Mystery Novels: Cozy Mysteries

Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews takes us back to Savannah, Georgia, in Savannah Breeze, the uproarious sequel to her blockbuster New York Times bestseller, Savannah Blues. Breeze is the story of BeBe Loudermilk, a Southern belle who’d dearly like to get back at the handsome, two-faced con man who swindled her out of everything she owns except for a broken-down 1950s-era motel on Tybee Island. Joining BeBe on a revenge-inspired road trip south to Fort Lauderdale is her junking friend Weezie, the heroine of Blues, and a car-full of lovable misfits. Readers with a taste for the novels of Fannie Flagg, Jennifer Crusie, Adriana Trigiani, and Emily Giffin—not to mention Rebecca Wells and Sweet Potato Queens queen Jill Conner Browne—will adore this delightful take on the New South and one woman’s discovery of what’s really important in life.

Coconut Layer Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen is leaving Lake Eden to help a friend in sunny California. But an unexpected phone call swiftly brings her back to a cold Minnesota winter . . . and murder . . . When Hannah learns that her sister Michelle's boyfriend, Detective Lonnie Murphy, is the prime suspect in a murder case, she goes straight from a movie studio sound stage to the Los Angeles airport. Back in frigid Minnesota, she discovers that proving Lonnie's innocence will be harder than figuring out what went wrong with a recipe. Lonnie remembers only parts of the night he went out to a local bar and ended up driving a very impaired woman home. He knows he helped her to her bedroom, but he doesn't recall anything else until he woke up on her couch the following morning. When he went to the bedroom to check on her, he was shocked to discover she was dead. Hannah doesn't know what to believe--only that exonerating a suspect who can't remember is almost impossible, especially since Lonnie's brother, Detective Rick Murphy, and Lonnie's partner, Chief Detective Mike Kingston, have been taken off the case. Before everything comes crashing down on Lonnie like a heaping slice of coconut layer cake, it'll be up to Hannah to rack up enough clues to toast a flaky killer . . .

Furmidable Foes by Rita Mae Brown

Someone's passed their expiration date in this thrilling new mystery in the bestselling Mrs. Murphy series from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown. Mary Minor "Harry" Harristeen and her pet sleuths uncover a rotten scam to dupe consumers when they discover that substandard produce is being passed off for organic, upmarket groceries. As always, Harry's crime-solving cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and Tee Tucker the Corgi share her determination to sniff out the foes among friends, the spoiled among the fresh.

Mimi Lee Reads Between the Lines by Jennifer J. Chow

In this second installment of the Sassy Cat Mysteries, Mimi Lee finds herself in another pawful predicament, but this time it's her younger sister's livelihood on the line. Mimi Lee is on top of the world. She has a thriving pet grooming business, the sweetest boyfriend, and a talking cat to boot. When she arrives at the elementary school where her sister, Alice, works, she's expecting a fun girls' night out--but instead finds a teacher slumped over in her car, dead. Alice was the last one to see Helen Reed, which instantly marks her as the prime suspect. Unable to sit quietly and let the authorities walk all over her sister, Mimi starts snooping and talks to Helen's closest contacts, including one jumpy principal, a two-faced fiancé, and three sketchy teachers. The clock's ticking for Mimi--with the help of her sassy but savvy cat, Marshmallow, and a cute kitten named Nimbus--to get to the bottom of yet another case before her sister gets schooled.

Brewed Awakening by Cleo Coyle

From Cleo Coyle, the New York Times bestselling author of Dead Cold Brew, comes a delicious new entry in the "fun and gripping" (The Huffington Post) Coffeehouse Mysteries. When coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi awakens on a bench in Washington Square Park, she has no idea she has been missing for the past week, or that her friends and family have been frantic with worry. Now that she is back, everyone is overjoyed, including a handsome NYPD detective who claims to be her fiancé. But to Mike Quinn's crushing distress, Clare does not remember him--or much of anything about the last decade of her life. Clare's missing memory is tied to a crime she witnessed. An acquaintance of Clare's elegant employer--and fellow member of an exclusive Gotham circle known as "The Ladies Who Brunch"--invited Clare to her posh hotel to sample gourmet wedding cakes. The pair took a stroll after their indulgent tasting and, according to security camera footage, a masked figure snatched the hotel heiress at gunpoint with Clare looking on. Did the kidnapper take Clare, too? The camera went dark, just like Clare's memory. Soon authorities grow suspicious. Is Clare really a victim? Or merely acting like one? Evidence is mounting that she set up the woman. To clear her name, Clare must find a way to reclaim her memories and rescue the heiress before this high-stakes crime ends in tragedy. Otherwise, instead of walking down the aisle, Clare may find herself perp-walking to prison as an accomplice to kidnapping and murder.

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

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...

How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith

The next book in the perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series sees Precious Ramotswe calling upon all her maternal instincts when she's faced with a two-ton case. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but can Mma Ramotswe and the rest of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency come together to raise a pipsqueak pachyderm? We may find out in this novel. We may not. Who can say?

Invitation Only Murder by Leslie Meier

Lucy doesn't know what to expect as she arrives on a private Maine island owned by eccentric billionaire Scott Newman, only that the exclusive experience should make for a very intriguing feature story. An avid environmentalist, Scott has stripped the isolated property of modern conveniences in favor of an extreme eco-friendly lifestyle. A trip to Holiday Island is like traveling back to the nineteenth century, and it turns out other residents aren't exactly enthusiastic about living without cell service and electricity . . . Before Lucy can get the full scoop on Scott, she is horrified to find one of his daughters dead at the bottom of a seaside cliff. The young woman's tragic end gets pinned as an accident, but a sinister plot unfolds when there's a sudden disappearance . . . Stuck on a clammy island with murder suspects aplenty, the simple life isn't so idyllic after all. Now, Lucy must tap into the limited resources around her to outwit a cold-blooded killer--before it's lights out for her next!

Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink

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.

Murder in an Irish Village by C. O'Connor

Twenty-two-year-old Siobha⁺¹n O'Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother. It's been a rough year for Siobha⁺¹n, but it's about to get rougher. One morning they discover a man seated at a table with a pair of scissors protruding from his chest. It's up to Siobha⁺¹n to solve the crime. Siobha⁺¹n O'Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings. It's been a rough year for them, but it's about to get rougher when they discover a man seated at a table with a pair of scissors protruding from his chest. With the local garda suspecting the O'Sullivans, and the business being shunned, it's up to Siobha⁺¹n to solve the crime.