Amateur Sleuth Cozy

In "A Taste of Murder," the third Bunburry book, a local beef farmer is found dead and Betty Thorndike, vegetarian and Bunburry's only Green Party member, is in the frame. Despite what everyone thinks, Betty is absolutely not Alfie McAlister's girlfriend. But Alfie knows what it's like to be wrongly accused, and enlists the help of his fellow amateur detectives, Liz and Marge, to find out who's responsible. There's just one problem about a farm-based investigation - Alfie's scared of cows.

England, 1936. On a clear autumn day, Kitty and her mischievous spaniel Bertie take a drive to a nearby village. After a long walk in the rolling country hills and lunch in a pretty tearoom, what could be nicer than to buy a couple of bottles of local cider for her husband—and partner-in-crime solving—Matt? Instead, she finds a body in the orchard… Kitty is shocked to discover Titus Blake dead, crushed by his own cider press.

Shannon Hammer is about to embark on one of the biggest projects of her career. Her best friend Jane Hennessey has purchased one wing of the Gables, formerly the old state insane asylum, located on a bucolic hillside two miles northeast of Lighthouse Cove. Jane plans to turn her section into a small luxury hotel. Shannon is raring to get started on the enormous project and is shocked when a group of unruly protesters shows up at the groundbreaking ceremony and wreaks havoc. She’s even more freaked out when someone pushes her into a pit of bricks in a closed-off room of the asylum.

Every nosy neighbor, gossipy friend, and meddling relative is just one good mystery away from becoming a detective. From behind locked doors or out in broad daylight, driven by chance or curiosity, amateur sleuths get in over their heads in these six hair-raising, hilarious stories.

When the writers retreat gets a group of paranormal authors, Cat Latimer's over the moon. However, a local professor is causing waves, since she doesn't think the retreat or the authors it hosts are literary enough to be sponsored by Covington College. Cat knows she'll have to fight for the sponsorship, but this week, she's going to enjoy herself. Shauna's put together a coz-play party. However, the night is cut short when they find the literary professor dressed up as a zombie. But the professor isn't playing dead. Can Cat solve the mystery before she's framed in the investigation?

With the summer days getting shorter in the seaside village of Nairn, the annual bagpiping competition at Ramsey Castle promises to be quite the end-of-season blowout. Paisley has snagged a special invitation from the dowager countess, who wants to showcase her cashmere goods in the castle gift shop, and she's brought her son Brody, Grandpa, and their black Scottish terrier Wallace.

Après un séjour de six mois à Londres, Agatha retrouve enfin ses chères Cotswolds - et le non moins cher James Lacey. Même si le retour au bercail de son entreprenante voisine ne donne pas l'impression d'enthousiasmer particulièrement le célibataire le plus convoité de Carsely. Heureusement, Agatha est très vite happée par son sport favori : la résolution d'affaires criminelles. Comme le meurtre d'une certaine Jessica, qui militait pour le droit de passage de son club de randonneurs dans les propriétés privées des environs.

Sophie Winston is busy handling the first ever convention of the Association of Ghost Kitchens—restaurants that do delivery only—but she's taking a little time out for a lunch meeting organized by A Healthy Meal. The group is dedicated to providing meals for children in need, and as a bonus, it'll give Sophie the perfect opportunity to ogle the lavish Old Town home of socialite Geraldine Stansfield. Gerrie's dining room is impeccably furnished, the table laden with gleaming crystal and prized china. If it weren't for the dead man lying on the floor, everything would be perfect.

October 1912. The inhabitants of Littleton Cotterell emerge from their homes after a week of torrential storms to the gruesome news that one of Sid Hyde’s prized sheep has been mauled to death. As rumours abound of a vicious beast stalking the Gloucestershire countryside in search of prey, Lady Hardcastle and her fearless lady’s maid, Florence Armstrong, set out to find what is surely a rational explanation. Then Hyde himself is brutally killed in a similar attack, and the villagers go from curious to terrified.

Jim Qwilleran has officially inherited a fortune and his freedom, which leaves him with a serious dilemma: What should he do next? Seeking a place of peace and isolation to make up his mind, he heads to the Potato Mountains for the summer. But Qwill lands in the middle of controversy, not solitude. Developers are eager to turn the pristine Potatoes into a tourist trap, and one of the locals has been convicted of murdering millionaire J.J. Hawkinfield. Some people swear the wrong man was convicted, and Qwill is inclined to agree. But if Forest Beechum didn't do the dirty deed, who did?

A Yuletide dinner in West Brompton should have been a festive occasion, until the host, wealthy Stephen Whitfield, dropped dead before the second course. Now, Mrs. Jeffries and the busy sleuths must rally in support of their inspector, especially since the clues are harder to find than a silver sixpence in a plum pudding.

When guests arrive at a séance to contact a man's lost sons, it becomes clear that everyone has dark secrets - secrets that result in the death of a guest.

Jill's family law career is in a rut. Watching a client go back to her abusive husband, yet again—and then learning she's been passed up for a partnership, yet again-finally prompts her to take a break. She'll have to dip into her emergency fund. But after all those long days in her windowless office, subsisting on leftover cake from the break room, it's time to smell some flowers. When she arrives in picturesque South Cove on the Pacific coast, she finds friendly residents, a peaceful beach, and nature's beauty.

No matter how great or small, I love to help solve a crime. When I find my mother's ex-boyfriend murdered in our convenience store bathroom with a piece of his skull missing, and my mom's a suspect in a murder investigation, my mystery solving goes from zero to 100. To really make matters worse, the town's local conspiracy theorist and official doomsday prepper, Cappie, somehow finds out the victim isn't just missing a piece of his skull - he's missing a piece of his brain!

IT'S THE MOST MURDEROUS TIME OF THE YEAR… Puzzle compiler and former Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan returns in the newest seasonal mystery from bestselling author and ‘Queen of the Christmas Mystery’ Alexandra Benedict. When Edie O’Sullivan wins a two-day Christmas break in a hotel...

Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of Southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a "for sale" sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand reopening of Pans 'n Pancakes, but when the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press.

As eager as Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, is to meet her husband’s newly discovered illegitimate half sister, she does not want it to happen like this: in the keeper's house at Newgate. Yes, that Newgate, the abject prison filled with squalor and misery to which Verity Lark has been consigned for murder. Found standing over the slain corpse of an old tormentor with a still-warm pistol in her hand, she is obviously guilty. It is an open-and-shut case with little for an unduly curious duchess to investigate. Except it all seems a little too simple and straightforward.

It’s Christmas in Riddleton and crime-novelist-turned-amateur-sleuth Jen is in desperate need of a cozy festive season running the town's local bookstore. But, between trying to drum up business for Ravenous Readers and attempting to finish her latest novel, Jen is totally run off her feet. Matters get worse, however, when a man's body is found outside the bookstore, along with a scrap of paper in his pocket with none other than Jen's address on it!

A number-one New York Times best-selling author, Charlaine Harris penned the addictive Sookie Stackhouse series. In Day Shift psychic Manfred Bernardo is hounded by the press after a client drops dead during a reading. Turning to the local vampire's lover for help, Manfred hopes she can put the squeeze on the scandal before someone else is put on ice.

Nora Pennington, the owner of Miracle Books, believes that a well-chosen novel can bring healing and hope. But she and the rest of the members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society know that, sometimes, practical help is needed, too. Such is the case with the reed-thin girl hiding in the fiction section of Nora's store, wearing a hospital ID and a patchwork of faded bruises. She calls herself Abilene, and, although Nora and her friends offer work, shelter, and a supportive ear, their guest isn't ready to divulge her secrets.