that seems to have been magically removed from everyone’s mind. To make matters worse there seems to be a connection to a new murder.

Has a killer been roaming the streets of her hometown all this time?

With her friend’s reputation on the line, she finds herself falling headfirst into a life-threatening murder mystery. Clues are hiding everywhere, and when she starts to uncover the truth, the killer turns their sights on Astrid.

At least there’s a high-school crush back on the scene. He’s smooth, charming, and even has a pair of handcuffs in his pocket—but he is the town sheriff after all. With a murder to solve Astrid finds plenty of excuses to hang around the dreamy officer.

That’s if her talking cat, Renny, can give her a minute to think.

Primrose & Poison is the first book in the Wicked Witches of Raven Bay mystery series. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Wine tasting, murder and more.
A murder and a toxic substance in a vineyard would spell doom for the manager of any winery. And when that manager is a woman, a rarity in the wine industry, people are quick to place the blame on her shoulders. Even though Sheridan’s husband, Brett, and his partner are already on the case, the amateur sleuth, is quick to jump in. In her search for clues, Sheridan and her friends explore the offerings at several nearby vineyards, where they discover more than great wine.
Join Sheridan for a trip from your favorite chair, filled with friends, fun, and a two mysteries. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

This is Book 1 in the Sullivan Sisters Deadly Design Series
When a humiliating design reveal on HGTV becomes a viral sensation, Audra Sullivan moves back home to Las Sirenas Bay to start over. Everything is going as well as can be expected (she’s been reduced to cleaning grout) when the woman renting space in her design studio is found murdered.

That won’t be good for business.

“Alexa, what does my day look like?”

“You have a full day ahead, Audra. At 7:15, you need to call the wholesaler in New Orleans and negotiate a better price for a mango wood cabinet.
At 7:45 place your order for more Post-It notes, super sticky and you need another dewormer treatment for Hamilton.
At 9:30 wrangle Nikki’s shopping spree at Zuri Furniture and keep her away from Sheriff Shane.
At 11:00 call Mrs. Poole to confirm how many blue china vases she needs for the living room.”

“Did I leave myself any reminders?”
“Yes, Audra, Find the MURDERER.”

Now a reluctant sleuth, Audra suddenly finds herself entangled in crime instead of in design. Fortunately, she has her sister-in-law, Nikki Sullivan, by her side to hunt down the clues.

But the more clues Audra discovers, the more she realizes that the secrets in her beloved community go deeper than she ever thought possible.
Can this amateur sleuth find the murderer before losing the interior design studio she’s worked so hard to open?
Will Nikki’s fast-talking antics put the Sullivan sisters in danger?
AND how does Audra find the perfect vase to go with the perfect cashmere throw?

You will love this quick, clean, cozy mystery because it features unexpected twists and a town full of exciting characters!

Praise for KC Hadley:

“This Sullivan Sisters Mystery is the perfect balance of being light and fun, but still a serious page-turning mystery.” – Gail W, Amazon.com

“You will fall in love with Audra and Nikki, your new book best friends!” – Deonna P. Girlfriends Bookclub

If you enjoy small-town life, quirky characters of all ages, and a page-turning mystery, you’ll love Murder on Kane Lane. Grab this fun cozy today and start reading!

Murder on Kane Lane is book 1 in the Sullivans Sisters Design on a Crime Mystery series.
While the books can be read out of order, starting with Murder on Kane Lane is recommended as some story threads run from book to book.

Murder on Kane Lane is a cozy mystery series for fans of Ellery Adams, Rhys Bowen, Emily Organ, Jeanne Glidewell, Cynthia Ellingsen, Kathi Daley, Jean Grainger, Hope Callaghan, Amanda M. Lee, Joanne Fluke, Margaret Mayhew, Bobbi Holmes, Jeanne M. Dams, Peggy Ehrhart, LJ Ross, Susan M. Boyer, Verity Bright, Cathy Ace, A.R. Winters, Julie Chase, Amy Vansant, Catherine Coles, Gina LaManna, Dianne Harman, Jenn McKinlay, Leslie Meier, Kate Carlisle, Eve Calder, Lee Hollis, Maddie Day, Barbara Ross, Lorna Barrett, Laurie Cass, Gayle Trent, Gayle Leeson, Diane Kelly, Bree Baker, VM Burns, Esme Addison, Ellie Alexander, Amy Lillard, Elizabeth Penney, Leena Clover, Helena Dixon, Wendy Meadows, CeeCee James, Agatha Christie, Agatha Raisin, Agatha Frost, Jana DeLeon, Tonya Kappes, Cindy Bell, Leighann Dobbs, Alexia Gordon, Gethsemane Brown, Murder She Wrote, Monk, Psych, Britbox, Acorn, and other cozy mystery tv shows and books. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Julienne Mason’s Ego has taken a Beating. In the space of a day, she nearly burnt down the pizza parlor, lost her job, and walked in on her cheating rat of a husband.

