Sunday, April 24, 2022


Who's ready for cozies starting with the letter D?
You are? Me too!
The following are releases from 2021.


After hairdresser Daisy Thorne finds her missing scissors in a customer’s back, she becomes the prime suspect in a murder . . .
 
When Ooh La La regular Mel Haverstock left the hair salon that morning, no one expected it would be her final parting. But when Daisy closes shop Saturday night, she finds her client dead as the mullet cut. Homicide is back in style in the quiet village of Edgemead in Surrey, England. But who would want to harm a hair on poor Mel’s head?
 
Suspicions higher than a beehive pile on Daisy when it’s revealed that she and Mel had tangled back in high school, and DNA evidence seems to color her guilty. Handsome DCI Paul McGuinness gives the hairstylist new accessories—a lovely pair of silver handcuffs. To clear her name, Daisy must highlight the real backstabber, or she’ll end up shaving heads in the prison barbershop.
 

The end of summer in the Hamptons means crisp autumn air, cozy knit sweaters—and an unsolvable mystery?

Antonia Bingham, chef and proprietor of the Windmill Inn, is looking forward to baking goodies for her customers and relaxing after a busy summer. But when a Labor Day visit by two slick Wall Streeters ends with their gruesome deaths in a summer rental house, Antonia gets pulled into the murder investigation!

Soon she's wading through social media, the local nightclub scene, and other unfamiliar haunts of the young and glamorous, all while managing her inn and restaurant. And the timing couldn't be worse: Nick Darrow, Antonia's movie star crush, is back in town and ready for a commitment... while the arrival of Antonia's sinister ex-husband threatens to bring everything crashing down.

In this installment of Carrie Doyle's cozy and delicious Hamptons Murder Mystery series, the high season may be over, but Antonia has never been busier: juggling work, recipes, love, and crime—and fighting for her own life!



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 14 in the series, spring in Holiday Bay is interrupted by a category 2 hurricane, an inn filled with stranded motorists, an unexpected delivery, and a murder, which on the surface, doesn't make a lick of sense. Add to that the fact that the small plot of land that was linked by deed to the land where the inn now sits turns out to be a burial ground for a serial killer, and you have a recipe for disaster.


A treasure hunt through Edinburgh gives way to a search for a villain terrorizing the city in the sixth Scottish Bookshop Mystery.

It’s a quiet, snowy morning at The Cracked Spine bookshop, when bookseller Delaney Nichols receives a mysterious visitor, a messenger. He presents her with a perplexing note: an invitation to a meeting with eccentric socialite Shelagh O'Conner, who requests Delaney’s participation in an exclusive treasure hunt. Delaney is intrigued, but also cautious: Shelagh, while charming in person, has a reputation for her hijinks as a wealthy young woman in the '70s. She was even once suspected for the murder of a former boyfriend, though ultimately cleared of all charges.

But Delaney is enticed by the grand prize at the end of the treasure hunt: a highly valuable first edition copy of 
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The winner is also to receive the contents of Shelagh's vast library, and all participants will earn a large sum of cash.

The night after the first meeting of the treasure hunters, however, several homes in Edinburgh are robbed in a manner reminiscent of Shelagh's old tricks. And when a man connected to Shelagh is killed, suspicion builds. Except Shelagh herself has disappeared from her home, seemingly kidnapped by the villain.

Terror mounts throughout the city as Delaney attempts to solve the mystery, while trying to evade the killer's clutches. But it’s hard to know who to trust when around every corner, a new monster could be lurking.


Josiah is joined by Shaneika, and her sweet, innocent cousin, Heather, on an archaeological dig at Fort Boonesborough where Daniel Boone led pioneers to the wild frontier of “Caintuck.” At Boonesborough Josiah and Shaneika meet the Dane twins, rich society women, who just rub them the wrong way. However, Heather is entranced by the sisters, having read about them in the society columns and financial pages. That is until Heather catches one of them plotting to murder her identical twin. But which twin is planning to murder the other?

Heather can’t tell them apart. She tells Josiah what she witnessed, hoping our intrepid sleuth will intervene. Josiah is unable to prevent the murder, but soon discovers Heather is neither sweet nor innocent and might have a motive for lying about the Dane sisters. As Josiah does some digging of her own, it turns out other participants on the excavation also have motives for murder. Josiah searches for truth in a land that hides its secrets well in soil soaked with the blood of innocents and scoundrels alike. Kentucky is not called the “dark and bloody ground” for nothing.


In the Northern California seaside town of Santa Sofia, a killer is trying to get a rise out of baker’s apprentice Ivy Culpepper . . .
 
