Cozy Crime Fiction

England, 1925. When a strange young woman is found murdered on the grounds of Unsworth Castle, the duke and his family are astounded at first, but quickly become enraged when the police begin asking all sorts of impertinent questions. And when suspicions dare to fall on one of their own, it is up to Mr. Quayle, Lord Unsworth's exceedingly efficient secretary, to find the true culprit and save the House of Unsworth from scandal and ruin.

They call him the gourmet detective; the only thing sharper than his mind is his palate. When chefs need a rare ingredient, an ancient wine, or simply a new idea to gain that extra Michelin-star boost, they come to the detective's cozy London office and plead for his help. For top-notch cooking, he is always happy to lend his taste buds to the cause.

When a local woman dies in a most unconventional way, In a Pinch takes on the quirky case and once again, Maddy finds herself in the middle of a would-be murder investigation. Even with the help of her grandmother and best friend Genny, this case may be too hot to handle. Things really start smoking when Cutter's grandfather, rodeo legend Sticker Pierce, returns to The Sisters and tries to rekindle a romance with old flame Belle, aka Granny Bert. And Maddy's latest brush with death prompts Brash to finally make his move.

Constable Nick’s beat is modernized, with his police bike replaced by a mini-van. He gets more than he bargained for as his work draws him into closer contact with villagers, in more ways than one. There are compromising positions aplenty in this next charming installment of Aidensfield life. Nick finds himself lost in heavy fog and runs across a couple of illicit lovers trapped in their car. He advises the village grocer about his very respectable lady shoplifter and discovers how farmer Owens copes with his bossy wife.

When a promising local artist disappears, the victim's brother begs Detective Tara Thorpe to take the case. It seems there's no evidence of foul play...he simply disappeared without a trace. Tara agrees to do some digging...never mind that her unorthodox approach to policing has got a few of her colleagues' backs up. Amongst them is her former supervisor Detective Patrick Wilkins...he's had enough of Tara calling the shots and will do anything to knock her down. She must be careful.

Mina Wilde is thrilled to be invited to a prestigious writers' retreat at Meddleworth House. Heathcliff, Morrie, and Quoth decide to come along to keep her company and indulge in some of the estate's activities. Mina is excited to get feedback on her first novel, but her dreams of writing stardom are shattered when the other writers tear her work to pieces. A little criticism never hurt anyone, right? Wrong. Their picturesque country holiday soon turns deadly when a violent storm closes in. As the writers gather around the fire to critique each other's work, the power goes out.

In the seventh novel in Julia Chapman's Dales Detective series, betrayal is rife in the idyllic Yorkshire Dales as Samson O'Brien, owner of the Dales Detective Agency, is targeted by a hitman. Can Bruncliffe save him? Death is coming to Bruncliffe; its target is Samson O’Brien. Oblivious to...

Alice, an American who loves to speak French, wants to study in Paris. She spends a week in a language school for adults. The students are friendly, and the school is located on the most beautiful avenue in Paris. At first, it's a dream! But her dream turns into a nightmare when Madame Douce, her French teacher, is found dead in the classroom.

Dedicating a monument to an eminent member of a Cambridge college should be a simple matter of course, but despite already commissioning an artist to complete the work, the meddling daughter of the deceased is determined to enlist her own sculptor to create the statue. It's convenient for her, then, when the university's chosen candidate turns up dead...Felix Smythe and Professor Cedric Dillworthy, a benefactor to the project, are invited to Cambridge to participate in the preparations. Unbeknownst to them, Rosy Gilchrist is also there, attending a reunion at Newnham College.

When young, pretty Eliza Anderson walks through Grace McKenna’s door begging for help finding her missing sister, it sparks the Portobello Detective Agency’s most dangerous investigation to date. The trail leads Grace and her team to a plush clinic nestled in Scotland’s remote wilderness. On the surface, Whiteadder House seems too good to be true, offering miracle cures and luxury comfort at no cost. But as they dig deeper, the cracks in its gleaming façade start to show.

It’s December in Cornwall, and Mousehole harbour is illuminated with its famous Christmas lights. Ally Bright is among the crowd listening to the carol singers—and then to the piercing screams that rip through the darkness. A body has been found, brutally murdered and dumped in a fisherman’s boat.

When Georgina Drake trades London for the tranquil Norfolk countryside, she has simple plans: master pilates, rent out her converted barn to holidaymakers, and slowly heal from a terrible loss. But when she discovers the body of her latest guest—arrogant Cambridge professor Roland Garnett—everything changes. With the police eyeing Georgina as a suspect and the poisoned curry that killed Garnett somehow linked to her friend’s farm shop, she has no choice but to investigate for herself.

Nonna Maria has lived in Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples, her entire life. Recognizable by the widow's black she's worn every day for decades, she always has pasta on the stove and espresso in the pot for the neighbors who stop by to ask her advice on life and love. Everyone knows her, and she knows everyone's business. So if something goes wrong, islanders look to her, and not the local carabinieri, to find the solution.

After three years of living in the small town of Reigny-sur-Canne, all Katherine Goff really wants is to be accepted by her neighbors into their little community. But as an American expat living in the proud region of Burgundy, that's no easy task. When the elderly Frenchman who lives in the village chateau is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the town is turned into a hotbed of gossip and suspicion, and Katherine suddenly finds herself drawn deeper and deeper into the small town's secrets.

Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at The Cracked Spine in the heart of town. She's recently befriended a few medical school students after they came into the shop to sell some antique medical tomes. But when one of the students' friends is found murdered outside in the alley, Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice.

Back in her natural habitat, Dr Nell Ward heads to a woodland pond to survey local newt populations. She's shocked to discover a car submerged in the water - with the driver dead behind the wheel. Nell recognises the dead man as professional racing driver, and tabloid love rat, Jack Rafferty, whose performance on (and off) Finchmere's racetrack had earned him enemies. Suspecting this isn't the tragic accident it appears DI James Clark calls upon Nell and her ecological skills to help find the murderer.

Semi-retired god of rock guitar and local poseur Erik Make Loud has got himself a new girlfriend. Helene Hilditch - formerly known as Howlin' Hellbitch - of all-girl punk outfit Blue Tits is a mean guitarist, and someone is trying to kill her. With a rare pressing of their first album to find, the Vinyl Detecive and Nevada are soon called into to help, but this time the question is, who isn't a suspect?

Antoine Verlaque, examining magistrate for the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence, doesn't like Christmas. The decorations appear in the shops far too early, festive tourists swarm the streets, and his beloved Cours Mirabeau is lined with chalets selling what he regards as tacky trinkets. But his wife and partner Marine Bonnet is determined to make this a Christmas they can both enjoy, beginning with the carol sing at the Cathedral Saint Sauveur, a beautiful service in a packed church. Just as the holiday cheer is in full swing, a man is poisoned, sending the community into a tailspin.

Devoting the last 30 years of her life to being a dutiful wife and mother and to climbing the corporate ladder, Diana has been relentlessly driven, and has not taken a moment to do anything for herself. Now, the time has come. Diana Hope hopes to kickoff her journey, and find new love, with an unforgettable night at the Versailles ball. But when the dramatic night takes a harrowing turn she could never expect, Diana realizes she will have to solve the crime - or else have her trip end in disaster.

An ancient skeleton tossed in a garbage dump is the first conundrum to rattle Gideon Oliver when he arrives in Egypt. There to appear in a documentary film, he expects an undemanding week of movie star treatment and a luxurious cruise up the Nile with his wife, Julie. But then Gideon discovers a tantalizing secret in the discarded bones - and violence claims a famous Egyptologist's life. Plying his calipers as the world's foremost forensic anthropologist, Gideon's investigation of the goings-on leads him through the back alleys and bazaars of Cairo.