To top it all off? Today is her birthday. She’s 40 and no one has noticed.

With nothing to show for a lifetime of chasing the Joneses and trying to conform to everyone else’s expectations but her own…Juli is more than ready for a change of lifestyle. But nobody ever told her that answering the summons to a strange letter would turn her entire life on a dime, and challenge every notion she’s ever had on what normal is…sometimes life after 40 really can be Magic… (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Buxom motorcycle cop Chastity “Cha-Cha” Rinaldi has a tough reputation to live up to. On her first day as a rookie for the Mobile, Alabama police department, Cha-Cha pulled over a pickup hauling a trailer with a busted taillight, and unwittingly stumbled upon an international human smuggling ring. But now, the three creeps she put behind bars have busted out of prison. Have they fled the country, or could they be coming for her as they’d vowed upon receiving their life sentences?

A traffic stop puts Cha-Cha face-to-face with high school physics teacher Newton Isaac. Cha-Cha can’t imagine herself with the geeky yet undeniably appealing guy. After all, he’s her polar opposite. Still, he’s a welcome distraction from her woes, and she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him, as if by some unseen super-magnetic force pulling on her underwire bra.

Is Cha-Cha destined to pose a one-woman defense against three violent brutes, or might Newt prove to be her nerd in shining armor? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Someone is making a list and checking it twice in this festive holiday whodunit by USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne…

What better time for a wedding when the sleigh bells are ringing and the snow is glistening this frosty season in the quaint coastal town of Paramour Bay, Connecticut?

Raven Marigold has been busy putting the finishing touches on her mother’s wedding. Everything has been going according to plan, and there are only twelve hours left before the big ceremony. Raven doesn’t see the harm in taking a few minutes to herself to enjoy the merriment of the season and the special occasion, but her frolic through the town square’s winter wonderland has her stumbling headfirst into a snowman…and a brand-new mystery!

Someone doesn’t want Raven’s mother getting married, and the mysterious individual is going to great lengths to make sure that the ceremony never takes place—even resorting to attempted murder!

You’ll want to have a lump of coal on hand when you find out who makes the naughty list in this year’s frosty caper! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle. Paperback

“The perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It’s a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”
–Midwest Book Review (For Now and Forever)

THE WITCHING PLACE: MURDER BY MANUSCRIPT is book #2 in a charming new cozy mystery series by bestselling author Sophie Love, author of The Inn at Sunset Harbor series, a #1 Bestseller with over 200 five-star reviews.

When Alexis Blair, 29, is fired from her book publishing job and breaks up with her boyfriend on the same day, she wonders if life is urging her to make a fresh start. She decides it’s time to pursue her lifelong dream of opening a bookstore of her own—even if that means leaving Boston and accepting a job in a curious bookstore in a small seaside town an hour away.

When Alexis is dispatched to scout out some books in an estate sale in a gothic mansion, she finds something she does not expect: one book is incredibly rare, the only one of its kind in existence, worth millions of dollars.

She also soon finds something else she does not expect: a dead body.

Thrust in the middle of the crime, will Alexis be able to clear her name?

And will she discover the mystery at the heart of her very own store?

A page-turning cozy, rife with the supernatural, mystery, secrets and love—and centered around a small town as odd and endearing as its shop—A CURIOUS BOOKSTORE will make you fall in love and keep you laughing out loud as you turn pages late into the night.

“The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”
–Books and Movies Reviews (For Now and Forever)

Book #3 in the series—A PERILOUS PAGE—is now also available! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Rome—the city of churches, marble, … and murder? For one American tourist, a famous fountain will become her final resting place.

Wedding bells are ringing, and Lana Hansen could not be happier! Wanderlust Tours guide Randy Wright and his Italian girlfriend are tying the knot in Tuscany, right after he and Lana finish leading a Christmas-themed tour around Rome.

Unfortunately for Randy, his ex-girlfriend is still convinced they are meant to be together. When she shows up at his hotel, they have a nasty fight, and Randy threatens to harm her if she doesn’t leave him be.

After her body is found in the Trevi Fountain, Randy is immediately arrested. Lana is convinced he didn’t do it, yet none of her other guests seemed to have wished the young women ill.

With a shortage of suspects, Lana must dig deep in order to sleuth out who really killed Randy’s ex-girlfriend—before his visit to the Eternal City becomes permanent.

The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are fun stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that often turn deadly.

Books in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series:
Book 1 – Death on the Danube: A New Year’s Murder in Budapest
Book 2 – Death by Baguette: A Valentine’s Day Murder in Paris
Book 3 – Death by Windmill: A Mother’s Day Murder in Amsterdam
Book 4 – Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
Book 5 – Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Book 6 – Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick’s Day Murder in Dublin
Books 7-12 – Coming Soon!! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle