A Disorganised Death Simon Brett

Ellen Curtis – professional declutterer, amateur sleuth and woman of a certain age – hunts for a missing will with a killer bequest in this gripping mystery from the original king of British cosy crime, Simon Brett.

Professional declutterer Ellen Curtis doesn’t do house clearances. So when Tamara Nicklin, owner of a local gastropub, asks Ellen to clear her late father’s house, she’s not interested . . . even when Tamara admits that the real reason she wants to hire Ellen is to find his missing will.

Then Ellen discovers Tamara’s husband has plans for the house. Plans Tamara doesn’t know about. And it’s clear to Ellen that this is the right job for her, after all.

Ellen dives in, and what she finds in the dead man’s house soon makes her wonder if Tamara’s father really fell down the stairs, or if he was pushed. Can she sort through the secrets and lies to find not just the missing will – but the truth?

This thoroughly engaging contemporary mystery, packed with red-herrings, is perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and M.C. Beaton. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

A CruiseTo Die For Heather Graham

Special agents face deadly, uncharted waters in this tense romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham.

Special Agent Chloe McMurray has been asked to do many things in the name of her job. Going undercover on a cruise ship leaving from her home port of Miami, however, is a new one. Not only that, but she’s tasked with posing as the wife of her federal counterpart, Special Agent Wesley Law.
Their investigation? A string of murders and suicides across three states that seem unrelated, until they uncover a deadly technological connection. Every victim was an expert in technology and had some connection to Milestones, a megacorporation with ties to many industries…including the cruise industry.
Chloe and Wesley must successfully go undercover as tech employees on the ship hosting the ten-year anniversary of the Milestones cruise company. A tough ask when the two have never met before. They’ll infiltrate the technology events, investigate their fellow passengers and try to uncover what’s really going on.
However, danger is never far behind. Their killer can use tech to do the job without lifting a finger, and at sea, there’s no escape if their covers are blown (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

Everyone Is Perfect Here Jane Haseldine

A woman’s life is upended when her past comes back to mess with her mind in this psychological thriller full of twists and turns.

There’s no such thing as perfect.

It’s been fifteen years since Carly Bennett’s mother was brutally murdered during a home robbery. Since then, she’s worked hard to build a normal life with a stellar career as an English professor―far away from the picture-perfect stepfamily that abandoned her at boarding school.

When a male colleague is found dead in Carly’s office―her name scrawled next to his body―everything she’s strived for starts to fall apart. There are eerie similarities to her mother’s attack, and Carly determines to find the truth.

Yet things take a bizarre turn when she suddenly experiences lost time, waking up in strange places, and flashes of dormant memories . . . memories that can’t possibly be real. Because, if they are, then she was there the night her mother was killed.

Could Carly have been responsible? Or is something more sinister at play in her stepfamily’s perfect world . . .?

This eerie domestic suspense is perfect for fans of Frieda McFadden and Lisa Jewell. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback

Murder, Local Style Leslie Karst

Retired caterer Valerie Corbin investigates a suspicious poisoning in this Orchid Isle cozy culinary mystery, featuring a feisty queer couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions in tropical Hilo, Hawai‘i.

A dinner to die for!

It’s been an eventful transition, but retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen are finally settling into life on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Val’s even joined the neighborhood orchid society to make some new friends. So when she’s asked to step in to cater their latest social event, as the newbie of the group she can’t exactly say no.

But what should have been a straightforward gig is soon a dining disaster when the food from the event poisons and kills the society president. As Val herself becomes a suspect in the murder investigation, she’s determined to uncover the truth. Who would want to kill the mild-mannered president of the orchid society?

Turns out the list is longer than a celebrity chef’s tasting menu. Apparently some of the residents did not “love thy neighbor.” Can she reveal the killer’s identity before they strike again?

This mouthwatering cozy mystery is perfect for fans of Ellen Byron, Jennifer J Chow, Lucy Burdette, and Raquel V Reyes, and includes a selection of delicious Hawaiian recipes to cook at home (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindlr, Hardcover, Paperback

Silks And Stones Quinn Lawrence

Cinna and Hokuren return in a twisty, character-driven cozy fantasy mystery full of magical intrigue.

Hokuren’s steady life in Velles, tracking lost pets through the bustling city with her street-smart assistant Cinna, is upended when a magically sealed letter arrives to inform her of her estranged father’s death. Combined with her mother’s death soon after she was born, Hokuren has now lost both parents. She must return to the muddy provincial hometown she fled a decade ago and deal with the family business, tangled in smuggling.

With Cinna by her side, Hokuren finds a town declining into gloom. The goblin raids are bad enough, but the town’s witch, once Hokuren’s staunchest ally, now hates her. And her father’s death can’t be explained, especially when his grave turns up empty. As Hokuren tries to piece together his final days, she’s attacked and framed for arson. Someone is trying to hide the truth.

But the truth can be difficult to accept. To get to the bottom of her father’s death, Hokuren will have to confront her own family legacy of magic, long kept hidden. And she will finally get to answer a question that’s plagued her for her entire life: who was her mother, really? And will she be able to handle the answers she’s been seeking?

A lighthearted and fast-paced fantasy mystery full of action, adventure, and sly humor, Silks and Stones is also a touching exploration of staying true to oneself in the face of complicated family legacies. It’s the next standalone installment of the Cinna and Hokuren cozy fantasy mystery series. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback

Death On The Deck Cee Cee James

Real estate agent Stella O’Neil just wants to unload the infamous estate, but when a midnight game ends with the host clutching his chest and a fortune in play, the stakes turn lethal.

With her crew, ex-cop Carlson, research savant Georgie, and eccentric Oscar (not to mention Peanut) Stella races to expose the killer before the next toast.

The deck is stacked, the house is watching, and the final bluff is about to be called.

Editions Available: Kindle

Fowl Deeds Wanda J. McLaughlin

After catching her husband cheating with his bombshell secretary, Darby Alexander swears her life can’t get any messier. Until a dead man shows up in her front yard.

Now, her quiet Arkansas neighborhood is crawling with cops—including the town’s new police chief whose good looks stir feelings she can’t ignore. When the victim turns out to be an ex-con—with her address tucked into his pocket—Darby realizes she’s not just unlucky in love… she might be next on a killer’s list.

Ignoring warnings to stay out of police business, Darby and her best friend Lurlene dive into a world of small-town secrets, shady dealings, and intrigue at the local poultry plant. What begins as curiosity morphs into a fight for her life as Darby uncovers a deadly conspiracy no one saw coming. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Staged Evidence Traci Hunter

From the queen of clean romantic suspense—one terrified witness, one unsuspecting Broadway playwright, and a killer who won’t stop until the final curtain falls.

When Tessa Seidel delivers costumes to a Manhattan television studio late at night, she expects an empty set—not a murder scene. After stumbling upon a woman’s body and nearly being attacked by a man fleeing the scene, Tessa escapes with no idea who to trust—and a fear that the killer knows who she is.

Desperate, she runs to a friend’s beach house in the Hamptons, where Broadway playwright Parker Sawyer is retreating to finish his next script. But he knows danger when he sees it and offers to shelter Tessa, even when they find out she is being accused of committing the murder.

Back in Manhattan, CIA operatives Kimber Seidel and Brandon Hale realize Tessa is being framed. But with a powerful suspect manipulating the investigation, clearing Tessa’s name won’t be easy.

If they can’t unravel the truth in time, Tessa won’t just be the prime suspect—she’ll be the next victim. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Trouble’s Turn To Lose

Private Investigator Hadley Cooper has a knack for finding trouble-and this time, it’s wearing pearls.

Life on Sullivan’s Island is about as close to bliss as it gets-bike rides at sunrise, cases that don’t make headlines, and a romance with SLED agent Cash Reynolds that’s finally on solid ground. They have one ironclad rule: never work the same case.

When a wealthy Charleston socialite turns up dead, Cash charges her housekeeper, Bridget Donovan, with murder. But the young single mother has a formidable ally in Carolyn Talbot, a local matriarch who implores Hadley to help. Hadley’s heart overrides her head, and her agreement with Cash is gone like confetti in a hurricane.

Soon she’s wading through a tangle of suspects-blue bloods with deadly secrets, her client’s scheming ex-monster-in-law, and the greatest unknown country singer in Nashville. But Hadley’s also grappling with a mystery closer to home-one that will shake everything she thought she knew about her family.

To find justice for Bridget, Hadley will have to risk her heart, her life-and maybe her grip on reality. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle,Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

Two Purloined Pillows (A Nimble Needle Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – North Carolina
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2026
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496752031
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496752031
Digital
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496752055
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FGRZ45KV
Audiobook ASIN: B0FR3WWJ4M
Audio CD ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8228762817

Purchase Links – Author Website – Amazon – B&N  – Kobo – Bookshop.org 

Two Purloined Pillows (A Nimble Needle Mystery)
by Allie Pleiter

Author Allie Pleiter has followed up with a second Nimble Needle Mystery. With the colorful characters and interesting plot threads, Pleiter weaves a great story.
~Storybook Lady

My rating for Two Purloined Pillows by Allie Pleiter is four stars, and I do recommend it. Ms. Pleiter is a good author and kept me guessing on who did it. The biggest reason I recommend it is that Ms. Pleiter wrote the book without letting anything from the first book slip out. I love that.
~Baroness’ Book Trove

BOOK:

When 30-something graphic artist Shelby Phillips reluctantly returned to her small hometown outside Asheville, North Carolina to manage her mother’s needlepoint shop, she thought it was temporary. But getting entangled in murder investigations has a timeline of its own…

It’s been a little over a year since Shelby started managing Nina’s Nimble Needle following her office-romance and career implosion, and Shelby’s mom has finally handed her the reins—technically, at least. Next, Shelby is excited to oversee two well-known needlepoint designers who will be participating in the town’s first two-week-long arts festival . . .

Laura Bitters and Paul Bardo have each stitched up one-of-a-kind pillows that should be big wins for the Nimble Needle at the festival’s auction . . . until the pillows vanish amid a sudden string of shoplifting incidents.

To add to the knot in Shelby’s stomach, Laura proves highly anxious, while Paul is an egomaniac who believes Laura has been stealing his customers for years. But things go from bad to tragic when Laura behaves oddly at the auction dinner, then collapses—dead.

Soon after, Shelby makes a shocking discovery in Laura’s room at the local inn. Then tests reveal that Laura was poisoned. Resolved to piece together the truth, despite the police chief’s determination to keep her on the fringes, Shelby rallies her personal team, including her sister, Jessica, her friend Deb, and Jake, her potentially more than a friend. As an extra twist, a magazine reporter arrives with unsettling—yet useful—dirt that includes Laura and Paul.

What unravels is a skein of suspects, long-held resentment, bitter jealousy, and betrayal, from which Shelby will have to pull the one crucial thread tied to the killer: a murder-worthy motive . . .

AUTHOR:

An avid crafter, coffee junkie, and firm believer that “pie makes everything better,” Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction, working on as many as four books at a time.  The bestselling author of over seventy books, Allie has enjoyed a twenty-plus-year career with over 1.9 million books sold.  In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on the creative process, publishing, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers. She lives in the Charlotte area with her husband and the world’s most adorable dog. Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com to learn more.

Author Links

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alliepleiterauthor/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/alliepleiter

Facebook group (books): https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesidewithallie/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allie-pleiter-6a021b139

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alliepleiter

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/alliepleiter/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/453346.Allie_Pleiter

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/allie-pleiter

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Allie-Pleiter/e/B001H6IEUO/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 1 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

April 1 – deal sharing aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 1 – Storybook Lady – REVIEW

April 2 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

April 2 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT

April 2 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 3 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

April 3 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

April 4 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

April 4 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT  

April 4 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

April 5 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 5 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

April 6 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST

April 6 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

April 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

April 7 – Salty Inspirations – CHARACTER GUEST POST

Cake Popped Off

Cupcake Catering Mystery, Book #2

Kim Davis

5 Stars

Synopsis:

Cupcake caterer Emory Martinez is hosting a Halloween bash alongside her octogenarian employer, Tillie. With guests dressed in elaborate costumes, the band is rocking, the cocktails are flowing, and tempers are flaring when the hired Bavarian Barmaid tries to hook a rich, hapless husband. Except one of her targets happens to be Emory’s brother-in-law, which bodes ill for his pregnant wife. When Emory tracks down the distraught barmaid, instead of finding the young woman in tears, she finds her dead. Can she explain to the new detective on the scene why the Bavarian Barmaid was murdered in Emory’s bathtub with Emory’s Poison Apple Cake Pops stuffed into her mouth?

With an angry pregnant sister to contend with, she promises to clear her brother-in-law’s name. As Emory starts asking questions and tracking down the identity of the costumed guests, she finds reasons to suspect her brother-in-law has been hiding a guilty secret. Her search leads her to a web of blackmail and betrayal amongst the posh setting of the local country club crowd. Can Emory sift through the lies she’s being told and find the killer? She’ll need to step up her investigation before another victim is sent to the great pumpkin patch in the sky.

Includes spooky Halloween recipes! (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well developed and well rounded. I really enjoy the relationship between Emory and Tillie. Although they have not known each other very long, they have become very close. Tillie is quite the character and she keeps Emory on her toes. Emory is starting to feel like she belongs and that she is making some friends.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is quick and easy read. The author created a setting that was inviting (except for the killing) and engaging. Through much of the book I felt like I was right there, going to the Country Club with Emory and Tillie, enjoying the finer things in life, as well as snooping.

The mystery was well plotted and moved along at a nice pace. The suspects and motives were plentiful and I was once again surprised at the outcome.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. If you have not read this one yet, I would suggest you do.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Cinnamon and Spice Press, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Buttercream Bump Off

Cupcake Bakery Mystery, Book #2

Jenn McKinlay

5 Stars

Synopsis:

 Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura’s Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery is gearing up for Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately someone has iced Baxter Malloy on his first date with Mel’s mother. Now Mom’s a suspect, and Mel and Angie need to find time around frosting to dig into the man’s shady past and discover who served him his just desserts.  (Amazon)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed.  Mel and Angie are like sisters who have gone into business together, owning a bakery shop.  Sometimes they even argue like sisters.  And they are very good at solving mysteries together.  When Mel’s mother’s date is murdered, her mom is a suspect.  They will have to figure out the culprit to save her mom from going to jail.  

The writer is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions kept me engaged throughout the entire book.  The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read.  The mystery is well plotted and you will want to collect clues to help you solve it.  

I really like this series.  The characters are top-notch, the setting is inviting and the mysteries are intriguing.  I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery.

Read and Gone

The Haunted Library Mysteries, Book #2

Allison Brook

5 Stars

Synopsis:

Seven-million dollars’ worth of missing gems bring Carrie Singleton’s long-lost and larcenous dad back into her life and it’s up to Carrie to clear his name. 

A devoted dad is as precious as diamonds, but Carrie Singleton wouldn’t know since her dad Jim’s been on the lam most of her life. In an unusual family reunion, she finds Jim breaking into her cottage in the middle of the night. The fun really starts when he begs her to help him recover his half of a seven-million-dollar gem heist he pulled off with the local jeweler, Benton Parr. When she refuses, Jim takes off again.

Carrie finds her father again behind bars for the recent murder of Benton Parr. Who made the connection? Unbeknownst to her, Carrie’s boyfriend Dylan, an insurance investigator, has been searching for the gems. Determined to find the jewels herself, she starts examining every facet of Parr’s life. She turns up a treasure trove of suspects, one of whom bashes her on the head as she’s searching the victim’s country cabin.

Retreating to the quiet confines of the library where she works, Carrie watches as Smokey Joe, the resident cat, paws at a hole in the wall. Is he after the library’s ghost Evelyn, or something shinier? (Goodreads)

Review:

Carrie has a wonderful job as head of Programs and Events at her local library.  She has a loving and caring aunt and uncle and an adorable cat.  She also has a absent father who has returned home to ask Carrie for help locating stolen gems (he had a big part in the gems being stolen).  Just what every daughter wants, to help her dad finish pulling off his crime, especially when she has not seen him in a long time.  She will have to decide if she wants to help him or not, and also figure out who has gone a a killing spree. 

The characters are well rounded and well developed.  The relationship between her and her aunt and uncle is special and you can tell how much they love each other.  She has some good friends that she works with and she has a resident library ghost, Evelyn, that she talks to whenever the ghost appears.  I do wish that Evelyn would have had a bigger part in this book, like she did in book one.  Hopefully she will be more active in the next book.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read.  The author is very talented in her descriptive writing without getting to wordy.  The mystery was well plotted and was carried on well throughout the entire book.  With numerous killings and twists and turns, it was not an easy mystery to solve.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery.  I have read both books in this series and I enjoyed both of them.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novella provided by the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Bust-up Kate Solly

A cosy crime/mystery novel from the beloved author of Tuesday Evenings with the Copeton Craft Resistance and The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up.

Something is amiss at the Paradise Heights Miniature Railway. And this suits Fleck Parker just fine – she’s on the hunt for a new puzzle to solve. Expensive equipment and supplies have disappeared and nobody knows why. Who could possibly wish harm on a community group delivering Sunday afternoon fun on a fleet of jolly little engines?

Fleck is frenetic as ever as she feeds a hungry baby, placates a cranky toddler, executes an (almost) on-time school run and investigates crime – all without losing her Wordle streak. Her best friend, Trixie, is scrambling to manage the Many Hands Society Craft Shop, where volatile volunteers are becoming a real problem.

Fleck has never met a puzzle she didn’t want to solve, and this one is just the ticket. Nobody suspects the cheerful mum asking questions at the railway as she tries to untangle the conundrum. But idyllic bushland and miniature villages hide a sinister mystery, darker and more complex than anyone imagined. Will Fleck’s attempts to derail the thief land her on the wrong side of the tracks?

(Amazon-)

Editions Available: Kindle, Audiobook

The Most Mysterious Bookshop In Paris Mark Pryor

Hugo Marston, former head of security at the U.S. embassy in Paris, has retired and is ready to realize his lifelong dream of owning a mystery and antiquarian bookshop. But when a blackmail scheme targeting a chocolatier leads to murder, Hugo is again called to investigate in the first Paris Bookshop Mystery for readers of Charles Finch, Tasha Alexander, and Lev AC Rosen.

Hugo has led an exciting life as an FBI profiler and the US embassy’s head of security, but now he’s ready to embrace a quieter existence as a bookseller in the Marais district of Paris. His former employer, however, has other plans for him. A prominent American citizen is the COO of a boutique chocolate emporium in Paris, where they’ve received a mysterious and threatening note. A blackmailer who goes by the name The Shadow wants half a million euros or else their “darkest secret will be revealed.”

Eclat de Chocolat is housed in a chateau dating back to the 1700s. The building, which served as a convent in the first half of the twentieth century, where the angelic Sister Evangeline and her order of nuns helped countless orphans during World War II, has been beautifully converted into a chocolate factory. So what dark secrets could a chocolatier be hiding? The COO has no idea.

Involving his friend, Lieutenant Camille Lerens, Hugo begins to investigate. But soon a second note appears on the premises, canceling the blackmail threat. The same day, the body of an employee is found in an old graveyard behind the chocolatier. Now Hugo and Lerens have a murder on their hands, but is it connected to the blackmail attempt? As they dig for secrets and motives, it becomes clear The Shadow’s grave work has just begun . . . (Amazon)

Editions Avaiable: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Vengrance In Venice Erica Ruth Neubauer

At long last, Jane and Redvers have arrived in Venice, the famed city of love, for their honeymoon. But behind a mask at a costume ball on the Grand Canal hides the gaze of a heartless killer…

Venice, 1927: As romantic as it is mysterious, the Floating City is a dream destination for the newlyweds, but they’ll soon discover the twisting canals hide more mystery than they expected. It begins when they are invited to an elaborate party at Clara Morton’s stunning palazzo on the Grand Canal. The affair is as eccentric as the hostess, who is dressed as Medusa, and features everything from snakes to her pet cheetah to tarot card readings.

