Cozy Ghost Fiction

Scarlet Sanderson sees dead people. Literally. As a reluctant conduit between the land of the living and the dearly departed, she is doing her best to have a life of her own.

Turning the one-time seaside B & B into a Halloween haunted house for a local fundraiser seems like a good idea. After all, Eva and Marie's ghosts are willing to help. However, the two spirit friends of Marlow House are not the only ghosts to stop by. Danielle and her friends are about to learn there might be something to that old legend that says on Halloween night the barrier between the living and dead becomes blurred and the spirits of the dead visit earth. Maybe not all of earth - but at least Marlow House.

It's hard to know who to trust when you're worth billions. Christmas brings uninvited family members to Marlow House, vying for Chris Glandon's favor. One of them may have already killed for it. In the midst of the mystery, Lily is distracted with one question - what isn't Danielle telling her?

There’s never a good time for a ghost crisis. However, it’s particularly inconvenient while I’m trying to tackle my first wedding season. Between twelve hour days, an assistant with a case of butter fingers (not the chocolate kind), and the flood of tourists in town, I’m struggling to keep a grip on my sanity. All I want is three months of peace from the spirit world. But when local ghosts start going missing, I have to do something. After all, it’s not like they go to the Hamptons.

Burl Davis checked out of this life a little earlier than expected - before Holly could serve him with divorce papers over his extramarital flings. Unfortunately, it was not before he nearly bankrupted her beloved B&B, Holly Grove, a converted plantation in her family for generations. Holly would never wish anyone dead, but three months later, she's feeling a lot more relief than grief. But then Burl's ghost appears as an unwelcome guest. Before his spirit can move on, her not-so-dearly departed needs Holly’s help to bust up the drug-smuggling ring he was involved with.

Everyone knows leprechauns are just make believe. But wait, isn't that what they say about ghosts?

In The Case of the Ghost of Christmas Morning, Wodehousian clubman, flaneur, idler, and sleuth Anty Boisjoly pits his sardonic wits against another pair of impossible murders. This time, Anty Boisjoly’s Aunty Boisjoly is the only possible suspect when a murder victim stands his old friends a farewell drink at the local, hours after being murdered.

Northelm Boarding School on Lake Placid has the worst bully of all - a demon by the name of Hatchet Jack. M.J. Holliday, along with her partners Gilley and the handsome Dr. Steven Sable, are ready to send him back to the portal from whence he came. The school's summer construction, an uncooperative dean, and the very tempting Dr. Delicious are all trying to distract M.J. from her ghost hunting.

Amateur sleuth, PI in training, ghost whisperer. That’s me. Audrey Fitzgerald, ghost detective. I’m finally coming to terms with the fact that I cannot only communicate with ghosts, but animals, too. Well, one in particular, my big gray teddy bear of a cat, Thor. What I haven’t worked out yet is how to keep my newfound abilities a secret from the townsfolk of Firefly Bay. When I’m hired by the president of the local historical society to find a missing necklace, I figured I finally had a case that didn’t require ghostly interference. Things turn complicated real fast.

Officer Brian Henderson knows there is something just not right about Walt Marlow, and he's determined to find out what it is. Meanwhile, Beverly's dead husband visits Danielle in a dream hop, telling her about his wife's part in his death. Can Danielle convince Brian to stop worrying about Walt and be a little more concerned about his new girlfriend, Beverly?

After 20-plus years in the land of the not-so-living, I didn't think a ghost could surprise me. Consider that winning streak over. While looking for the perfect piece of Seattle real estate, leave it to me to find the world's first ghost detective. Yeah, you heard that right. A ghost detective. The Supernatural Protection Agency has written her off as the ghost who cries murder, but this time she swears she's onto something big. Something real. Like a moth to a bonfire, I dive in headfirst, just in time for the trouble she's been following to take a U-turn.

When Marlow House reopens as a bed and breakfast, one of its first guests is Danielle's former mother-in-law, who Danielle has not talked to since moving to Oregon. The mother-in-law brings with her one of the country's top mediums. Or as Danielle calls him, one of the country's top con-men.

Perhaps Danielle's first clue should have been that Hillary's muse is male. He brings with him restless spirits and murders to solve - if Danielle dares. She has already been warned to stay away.

A killer strikes under Frederickport Pier. Before dawn the next morning, Marlow House's celebrity guest, mystery author Hillary Hemingway, is busy writing about the crime for her upcoming novel - including details that only the real killer would know. Coincidence? If so, it isn't the first time.

Walt's distant cousin, Clint Marlow, could be his twin. When the unscrupulous cousin arrives at Marlow House with his fiancee, he conceals his real reason for being there. But, unknown to Walt - and his cousin - the universe has its own plans, and none of them will ever again be the same.

When a shipwreck washes up on a beach across from Marlow House, Frederickport residents wonder what happened to the ship's crew. Danielle discovers the ship brought a stowaway - a spirit with ties to Frederickport that go back to the 1920's when Walt, Marlow House's resident ghost, was still alive.

A romantic weekend at Marlow House Bed and Breakfast turns deadly when Earthbound Spirits founder, Peter Morris, is murdered. Plenty of people had a reason to want the man dead - especially Danielle's current guests. But it isn't Morris' ghost distracting Danielle on this deadly Valentine's Day weekend, it's her late husband, Lucas. She has her hands full with suitors coming from all directions - both living and dead - while she tries to figure out if there's a killer in Marlow House.

Left alone at Marlow House with Sadie and Max, Walt expects Danielle and Lily to return by the end of the week. When they don't, he begins to wonder what happened to them. The ghost of Marlow House doesn't scare six-year-old Evan MacDonald. When the child sneaks into the house in the middle of the night, seeking Walt's help, the resident spirit learns something has happened to Danielle and Lily. Can a ghost confined to Marlow House and a pint-sized medium bring the people they love home?

The author of Kitchen Confidential returns with an exclusive short story available only from Random House Audible! Holidays aren't always happy for everyone, especially for the crew at Restaurant Saint Germain. The empty dining room has more waiters than customers, the staff is grumbling about...

With two weddings on Beach Drive, Danielle's plan to temporarily close Marlow House Bed and Breakfast is put on hold. Not everyone showing up on Marlow House's doorstep is a welcome wedding guest. Nor is everyone from the living world.