Vincent van Dough focaccia is being touted on Instagram as the best thing since sliced bread. By strategically placing chives, olives, and yellow peppers to look like poppies and sunflowers, bakers create a mouthwatering masterpiece in the style of the great postimpressionist painter. At Yeast of Eden, where bread making has always been an art, they’re baking their own version for the school district’s Spring Fling.
 
But one person won’t be tasting the Mexican bakery’s latest specialty. Ambitious school board president Nessa Renchrik has been murdered. Like the rest of this close-knit community, Ivy is shocked. But she’s just as surprised to discover her beau—restaurateur Miguel Baptista—had his own fling with Nessa back in the day and now the police have this half-baked notion he might have killed her. It’s up to Ivy, her boss Olaya Solis, and eighty-six-years-young Penelope Branford to separate the wheat from the chaff to determine who the real culprit is . . .
 
INCLUDES RECIPES!


The first in a sweet and colorful cozy mystery series from Jess Dylan, Death in Bloom introduces flower shop owner Sierra Ravenswood.

At the Flower House, every rose has its thorn . . .

Sierra Ravenswood is the new part-time employee of the Flower House, a flower shop in Aerieville, Tennessee. It's true she didn't expect to be back in her hometown at twenty-eight-years-old, but after her dream of making it as a singer in Nashville crashed and burned, she's just grateful to have found a soft place to land.

Because, after all, Sierra firmly believes in being optimistic and positive about life, so she's sure she won't have to work at the Flower House forever. But things take a decidedly negative turn when a customer drops dead in the middle of her new bouquet-arranging workshop at the store. When it's discovered he was poisoned by a snack at the event, everyone at the workshop, including Sierra, is on the suspect list. To make matters worse, her boss has gone AWOL and left the store to her for the cost of one dollar, leaving Sierra in charge of both his store and his high-energy Corgi puppy, Gus.

The town is on edge, and Sierra knows that murder is something that an upbeat attitude and a bouquet of sweet-smelling roses can't fix. She's determined to figure out whodunit, before anyone else in town meets an untimely reason for needing funeral flowers.


Best friends on a quilting weekend at the beach. A summer storm, a missing quilter, no electricity. What else could go wrong? Everything!

Charlie and Mabel are looking forward to their yearly Jelly Cove 'Quilts and Hounds' weekend retreat at the beach. It's a time to relax, learn new quilting techniques, and hang out with the dogs. The retreat is off to a windy start when the first day is interrupted by a surprise summer windstorm which turns out to be the storm of the century for Jelly Cove. The storm knocks out the electricity and with no power, there’s no quilting!

As the retreat owners try to keep their guests calm, things go from windy to worse when one of the quilters disappears. Did she go off on her own? Charlie thinks that's a bit fishy. With no way to reach anyone, the quilters are stranded with no way to contact the outside world. Charlie thinks the weekend couldn't get worse. Wrong! Cars are crushed, sabotage is afoot, and secrets between friends emerge. And don't forget a dead body!

Can Charlie and Mabel stitch the clues together to solve the murder before they’re rescued and before the killer strikes again?


In Laura Jensen Walker's second Bookish Baker mystery, Teddie St. John enters a pie-baking contest. But her chances of winning plummet when she's suspected of killing one of the judges!

August in Lake Potawatomi, Wisconsin, always means one thing: the annual baking contest. Picture The Great British Baking Show, writ Midwestern. It's a huge draw for the upper crust of Wisconsin pastry aficionados. And, of course, bon vivant baker-turned-mystery writer Teddie St. John has a pie in the ring. The white vinyl baking tent boasts an array of folding tables housing each entrant's daily baked good. And at one of those tables sits the corpse of the head judge, his face half-buried in a delectable coconut cream pie.

The body in question belonged to notorious Les Morris. Les may have been getting on in years, but he hadn't outgrown his well-earned reputation for lechery. Now, Les is no more. But unfortunately, by his side lies Teddie's distinctive embossed rolling pin...covered with blood.

It's out of the baking pan, into the oven. A life sentence behind a lattice of prison bars and a tangle of rhu-barbed wire will never do, and Teddie's quick wit and bohemian charm won't save her from the long spatula of the law. So, with the help of her friends, she'll concoct a recipe to clear her name--if the real killer doesn't ice her first.


The charming coastal town of Bar Harbor, Maine, has a fancy new Italian restaurant—and a nasty new murder . . .
 
As the food and cocktails columnist for the 
Island Times, it’s Hayley Powell’s job to stay on top of the latest eateries in town. Just in time for the summer tourist season, Chef Romeo, a successful restaurateur from New York City, has opened an establishment called—naturally—Romeo’s. But between his over-the-top temperament and his no-holds-barred diet, Chef Romeo may not live through the grand opening.
 
When the chef actually does suffer a mild heart attack, he ends up sharing a hospital room with Hayley’s brother Randy, who’s there for gall bladder surgery. Chef Romeo has tasted Hayley’s cooking and asks her to take over his restaurant while he’s laid up. But this temporary gig may turn permanent, after the chef dies from complications. Only thing is, Randy tells a different story. He might have been sedated, but Hayley’s bro swears he saw someone come into their room and put Romeo out of his misery. Now it’s up to Hayley to find the person who had no reservations about killing the chef . . .
 
Includes delectable recipes from Hayley’s kitchen!


Along with her mother and grandmother, Hana Keller has achieved renown serving tea and cakes with a European flair, but when a local professor is killed, she uncovers a serving of suspects instead…

Hana Keller is getting ready for a lovely holiday season. When she receives a rare tea set as a birthday gift, she decides to host a tea at her apartment for her closest friends. During the cozy get-together, one of Hana's friends gets word that a murderer is on the loose. Hana soon learns that the victim was Sandor Balog, a professor of Hungarian Studies at the local college.

With her growing psychic ability, Hana senses that she is going to be pulled into the investigation of  the professor's death somehow. With her sexy boyfriend Erik on the case, Hana finds the Tea House steeped in suspects. She studies the smiling faces celebrating the season, but the real killer is good at hiding the truth and putting Hana in the hot seat….


Appalachian artist and local guide Miranda Trent opens a new murder investigation after her Paint & Shine tour group discovers the remains of a missing hiker along an ancient trail . . .
 
For her latest excursion, Miranda is thrilled to take a close-knit group of rock climbers, the Risky Business Adventurers, up the challenging Battleship Rock Trail to paint and sample moonshine. But the outing is cut short when they discover a skeleton near the trailhead. Even more startling, the bones belong to Howard Cable, Miranda’s cousin…and a former classmate of the Risky Business group.
 
The sheriff chalks it up to a hiking accident, but Miranda isn’t convinced that Howard, an experienced woodsman, died within sight of a well-marked trail. So, with the help of Ranger Austin Morgan, Miranda sets out on her own investigation and discovers that the Risky Business group is keeping plenty of secrets. But is one of them hiding the truth about Howard’s death?  


The course of true love never did run smooth.

According to Myrtle, Eloise Crane set her cap for Miles long ago. Although Miles is now dating Eloise, he doesn’t seem overly enthusiastic about it. Myrtle figures he’s simply given in after running out of plausible excuses. Eloise drives Myrtle batty, so she’s intent on avoiding her as much as possible. This isn’t easy since Eloise is determined to join in whenever Miles and Myrtle are together.

When Myrtle spots Eloise at a restaurant canoodling with a different gentleman, she likes Eloise even less. And she decides that Eloise has caused no end of problems when her other suitor is found dead.

With Miles a suspect, Myrtle must jump into gear to clear his name and find the killer before he strikes again. 



In Laura Scott's Furry Friends series debut, veterinarian Ally Winter must collar the killer of a shifty lawyer. Does the dead man's dog know who committed the arf-ul crime?

Ally Winter is going through a ruff patch. The thirty-something veterinarian lost her fiancé, her clinic, and her savings in rapid succession. So when Ally's grandfather undergoes hip replacement surgery, she moves back to Willow Bluff, Wisconsin, to care for him. She arrives home, tail between her legs, only to find sleazy lawyer Marty Shawlin murdered in his home office. And the only witness was Marty's faithful boxer, Roxy.

Quick as a greyhound, Noah Jorgensen is on the case. The good news is, he's the best detective around. The bad news, at least the way Ally sees it, is that Noah is still just as fetching as he was back in high school. He also just happens to have witnessed every embarrassing incident that befell accident-prone Ally--including the fire-ant attack that set tongues wagging and won her the unshakable nickname Hot Pants.

Meanwhile, true-crime aficionado Gramps fancies himself a sleuth, and he is doggedly determined to sniff out the culprit himself...with Ally's reluctant help, of course. Ally has no choice but to team up with Noah--and the irrepressible Roxy--to solve the case while keeping Gramps on a short leash.

Ally had better learn some new tricks, lickety-split. Because if she can't bring the killer to heel, she won't just be playing dead.


When a murder happens onstage during the dress rehearsal for Max’s new play, Suzanne and Grace must dig into the lives of the cast and crew to see who may have just ended the production before it could even begin.

Recipes included!

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1 comment:

  1. Thanks, Lisa. So many books, no time to read them all…but I can still enjoy the covers!
    Happy Sunday!
    Pat T

    ReplyDelete