The fete also features a fresh corpse—Clara’s ex-husband, found dead in the garden with marks around his neck. The hostess accuses the tarot card reader, who happens to be an acquaintance of Jane, claiming the woman foretold the death of someone close to her. Jane and Redvers come to the young woman’s aid as they learn she was far from the only partygoer with a motive. As the couple follows a labyrinthine trail of scandalous affairs, brazen blackmail, and people who are not who they say they are, they hope that Venice will disclose her secrets before they both end up in over their heads . . . (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

A Crushing Walk In Cornwall Nicholas George

For retired San Diego detective Rick “Chase” Chasen, week-long walks in the English countryside are an enjoyable new pastime. But sometimes these outings take deadly detours…

Chase is disappointed that his partner Mike won’t be joining him on his tour of the rocky Cornish coast—but like long-distance walks, long-distance relationships can require an occasional break. He still has his friend Billie for company, though, and a few more fellow Americans, from a New Orleans restaurateur to a New York travel writer, joining them on their jaunt.

When the group hears before their departure that local landowners have been sabotaging the trail with booby-traps, their walk leader dismisses it as rumor—but some in the group are worried, especially after a terrifying incident on a bridge the very next morning. As they bravely continue their expedition, twelve-year-old chatterbox Ivy, who’s already spilled some of her mother’s secrets, continues gossiping to Chase about the group members. She’s been researching online and thinks they’re not all as they seem. When one of them nearly plunges to her death during a visit to a 16th-century castle, Ivy’s sure a killer walks among them.

That turns out to be a real possibility when the near miss is followed by a suspicious death during a meal break. Did a Cornish property owner take a prank too far? And is Ivy just a drama-obsessed internet addict, or is ignoring her warnings a fatal misstep? If murder is truly afoot, Chase will have to rely on his investigative wits to trip the killer up. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

If Books Could Kill Karen Rose Smith

Daisy Swanson’s daughter Jazzi has moved away to the lakeside town of Belltower Landing, but the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. Much like Daisy, she’s running a tea bar and bookshop––and has a knack for getting into hot water…

Town librarian Mathilda has a troublesome new emplROSEoyee, and after Jazzi spots the two of them arguing at the ice-sculpture festival, Mathilda asks Jazzi if she’d mind discussing her workplace woes over a cup of tea. During the visit, Jazzi also finds out about Mathilda’s top-secret stash of valuable first editions.

Soon afterward, those rare books have vanished—and Mathilda is dead. As the police check out suspects and a lawyer searches for the next of kin, Jazzi learns that the librarian’s life was as mysterious as any crime thriller. She’d left home and changed her name as a teenager, and always seemed a little lonely. Oddly, it’s her new employee who seems the most distraught.

It’s the off-season, so the upstate New York town is free of the usual swarm of tourists—but the quiet doesn’t last long. The press is descending as the murder makes national news, and rumors start circulating. With Belltower Landing steeped in suspicion, Jazzi must figure out whether the first editions were the real motive for sending Mathilda to her final resting place… (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

Dangerous Game Sandra Owens

She just revealed that he’s a father…

And his child is missing.

Within moments of discovering that his unforgettable one-night stand years ago resulted in a baby, Cooper Devlin learns his daughter has been kidnapped. Cooper and his two friends are the Phoenix Three, an organization specializing in finding missing children. Kendall Hart has contacted him because she needs his expertise to save their child. Then the kidnapper communicates that Kendall is the next target. As Cooper’s love for Kendall and their child deepens, his mission to capture the kidnapper and keep his family safe becomes the most important one of his life.

From Harlequin Romantic Suspense: Danger. Passion. Drama.

Feel the excitement in these uplifting romances, part of The Phoenix Three series:

Book 1: Dangerous Secret
Book 2: Dangerous Affair
Book 3: Dangerous Game (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

The Barn Identity Diane Kelly

The eighth in the House-Flipper mystery series set in Nashville, where the real estate market is to die for.

In Nashville, carpenter Whitney Whitaker is ecstatic when the owner of an antebellum livery stable approaches her about rehabbing the barn and offers Whitney free rein with the design. While unproven, it’s rumored that the building once served as part of the Underground Railroad. The project presents a unique opportunity to work on a site of significance and help preserve history, and she convinces her cousin to take a chance on the old property.

When a local journalist reporting on the renovation is found dead on the property, investigators suspect he might have been murdered for any one of several exposés he’d published about local politicians, movers, and shakers. Whitney wonders if there’s more to the story and whether the journalist’s fate might be tied directly to the stable renovation. Can she solve the murder and bring a killer to justice? Or might this goal be too lofty? (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Sorry For Your Loss Georgia McVeigh

The story of two people, both as magnetic as they are dangerous, who get caught in an electric game of cat and mouse

The question is, Who is the predator and who is the prey?

Meet Iris: a dark soul with a propensity for obsession, still reeling from a recent loss, who relies on a local grief group to keep her grounded and out of trouble. And now meet Jack: a cagey widower who shows up at a meeting one night and jolts both of them back to life.

From the moment Jack first takes a shabby plastic chair in the circle, he is positively dashing. And Iris can’t help but feel that fate has brought them together.

But their chance encounter sends them racing through a series of hairpin twists where nothing is as it seems and no one plays by the rules. As Iris is drawn deeper into Jack’s world, she begins to realize that her own deceptions may be no match—or maybe they’re the perfect match?—for all the dirty secrets Jack has been hiding.

Edgy, intricately plotted, and totally chilling, Sorry for Your Loss is a blistering psychological thriller for fans of Ashley Elston, Ana Reyes, and Ashley Audrain. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Two Purloined Pillows Allie Pleiter

When 30-something graphic artist Shelby Phillips reluctantly returned to her small hometown outside Asheville, North Carolina to manage her mother’s needlepoint shop, she thought it was temporary. But getting entangled in murder investigations has a timeline of its own…

It’s been a little over a year since Shelby started managing Nina’s Nimble Needle following her office-romance and career implosion, and Shelby’s mom has finally handed her the reins—technically, at least. Next, Shelby is excited to oversee two well-known needlepoint designers who will be participating in the town’s first two-week-long arts festival . . .

Laura Bitters and Paul Bardo have each stitched up one-of-a-kind pillows that should be big wins for the Nimble Needle at the festival’s auction . . . until the pillows vanish amid a sudden string of shoplifting incidents.

To add to the knot in Shelby’s stomach, Laura proves highly anxious, while Paul is an egomaniac who believes Laura has been stealing his customers for years. But things go from bad to tragic when Laura behaves oddly at the auction dinner, then collapses—dead.

Soon after, Shelby makes a shocking discovery in Laura’s room at the local inn. Then tests reveal that Laura was poisoned. Resolved to piece together the truth, despite the police chief’s determination to keep her on the fringes, Shelby rallies her personal team, including her sister, Jessica, her friend Deb, and Jake, her potentially more than a friend. As an extra twist, a magazine reporter arrives with unsettling—yet useful—dirt that includes Laura and Paul.

What unravels is a skein of suspects, long-held resentment, bitter jealousy, and betrayal, from which Shelby will have to pull the one crucial thread tied to the killer: a murder-worthy motive . . .(Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook

Cash Mountain Dan Ames

A USA TODAY BESTSELLING SERIES

Joe Reacher is back.

Joe Reacher follows the money. Wire fraud, counterfeiting, money laundering, all part of the job.

Then a letter arrives from an old friend. A key. And a note that says Just in case.

By the time Joe reads it, his friend is dead.

The murder pulls Joe out of Washington and into the desert of New Mexico, where nothing adds up and nobody’s talking.

Back at Treasury, Joe’s partner uncovers a financial trail that’s been buried for years. The deeper they dig, the bigger it gets. And the more dangerous.

From the corridors of power in Washington to the uncharted jungle of South America, Joe and Ivy are chasing a secret worth billions.

Someone has killed to protect it.

More than once.

And they’re not finished.

CASH MOUNTAIN. A Joe Reacher Thriller.

Perfect for fans of Lee Child, John Grisham, Daniel Silva, and Nelson DeMille.

“Ames is a sensaiton.” -MysteryTribune (Amazon)

EdItions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Scorched Line Shannon Baker

When her estranged mother becomes the target of a killer, Kate must decide whether blood truly outweighs betrayal.

“Baker is skilled at telling her story… A really solid read.” —First Clue

Marguerite Fox is back.

Three years after vanishing without a word, the woman who shattered Kate’s family has returned to the Sandhills—and this time, someone wants her dead.

A shot fired. A chase through open country. Suddenly, Kate is forced to do the unthinkable: face a past she thought was buried. With her siblings on edge, threats circling closer, and trust wearing thin, protecting her family might mean protecting the one person she can’t forgive.

But Marguerite has secrets buried deeper than prairie roots—and she’s not done making deals. As loyalties shift and old wounds rip open, Kate must choose between justice and family… before someone else makes the choice for her.

___________________

Praise for Shannon Baker:

“…terrific series…” —Catriona McPherson, multi-award-winning author of A Gingerbread House

“…Baker knocks the wind out of you…” —Carolyn Ridder Aspenson, USA Today bestselling author of Damaging Secrets

“Shannon Baker gets better with every book.” —Amazon Charts bestselling author Jess Lourey

“…winning characters and a stunning setting…” —Mystery Scene

“A wonderful western mystery not to be missed! Enjoy!” —Fresh Fiction

“…laugh-out-loud humor and heart-stopping suspense…” —Gwen Florio, author of the Nora Best and Julia Geary series

“Baker serves up a ballsy heroine, a colorful backdrop, and a surprising ending.” —Kirkus Reviews

“…Baker offers readers a protagonist and a place they will love coming back to visit book after book.” —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author

“…perfect blend of small-town atmosphere, intriguing plot-line, and down-to-earth characters affectionately called Sandhillers.” —Christine Carbo, author of the bestselling Glacier Mystery Series (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

Built On Lies Hannah Ellis

Some buildings are built on stone… others on secrets.

When amateur sleuth Lily Larkin visits London, she has two things on her mind – spending time with her boyfriend, PC Flynn Grainger, and digging deeper into the mystery of her parents’ deaths.

She doesn’t expect her trip to involve murder. But trouble has a way of finding Lily… even in the big city.

The residents of Flynn’s apartment block are shocked when their landlord, Jeremy Latham, is found dead – crushed beneath his own bookcase. At first, it looks like a tragic accident, until Lily notices inconsistencies among the scattered shelves… and starts hearing unsettling stories about Latham’s so-called generosity.

Drawn into a tangle of rivalries, grudges, and whispered complaints, Lily soon realises that everyone had a reason to want Latham gone. But as tensions rise and lies unravel, she must uncover the truth before the killer decides she’s asking too many questions.

Because in this building, you can’t always trust your neighbours – or your landlord. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Truffle Trouble Amanda Flower

Combining the sugar rush of candy making with a fascinating look at Amish life, a quirky whodunit, and a sweet romance between chocolatier Bailey King and Sheriff Aiden Brody, Amanda Flower’s USA Today bestselling Amish Candy Shop Mysteries continue, as summer wedding season comes to the village of Harvest, Ohio…

Horror d’oeuvres

Summer is finally upon the village of Harvest, Ohio, nestled in picturesque Amish Country, and folks are abuzz over their very own Bailey King’s upcoming June wedding. The Amish Candy shop owner and star of TV’s Bailey’s Amish Sweets is marrying Holmes County Sheriff Aiden Brody. To sweeten the occasion will be a scrumptious giant chocolate truffle wedding cake, made especially for the happy couple by Bailey’s New York City mentor, Jean Pierre. Other than the risk of the ring bearer, Jethro the pig, taking a bite out of the confection, what could go wrong?

As it turns out, a food-related disaster does befall the day. But with Bailey in the mix, it’s nothing so pedestrian as a peckish pig. At the reception, a wedding guest dies after sampling the hors d’oeuvres. Café owner and new caterer Darcy Woodin, who made all the food except the desserts, is pegged by police as the number one suspect. Even more incriminating, the victim is one of Darcy’s ex-boyfriends . . .

Still, Bailey is friends with Darcy, and she’s certain the young woman is innocent. Even before the first dance with her new husband, Bailey’s on the case. Can she help solve it in time for her honeymoon—or will a killer try to end her happily ever after before it’s even begun . . .?

Recipe included! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

Ruff’d Up Christine Falcone

As she looks forward to the return of warm summer days in her native Connecticut, visiting nurse Melanie Bass has more than difficult patients to contend with. She is haunted by guilt over a home invasion she feels she could have prevented, struggles to reconnect with her difficult—and until now distant—older sister, and faces complications in her personal life when an attractive new veterinarian seems to have designs on Melanie’s boyfriend. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, there is another brutal attack—this time on someone she loves. As the stakes mount, Melanie struggles to deal with her complicated personal life and find and stop those threatening the ones she loves before she is the next victim. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback