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