New Releases For The Week Of July 25th, 2021–Part 1

Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff—and even fuller-time coffee guzzler—Sunshine Vicram, didn’t get that memo.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that’s about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he’s not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She’s seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn’t know when to quit, Sunny’s life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.

Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.

Praise for the Sunshine Vicram series

“Laugh-out-loud funny, intensely suspenseful, page-turning fun.”–New York Times Bestselling author Allison Brennan

“A Bad Day For Sunshine is a great day for the rest of us.”–New York Times bestselling author
Lee Child (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

a Love is deadly

Stupid Cupid is making School psychologist Skye Denison-Boyd regret returning to work after her maternity leave. It starts with an emergency school lockdown, continues with her godfather’s arrest by the state police, and ends with a dead body!

It’s every teacher and administrator’s worst nightmare—a school shooter lockdown. And even worse for Skye because she’s trapped in a tiny room with the district’s creepy superintendent, Dr. Wraige while they wait for the all-clear.

When Dr. Wraige turns up dead in his home just a short time later, is it a coincidence, or something more?

Skye joins her police chief husband, Wally, in an investigation that becomes more complicated by the minute. With a dead boss and a mysterious killer on the loose, Skye is caught between a rock and a heart place—but she won’t give up until Scumble River is safe once again. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

A murder leads to a string of shocking revelations for bookstore owner Tricia Miles in the latest entry to Lorna Barrett’s New York Times bestselling Booktown series. 

Tricia Miles has just received a second marriage proposal within fifteen minutes. The first was from her friend with benefits, Marshall Chambers, and the second from her ex-lover, police chief Grant Baker. Tricia’s got some serious thinking to do.

She’s still weighing her options when she hears the sound of an engine roaring down Main Street. It’s a big white pickup truck that aims for and hits Marshall as he’s walking back to his apartment. Tragically, he’s killed, leaving Tricia feeling bereft and guilty. She retreats to her sister, Angelica’s, apartment to wait for Baker to update her on what happened. While there, Tricia takes Angelica’s dog out for a comfort call behind the building, and the same white pickup roars up the alley and just misses hitting Tricia.

Still shaken by that news, Tricia returns to Haven’t Got a Clue and is met by federal marshal Kirby, who tells her that Marshall had been in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Everything Marshall told Tricia was a lie—in particular, that he was a widower. Was his death an act of revenge?

Tricia’s on the hunt for a killer, and it seems like she might be next on the list. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

In Claws for Alarm, the fifth book in Cate Conte’s delightful and cat-filled series, it’s the heart of the busy season, and JJ’s House of Purrs is booming—until a killer is let off the leash.

Maddie James has finally given in to her friend Katrina’s pleas to open up her cat cafe to more than ten felines: they’re now up to fifteen purring friends. In fact, JJ’s House of Purrs is making such a splash that she’s getting national attention. The East Coast Animal Rescue League is quite interested in the cafe, and so Maddie accepts a request to meet with Jillian Allen, the executive director. Jillian shows up at the cafe and asks Maddie if they can partner on a fundraiser to support the local rescue efforts—and she offers up her celebrity endorser and her celebrity cat to sweeten the deal. Maddie, caught up in the prospect, offers up her sister Val to help plan the event.

But when Val shows up for a site visit at the venue, she finds Jillian strangled with a fancy cat leash—a piece of swag they were intending to use for the fundraiser—leaving Maddie with a lot of questions to answer. Was her death a tragic one-off event, or is there something more sinister going on? Maddie has to figure it out fast, before anyone else in the rescue community is jeopardized. (Amazon)

Editions available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

Autumn in Blossom Valley means pumpkin patches are ripe and Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe’s cider shop is flourishing. But with this season comes . . .
 
A FATAL HARVEST
 
The Fall Festival is in full swing. Civil War reenactors from three counties are partaking in Blossom Valley’s tribute to John Brown. Blue Ridge Mountain foliage is in full bloom. And best of all is Jacob Potter’s pumpkin farm where his hay rides, piglet races, pumpkin picking and corn maze are time-honored draws for locals and tourists alike. That’s why it’s such a shock when Mr. Potter is found dead, hidden under a tarp in the back of Winnie’s pickup truck. This certainly betrays Potter’s reputation as one of the town’s most popular citizens. Fortunately, when it comes to solving a murder, no one has a patch on Winnie. Now, all eyes are on her to do it. Unfortunately, that includes those of the killer who’ll do anything to keep an orchard full of secrets buried. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

The ninth installment in the hit Quilting Mystery series by Mary Marks finds sleuth Martha searching for her fiancé’s ex-wife.

One loose thread threatens to unravel Martha’s wedding plans: the groom-to-be married a pregnant teen to save her from scandal thirty years ago—and the marriage was never annulled. Now Crusher’s wife Hadas is coming to LA, along with his sister Fanya. But soon after she arrives, their houseguest goes missing, with her room ransacked and a chloroform-soaked cloth left behind. Could her apparent abduction be connected to her brother’s unsolved death from a hit-and-run six months ago? Martha and her quilting cohorts must find the pattern to solve the twin mysteries and determine if Crusher is still married—or now a widower . . .

Praise for Mary Marks and Knot of this World

“Framed by details of quilting, tarot-card reading, and Rose’s Jewish faith, this satisfying cozy, replete with full-bodied characters, will be relished by quilters.”
—Booklist (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Plus-sized PI Savannah Reid doesn’t shy away from high-profile cases with the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency. But when an upscale party ends with murder, drawing clues from famous guests may prove trickier than squeezing into an old pair of jeans . . .

For the first time in recent memory, Savannah has no guilt about indulging in personal interests before her career. Between being a mom to her new foster son and arranging a lavish wedding for her sister, things are messy, unpredictable, and delightfully fulfilling. She even gains an impressive friend: Dr. Carolyn Erling, a caring veterinarian with a deeper story than her down-to-earth nature suggests . . .

When Savannah attends a birthday bash for Dr. Carolyn’s husband, she’s astonished to find that her no-frills acquaintance resides in a pristine hilltop mansion with Dr. Stephen Erling, a jet-setter brain surgeon boasting throngs of A-list patients around the globe. Before Savannah can get a headcount on the mingling celebrities, Dr. Stephen has one too many champagne toasts and drops dead.

With a poisonous residue found inside Dr. Stephen’s glass, the search is on for the killer who spiked his drink. Motivated to set things right for a devastated Dr. Carolyn, Savannah must infiltrate the elite world of foreign dignitaries and Oscar-winning stars to identify the guilty culprit—or prepare to kiss this happy chapter in her life goodbye. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

The bestselling author of the Irish Village mysteries sets her new series in Galway County, where former New York interior designer Tara Meehan finds murder in the ruins.

Former New Yorker and interior designer Tara Meehan is eagerly anticipating the grand opening of her architectural salvage shop Renewals in her newly adopted home of Galway. She’s in the midst of preparations when heiress Veronica O’Farrell bursts in to announce she’s ready for some renewal of her own. To celebrate one year of sobriety, she’s invited seven people she wronged in her drinking days to historic Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in neighboring Connemara to make amends in style.

But perhaps one among them is not so eager to pardon her past misdeeds. Veronica is found lying in the ruins of manor house Clifden Castle with an antique Tara Brooch buried in her heart—the same brooch Tara Meehan admired in her shop the day before, posting a photo with the caption: #Killerbrooch. Now she’s a prime suspect, along with Veronica’s guests, all of whom had motives to stab the heiress. It’s up to Tara to pin down the guilty party . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

A locked room. A mysterious death. Just another gig for the Dizzy Heights.

When London’s finest jazz musicians, the Dizzy Heights, are booked to play the glitzy Midsummer Ball at a country house in Oxfordshire, they expect a weekend filled with flappers and toffs having a roaring good time.

But the festivities at Bilverton House take a turn for the worse when the group are stranded by a summer storm. And when a member of the Bilverton family turns up dead in a locked room in an apparent suicide, Skins, Dunn and Ellie realise this is going to be a much tougher gig than they thought.

But here’s the lick. What if it was in fact cold-blooded murder? And what if the killer is still at large? It’s up to the Dizzy Heights to once again put down their instruments and get improvising if they want to solve this confounding mystery. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback. Audiobook

Justice will be swirled by amateur sleuth Riley Rhodes in the first in Meri Allen’s brand-new mystery series, The Rocky Road to Ruin!

Riley Rhodes, travel food blogger and librarian at the CIA, makes a bittersweet return to her childhood home of Penniman, Connecticut – land of dairy farms and covered bridges – for a funeral. Despite the circumstances, Riley’s trip home is sprinkled with reunions with old friends, visits to her father’s cozy bookshop on the town green, and joyful hours behind the counter at the beloved Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. It feels like a time to help her friend Caroline rebuild after her mother’s death, and for Riley to do a bit of her own reflecting after a botched undercover mission in Italy. After all, it’s always good to be home.

But Caroline and her brother Mike have to decide what to do with the assets they’ve inherited – the ice cream shop as well as the farm they grew up on – and they’ve never seen eye to eye. Trouble begins to swirl as Riley is spooked by reports of a stranger camping behind the farm and by the odd behavior of the shop’s mascot, Caroline’s snooty Persian, Sprinkles. When Mike turns up dead in the barn the morning after the funeral, the peace and quiet of Penniman seems upended for good. Can Riley find the killer before another body gets scooped? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Bestselling author Sherry Harris gives us the second in a new cozy mystery series featuring a bartender sleuth in the tiny town of Emerald Cove, Florida.
 
BAD TO THE BONE
 
Chloe loves her new life pouring beers and mixing cocktails at the Sea Glass Saloon in the Florida Panhandle town of Emerald Cove. But on the job, the only exercise she gets is walking from one end of the bar to the other, so in the mornings she loves to run on the beach. On this morning’s foggy run, she spots a sailboat washed up on a sandbar. Hearing a cry, she climbs aboard the beached vessel to investigate and finds not only a mewling kitten—but a human skeleton in the cabin.
 
The skeleton is tied back to Chloe’s friend Ralph, whose wife disappeared on a sailboat with three other people twelve years ago. Believing his wife was lost at sea, Ralph remarried. Now he finds himself a murder suspect. Chloe is determined to find out who’s been up to some skulduggery, but her sleuthing will lead her into some rough waters and some bone-chilling revelations…
 
“Entertaining…a pleasantly appealing debut series.”
—Dru’s Books Musings (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

National bestselling author Vicki Delany’s delightful Tea by the Sea mystery series continues, as Cape Cod tearoom proprietress and part-time sleuth, Lily Roberts, stirs up trouble when she unwittingly serves one of her grandmother’s B&B guests a deadly cup of tea . . .

Lily has her work cut out for her when a visit from her grandmother Rose’s dear friend, Sandra McHenry, turns into an unexpected—and unpleasant—McHenry family reunion. The squabbling boils over and soon Tea by the Sea’s serene afternoon service resembles the proverbial tempest in a teapot. Somehow, Lily and her tearoom survive the storm, and Sandra’s bickering brethren finally retreat to Rose’s B&B. But later that evening, a member of their party—curmudgeonly Ed French—dies from an apparent poisoning and suddenly Tea by the Sea is both scene and suspect in a murder investigation!
 
Mercifully, none of the other guests fall ill. They all ate the same food, but Ed always insisted on bringing his own special blend of herbal teas. So it seems, amid the whining and dining, someone snuck up to one of Lily’s cherished teapots and fatally spiked Ed’s bespoke brew, but who? Was it Ed’s long-estranged sister-in-law? Did teenage troublemaker Tyler take a prank too far? Or perhaps the family’s feuds have been steeping for longer than anyone realizes? It’s up to Lily, Rose, and their friends to get to the bottom of the poisoned pot and bag the real culprit behind the kettle murder plot. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover

Martha’s Vineyard may be picturesque and peaceful, but even there, happily-ever-after has its dark side . . .

Annie Sutton is not only a bestselling mystery author, she’s the proprietor of the newly opened Vineyard Inn. Recently engaged to local police sergeant John Lyons, instead of making wedding plans, Annie’s fighting with him about his older daughter, a troubled teen who has moved home—bringing chaos in her wake. With Annie’s beloved brother away on a troublesome journey of his own, Annie needs a friend. She begins to confide in one of the Inn’s guests, a mysterious stranger named Mary Beth Mullen. Her mix of kindness and vulnerability makes Annie trust her—until Mary Beth shares a secret that leaves Annie torn between family loyalty and a promise she made.

When a handsome, internationally acclaimed journalist checks into the Inn, he too unpacks a boatload of trouble for Annie, triggered by a provocative photo, covertly snapped—and posted on the internet. Intrigued, as tensions mount between her and John, Annie decides to eschew the police and get involved herself—enlisting Mary Beth’s help. But Annie is soon questioning whether anyone on the Vineyard this season is who they seem—and realizing that any chance of happiness rests in finding out just who her real friends are . . .

Praise for Jean Stone’s Vineyard Novels

“Filled with heart. . . . Perfect for long summer days. For fans of DebbieMacomber or Elin Hilderbrand.” 
—Booklist

“Lie down on the couch, put a pillow under your head and enjoy the ride.”
—The Vineyard Gazette (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

Mia Malone conjures up delicacies while casting about for clues in New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon’s Two Wicked Desserts, continuing her Kitchen Witch Mystery series . . .

Magic Springs, Idaho, may be a small town, but Mia Malone is living an enchanted life running her own catering business and cooking school. And while she’s teaching the locals culinary craft, her grandmother is teaching her witchcraft for the day she inherits the family magical spells that have been passed down for generations. Unfortunately, all that knowledge is not helping Mia or her grandmother in removing the spirit of warlock Dorian Alexander from Mia’s cat Mr. Darcy.

But even though Dorian hasn’t yet left this earthly plane, his spells have already been transferred to his daughter Cindy’s grimoire. An actress looking for her big Hollywood break, Cindy is hoping there’s something in her father’s bag of tricks to make her a star. But playing with magic has only resulted in a trip to Idaho where Cindy finds herself the number one suspect in the murder of a hitman whose body was found in the garden of Mia’s Morsels. Now it’s up to Mia to conjure up a killer before everything she’s worked so hard for vanishes with a poof!

Includes Recipes!

Praise for Lynn Cahoon

“A cozy lover’s dream come true.”
—Susan McBride, author of The Debutante Dropout Mysteries on The Tourist Trap Mysteries (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

The course of true love never did run smooth.

According to Myrtle, Eloise Crane set her cap for Miles long ago. Although Miles is now dating Eloise, he doesn’t seem overly enthusiastic about it. Myrtle figures he’s simply given in after running out of plausible excuses. Eloise drives Myrtle batty, so she’s intent on avoiding her as much as possible. This isn’t easy since Eloise is determined to join in whenever Miles and Myrtle are together.

When Myrtle spots Eloise at a restaurant canoodling with a different gentleman, she likes Eloise even less. And she decides that Eloise has caused no end of problems when her other suitor is found dead.

With Miles a suspect, Myrtle must jump into gear to clear his name and find the killer before he strikes again. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback