Welcome to May’s list of cozy mystery releases. Are you looking forward to any of these? Let me know in the comments.
Mermaid Mimosa (The Magic & Mixology Mystery Series Book 8) by Gina LaManna
SYNOPSIS:
When the king of the mermaids is poisoned, Lily is called to help with a problem she’s never faced before—one beneath the surface of the water. As she sets about creating a potion to save his life, however, she realizes this is only one part of a much, much larger problem.
One morning, Lily receives a letter from an anonymous source stating that The Faction is planning to launch an attack against The Isle. Can Lily stop her father and The Faction before it’s too late? Time is running out, and Lily can’t help but feel she’ll need a miracle to save the lives of the ones she loves…
Published May 1st
Death at Rugosa Bay: A Pembury Acres Cozy Mystery Book 4 (Pembury Acres Mystery) by Daphne McLean
SYNOPSIS:
Wherever she goes…
…Murder follows.
Stay-at-home mom and PI in training Jennifer Temple is trying to enjoy her yearly vacation on Rugosa Bay, but that pesky crime investigation happening on the beach keeps calling her name.
When the body of a local bar fly is found buried in the sand, Jennifer has to balance relaxation with her urge to solve crime.
In a tight-knit beach community, where locals stick together, the truth may be difficult to come by. Add to that, a few hundred people flocking to the island for a class reunion, finding the murderer will be like finding a needle on the beach.
If the culprit isn’t caught before the reunion weekend is through, her chance to bring them to justice might float away on the Sunday morning ferry.
This cozy mystery features a cast of lovable but quirky characters.
Published May 1st
Poodle Versus The Outlaw (Cottage Country Cozy Mysteries Book 8) by Anne Shillolo
SYNOPSIS:
An icy lake reveals a horrifying secret – but months later, Rocco, the Nasty Small Poodle, is still chasing his tail! And, Rocco isn’t the only one with spring fever, as romance is in the air for the humans in this story.
Zora Flynn, a 50-something local newspaper publisher, and the staff of The Williamsport Whistle have their first cold case to crack.
By the time spring arrives in Williamsport, the body of the murder victim is still unidentified. Will a video re-enactment give the investigation new life and get the case back on the front page? Zora realizes they’ve been barking up the wrong tree when an unexpected visitor sends the case in a new direction and points to a sinister threat. The dead man’s secret might be about to shake the cottage country town to its core. That’s if Zora and Rocco survive to tell the story!
Published May 1st
Cakes and Mistakes (Sweets and Secrets Cozy Mysteries Book 3) by A. R. Winters
SYNOPSIS:
When the town playboy Robert Knox is killed, Shepherd Fall’s baker Janelle becomes the prime suspect. After all, she was the last one to see him alive, and was linked to him romantically. But Jean knows there’s no way someone as sweet as Janelle could be a killer!
Diving head first into Rob’s life creates ripples in the town, and Jean quickly learns he was the cause of many secrets. A dentist and his pregnant wife, a waitress, and a reporter all seem to be a part of the web Rob found himself caught in.
As things become more dangerous, Jean realizes that she’s caught in the web too, and if she’s not careful—she’ll find herself the next victim. Now she has to save herself, catch the murderer, and help discover who is trying to sabotage Aunt Betsy’s bakery.
Published May 3rd
All You Knead Is Love by Tanya Guerrero
SYNOPSIS:
Sometimes you find home where you least expect it.
Twelve-year-old Alba doesn’t want to live with her estranged grandmother in Barcelona. She wants to stay with her mom, even if that means enduring her dad’s cutting comments to them both.
But in her new home, Alba forms a close relationship with her grandmother, gains a supportive father figure and new friends, and even discovers a passion and talent for baking. And through getting to know the city her mother used to call home, Alba starts to understand her mother better–and may just be able to make their family whole again.
Hardcover published May 3rd
A Cut Above: A Karnie Cleaver Mystery by Judy Lynn
SYNOPSIS:
Karnie works in her family’s butcher shop. When Donna Amick stalks to the meat display case and tries to pressure her to leave the family business to work for her, Karnie turns her down, flat. But Donna doesn’t like to take “no” for an answer. The next morning, Donna’s body is found behind A Cut Above with a meat cleaver embedded in the back of her head. Detective Carmichael’s top suspect is Sam Lessman, who trained at their shop and then went to work for Donna as a full time butcher. Karnie knows it can’t be him and decides to prove it. Unfortunately, that’s a lot harder to do in real life than it is in the mysteries she reads.
Published May 3rd
For Batter or Worse (A Cupcake Bakery Mystery) by Jenn McKinlay
SYNOPSIS:
Life is sweet and business is booming at the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery–and the fact that Mel and Joe are getting married is the icing on the cake. Their reception will be held at the swanky resort where Oz works as the pastry chef. The wedding planning is all fun-fetti and games until Mel and Joe meet the head chef at the resort who has been making Oz’s life miserable. When the eccentric chef insults Mel’s bakery, Oz gets into a blowout argument with the culinary prima donna.
Things turn extra sour when the chef is murdered, and Oz is the police’s main suspect. As the countdown to the wedding day begins, Mel, Joe, and the rest of the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew must sift through clues to catch the real killer and clear Oz’s name before their wedding plans are totally battered and baked.
Published May 4th
Arsenic and Adobo (A Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery Book 1) by Mia P. Manansala
SYNOPSIS:
One of BuzzFeed’s Highly Anticipated Mystery Novels of 2021!
The first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer….
When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She’s tasked with saving her Tita Rosie’s failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.
With the cops treating her like she’s the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila’s left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Armed with the nosy auntie network, her barista best bud, and her trusted Dachshund, Longanisa, Lila takes on this tasty, twisted case and soon finds her own neck on the chopping block…
Publihsed May 4th
Of Mutts and Men (Chet & Bernie Mystery, 10) by Spencer Quinn
SYNOPSIS:
When Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction” (Boston Globe), and his partner, PI Bernie Little of the desert-based Little Detective Agency, arrive to a meeting with hydrologist Wendell Nero, they are in for a shocking sight–Wendell has come to a violent and mysterious end. What did the hydrologist want to see them about? Is his death a random robbery, or something more? Chet and Bernie, working for nothing more than an eight-pack of Slim Jims, are on the case.
Bernie might be the only one who thinks the police have arrested the wrong man, including the perp’s own defense attorney. Chet and Bernie begin to look into Wendell’s work, a search that leads to a struggling winemaker who has received an offer he can’t refuse. Meanwhile, Chet is smelling water where there is no water, and soon Chet and Bernie are in danger like never before.
Paperback published May 4th
Glaces and Graves (Cup of Jo Book 5) by Kelly Hashway
SYNOPSIS:
With the success of her coffee shop, Cup of Jo, Joanna Coffee is living the life she’s always dreamed about. If only people would stop dragging her into murder investigations.
Someone leaves Jo’s glaces and an apology letter on the graves of two local teen girls, and Jo feels it’s a sign she’s meant to solve their murders. The problem is the police don’t believe it was murder. They think the girls were unfortunate drowning victims.
Once again, Jo will need to don her detective’s hat and team up with her ex, Detective Quentin Perry, to put the guilty party behind bars.
Published May 4th
The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait (Haunted Bookshop Mystery Book 7) by Cleo Coyle
SYNOPSIS:
Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her gumshoe ghost team up to solve the stunning mystery at the heart of a madwoman’s self-portrait in this all new installment from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.
While gathering a collection of vintage book cover paintings for a special event in her quaint Rhode Island bookshop, Penelope discovers a spooky portrait of a beautiful woman, one who supposedly went mad, according to town gossip. Seymour, the local mailman, falls in love with the haunting image and buys the picture, refusing to part with it, even as fatal accidents befall those around it. Is the canvas cursed? Or is something more sinister at work?
For answers, Pen turns to an otherworldly source: Jack Shepard, PI. Back in the 1940s, Jack cracked a case of a killer cover artist, and (to Pen’s relief) his spirit is willing to help her solve this mystery, even if he and his license did expire decades ago.
Published May 4th
G
hostly Chronicle: A Harper Harlow Mystery Books 16-18 by Lily Harper Hart
SYNOPSIS:
Harper Harlow, ghost hunter extraordinaire, has seen it all.
Ghosts, back-from-the-dead boyfriends, and parents ping-ponging between divorce and reconciliation are the norm for her.
Finally, though, she’s about to get everything she’s ever wanted … if the ghosts don’t get in the way first.
Join Harper and her motley crew of friends as they solve mysteries and a have a heckuva lot of fun.
Note: This three-book omnibus includes Ghostly Camping, Ghostly Wedding, and Ghostly Travels.
Published May 4th
Ghostly Travels (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 18) by LilyHarper Hart
SYNOPSIS:
Harper Harlow-Monroe thought getting to her wedding would be the hard part. She was wrong. Getting through her honeymoon is going to be a whole lot worse.
Jared Monroe decided to surprise his new wife with a honeymoon in Salem, Massachusetts. The goal was to have fun, bask in the sun, and eat some good seafood while shutting out the rest of the world. The fact that there’s a ghost hunting conference happening at the same time is just added icing on the cupcake of life.
Then the unthinkable happens and Harper’s best friend Zander Pritchett magically shows up for the conference … and decides to hijack their honeymoon.
Jared might be able to put up with Zander, but when a missing girl and several ghosts rile up the atmosphere, things threaten to spiral out of control.
Harper is who she is. When she finds out several teenagers have gone missing over the course of a month, she can’t stop herself from digging hard. What she finds is a strange nexus of ghosts who don’t act like she expects … and a story that might haunt her for the rest of her life.
Harper is determined to make this a honeymoon to remember despite Zander and the ghosts working against her. She’s going to have to survive for that to happen … and nothing is a given.
Salem is a city with a long history. Hopefully, it won’t be the end for Harper and Jared.
Published: May 4th
Murder in the Marigolds (Lovely Lethal Gardens Book 13) by Dale Mayer
SYNOPSIS:
A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery—and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot—as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.
Published May 4th
The Inn at Holiday Bay: Clue in the Clam be Kathi Daley
SYNOPSIS:
A heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again.
After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos. What Abby thought she needed was alone time to heal. What she ended up with was, an inn she never knew she wanted, a cat she couldn’t seem to convince to leave, and a new family she’d never be able to live without.
In book 15 in the series, it’s time for the annual clam bake weekend which promises to bring not only new guests to know and love but a mystery to solve and an important decision to make.
Published May 4th
Prelude to a Witch (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 18)by Amanda M. Lee
SYNOPSIS:
Bay Winchester has battled ghosts, shades, poltergeists … and sometimes her own family. It’s the latter giving her fits now. Well, and Hemlock Cove’s younger set of course.
Bay thought the worst was behind her when she modified the memories of four tempestuous teenagers bent on stealing magic and wielding it in a tyrannical manner. Unfortunately for her, when one of those teenagers ends up dead behind the inn her father owns, things start to spiral.
The girl’s death is ritual in fashion, bloody runes painted on the trees, and Bay can’t wrap her head around exactly what has happened. Then things get worse when dark figures start appearing in windows, black ghosts threatening Bay and her family at every turn.
Between the horror haunting Hemlock Cove and the annoying presence of Bay’s former boss and his current fiancée, who just so happens to be a distant relative, Bay has her hands full … and that’s before her cousin Clove’s baby starts displaying a rather interesting skillset that is going to force accommodations within the family.
All Bay wants is a little break to plan her wedding and look forward to happily ever after with her fiancé Landon Michaels. What’s she’s going to get is a whole lot of trouble.
Bay’s growing powers are drawing in a new element of evil. It’s going to take everything she has – and a little help from Aunt Tillie – to fight the ultimate battle. Survival isn’t a given but Bay is determined to make it to her big day.
No matter what.
Published May 4th
Life’s A Birch (The Bloomin’ Psychic Book 2) by Annabel Chase
SYNOPSIS:
Forty-two-year-old Mia Thorne is settling into her new life in the small riverside town of Newberry, Pennsylvania. Part of her misses the bright lights of the big city, but Mia is determined to make the best of the cottage she inherited and its surrounding gardens, as well as her blossoming love life. Residents like Scarlet and Patrick have welcomed her with open arms and encourage Mia to embrace her special abilities with the same enthusiasm. Even Ophelia seems to have accepted her presence, although Mia’s convinced the ornery cat would be perfectly content to suck out her soul if she dared to leave the bedroom door unlocked at night.
When a body is discovered in the canal outside Scarlet’s house and the police suspect foul play, Mia rushes to her friend’s aid. Between a creepy birdwatching group and an unfriendly neighbor, Mia ends up with a list of suspects as long as Rapunzel’s hair. Unfortunately, Detective Derek Fairfax and Chief Tuck are determined to keep Mia away from the investigation under the guise of being, you know, the actual members of law enforcement–but Mia’s specialty is denial, and she’s more than happy to ignore their orders.
Can Mia identify the killer before it’s too late or will Scarlet find herself up a canal without a paddle?
Published May 6th
Penne Pyro: A delicious cozy mystery (A Jade Sommer Mystery Book 2) by Nicolette Pierce
SYNOPSIS:
It’s getting hot!
As Jade helps her family get the restaurant up and running, an arsonist wreaks havoc on the food world, putting all local restaurants in jeopardy. The next victim is already targeted: Piatto Perfetto. Time is running out for Jade and her family.
While Jade attempts to keep Nana from donning her detective hat, developments arise with Logan. A shocking reveal will leave Jade devastated. Not only is the restaurant at risk, but so is her heart. She will need to layout her feelings to Logan once and for all. But, is it too late?
Can Jade find the pyro before Piatto Perfetto becomes the next victim? Is it too late for Jade and Logan to put the past aside? Get your copy of Penne Pyro and find out!
Published May 6th
The Man with the Silver Saab (Detective Varg 3) by Alexander McCall Smith
SYNOPSIS:
Perplexing, unfathomable and perhaps unimportant, the cases that Malmo’s Department of Sensitive Crimes take on will test them to their limits.
Life – and crime – is not always as it seems for Ulf Varg and the other fearless detectives in Malmo’s Department of Sensitive Crimes. There are always surprising new cases to take on, and the latest batch is no exception. And that’s not to mention Ulf’s struggle to contain his feelings for his colleague Anna Bengsdotter. All in all, things are distinctly difficult in Malmo, and it seems up to Ulf and the Department to set them right.
Published May 6th
Strange Tricks: An Essex Witch Museum Mystery (The Essex Witch Museum Mysteries) by Syd Moore
SYNOPSIS:
Rosie Strange is back in the latest of the fabulously creepy Essex Witch Museum Mysteries
Secretly Rosie Strange has always thought herself a little bit more interesting than most people – the legacy her family has bequeathed her is definitely so, she’s long believed. But then life takes a peculiar turn when the Strange legacy turns out not just to be the Essex Witch Museum, but perhaps some otherworldly gifts that Rosie finds difficult to fathom. Meanwhile Sam Stone, Rosie’s curator, is oddly distracted as breadcrumb clues into what happened to his missing younger brother and other abducted boys from the past are poised to lead him and Rosie deep into a dark wood where there lurks something far scarier than Hansel and Gretel’s witch…
Published May 6th
Summer Serendipity at the Twist and Turn Bakery: the perfect summer read (Heritage Cove Book 3) by Helen J. Rolfe
SYNOPSIS:
It’s summer in Heritage Cove, the picturesque village by the sea. Join some of your favourite characters and welcome new faces in this uplifting, romantic read brimming with character, community and friendship…
The Heritage Bakery is finally getting the makeover it deserves, with sisters Jade and Celeste modernising the place and putting their own stamp on it while retaining all the charm of days gone by. But Jade has far more planned than a brand-new kitchen and fancy cake designs. She’s ready for an even bigger change in her life. It’s almost time to take the next step and she knows just what to do to make that happen.
Etna owns the village tea rooms and when she hears that local man Harvey is looking for a labourer to help him renovate the bakery after being let down at the last minute, she suggests to her nephew Linc that it may just be the change he needs to get his head straight. Linc arrives in the Cove willing to give it a go and he works hard, but what he hadn’t envisaged was anything bordering on a romance – not with his track record or what he’s involved in right now.
When a tall, dark, handsome stranger appears in the village and turns Jade’s world upside down, will it be enough to make her abandon her plan before she even sets the wheels in motion? And has Linc missed his chance to tell her how he really feels?
It’s almost time for the wedding of the year for one of the village favourites and the annual Wedding Dress Ball. But when the sun begins to set, will anyone else be lucky in love?
Published May 6th
Murder Takes a Holiday: Classic Crime Stories for Summer
SYNOPSIS:
For most of us, a summer holiday is an opportunity to escape from it all: to lounge on warm sands or sip a cool drink in the shade of a city square. But, as the characters in this murderously good collection of classic crime stories discover to their cost … trouble has a nasty habit of finding you out.
From a body found on a beach without a single footprint, to a lemonade stand whose wares appear to have been poisoned and a Wimbledon final ruined by the mysterious disappearance of the championship player, these tales of murder and malice will take you on the trip of a lifetime.
So pour that glass of Pimms, grab your sunhat and indulge your dark side: these stories will chill you to your very core, even in a heatwave …
Published May 6th
Murder, She Wrote: Killing in a Koi Pond: 53 by Jessica Fletcher & Terrie Farley Moran
SYNOPSIS:
After heading down to D.C. for a mystery writers’ conference, Jessica Fletcher decides she’s earned a vacation and takes a train to Columbia, South Carolina, to visit her old college friend Dolores. Dolores has just married her third husband, Willis Nickens, a wealthy and cutthroat businessman, and they’ve moved into an opulent historic home with plenty of space for guests. The morning after she arrives, Jessica goes out for a morning walk on the grounds of the estate, only to discover Willis facedown in the koi pond. The police think it might be a freak accident, but Jessica isn’t so sure. In her short time there, it had already become apparent that Willis wasn’t interested in making friends. In her mind, the question isn’t if Willis was murdered, but by whom.
Published May 6th
The Silent Bullet (Library of Congress Crime Classics) by Arthur Reeve
SYNOPSIS:
Next in the esteemed Library of Congress Crime Classics, a collection of twelve tales of intrigue and suspense, featuring Craig Kennedy, the ‘American Sherlock Holmes’
First published in 1910, The Silent Bullet is the first collection of Arthur B. Reeve’s Craig Kennedy mysteries. In this book of twelve tales of intrigue and suspense, readers are introduced to Kennedy, sometimes called the ‘American Sherlock Holmes’, and his friend and assistant, reporter Walter James. A professor at Columbia University, Kennedy uses his scientific expertise and inventions to solve cases, usually employing pioneering turn-of-the-century technology, such as hidden microphones, lie detectors, and a makeshift defibrillator. Full of thrilling escapades as well as insight into the discoveries of the early 1900s, The Silent Bullet is an adventure from start to finish.
Published May 6th
A Dash of Sorcery (The French Quarter Witch Mystery Series Book 1) by Constance Barker & Corrine Winters
SYNOPSIS:
A Cat Familiar who wears a monocle…only in New Orleans Does that Look Normal
Hey there, my name is Georgette, but you can call me Georgie…everyone does. I own the local art gallery for up and coming artists in the city. I can also summon Mother Nature if need be. See, I’m a witch that controls fire, wind, water and the air. As the saying goes, don’t mess with Mother Nature. Although, I’m only mother to a cat familiar, Mr. Marcel.
Mr. Marcel is 196 years old and never lets me forget it. He wears a monocle…I don’t know why…he thinks it makes him look regal although all the other cats laugh at him. What these other cats can’t do that Marcel can is identify when someone is lying or exaggerating. He also has flashes of the future, however, those can be confusing and get us into all kinds of trouble. He’s my bestie and I couldn’t imagine life without him.
Which comes to my next best friend Veronique. She has the power to speak to the dead, which comes in handy if someone is murdered. She also assists me at the gallery.
The local detective in our corner of the city is a warlock by the name of Raphael. His grey eyes put me in a trance, but I’m not sure he’s interested in me. At one moment he’s tender and another he’s aloof. Which makes me think he has secrets.
My mentor, Miss Hallie, is older than dirt. And I mean that in a nice way. The gal is old but still has the spunk of a 1200 year old. She owns the shop next to me, and performs a little tarot reading. Oh and she also raised me after my parents perished young. She likes her martinis dry and her jokes dirty.
And last but not least is my nemesis, Xavier. He’s a witch hunter, but mortal. He’s a thorn in my side as he thinks he’s more than he is. But he’s got his own secrets. Some that may change his world and mine.
When a murder occurs in my shop, I’m not willing to lie down and let the so called police take over. I will get to the bottom of it to restore my good name in the city of New Orleans.
Published May 6th
Murder in the Mews: Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate: Book 4 by Celina Grace.
SYNOPSIS:
It is 1935. Back in London, servant sleuths Joan Hart and Verity Hunter are enjoying life in the capital again. Joan has entered a tentative ‘understanding’ with Detective Inspector Marks, whilst Verity begins acting classes hosted by her uncle, Tommy.
Their new lives are rudely interrupted by a letter from a servant they’d once worked with: accused of the brutal murder of their elderly, wealthy employer. Joan and Verity want to help, but how can their friend be innocent of the crime when she and her employer were the only ones in the house on the night of the killing?
The two friends begin to investigate but as they know well from previous cases, people are always hiding secrets – some more deadly than others…
Published May 7th
F
aking It (A Wayfair Witches’ Cozy Mystery #14) by A. A. Albright
SYNOPSIS:
When a bat arrives, telling Wanda that he is her familiar, and she is his witch, things get confusing …
Wanda already has a familiar, and he looks exactly like this bat, sounds exactly like this bat, and only eats mangoes – exactly like this bat. Is this new arrival a Doppel-Dizzy, or a sign of something sinister in the air?
As well as finding out why Dizzy now has a double, Wanda must deal with a strangely-behaving Max, and a murdered janitor. The janitor was killed in Wentforth’s College for Wizards, and an important magical object has been stolen from the college, too.
As the body count increases, Wanda and the gang work hard to solve the case. But when they get to the bottom of this mystery, they may not like the answers …
Published May 8th
Dice on a Deadly Sea (A Cardboard Cottage Mystery Book 2) by Jane Elzey
SYNOPSIS:
Four adventurous friends dive into murder while celebrating the big Five-O, and another husband dies trying. Zelda Carlisle’s birthday cruise with her three best friends is anything but a smooth sail. A cruise in the Galapagos Islands is a bucket list adventure come true, but plans go off the rails after they bump into a dead man on deck. Gambling that when there is no body there is no crime to ruin their fun, they hide him and hope no one will notice he’s missing. With their reckless deed landing them in peril, they charm their way through shark-infested waters, a mud-spa they didn’t anticipate, and a sexy pirate with something to hide. Sleuthing falls to Amy Sparks, who discovers all that glitters is not gold on this dicey deadly sea. If she can’t reel in a ruthless killer, they may never leave the ship alive.
Published May 10th
S
huttered Secrets: A Spooky Paranormal Suspense (A Riley Thomas Mystery Book 2) by Melissa Erin Jackson
SYNOPSIS:
He doesn’t want her to focus on the past.
It’s been six months since Riley Thomas, reluctant medium extraordinaire, has had a ghost haunting her apartment, and she prefers it that way. Life is less complicated when the dead aren’t trying to get her attention. Her best friend is getting married and wants to DIY her way through wedding prep—Riley’s got no time for ghosts.
One of Jade’s wedding must-haves is vintage film cameras her guests can use to help document the big day. The months-long hunt for relics leads to a thrift shop jackpot, and Riley adds the cameras to the growing pile of wedding supplies in her apartment. That night, Riley gets a midnight wake-up call from a ghostly Black woman in a yellow dress.
Even after the haunted cameras are removed from the apartment, the ghost woman keeps popping up, both in Riley’s dreams and in the corner of her eye. Tracking down the previous owner of the cameras proves difficult, and as Riley digs deeper, she uncovers a link between the cameras and two murdered women—one white, one black, yet neither one is Riley’s mystery woman.
Though the identity of the ghost proves to be as elusive as her predator, Riley is determined to uncover the truth of what happened to these women. But now someone knows she’s looking … and he’s hell-bent on making sure he finds her first.
Published May 10th
A Body at the Tea Rooms: A totally addictive English murder mystery novel (A Kate Palmer Novel Book 3) by Dee McDonald
SYNOPSIS:
Meet Kate Palmer! A semi-retired nurse with a sweet tooth for cake and a talent for solving crimes.
Kate Palmer is most disappointed when renovations at her sister Angie’s new tea rooms are derailed after a body is discovered in the cellar. She was looking forward to clotted cream teas with a seaside view. Instead she has another murder mystery to solve…
If the village gossip is to be believed, the unfortunate man was connected to the wealthy Hedgefield family. Kate is reluctant to get caught up in the investigation but a curious card in the victim’s jacket pocket sparks her interest. Not to mention the ridiculous rumour Angie is somehow involved! Keen to clear her sister’s name so she can finally eat cake in the charming tea rooms, Kate teams up with handsome retired Detective ‘Woody’ Forrest to untangle the baffling case.
After quizzing the locals over copious cups of tea, Kate begins to realise the Hedgefields, who live in a grand mansion and own half the village, are not as perfect as they make out. They’re hiding a long-buried family secret and plenty of people have a grudge against them, including a number of their ex-employees.
But who could have murdered a member of Lower Tinworthy’s most enviable family? Was it the old gardener? The seemingly sweet cook? Or the bitter maid?
Just as she inches closer to the truth, Angie goes missing. Does amateur sleuth Kate have what it takes to get to the bottom of this extraordinary puzzle and save her sister at the same time?
Published May 10th
SHERLOCK HOLMES The Langsdale House Mystery (The Watson Chronicles) by Christopher D Abbott
SYNOPSIS:
A murder suicide investigation at Langsdale House raises significant concerns for Inspector Bradstreet of Scotland Yard–but his superiors consider the matter closed.
When Dr Wallace Houston-Smythe, a well-respected medical man, apparently kills his stepson, Harold Houston, and then himself, Inspector Bradstreet’s misgivings on the detail of both deaths leads him to seek advice from Sherlock Holmes. With Holmes persuaded to investigate, he and Dr Watson follow clues leading deep into the heart of high-society London. Dr Wallace had a secret which certain powerful men will stop at nothing to ensure remains undiscovered. It falls to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson to uncover the motives for those deaths–motives that appear intrinsically linked to the grisly goings-on at Langsdale House…
Published May 10th
Deadly Ever After (A Lighthouse Library Mystery) by Eva Gates
SYNOPSIS:
Librarian Lucy’s wedding is at stake when a murder interrupts her engagement celebrations. To make it down the aisle, she’ll have to find the killer to save the date in the 8th book in the Lighthouse Library mysteries.
They’re getting married! Lucy Richardson and Connor McNeil have announced their engagement. Their friends throw a party for the couple at Coquina Beach, close to Lucy’s beloved Bodie Island Lighthouse Library.
As they’re packing up the presents and the (few) leftovers from Josie’s Cozy Bakery, who should arrive, but Richard Eric Lewiston III, Lucy’s former almost-fiancé and his overbearing mother Evangeline. Push comes to love when Evangeline makes no secret of why she’s here: to get Lucy and Ricky back together.
Lucy isn’t temped in the least, and Ricky is nothing but embarrassed at his mother’s desperate ploy. Before returning to Boston Evangeline throws a dinner party at Jake’s Seafood Bar for a reluctant Lucy and her family. Lucy hopes to get the dinner over with and see Evangeline and Ricky returning to Boson. But when a body is found at the restaurant’s kitchen door, Lucy is again forced to unwillingly put on her detective’s hat and do what she can to save her family and her engagement. Meanwhile, the classic novel reading club is reading The Hound of the Baskervilles, and open war breaks out in the Lighthouse Library when Lucy agrees to temporarily take care of a dog named Fluffy, but Charles the library cat has other ideas.
Published May 11th
Bloodshed in the Forest: A Viking Witch Cozy Mystery (The Viking Witch Cozy Mysteries Book 5) by Cate Martin
SYNOPSIS:
After more than a month living in the lost Viking colony of Villmark, Ingrid Torfa just barely feels at home there. As her magic grows, so grows the animosity of those who wish her gone from their world.
And now she faces a new challenge: a winter hunt, held in the deep, dark forest that surrounds the village. Her hosts the Thors swear to keep her safe from the dangers ever-present outside the walls of their hunting lodge.
Yet the real danger may lurk within those walls. Not all the other guests appreciate Ingrid’s presence among them. And then one of the hunting party disappears in the night. Taken by Odin’s Wild Hunt? A tragic accident.
But lured outside the lodge’s protective walls and then taken by Odin’s Wild Hunt? That looks like murder by magical means. As the only magical person in the lodge, suspicions fall on Ingrid.
She knows her own innocence, but if she fails to find the guilty party in time, someone else may die.
Published May 11th
The Remains of the Fae (Down & Dirty Supernatural Cleaning Services Book 5) by Kate Karyus Quinn
SYNOPSIS:
When Paige’s Fae ex-husband Jax wants a faerieland divorce, Oberon sends them on a quest to find out who murdered a Fae in the human world.
Published May 11th
Peaches and Schemes: A Georgia B&B Mystery by Anna Gerard
SYNOPSIS:
In Anna Gerard’s third delightful Georgia B&B mystery, Nina Fleet learns that despite the satin, lace, and buttercream trappings, weddings often prove to be anything but sweet…
Nina Fleet might be new to the innkeeping business, but she’s savvy enough to know that Cymbeline’s tourists aren’t enough to keep her fledgling bed and breakfast going. And so, Nina decides to tap into the destination wedding market by taking a booth at the Veils and Vanities Bridal Expo. The twice-yearly event is sponsored by the town’s two wedding pros: Virgie Hamilton, the sixtysomething owner of Virgie’s Formals, and Roxanna Quarry, a Gen X event planner and Nina’s new friend. But everything goes wrong during the expo’s fashion show, when Roxanna comes tumbling out of an oversized prop wedding cake, strangled to death by her own scarf.
Virgie is arrested for the crime, thanks to Nina’s statement to the police about having overheard the woman accusing her partner of embezzlement. Meanwhile, the situation grows tense with her sometimes nemesis and current tenant, the dashing out-of-work actor Harry Westcott. Harry is concentrating on plugging his most recent side hustle …but he’s not too busy to break the news to Nina that her ex-husband is engaged to be married again.
Certain that Virgie’s only offense is a bad temper, Nina decides to do her own investigating. First, however, she and Harry retrieve Roxanna’s now ownerless dog, planning to foster him until a new home can be found. But local gossip soon convinces Nina that others beside Virgie might have had reason to murder Roxanna. As Nina gets close to the truth, she’s putting her own life at danger. And when Virgie vanishes after being bailed out of jail by an unknown benefactor, Nina fears that if she can’t find the dress shop owner in time, tying the knot will take on a whole new meaning for them both.
Published May 11th
A Peculiar Combination: An Electra McDonnell Novel: 1 by Ashley Weaver
SYNOPSIS:
The first in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, set in England during World War II, A Peculiar Combination is a delightful mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and the author’s signature wit.
Electra McDonnell has always known that the way she and her family earn their living is slightly outside of the law. Breaking into the homes of the rich and picking the locks on their safes may not be condoned by British law enforcement, but World War II is in full swing, Ellie’s cousins Colm and Toby are off fighting against Hitler, and Uncle Mick’s more honorable business as a locksmith can’t pay the bills any more.
So when Uncle Mick receives a tip about a safe full of jewels in the empty house of a wealthy family, he and Ellie can’t resist. All goes as planned–until the pair are caught redhanded. Ellie expects them to be taken straight to prison, but instead they are delivered to a large townhouse, where government official Major Ramsey is waiting with an offer: either Ellie agrees to help him break into a safe and retrieve blueprints that will be critical to the British war effort, before they can be delivered to a German spy, or he turns her over to the police.
Ellie doesn’t care for the Major’s imperious manner, but she has no choice, and besides, she’s eager to do her bit for king and country. She may be a thief, but she’s no coward. When she and the Major break into the house in question, they find instead the purported German spy dead on the floor, the safe already open and empty. Soon, Ellie and Major Ramsey are forced to put aside their differences to unmask the double-agent, as they try to stop allied plans falling into German hands.
Published May 11th
Punning with Scissors (A Crossword Puzzle Mystery Book 2) by Becky Clark
SYNOPSIS:
Quinn Carr has been quietly creating crosswords for the Chestnut Station Chronicle in her small Colorado town since she was in high school, but she has yet to solve the puzzle of how to make a living from her passion. So she lives with her parents and works at the local diner, catering to regulars like The Retireds, a charming if cantankerous crew of elderly men. The most recent member to join the group is a recently retired tailor, the unfortunately named Hugh Pugh.
4-LETTER WORD FOR “IMPALE”
But Hugh’s misfortune dramatically increases when he’s arrested for stabbing his husband with a pair of fabric shears. With a cryptic crossword clue left at the crime scene, Quinn seems tailor-made for solving this murder. The local police may be determined to pin the crime on the kindly tailor, but Quinn will use her penchant for puzzles and what her therapist calls her “obsessive coping mechanism” to get the clues to line up and catch the real culprit—before the killer boxes her in. . . .
Published May 11th
A Gladiator’s Tale (Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries Book 2) by Ashley Gardner
SYNOPSIS:
Leonidas’s former trainer, Aemil, asks him to look into the mysterious deaths of the gladiators in his ludus. Leonidas and Cassia investigate, uncovering scandal that plunges the two into mortal danger.
Published May 11th
Pride and Premeditation (Jane Austen Murder Mysteries, 1) by Tirzah Price
SYNOPSIS:
Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper, the first book in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series is a clever retelling of Pride and Prejudice that reimagines the iconic settings, characters, and romances in a thrilling and high-stakes whodunit.
When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.
Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.
Published May 13th
A Brush with Death: Book 2 (A Nosey Parker Cozy Mystery) by Fiona Leitch
SYNOPSIS:
When a body turned up at her last catering gig it certainly put people off the hor d’oeuvres. So with a reputation to salvage, Jodie’s determined that her next job for the village’s festival will go without a hitch.
But when chaos breaks out, Jodie Parker somehow always finds herself in the picture.
The body of a writer from the festival is discovered at the bottom of a cliff, and the prime suspect is the guest of honour, the esteemed painter Duncan Stovall. With her background in the Met police, Jodie has got solving cases down to a fine art and she knows things are rarely as they seem.
Can she find the killer before the village faces another brush with death?
Published May 13th
A Lethal Lesson (Lane Winslow Mysteries 8) by Iona Whishaw
SYNOPSIS:
Lane Winslow trades crime solving for substitute teaching in the eighth installment of this mystery series that Kirkus Reviews calls “riveting”.
Back home in the Kootenays after her Arizona honeymoon, Lane offers her assistance when neither the outgoing teacher, Rose, nor her replacement, Wendy, show up at the local schoolhouse one blizzardy Monday in December. But when she finds the teachers’ cottage ransacked with Rose unconscious and bleeding, and Wendy missing, Lane delivers Rose to the hospital in Nelson and turns the case over to her exasperated husband, Inspector Darling, and his capable colleagues, Sergeant Ames and Constable Terrell.
Never one to leave a post unmanned, Lane enlists as substitute teacher for the final two weeks before the Christmas holidays, during which time she discovers a threatening note in the teachers’ desk and a revolver in the supply cupboard. But these clues only convolute the case further. Who has been tormenting these women, and where has Wendy gone?
Meanwhile, Darling finds the body of a hit-and-run victim in a snowbank miles outside of Nelson, the residents of King’s Cove are preoccupied by the possibility of a new neighbour, and Sergeant Ames is as confused as ever by the inimitable Tina Van Eyck.
Published May 13th
A Body at the Tea Rooms (A Kate Palmer Novel Book 3) by Dee MacDonald
SYNOPSIS:
Meet Kate Palmer! A semi-retired nurse with a sweet tooth for cake and a talent for solving crimes.
Kate Palmer is most disappointed when renovations at her sister Angie’s new tea rooms are derailed after a body is discovered in the cellar. She was looking forward to clotted cream teas with a seaside view. Instead she has another murder mystery to solve…
If the village gossip is to be believed, the unfortunate man was connected to the wealthy Hedgefield family. Kate is reluctant to get caught up in the investigation but a curious card in the victim’s jacket pocket sparks her interest. Not to mention the ridiculous rumour Angie is somehow involved! Keen to clear her sister’s name so she can finally eat cake in the charming tea rooms, Kate teams up with handsome retired Detective ‘Woody’ Forrest to untangle the baffling case.
After quizzing the locals over copious cups of tea, Kate begins to realise the Hedgefields, who live in a grand mansion and own half the village, are not as perfect as they make out. They’re hiding a long-buried family secret and plenty of people have a grudge against them, including a number of their ex-employees.
But who could have murdered a member of Lower Tinworthy’s most enviable family? Was it the old gardener? The seemingly sweet cook? Or the bitter maid?
Just as she inches closer to the truth, Angie goes missing. Does amateur sleuth Kate have what it takes to get to the bottom of this extraordinary puzzle and save her sister at the same time?
Published May 13th
A Ghastly Spectacle: A Regency Cozy (Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries Book 8) by Lynn Messina
SYNOPSIS:
Since the new Duchess of Kesgrave cannot be swayed from her unfortunate interest in dead bodies, Lady Abercrombie decides to confront the matter head-on by hosting a murder mystery dinner party. Gathering together several of society’s most influential members, she concocts an amusing puzzle-play, assigns roles, and stands back to allow Bea to impress them all with her ingenuity.
The former spinster will be the height of fashion in no time. Huzzah!
No, she won’t, Bea thinks. Her status has increased with her marriage, yes, but so have the insecurities that bedeviled her first season. Far from charming everyone with her wit, she will appall them with her inability to form coherent or interesting sentences.
’Tis a three-act tragedy in the making.
But then one of the guests is killed in the same manner as her ladyship’s victim and the evening turns genuinely tragic. Horrified, the august company scurry for the exits, and Bea, determined to detain all her lovely suspects, throws herself bodily against the door. Intimidated or not, she will identify the murderer—even if it guarantees her social ruin.
Published May 14th
Preface to Murder: An Oxford Murder Mystery (Bridget Hart Book 6) by M. S. Morris
SYNOPSIS:
A dangerous book. A hidden secret. A deadly betrayal.
The Oxford Literary Festival is in full swing, but Detective Inspector Bridget Hart isn’t there to learn about books. Instead she’s been given the task of protecting Diane Gilbert, a controversial author who has received a death threat. Diane doesn’t seem to think she needs Bridget’s protection, but when the worst happens, Bridget’s role switches to running a murder enquiry.
The only clues Bridget has to go on relate to Diane’s new book which examines the murky world of international arms deals. Under pressure to identify the killer, Bridget finds herself drawn into the clandestine world of foreign governments and the British Security Service. She’ll need all her wiles and the full cooperation of her team to follow the twisting trail of evidence to its logical conclusion.
Set amongst the dreaming spires of Oxford University, the Bridget Hart series is perfect for fans of Elly Griffiths, JR Ellis, Faith Martin and classic British murder mysteries.
Published May 14th
Murder on the Moors (A Dodo Dorchester Mystery Book 4) by Ann Sutton
SYNOPSIS:
When you just want to run away and nurse your broken heart but murder comes knocking.
Lady Dorothea Dorchester, Dodo, flees to her cousins’ estate in Dartmoor in search of peace and relaxation after her devastating break-up with Charlie and the awkward attraction to Chief Inspector Blood that caused it.
Horrified to learn that the arch-nemesis from her schooldays, Veronica Shufflebottom, has been invited, Dodo prepares for disappointment. However, all that pales when one of the guests disappears after a ramble on the foggy moors. Presumed dead, Dodo attempts to contact the local police to report the disappearance only to find that someone has tampered with the ancient phone. The infamous moor fog is too thick for safe travel and the guests are therefore stranded.
Can Dodo solve the case without the help of the police before the fog lifts?
Published May 14th
Jackal & Hide: A Compassionate Cozy Murder Mystery (A Kenya Kanga Mystery Book 4) by Victoria Tait
SYNOPSIS:
Limited time. A murderer hiding in plain sight. Can she crack the deadly puzzle without breaking her own heart?
‛Mama Rose’ Hardie just wants to make her ailing husband comfortable. So she puts aside her dedication to wildlife and community and whisks him off to a luxury lodge for a breathtaking getaway. But when a guest enters the bush and never returns, Rose is torn between remaining at her partner’s side and her fears for the woman’s plight.
Shocked when the missing person is found strangled to death, Rose struggles to balance her priorities when her husband takes a serious fall and ends up in the hospital. And with her estranged son demanding she stay by her husband’s bedside, the anxious investigator worries the killer may escape into the grassland…
Can Mama Rose solve the murder before time is cut short?
Jackal & Hide is the page-turning fourth novel in the Kenya Kanga cozy mystery series. If you like clever whodunits, captivating scenery, and deeply personal themes, then you’ll love Victoria Tait’s enthralling tale.
Published May 14th
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Skeptic in Salem: An Episode of Death (A Dubious Witch Cozy Mystery—Book 3) by Fiona Grace
SYNOPSIS:
When Mia Bold, 30, learns that the pharmaceutical company she works for only cares about money, she quits on the spot, walking away from a high-powered career—and from her long-time boyfriend, who breaks up with her.
With the podcast and TV show taking off, Mia’s career and life are finally starting to bloom again—when her uptight family makes an unexpected visit to Salem, to cast doubts on her passion and to urge her to return home.
At the same time, Mia’s show must try to debunk a notoriously haunted house, now on the market for sale. Mia, unable to explain the phenomena, seems to have met her match—just as the real estate agent drops dead.
Could this house be as insidious as it seems?
Or might there be some other motive?
A mesmerizing page-turner, packed with intrigue, mystery, romance, pets, food—and most of all, the supernatural—SKEPTIC IN SALEM is a cozy with a twist, one you will cherish as it has you fall in love with its main character and as it keeps you glued (and laughing) throughout the night.
Published May 14th
The Witch’s Wrath: Witches of Abaddon’s Gate Book 1 by Tegan Maher
SYNOPSIS:
These old witches think they can come here and steal the youth from unsuspecting women? Not in my town, sugar. Hold my potion.
My name’s Mila Maganti, and I used to be content running my potions shop and spending my days off at the beach. That is until some crazy angel decided to break her demon boyfriend out of the Valley of Lost Souls and let way more than just one bad-boy spirit out in the process.
I run the potions shop because it’s what I love. What most people don’t know, though, is that my blood runs thick with powerful earth magic, and if I have to, I can do a bang-up job of holding my own in a fight if I have to. Or if I want to.
When two girls turn up dead, drained of all their life forces, the Paranormal Criminal Investigation Bureau realizes what’s happened. Some of the souls that escaped are evil witches bent on getting their bodies back, and to do that, they’ll use ancient dark magic to siphon the essence from young women.
As head of the regional crime unit, my cousin Michael came to me for help. He knows me, he trusts me, and most importantly, he knows I have what it takes to put these witches back in the pit they flew out of. And I’ll do it with a smile. Nobody comes to my town and harms the people I care about. They’ve done gone and ticked off the wrong witch.
Join me, my Arctic fox, Calamity, and my team of witches, shifters, and fae as we hunt these souls down and send them back where they belong. Who knows – you may even run into a Valkyrie or two along the way.
Published May 15th
The Cursed Lantern: A Paranormal Artifacts Cozy Mystery (Paranormal Artifacts Cozy Mysteries Book 3) by Tegan Maher
SYNOPSIS:
Burt Emerson was stubborn, rude, and ungrateful, but he didn’t deserve to die for it. Much, anyway.
Burt Emerson was one of the most contrary people the gods ever stretched hide over. He had it all – a great wife, a nice house, a corner office in a building he owned – but he took it all for granted. And then he turned up dead amid some bizarre circumstances. He’d reported his wife missing while she was standing right beside him, and claimed his grandfather’s watch had been stolen even though it was right there on his wrist. His partner said he wandered around the parking lot of their office building but never came inside.
That’s a little nuts even by our standards, so I decide to take a closer look. Why me? Because through an impressively confounded set of circumstances, I set a trunkful of cursed objects loose on the unwitting non-magicals in our town. Now I have to figure out which of the pieces in his collection killed him before somebody else dies and his wife goes to prison.
Just another Tuesday in Mystic Beach.
Published May 15th
Cupcakes are Murder (Bijoux Mystery Series Book 3) by Teri Barnett
SYNOPSIS:
A cupcake conundrum, a culinary queen on the edge, and a cold-case killer on the loose…
Morgan Hart is settling into her job as police captain of Bijoux, Michigan. Murders have been solved, puppies have been rescued, and she’s starting to see some progress in the renovation of the beach house she inherited from her mom. Despite trying to solve her husband’s murder five years ago, Morgan is trying to find balance in her new life.
Life is sweet.
Until it’s not.
Hannah Bellamy, owner of Hannah’s Heavenly Confections, Bijoux’s premier bakery, has won a contest on the Baking TV Network to host this year’s Cupcake Bakeoff. When word gets out that British baking superstar Sassy McComas, aka, The Queen of Cupcakes is participating, Bijoux becomes the icing on the cake for bakers and foodies around the world desperate to meet Queen Sass and make a name for themselves. Rumor has it, Queen Sass is secretly searching for a fresh face to turn into a baking star for a new TV show she’s launching.
But when one of the top challengers in the Cupcake Bakeoff turns up dead in the alley of the Bijoux Community Center, Morgan has to sift through the evidence and stop the killer before they strike again and threaten to topple Queen Sass from her throne.
Published May 15th
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The Adventure of the Deceased Scholar (The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes Book 3)by Liese Sherwood-Fabre
SYNOPSIS:
Award-winning author and recognized Sherlockian scholar Liese Sherwood-Fabre’s third novel in “The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes” follows the young detective to London for the spring holiday. This CIBA first-place mystery and mayhem winner has been described by bestselling author Gemma Halliday as “a classic in the making” and Kirkus Reviews as “a multifaceted and convincing addition to Sherlock-ian lore.”
A tragedy during the 1868 Oxford-Cambridge Boat race puts Mycroft Holmes’ reputation on the line.
When Mycroft Holmes identifies a drowning victim, he is drawn into a situation that could destroy not only Lord Surminster’s name, but his own reputation as well. If ruled a suicide, the lord’s assets will be returned to the Crown, leaving his mother and siblings destitute. Should that happen, the victim’s sister has threatened to drag Mycroft’s good name through the mire. Will Sherlock be able determine what happened before more than one family is destroyed?
Published May 15th
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A Medium’s Protégé: A Cozy Ghost Mystery (Becky Tibbs: A North Carolina Medium’s Mystery Book 10) by Chariss K. Walker
SYNOPSIS:
In the 10th book in this sweet, clean cozy mystery series, Becky Tibbs helps someone from her past as well as a young friend.
Becky has always had a special relationship with little Suzie Black. Suzie has otherworldly talents of her own. She sees the spiritual companions of everyone she meets. In the past and before Becky helped her understand her gifts, it had gotten Suzie into a lot of trouble.
Now, with the Covid virus pandemic still raging, Suzie’s mother must go to Florida to help her own mother. She can’t take Suzie with her and must seek Becky’s help to watch over her daughter while she is away.
Join Becky and all the Tibbs family as they help ghosts in Asheville, North Carolina with their unfinished business.
Published May 15th
Fate’s a Witch: Celestial Academy: The Witch Book 3 by Tegan Maher
SYNOPSIS:
Two components of the Sceptor of Life recovered, two to go if I want to save the world. Failure’s not an option.Twice now, I’ve nearly died battling the witches who stole the Sceptor and Stones of Life, but I accomplished what I started out to do: reclaim the magical stones that keep white magic alive. Both times I’ve battled, I’ve discovered new abilities, and both times, I barely made it out alive. The important thing is that I made it out. Now I have three days left to recover the final two stones.Let’s hope my luck holds because I’m the only thing standing between humanity and the end of the world. Well, me and my partner and a whole lot of magic. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m a Flynn witch – nothing ever is.
Published May 16th
Sight Seering (Shady Grove Psychic Mystery Book 3) by Ada Bell
SYNOPSIS:
A Seer in the City…
While visiting an estate sale to pick up new items for Missing Pieces, Aly gets hit with a surprise: the elderly homeowner didn’t have a heart attack–she was murdered. Aly’s got the evidence in her hands, and the killer is offering to sell it to her. Time to make a deal, then call the police.
If only anyone believed her. Miriam Peabody was in her 70s and appeared to die of natural causes. Police found no evidence of foul play, but Aly knows what she saw. Worse, she’s pretty sure the killer has powers of their own. As she seeks evidence to support her vision, someone is watching Aly’s every move. They’re always one step ahead. She needs to find concrete evidence to give the police before someone Miriam trusted gets away with murder.
Published May 17th
Dead On Target: Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Visions & Victims Book 5) by Lily Webb
SYNOPSIS:
Don’t shoot the messenger…
Psychic Selena feels like she’s finally settling into her new life at the paranormal Kindred Spirits Inn — until a hair-raising hound swipes one of her guests. The only problem? No one can track down the shapeshifting suspect.
When a hunting party begins a search for the lethal lycan, Selena fears things aren’t what they seem — and what she discovers raises her hackles.
Someone’s hounding after the werewolf for all the wrong reasons, and they’ll stop at nothing to make sure they bag the beast.
Can Selena’s visions spare the shapeshifter? Or will she be the next to take a silver bullet?
Dead On Target is the fifth book in the Visions and Victims series of paranormal cozy mysteries. If paranormal pariahs, heartless hunters, and magical mysteries get your wand waving, then you’re sure to fall under the spell of this new spinoff series that expands Lily Webb’s magical universe.
Published May 17th
Auntie Poldi and the Lost Madonna: Auntie Poldi 4 by Maria Giordano
SYNOPSIS:
There’s only one Auntie Poldi: bewigged, cursing in Bavarian, and knocking back a wee shot of grappa as a pre-breakfast aperitif . . . or is there? No one is as they seem (and sound) in this hilarious new mystery featuring Sicily’s sultriest sleuth.
Strange dealings are afoot in the Apostolic Palace–a nun leapt to her death shortly after participating in a seemingly routine exorcism. But when a priest clad in Gammarelli and a Vatican commissario with an almost unholy level of sex appeal turn up at her door, Poldi is shocked to hear that she’s a suspect in their case.
Who is the woman being exorcised, and where has she disappeared to? And why in the world does she claim, in perfect Bavarian, to be Poldi, Isolde Oberreiter, of Torre Archirafi?
Poldi will need all the help she can get to clear her name, but her nephew has been distracted by a love affair gone sour, someone in the town has been spraying graffiti death threats on her front door, and her local friends seem to be avoiding her. And even Vito Montana balks when Poldi discovers that the case hinges on a lost Madonna statue, stolen years ago from the pope himself.
Forza, Poldi! With a pair of mysterious twins dogging her every move and a mandate to maintain sobriety, will Poldi be able to unmask her mysterious doppelgänger, find the lost statue in time, and survive her sixty-first birthday?
Published May 18th
Curses & Cliffhangers (A Library Witch Mystery Book 8) by Elle Adams
SYNOPSIS:
Life is good for Rory Hawthorn. She’s progressing well in her magical lessons and is also finally unearthing her father’s long-kept secrets. If not for the Grim Reaper trying to interfere in her love life, things would be perfect.
Until the Grim Reaper goes missing, at the same time as a lethal curse is set loose in Ivory Beach which leaves even Rory’s family stumped. With the local curse-breaker being as unhelpful as ever, a particularly annoying local celebrity in town and the vampires scheming, it’s a wonder she has any time to uncover the secrets her father kept hidden in his journal – even if his past is linked to the present in more ways than she knows.
Can Rory and Xavier put an end to the deadly curse and win themselves back into the Grim Reaper’s good graces?
Published May 18th
Aged for Malice (A Tuscan Vineyard Cozy Mystery—Book 7) by Fiona Grace
SYNOPSIS:
Olivia Glass, 34, turns her back on her life as a high-powered executive in Chicago and relocates to Tuscany, determined to start a new, simpler life—and to grow her own vineyard.
Olivia is stunned when she discovers the treasure map may lead to a historic wine cellar, hidden on her estate, filled with priceless wine. It seems like the stuff of dreams—until a dead body puts her at the center of the high-stakes discovery, and turns her heaven into a hell.
Can she clear her name?
And will the priceless find be hers?
Published May 18th
Independent Bones (A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery) by Carolyn Haines
SYNOPSIS:
When Dr. Alala Diakos, a visiting professor of Greek literature, comes to teach at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, it doesn’t take long for controversy to follow. With her fervent feminist ideals and revolutionary leanings, she quickly earns the admiration of many—and the ire of others. During a speech in the park, in which Alala tries to organize the women of Zinnia to demand equal pay, the crowd gets unruly, with men heckling the professor. And when PI Sarah Booth Delaney finds a sniper rifle and scope in the bushes, she begins to worry that there are more than fighting words at stake.
Sarah Booth calls her boyfriend, Sheriff Coleman Peters, who offers the protection of the Zinnia police department, but Alala rejects him, saying she has no use for the law or men. And when a notorious domestic abuser is found dead the next day, suspicions turn to Alala herself, who was overheard bragging that she would take him down. Tensions deepen when connections are drawn between Alala and two similar, previous deaths.
But Sarah Booth doesn’t want to believe Alala is a murderer, and when the professor shows up at Sarah Booth’s doorstep, asking her to find the real criminal, Sarah Booth embarks on a case stretching across the Delta. Yet Alala remains at the center of it all, and Sarah Booth can’t help but wonder if the killer has been with her all along…
Published May 18th
Apple Valley, Ax, and Ambrosia: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #5) by Kailin Gow
SYNOPSIS:
It is a Purrfect Mix of Romance, Food, and Mystery.
Fashionable Celebrity Pastry Chef Sadie Silver loves mixing travel, food, romance, and crime solving wherever she goes or stays…along with the help of her intelligent cat Orchid and sensitive-smelling-nose dog Biscuit. handsome forensic scientist Palmer, and the mysterious gorgeous man who always places an order directly from her for a dozen red velvet cupcakes.
Published May 18th
Doggone Deadly: A Wayside Bay Mystery – Book 3 of The House Call Dog Groomer Series by Reida Kenzington
SYNOPSIS:
The third fun and furry sleuthing adventure in The Wayside Bay Mystery series. Charlie & Mabel are enjoying the annual beach side quilt retreat when murder strikes! Watch for it in Spring 2021!
Published May 18th
Beachfront Bakery: A Perilous Cake Pop (A Beachfront Bakery Cozy Mystery—Book 3) by Fiona Grace
SYNOPSIS:
Allison Sweet, 34, a sous chef in Los Angeles, has had it up to here with demeaning customers, her demanding boss, and her failed love life. After a shocking incident, she realizes the time has come to start life fresh and follow her lifelong dream of moving to a small town and opening a bakery of her own.
After a popular food critic trashes Allison’s bakery, he ends up dead—and suspicion falls on her. With business failing, Allison’s only hope is to solve the crime and clear her name.
But it’s not so simple: the dead critic infuriated a long line of people, and any of them could have gladly killed him. Will Allison—and her beloved dog—be able to solve the seemingly impossible case in time?
A hilarious cozy mystery series, packed with twists, turns, romance, travel, food and unexpected adventure, the BEACHFRONT BAKERY series will keep you laughing and turning pages late into the night as you fall in love with an endearing new character who will capture your heart.
Published May 18th
Best in Breed (Locust Point Mystery Book 11) by Libby Howard
SYNOPSIS:
Valentine’s Day in Locust Point brings love, puppies…and murder!
Everyone is enchanted by Olive’s new puppy—even an initially wary Taco. Thinking she might want to add a furry friend to her own home, Daisy convinces Kay to go with her on a whirlwind tour of shelters, rescues, and breeders. But puppy loves comes to an abrupt end when the two women find well-known animal advocate Prucilla Downing dead in a pile of broken trophies and slashed fur coats.
With plenty of suspects, Kay jumps in to find the murderer, find homes for a kennel full of puppies, and find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for Judge Beck.
Published May 18th
The Art of Deception: A Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mystery (Daughter of Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, 4) by Leonard Goldberg
SYNOPSIS:
Suspenseful and entertaining, with many twists and turns….This is one of the best Sherlock Holmes series since Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell books.–Historical Novel Society
USA Today bestselling author Leonard Goldberg returns with another puzzling case for the daughter of Sherlock Holmes to unravel in this exciting mystery, The Art of Deception, sure to be enjoyed by fans of Sherlock Holmes as well as Laurie R. King and Charles Finch.
In the west end of London, an apparently crazed individual is on the loose, breaking into art galleries and private homes to slash valuable paintings of women. Despite Scotland Yard’s best efforts, the criminal remains at large and continues on his destructive path.
When Joanna and the Watsons are called in to solve the mystery, they soon discover that although the canvases have been slashed, their backings remain pristine, with no cuts or scratches. The criminal, it seems, is no mere vandal–he’s searching for something hidden behind the portraits.
Suspicion soon falls on two skilled art restorers who previously worked at the gallery where all the vandalized art was purchased. When Joanna finds the body of one in a bricked off fireplace at the gallery, the other is left as the prime suspect. But then he’s discovered dead as well. Luckily, Joanna has a plan for ensnaring the criminal once and for all. But it must not fail, or more paintings–and lives–will be lost.
Published May 18th
The Real Not-Wives of Red Rock Canyon (The Extra Series Book 12) by Megan Walker & Janci Patterson
SYNOPSIS:
Does he really want to be my boyfriend if he never even thinks about a future where he’s anything more?
Social media maven Emily Pietrowski loves working alongside her boyfriend, celebrity rock climber Jason Winslow. But she’s less enthused about Jason’s new gig as the host of the reality show, The Real Not-Wives of Red Rock Canyon, where they’ll be camping with affluent divorcees who are trying to find self-actualization through rock climbing. It’s only her love for Jason that could motivate her to spend a week on a set filled with purse dogs, bejeweled climbing harnesses, and organic, sugar-free s’mores.
Jason and Emily have been going strong for the last two years, but lately Emily is starting to feel like their relationship is stuck in a rut. She’s ready to take the next step, but every time she brings up their future, it seems like Jason is, well . . . not.
When Emily is recorded confronting Jason about her concerns, they unwittingly become part of the on-screen drama. Emily will do anything to save her relationship, even if it means agreeing to on-camera therapy sessions with dubiously licensed Monroe Coco, the biggest diva of them all.
This crazy week could make or break them—but is it already too late?
Published May 19th
The Westminster Intrigue (The Rannoch Fraser Mysteries Book 23) by Tracy Grant
SYNOPSIS:
Autumn 1820. From Mayfair to Covent Garden to Seven Dials, London is in an uproar over George IV’s (the former prince regent) attempts to divorce his wife Queen Caroline. And nowhere is the crisis more intense than in Westminster where the royal divorce is playing out in the House of Lords.
In this tense atmosphere, former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch go on an undercover mission in a brothel that leads to a brawl–and the murder of the man they were tracking. The victim, Captain James Blayney, was selling the memoirs of a notorious courtesan, whose lovers may include Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duke of Wellington, and key noblemen involved in the royal divorce trial. The missing memoirs may also hold crucial information about the Elsinore League, the powerful organization the Rannochs have been battling for years.
As revelations mount, Malcolm and Mélanie uncover the secrets of some of the most powerful people in Europe. The future of the British monarchy hangs in the balance. But as the Rannochs unravel the clues in the memoirs, they realize that the consequences for the royal family may be nothing compared to the consequences for their own…
Published May 19th
Perpetual Potions (Pacific North Witches Book 6) by Samantha Silver
SYNOPSIS:
Escape to the Pacific Northwest, where magic and mountains meet murder and mayhem.
Ali is finally house hunting, looking for the perfect place for her mom, when she’s brought a case to solve that comes with huge reward money if she can get it done. However, doing so will require Ali to exorcise some demons. Will Ali be able to grow past her own shortcomings to find the killer, even as he’s coming after her?
Perpetual Potion is the sixth and final book in the Pacific North Witches series of humorous paranormal cozy mystery novels.
Published May 20th
Mystery at the World’s Edge: The colourful time-travel mystery (Tam Eildor Mystery Book 4) by Alanna Knight
SYNOPSIS:
When Tam Eildor arrives unexpectedly on a remote Scottish island in the year 1587 after his time machine develops a fault, he quickly finds himself embroiled in the lives of the colourful locals. Many are trying to escape the tyranny of the power-hungry Earl Robert Stewart as, having imprisoned the beautiful Princess Marie for many years, he now plans to force her into a distasteful marriage with his eldest son, Patrick, to further his own ambitions.
Aided by a motley crew including a stowaway, a pirate and one of the earl’s own sons, Eildor attempts a daring rescue of the princess. Together they will travel the oceans in search of Spanish gold, lost loves and new futures.
Published May 20th
Key Lime Pie Perjury: Cozy Mystery (MURDER IN THE MIX Book 34) by Addison Moore
SYNOPSIS:
My name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner’s impending doom.
A regency ball goes awry and both Noah and Everett are in over their heads. Add in the ghost of an adorable Bichon Frise named Pretty Boy and you’ve got trouble. Perjury, a dirty deal made with a couple of mobster devils, and a defunct bakery. Summer in Honey Hollow is getting too hot to handle.
Lottie Lemon has a brand new bakery to tend to, a budding romance with perhaps one too many suitors, and she has the supernatural ability to see the dead—which are always harbingers for ominous things to come. Throw in a string of murders, and her insatiable thirst for justice, and you’ll have more chaos than you know what to do with.
Living in Honey Hollow can be murder.
Published May 20th
Hot on the Trail Mix (Auntie Clem’s Bakery Book 15) by P. D. Workman
SYNOPSIS:
Spelunking isn’t for sissies.
When Vic and Willie discover human remains in a cave they are exploring, the shock waves are felt throughout Bald Eagle Falls. When Willie falls under suspicion, Erin has to do more than just make her awesome new granola bars and trail mix.
Erin’s investigations reveal that there is more to the case than meets the eye, and if she is going to uncover the truth, she had better watch her step.
Published May 21st
“
H” is for Hollyweird (Malibu Mystery Book 8) by Cantrell Black
SYNOPSIS:
Malibu’s most famous canine lothario, Harvey the English Bulldog, is back to make private investigator Sofia Salgado’s life even more difficult than usual. And if dealing with the canine Casanova wasn’t bad enough, she’s also on the track of a missing movie star.
Expect thrills, spills, mishaps and laughs galore as Malibu’s newest PI takes on two cases that will test her patience to the limits.
Published May 21st
Scandal at the Salty Dog: An M/M Cozy Mystery (Secrets and Scrabble Book 4) by Josh Lanyon
SYNOPSIS:
Mystery Stalks the Cobbled Streets of Pirate’s Cove
Who or what is haunting elderly recluse Juliet Blackwell, what does it have to do with mysterious goings-on at the Salty Dog Pub–and why is any of it mystery bookshop owner Ellery Page’s problem? According to sometimes boyfriend Police Chief Jack Carson, it’s not Ellery’s problem, and Ellery should stop asking awkward questions before it’s too late.
Ellery couldn’t agree more, but it’s hard to say no when someone is as frightened as old Mrs. Blackwell. Mrs. Blackwell insists the ghost of long dead pirate Rufus Blackwell has come to avenge himself on the last member of his treacherous clan.
Before Ellery can say, “Yikes!” Mrs. Blackwell takes a tumble down the grand staircase of her spooky mansion, and it’s up to Ellery to find who is trying to kill his eccentric customer.
Published May 22nd
The Granite Coast Murders: A Brittany Mystery (Brittany Mystery Series, 6) by Jean-Luc Bannalec
SYNOPSIS:
Inspector Dupin and Claire are on a two-week vacation, but while Claire seems to enjoy the quiet of the beach, Commissaire Dupin takes every opportunity to leave the beach towel. The fabulous dinners on the hotel patio and the rumors about a stolen statue of a saint are the few interesting moments of his days on vacation. But then a tourist vanishes without trace and there’s an attack on a deputy to the local assembly, who is involved in confrontations with local farmers. Shortly after that, the Britanny beach resort is shocked by the discovery of a corpse.
Dupin clandestinely begins to investigate with the help of the local villagers, something he must keep a secret from Claire and his colleagues in Concarneau. Between bewitched valleys and beautiful beaches, an unfathomable case develops.
Published May 24th
See Something (A Witch City Mystery) by Carol J. Perry
SYNOPSIS:
Salem’s WICH-TV program director Lee Barrett is about to discover no good deed goes unpunished . . .
Lee has been promoted from field reporter to program director. Keeping track of all the shows and managing the local TV personalities—including a cowboy, a clown, and a performing dog—has her head spinning. Perhaps that’s what makes her take pity on the distraught woman she finds sitting alone on a bench on the Salem common. When she realizes that the poor woman doesn’t even know her own name, Lee takes her into the warmth of the home she shares with her Aunt Ibby and their clairvoyant gentleman cat, O’Ryan. Maybe Lee can use her own psychic gifts to divine the woman’s identity.
Lee’s detective beau Pete Mondello wants to talk to the “Jane Doe,” but before he can investigate, he’s called to a crime scene. A body has been found washed up in a narrow harbor cove. As harmless as her new houseguest seems, Lee can’t help but wonder if she may be harboring a killer . . .
Published May 25th
Carried to the Grave and Other Stories (A Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Book 6) by Leslie Budewitz
SYNOPSIS:
In her Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, Agatha Award-winning author Leslie Budewitz introduces us to Jewel Bay, a tight-knit Montana community that thrives on tourism and farm-to-table fare. Featuring Erin Murphy, beloved proprietor of the Merc—a century-old general store converted into a local foods market—each book brings us closer to the folks who call Jewel Bay home, and the cunning culprits in their midst.
In this delicious new collection of five short stories and one novella, she takes us further into the heart of Jewel Bay—from the playhouse to the Merc, from funerals to food festivals—with equal parts humor, suspense, and compassion, and no shortage of murder to spice up the menu . . .
In Carried to the Grave, a long-hidden family secret refuses to be put to rest.
Jewel Bay’s community food festival serves up the perfect opportunity for a devious killer with an appetite for murder in Pot Luck.
In The Christmas Stranger, a small gesture by a mysterious man turns out to change lives . . . and much more.
A romantic getaway to a secluded beach town in Mexico provides a deadly remedy for a couple’s trouble at home in A Death in Yelapa.
As the local playhouse opens for the season, it’s curtains for a stage manager with a secret in Put on a Dying Face.
And in An Unholy Death, when Kate and Paddy Murphy open Murphy’s Mercantile in 1910, they know making a go of it in rough-and-tumble Montana will be hard work, but for a local preacher, it’s murder.
Published May 25th
The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit (A Domestic Diva Mystery) by Krista Davis
SYNOPSIS:
She’s a young Martha Stewart…in Old Town Virginia!
New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis delights with the 14th in her enormously popular and completely charming Domestic Diva Mystery series, as entertaining maven Sophie Winston must cut to the core of another murder investigation when members of an international tour group begin dropping like flies all over Old Town, Virginia…
With Old Town’s DIY Home Decorating Festival in full swing, Sophie’s swamped, juggling a bumper crop of artisans, antique dealers, and decorators for the busy street fair. Still, when her best friend Nina suddenly needs a ride from the airport, Sophie is happy to help…until she sees Nina disembarking in a state of disarray. It’s obvious the trip to Portugal soured somewhere along the way. But after one of Nina’s traveling companions turns up murdered the following day, Sophie knows something is truly rotten…
Though the crime scene is staged to look like an accident, Sophie isn’t fooled and peels off to conduct her own investigation. Her only clue is a strange image the victim scratched into the soil before dying. Could it point to a cryptic killer in Old Town? A bitter travel adversary? Or a cursed artifact smuggled back from the trip? As the mystery grows, so does the body count, and if Sophie doesn’t pluck the murderer soon, her best friend may be the next to fall…
Published May 25th
Murder in a Scottish Garden (A Scottish Shire Mystery Book 2) by Traci Hall
SYNOPSIS:
In the charming Scottish shire of Nairn,sweater shop owner Paislee Shaw must root out a garden variety killer. . .
Paislee’s custom sweater and yarn business, Cashmere Crush, is the sole support for not only the single mum and her ten-year-old son Brody, but also her eccentric Gramps and Wallace, their black Scottish terrier.So when her landlord, Shawn Marcus, serves her an eviction notice and then pulls a disappearing act, she’ll go to any lengths to find the man and reason with him.
Shawn is heir to the Leery Estate, which Brody’s class will be visiting on a field trip. So Paislee volunteers to chaperone in the hopes of tracking down Shawn and killing two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, the only one killed is a man Paislee sees falling out of the hedges after being shot. It’s not her missing landlord, but Lady Leery’s nephew, Charles Thomson. Gruff DI Mack Zeffer is on the case, but Paislee also has a stake in flushing out the shooter. With suspects sprouting up like weeds, Paislee may need to hedge her bets until she can determine who is trying to lead her down the garden path . . .
Published May 25th
Beyond a Reasonable Donut (A Deputy Donut Mystery Book 5) by Ginger Bolton
SYNOPSIS:
Selling her corn fritters at a carnival, Deputy Donut Café owner Emily Westhill faces off against a murderer who doesn’t play fair . . .
Emily and her assistant, Nina, are looking forward to manning the Deputy Donut tent at the Faker’s Dozen Carnival in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin—a festival held on Friday the thirteenth to celebrate good and bad luck. But Emily has barely dropped the corn fritters in oil when bad luck boils up. First, their bucket of confectioner’s sugar disappears—and then while a mime creates a distraction, a magician robs their cash register.
After the carnival, their misfortune continues. Emily discovers that someone has broken into artist Nina’s loft and vandalized a large painting in progress with the bucket of stolen sugar, which is now on the head of the mime, who seems to have been suffocated. Emily would bet Nina was the intended victim, but the cops think Nina silenced the mime. Now Emily must catch the killer white-handed—before someone else kicks the bucket . . .
Published May 25th
I
sa & the Road Trip (The Sunnyvale Mysteries Book 6) by Jessica Sorensen
SYNOPSIS:
Isa’s story continues as she goes on the road to visit her mom and discover more about herself…
Published May 25th
Grace in Hollywood: A 1920s Grace Michelle Mystery (Grace Michelle Mysteries Book 2) by Kari Bovee
SYNOPSIS:
All that glitters… is sometimes blood. With her golden ticket buried in the ground, can she save a wrongly accused teen from the gallows?
Hollywood, 1924. Promoted to lead costume designer of a star-studded film, Grace Michelle should be on top of the world. But between her husband’s debt, her sister’s recent death, and the troubled teenaged girl she’s fostering, she’s struggling to please everyone and still keep a smile on her face. And when a Tinseltown shindig turns deadly, Grace is horrified to discover her young charge unconscious alongside the director’s grisly corpse.
Determined to prove the girl’s innocence, Grace’s own haunted past fills her sleep with prophetic nightmares. And no sooner has she sought clarity from a medium than a second body lands the scared teenager in the slammer.
Can Grace turn the camera on the real culprit before another victim ends up on the cutting room floor?
Grace in Hollywood is the second book in the riveting A Grace Michelle Mystery historical series. If you like fiercely loyal heroines, thrilling whodunits, and the magic of old cinema, then you’ll love Kari Bovee’s enthralling tale.
Published May 25th
Death at High Tide: An Island Sisters Mystery (Island Sisters, 1) by Hannah Dennison
SYNOPSIS:
Death at High Tide is the delightful first installment in the Island Sisters series by Hannah Dennison, featuring two sisters who inherit an old hotel in the remote Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall and find it full of intrigue, danger, and romance.
When Evie Mead’s husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Isles of Scilly.
Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes right ahead and buys two tickets–one way–to Tregarrick.
Once at the hotel–used in its heyday to house detective novelists, and more fixer-upper than spa resort, after all–Evie and Margot attempt to get to the bottom of things. But the foul-tempered hotel owner claims he’s never met the late Robert, even after Evie finds framed photos of them–alongside Robert’s first wife–in his office. The rest of the island inhabitants, ranging from an ex-con receptionist to a vicar who communicates with cats, aren’t any easier to read.
But when a murder occurs at the hotel, and then another soon follows, frustration turns to desperation. There’s no getting off the island at high tide. And Evie and Margot, the only current visitors to Tregarrick, are suspects one and two. It falls to them to unravel secrets spanning generations–and several of their own–if they want to make it back alive.
Published May 25th
A Haunting Midlife: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction (Witching After Forty Book 3) by Lia Davis
SYNOPSIS:
Ava Harper may be a raiser of the dead and a not-so-famous author, but she isn’t vampire hunter. Not even close.
With the decision made to stay in Shipton Harbor, she returns to the home she shared with her deceased husband in Pennsylvania to put it on the market. But saying goodbye to the memories of the home they raised their son in is a lot harder than it had sounded in her head.
In the months she’s been in Shipton, new neighbors moved in across the street from her Philly home. Now, Ava has nothing against vampires. But when people in the neighborhood start turning up dead, she can’t help but to check into the newbies in the hood.
Since she doesn’t know enough about law enforcement red tape, she calls her best friend to come and help. However, Sam is working a case with a neighboring town and Sheriff Drew takes it upon himself to show up at her door instead.
And now, as if dealing with how the sheriff makes her knees weak isn’t bad enough, her house is haunted.
Just another day in Ava’s life at this point.
Published May 25th
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Murder at St. Winifred’s Academy (A Ferrara Family Mystery Book 5) by J. D. Griffo
SYNOPSIS:
Tranquility, New Jersey’s amateur drama troupe is staging a murder mystery at St. Winifred’s Academy and Alberta Scaglione couldn’t be more thrilled. Even her Italian-American famiglia are getting in on the act. But someone’s making deadly revisions to the script . . .
Alberta can hardly believe it. Her childhood screen idol, 1950s Hollywood starlet Missy Michaels, has signed up for the local Tranquility Players revival of the classic Arsenic and Old Lace. But before Missy memorizes a single line, she’s found dead in her dressing room wrapped in lace and clutching a bottle of arsenic. The ultimate drama-queen suicide? Everyone thinks so—except Alberta. A Ferrara woman knows murder when she sees it. Alberta also knows producer Nola Kirkpatrick’s checkered past: whenever she’s around, trouble abounds.
Alberta and her crime-reporting partner-in-sleuthing granddaughter, Jinx, have a hunch the murderer is among the Players. So Alberta joins the cast—reluctantly playing Missy’s role—to get closer to the truth. She notices the director is a little unbalanced, but aren’t they all? The leading man is a wildly obsessive Missy Michaels fanboy—but a murderer? Of course, the show must go on. But if Alberta and Jinx can’t nab the killer before opening night, it may mean curtains for more Players . . . including Alberta.
Published May 25th
Pint of No Return (Shake Shop Mystery Book 1) by Dana Mentink
SYNOPSIS:
The first in new dessert cozy mystery series! A murder in town is bound to shake things up…
After her divorce from her thrice-married embezzler husband, Trinidad Jones is finally ready for a fresh start. So when she’s left one of ex’s businesses in Upper Sprocket, Oregon, she decides to pack up her dog, cash in her settlement, and open her dream business: the Shimmy and Shake Shop, introducing the world to her monster milkshakes. And even with a couple sticky situations underway, namely that the other two ex-wives also call Sprocket home, Trinidad’s life seems to be churning along smoothly.
That is, until she discovers her neighbor, the Popcorn King, head down in his giant popcorn kettle. When one of Trinidad’s fellow ex-wives is accused of the murder and Upper Sprocket descends into mayhem, it’s going to take a supersized scoop of courage to flush out the killer.
Published May 25th
Broomsticks and Pink Gumdrops: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery (A Witch’s Cove Mystery Book 12)by Vella Day
SYNOPSIS:
Finding a dead body in the wall of our new candy shop was strange enough, but then someone from the past returns carrying a pink ribbon I’d left on my very strange Christmas trip to Ohio.
As a founding member of The Pink Iguana Sleuths of Witch’s Cove, I thought I’d seen it all, but I was wrong. When the sheriff’s department files this as a cold case, my curiosity gets the best of me. What else is new? It also didn’t help that my talking pink iguana is insisting that I look into it.
When a corpse is fairly warm, it’s easy to come up with who wanted this person dead. Motives are everywhere, but not this time. We didn’t even know the identity of the skeleton. I shuddered to think what kind of killer hid a body in the wall of a store? A very bad one, for sure.
Regardless of how hard it will be, Jaxson, Iggy, and I are up for the challenge. I couldn’t help but wonder why an FBI agent from the past was sent to us, though. To help? Or hinder?
Published May 25th
Four Cuts Too Many (A Sarah Blair Mystery Book 4) by Debra H. Goldstein
SYNOPSIS:
Sarah Blair gets an education in slicing and dicing when someone in culinary school serves up a main corpse in Wheaton, Alabama . . .
Between working as a law firm receptionist, reluctantly pitching in as co-owner of her twin sister’s restaurant, and caretaking for her regal Siamese RahRah and rescue dog Fluffy, Sarah has no time to enjoy life’s finer things. Divorced and sort-of dating, she’s considering going back to school. But as a somewhat competent sleuth, Sarah’s more suited for criminal justice than learning how many ways she can burn a meal.
Although she wouldn’t mind learning some knife skills from her sous chef, Grace Winston. An adjunct instructor who teaches cutlery expertise in cooking college, Grace is considering accepting an executive chef’s position offered by Jane Clark, Sarah’s business rival—and her late ex-husband’s lover. But Grace’s future lands in hot water when the school’s director is found dead with one of her knives in his back. To clear her friend’s name, Sarah must sharpen her own skills at uncovering an elusive killer . . .
Published May 25th
Death in Bloom (A Flower House Mystery) by Jess Dylan
SYNOPSIS:
The first in a sweet and colorful cozy mystery series from Jess Dylan, Death in Bloom introduces flowershop owner Sierra Ravenswood …
Published May 25th
Tell Me S’more (The Campfire Series Book 4) by Beth Merlin
SYNOPSIS:
Camp Chinooka was supposed to be a place of inspiration, the place where Perry Gilman would finally compose his symphonic masterpiece. But four years later, Perry Gillman isn’t any closer to his dream of becoming a world renowned musician. Instead, he fell love in with Gigi Goldstein and he thought that love would be enough. Now, struggling to find the right subject for a new musical while hustling as a piano player at a local jazz bar, he can’t help but measure his own shortcomings to his famous father’s monstrous success. So, when he stumbles onto the idea to write a musical about the life and times of Elizabeth I, everything finally changes. The musical is an international sensation and suddenly, Perry is on the fast track to super stardom.
However, fame and success come at a price. When his relationship with Gigi is thrown into a tailspin, he must decide whether to follow his dream for which he fought for so long or sacrifice it all for true love.
Published May 25th
Scones and Scandal (Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 22) by Agatha Frost
SYNOPSIS:
When the official Peridale neighbourhood watch breaks up, Julia finds herself leading a brand new team. Their first order of business? Solving the murder of the former leader…
Published May 25th
Ribbing and Runes: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Vampire Knitting Club Book 13) by Nancy Warren
SYNOPSIS:
Can a secret runic message lead to murder?
As Lucy and Rafe plan their wedding, everyone wants to get involved. The vampire knitting club are crafting the gown, William’s catering, the Miss Watts are making the cake. Everything’s under control. Or is it? Just as Lucy begins to believe there won’t be a hitch in their plans, she receives a curious wedding gift that leads to murder.
Between hen parties, her parents arriving early, running a knitting shop and a murder, will Lucy make it down the aisle in one piece?
Join Lucy and her undead knitting club as they solve another crime.
There’s no violence, sex or bad language, just quirky characters, humor—and murder.
The books can be read on their own, but it’s probably more fun to start at book 1 and binge.
Published May 26th
The Whitby Murders (A Yorkshire Mystery Book 6) by J. R. Ellis
SYNOPSIS:
A murder with three witnesses. But one of them doesn’t believe what she saw…
Halloween, Whitby. DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise is in town with friends for a goth festival. But their visit to an escape room ends in bloody murder when one of the group stabs his girlfriend and flees the scene. It’s a crime with three witnesses—but Louise refuses to take what she saw at face value.
Oldroyd and DS Carter are called in to solve the case, assisted from the sidelines by Louise. But the closer they investigate, the more complex the web of deceit appears. This is no straightforward crime of passion.
With a violent murderer on the loose, it’s only a matter of time before they strike again. And this time it’s personal. Oldroyd must expose the truth, protect his daughter and stop the horror before it’s too late.
Published May 27th
The Man Who Vanished and the Dog Who Waited by Kate High
SYNOPSIS:
Summer in the Lincolnshire Wolds and Clarice is rung by her friend Louise, asking whether she can look after Susie, her son’s lively Boxer, as 41-year-old Guy has gone missing from the family home.
His mother thinks he has been suffering from depression but more worryingly, in his professional life, he had been working on a high-profile case, defending a known criminal. His home life was beset with problems too, which is why his mother has asked Clarice to look after the dog; Charlotte, Guy’s wife, just can’t cope with her as well as their three daughters.
Getting drawn into the puzzle of Guy’s disappearance, Clarice wonders how Susie received a nasty cut to her back leg, and who is the mysterious Charles? Guy apparently did not trust him enough to let him into his home, and he had not been seen since he was driven away in Charles car. Guy’s friends all say that he was a good, honest man, but as Clarice looks further into the murky criminal world he inhabits, she questions if Guy has been pulled in out of his depth. And – why does Susie keep returning to the private woods, where she had spent so much time with her beloved master….
Published May 27th
Post Mortem : A Mail Carrier Cozy Mystery Book 6 by Tonya Kappe
SYNOPSIS:
Sugar Creek Gap is a southern small town where everyone puts their differences aside in order to come together for the greater good of the cozy knit community. But when a citizen, Jeff Faulkner, goes missing from the annual Sugar Creek Gap High School fundraiser, the rumor mill starts to turn faster and faster, churning up the past that puts Jeff Faulkner in the spot light.
Bernadette Butler, a local mail carrier, hears all the gossip swirling around while delivering the mail on route. Hearsay says Jeff ran off because his payment for an old gambling debt came due or he ran off with another women making both assumptions irrelevant after Rowena, Bernadette’s feline, finds Jeff’s lifeless body.
Heartbroken for Jeff’s family, Bernie knows all too well what it feels like to become a widow and a son fatherless. Bernie can’t help but collect clues with all the gossip flowing faster than she can deliver the mail, putting her smack dab in the middle of the investigation that has more twists and turns than the roads where Bernie drives her mail carrier truck.
Published May 27th
The Boyband Murder Mystery by Ava Eldred
SYNOPSIS:
‘I have long believed that loving a boyband brings with it a wealth of transferable skills, but I’d never imagined solving a murder would be one of them…’
Harri and her best friends worship Half Light – an internationally famous boyband. When frontman Frankie is arrested on suspicion of murdering his oldest friend Evan, Harri feels like her world’s about to fall apart. But quickly she realises that she – and all the other Half Light superfans out there – know and understand much more about these boys than any detective ever could.
Now she’s rallying a fangirl army to prove Frankie’s innocence – and to show the world that you should never underestimate a teenage girl with a passion…
Published May 27th
Murder on the Beach: A Destination Murders Short Story Collection by Karen Cantwell
SYNOPSIS:
If you’re searching for the perfect light and funny Beach Read, what could be better than one that features mysteries actually on the beach?
And with eight funny short stories, you can travel along with our cozy authors to a variety of shores: from the rocky coastlines of New England, to the white stretches of sand on the Atlantic, to the teal and emerald waters of the Gulf Coast, the surfing havens on the Pacific, and even the beaches in between.
So, take a trip with our authors as they show you that sharks aren’t the only danger near the water.
Contributing cozy authors: Ritter Ames, Karen Cantwell, Lucy Carol, Barb Goffman, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Shari Randall, Shawn Reilly Simmons, and Cathy Wiley
Published May 28th
The Magnolia Chameleon (Honeyrose Collection Book 2) by Sindee Harlow
SYNOPSIS:
A young woman is found dead. An enchantingly beautiful Nob Hill servant harbors more than a few secrets. A dashing detective with a pair of handcuffs is determined to find answers. Explosive chemistry neither can deny…
In 1899 San Francisco, master of disguise Detective Beau Winsor investigates the death of law student, Scarlett McSweeney. Is it murder or an overdose? The last person to see her alive is Maisie Flowers, a faithful servant in the Booker Law Firm household. Beau must earn Maisie’s trust if he is to gain her assistance in following a trail of political corruption into Chinatown’s opium dens and sex dungeons. The attraction is instant, though Maisie has never kissed a man and Beau has never loved a woman. Boundaries are tested as they are drawn into a sensual alliance, snaring them ever closer to danger, where falling in love was never a part of the plan. When another murder occurs, it’s too close for comfort, especially when motive and opportunity point toward Maisie. Clearly, time is running out.
Published May 29th
Cherringham – Killer Track: A Cosy Crime Series (Cherringham: Mystery Shorts Book 39) by Matthew Costello
SYNOPSIS:
Every year Lady Repton opens up her grand estate to host ‘Cherringfest’ – the Cotswold’s favourite music festival. And this year will be special, featuring not just the return of the legendary and infamous metal rock band, Lizard…but also the home debut of the young and wildly successful new group, Unlost. But what should be a summer weekend of fantastic music, food and fun for all, turns frightening when murder is threatened, and one performer is nearly killed. Soon Jack and Sarah are in a race against time, trying to untangle a web of jealousy, egos and revenge before this Cherringfest ends in a deadly climax…
Published May 29th
Riesling and Revenge (Barossa Valley Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Daisy Linh
SYNOPSIS:
Book 4 in the Barossa Valley Cozy Mystery series.
Published May 29th
Leaf of Faith (Isabella Proctor Mysteries Book 1) by Lisa Bouchard
SYNOPSIS:
Finding a dead body will ruin anybody’s day, but being the prime suspect could ruin your life.
Isabella Proctor is desperate for a normal life – her own apartment, a job or two that pay the bills, and maybe even a hunky boyfriend. Making potions, helping customers, using her witchy talents to help others is all she wants.
When she finds one of her bosses dead behind the Apothecary, she’s out of a job and won’t be able to finish her training as a potions witch.
Things get worse when Detective Palmer starts treating her like she’s the prime suspect. Her life will never get back on track until she clears her name by finding the real killer.
When the killer strikes close to home again, will Isabella solve the case before another person dies?
Published May 31st
Pink Heels and Problems: A Cozy Historical 1950s British Mystery (A Totally Girly Girl Mystery Book 1) by Sarah Jane Weldon
SYNOPSIS:
No description available.
Published May 31st
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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles😊 Emma xxx
Emma's Biblio Treasures 