Cozy Women Sleuths

Centuries-old alchemist Zoe Faust is tired of running from her past. She's finally got her life on track in Portland, Oregon, gardening and cooking in her fixer-upper house with her mischievous best friend, Dorian the gargoyle chef. It seems like the perfect life for Zoe, until she discovers that her old mentor Nicolas Flamel, who she thought had abandoned her, has been imprisoned. A local artist holds the secret that could lead Zoe to her mentor, but the artist is murdered and the painting containing the hidden clue is stolen.

Behind the wheel of her hopped-up Blazer, she's the queen of the back roads. But when someone tries to kill Hot Rod and steals only black SUVs from his shop, Fortune worries that excessive horsepower is the least of the trouble that comes along with her friend's new ride. When it becomes clear that the car thieves didn't get what they were looking for the first time around and Ida Belle's vehicle becomes their next target, Fortune and Gertie are determined to protect their friend. Ida Belle is determined to protect the Blazer.

The small village of Kilbane is hosting a poker tournament at the local pub, and card sharp Eamon Foley, a tinker out of Dublin, is set to win the tournament. But when Foley is found at the end of a rope, it’s time for the garda to take matters into their own hands. Macdara Flannery would lay odds it’s a simple suicide, but Siobhán suspects foul play, as does Foley’s pregnant widow.

Hannah’s up to her ears with Easter orders rushing in at The Cookie Jar, plus a festive meal to prepare for a dinner party at her mother’s penthouse. But everything comes crashing to a halt when Hannah receives a panicked call from her sister Andrea - Mayor Richard Bascomb has been murdered...and Andrea is the prime suspect. Even with his reputation for being a bully, Mayor Bascomb - or “Ricky Ticky”, as Hannah’s mother likes to call him - had been unusually testy in the days leading up to his death, leaving Hannah to wonder if he knew he was in danger.

Jules Capshaw is trying to keep her cool as Torte gets set to make its transformation from quaint, local confectionary cafe to royal pastry palace. Meanwhile, Jules's estranged husband, Carlos, is making a desperate plea for her to come aboard his cruise ship and dazzle everyone with her signature sweets. She may be skeptical about returning to her former nautical life with Carlos, but Jules can't resist an all-expense-paid trip, either. If only she knew that a dead body would find its way onto the itinerary....

Agatha Raisin has never been one for forced holiday cheer, but her friendly little village of Carsely has always prided itself on its traditional Christmas festivities. But this year the bells will not be ringing out, as Mr. John Sunday, an officer with the Cotswold Health and Safety Board, has chosen Christmas as the time to crack down on safety hazards. But Mr. Sunday is soon found face down in the petunias, very much dead.

On board the world’s finest luxury cruise ship, the days are filled with sunshine, cocktails, and incredible new places to explore. Unless you are employed as the ship’s detective, that is. That job falls to a lady called Patricia Fisher, a whip-smart sleuth whose special skills include attracting trouble, getting shot at, and running away screaming. So, when a mysterious stowaway is found murdered in the bowels of the ship, it falls firmly into her lap to work out not only who he is, but who killed him.

A poacher is at work in Sinful, Louisiana, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc is hot on the trail of the outlaw, trying to apprehend him before the state gets wind of the crime and sends a game warden to take over his investigation. Unfortunately, he's hindered every step of the way by Sinful's current mayor and all-around horrible person, Celia Arceneaux, who wants nothing more than to drive Carter to resign. When a game warden turns up with evidence that implicates a relative of Gertie's, Carter is left with no choice but to arrest the boy, even though no one thinks he did it.

Jill Gardner, the owner of Coffee, Books, and More, has been suckered into playing a '20s flapper in murder/dinner theater. Though it is for charity.... Of course everyone is expecting a "dead" body at the dress rehearsal...but this one isn't acting! It turns out the main suspect is the late actor's conniving girlfriend, Sherry...who also happens to be the ex-wife of Jill's main squeeze. Sherry is definitely a master manipulator...but is she a killer? Jill may discover the truth only when the curtain comes up on the final act...and by then it may be far too late.

Still staying at the Hill House hotel while her beloved home is being rebuilt, Jessica Fletcher finds herself sharing the space for a weekend with a dozen members of a wedding party who have gathered there for a rehearsal dinner. The families of the bride and groom can't stand each other but have agreed to put aside years of long-simmering tension to celebrate the nuptials. Unfortunately, a historic blizzard that dumps nearly five feet of snow on Cabot Cove, leaving everyone stranded. But the hotel guests have bigger things to worry about, because a murderer has shown up uninvited.

When a young girl is found dead in the mountains outside Timber Creek, lifelong resident Officer Mattie Cobb and her partner, K-9 police dog Robo, are assigned to the case that has rocked the small Colorado town. With the help of Cole Walker, a local veterinarian and single father, Mattie and Robo must track down the truth before it claims another victim. But the more Mattie investigates, the more she realizes how many secrets her town holds. And the key may be Cole's daughter, who knows more than she's saying.

When a professor is poisoned, Pamela Paterson and the members of the Knit and Nibble knitting club must take a crash course in solving his mysterious murder. Pamela has organized a weekend-long knitting bee as part of a conference on fiber arts and crafts at Wendelstaff College. But when pompous Professor Robert Greer-Gordon Critter, the keynote speaker at the conference, crashes the bee, he seems more interested in flirting than knitting.

Julia Bird loves a walk in the countryside. There’s nothing quite like the fresh air and green rolling hills of the Cotswolds to clear your head. Unless you come across a dead body, that is… When the local Berrywick vet, Dr Eve Davies, is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, the police believe it’s nothing more than a tragic accident, but Julia isn’t so sure. Just a few days earlier when she took her dog, Jake, to the vets, Dr Eve said she believed something awful was about to happen. It turns out she was right…But who would want the beloved village vet dead?

Feeling jilted and cross, Agatha follows a fortune-teller's advice and rents a cottage in the pretty village of Fryfam, where she hopes good fortune and true love will come chasing after her. Unfortunately, her romantic notions are soon dispelled by the strange goings-on in the village. What are those strange lights in Agatha's back garden? Who is stealing paintings and pottery? And who murdered the local squire? Agatha's nose for trouble leads her into a maelstrom of jealousy, blackmail, and dangerous liaisons....

The Beechwood Inn for paranormal beings is opening its doors once again, and the first event following the hiatus is a fairy godmother conference. When the godmothers arrive, I expect them to bust out their knitting projects and sip tea, while they swap recipes and sweet stories of their cherubic charges. So, when the sitting room turns into a defensive magic combat zone and a boot camp style obstacle course is erected in the manor's backyard, I'm more than a little thrown off. Then the curse gets unleashed.

What the hex is going on? Life at Cardinal Woolsey's knitting and yarn shop is about as smooth as shop owner Lucy's knitting. In other words, lumpy, tangled, and prone to disaster. Much like her spell-casting. But things get worse when her cousin and shop assistant Violet shows alarming symptoms of a hex. Who would do such a thing? Was it the guy from Witch Date she blew off? Or is Lucy the real target?

It’s Christmas, and things are looking good at the Slocombe house. Thea’s daughter Jessica has come to stay, much to her stepdaughter Stephanie’s delight. But then things take a turn for the worse. A local family, the Frowses, finds themselves increasingly harassed by an aggressive landlord. When Beverley Frowse goes missing, Thea and Stephanie both feel they should do their best to help her husband and son to solve the mystery.

Spy extraordinaire Charlotte Mission is hiding out in her grandmother's quaint little inn in Gossip, Texas. With a rogue spy ex-husband after her, she has to stay under the radar for fear of losing everything she holds dear. Life in Gossip is meant to be peaceful, and Charlie's new job as a maid and assistant should be easy. But things never go to plan in this cozy small town. When a guest at the inn drops dead, it's up to Charlie to figure out whodunit before the local paper outs her position at the inn and compromises her cover. If only the murders stopped there.

It’s time for the annual Halloween festival in Sinful, and Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t wait to suit up and enjoy the food and activities. But when a dead man gallops through the park on a black stallion and slides to a decapitated stop right in front of Swamp Team 3, they know another festival is about to be turned on its head...so to speak.

With the arrival of six senior reading group members at the Merry Ghost Inn, the long-awaited grand opening week has finally begun for Melanie West and her grandmother Liza. All is well with the Oregon coast-side B&B until Melanie's dog, Max, finds the dead body of one of their guests.