Life's a Beach Cozy Mystery

When Charlie Carter catches her fiancé cheating with her best friend, she swaps power suits for swimsuits and moves to the idyllic seaside town of Sunrise Bay. Maybe a dose of vitamin sea can cure her broken heart. Beautiful beaches aren't the little town's only attractions. It's also the home of her feisty retired aunt, who soon has Charlie surrounded by new friends and fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming a photographer. Everything is going swimmingly until Aunt Evie's book club pal Peggy turns up deader than Charlie's engagement.

Charlie Carter's new life in idyllic Sunrise Bay is beachy keen. A wedding could be the big break Charlie's fledgling photography business needs—she's got all her fingers and toes crossed for a perfect day. Beautiful bride: check. Gorgeous weather: check. Dead guest at the reception: definitely not part of the plan.

Everything's panning out for Charlie in picture-perfect Sunrise Bay. She has a new dog, a brand-new photography business, and maybe even a fresh romance with the hottest policeman in town. Plus, her latest photo shoot is double the fun. Identical twins Sam and Jess want photos to celebrate their thirtieth birthday. But the party stops when Sam disappears. Rumors spread faster than you can say "cheese". Is her hot-tempered new boyfriend to blame? What did her neighbor really see?

Romance is in the air, and Charlie's first date with Sunrise Bay's hottest policeman is to the Yule Ball. Organized by Charlie's unstoppable Aunt Evie, the charity ball is the town's biggest fundraising night of the year. A dazzling sapphire necklace is the centerpiece of the auction and the bidding is fierce. But as the auctioneer's hammer comes down, the lights in the ballroom go out. When they come back on, the necklace is gone. Aunt Evie is devastated and Charlie is determined to use her newfound detective skills to find it.

Storms are brewing in peaceful Sunrise Bay as Charlie's boyfriend prepares to battle his vindictive ex for custody of their little girl. A night out at a fancy hotel with her book club pals is a ray of sunshine among Charlie's clouds—until a woman falls to her death from a hotel balcony. Was it a tragic accident or something more sinister? The woman's husband claims he was walking on the beach when she fell, but if that's true, why don't his shoes have any sand on them? And, speaking of footwear, why has one of the dead woman's own shoes gone missing?