Witty Crime

Jess, a spirited woman at a crossroads in life, returns to her roots after a stormy divorce and bidding farewell to big city life. With her loyal collie Jigsaw at her side, she reinvents herself as the owner of a dog daycare center. In the midst of their new beginnings, tragedy strikes when a pet enrolled at Happy Pooch is left unclaimed. When Jess takes the abandoned dog home, she finds the owner’s lifeless body sprawled across the floor. Refusing to accept the official ruling of suicide, she begins a quest for the truth in a town where everyone knows everyone and untangling fact from ...

Trucks of nuts are being hijacked; Accusations are flying; Greed is running rampant; What starts as a simple case quickly becomes threatening.If you like intriguing mysteries, witty heroines, and ruthless villains, you’ll love the first book in this high-octane cozy mystery series! Truckloads of high-priced pistachios are being highjacked, putting drivers’ lives in danger. A beleaguered grocery store owner hires Lea and Maddy to find out who is behind the malicious thefts. Is it black market vendors, local thugs at their worst, or an inside job? After plunging wholeheartedly into their ...

A nervous gunman. A terrified hostage. Can Dan succeed, or is death the inevitable conclusion? Unleash your adrenaline in this heart-pounding prequel to the Austin and Archer Mystery Series where danger lurks around every corner and the fate of a terrified hostage hangs in the balance. Meet Dan Archer, the hard-hitting, no-nonsense Texas lawman who later becomes an indomitable partner in the esteemed Austin and Archer Detective Agency. After a grueling day on the job, Dan seeks solace in a simple drink. But his plans are abruptly derailed when a robbery takes a deadly turn, plunging him ...

Woman Brutally Murdered on Cruise The luxury cruise ship Grand Voyager is headed full speed to Dubai after stops in Sri Lanka and India. Meg has just attended a big fat royal wedding and is looking forward to some relaxing sea days. Her hot dinner date is interrupted by the announcement of a passenger's death. Rushing to the spot, Meg is sad to learn it is her new friend who was celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary. Further investigation reveals the old woman was stabbed in her suite. Meg can't believe the bashful mother of two that security apprehended is capable of such a heinous ...

Meg Butler sets sail on the Grand Voyager on a luxury world cruise, eager to visit 30 countries before she's 30. But she hasn't planned on running into murder! The ship is hosting a Bingo tournament for the length of the cruise. Several passengers are competing for the grand prize which is rumored to be in six figures. Meg runs into a friendly older man who boasts of being a skilled player. He has developed a fool proof strategy that is guaranteed to win him big money. Meg is warmed by his affectionate manner toward her and feels he is the father figure she has always yearned for. Disaster ...

Another paranormal "gift" reveals itself. Nana warns me it is too dangerous to use.I can't stop the powerful magic from happening randomly. I'm afraid I will be lost forever... How do you justify the indefensible action of firebombing your neighbor's trailer? You don't. Still, I'm assigned the unenviable task of defending a hotheaded Molotov cocktail throwing lover. I run into an old flame who is going through a divorce. He wants to hire me as his attorney. I'm flattered, and his offer is tempting. Yet there's something "off" about him. I can't believe what I find once I snoop into his past...

At a vampiric romance reader retreat in a ghost town, things take a deadly turn when a bestselling author is found murdered—with vampire fangs in her neck and her final manuscript clutched in her hand. Enter Quin Bell, a journalist for The Curio Press, and her drooly black cat, Nancy Drool. Trapped for the weekend with a retreat full of suspects, Quin must unravel the secrets between the book covers and bring a killer to light before the final chapter claims another victim. Witty, spooky, and full of twists, Checked Out for Murder is a fang-tastic cozy mystery perfect for fans of quirky ...

Who knew a collector of miniatures could end up at the center of a murder? When eccentric collector Dolores Finch is found dead in her dollhouse exhibit, amateur sleuth Lila Whitcomb, her witty cat Pip, and her sharp-tongued sidekick Donna can’t resist poking around. Between Dolores’s quirky collection, a trail of jealous rivals, and more than one suspicious alibi, the case proves anything but small. With their wits, humor, and a knack for stumbling into trouble, Lila, Pip, and Donna must piece together the truth before the killer adds another name to their collection.

Meet two sleuths from a sleepy Yorkshire village as they investigate murders and discover the secrets behind the twitching curtains. Date with Death is the first cosy crime novel in Julia Chapman's Dales Detective series, perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and M.C...

Wedding Shower Ends in Bride's Murder Everyone knows the groom's grandmother does not approve of the bride. But would she actually kill her? The richest family in town is implicated in murder and Jenny King reluctantly steps in to investigate. Jenny finds there are very few suspects and hardly any motive. Spring flings are in vogue and the pretty bride may not have been that innocent. Is the distraught groom just putting on an act? Jenny goes around in circles trying to separate the real clues from the red herrings. Meanwhile, Adam and Jenny are in no hurry to tie the knot. But the clock ...

Murder for Love: Murder for Women is a collection of wickedly witty crime-of-passion short stories by some of the best women writers inside and out of the mystery field.

In Geppetto’s Daughter, family bonds are stretched, various appendages are cut off, castle walls are breached, warranties are voided, space battles occur, jokes are made about pianists and, of course, a liberal amount of alcohol is consumed throughout. All this for your reading pleasure. This novel supports Amazon’s ‘look inside’ feature so if you like witty dialogue and interesting characters coupled with an absorbing story line click on the cover image and read a bit. If you like it, buy it. If you really like it, buy three or four. Geppetto’s Daughter is the third book in the ...

After his brother Sterling disappears one too many times, Monk is asked to find him. But what starts as a simple case of a man cheating on his wife, becomes more problematic when a detective shows up asking questions, piquing Monk's curiosity, but is later found murdered. Complicating matters, the detective, like Sterling's lover, is black and transgendered. A world Monk knows little about. He knows Aisha, Sterling's lover is out there, feeding him clues, but unwilling to come out in the open. Sterling claims he doesn't know where she is but offers to seek counseling from a famous LA pastor...

Adjusting to his newfound wealth, Monk meets his youngest brother, Jacob, a Marine. Withdrawn and anxious, Jacob joins Monk in LA only to run off after an accusation of sexual assault from a dead comrade’s mother. Jacob is found dead from an apparent suicide. Trying to understand what drove Jacob to kill himself, Monk learns that many of Jacob’s fellow Marines have died from suicide or murder. Joined by his father, Moses, Monk does what can to discover what happened to the Marines on their last tour in Afghanistan, and what led so many of them to take their own lives., Monk and Moses ...

Zombies, chocolate cake, and dumpster fires. Must be Thursday. My name is Wysdom Ward. I’m a former cop who became a private detective to help those who fell through the cracks. The cases the police wouldn’t touch. But now, I’m up to my eyeballs in reluctant corpses, snappy seniors, and a new employee who may be trying to kill me Plus, that pesky little conspiracy that threatens to end my family and my town - forever. The Wysdom Ward Case Files are humorous mysteries that feature a wise-cracking private detective who’s dealing with perimenopause, mom guilt, and men telling her to ...

"An irreverent, offbeat crime thriller featuring a memorable protagonist and a quirky cast of gangsters." -Best Thrillers In love and death, be careful what you ask for. Happy to still be alive and foolishly believing he can keep two women happy at the same time, Monk finds himself accused of being both a thief and a liar, covering up the actions of a creepy mob boss he doesn’t even know. To make matters worse, the beautiful Judith, his other woman, is sick and hiding it from him. Suddenly, everyone wants an answer. Where’s the Money? Where’s the love? Where’s the girl? With the ...

Mike Hunt: A Private Investigator’s Christmas Cases When Christmas cheer collides with crime, Mike Hunt, Private Investigator, is the man to untangle the mess. In this collection of five razor-sharp flash fiction stories, Mike takes on cases as unpredictable as a re-gifted fruitcake and as tangled as holiday lights. With his trademark wit, unmatched deductive prowess, and an uncanny ability to find himself in awkwardly sensual situations, Mike’s holiday caseload is anything but merry and bright. Each year when he offers his Christmas services pro bono, every weirdo and crooked freak in ...

Both the witch coven and the goblins have it in for Elle and Niall, yet she uses her enchantress powers to try to make peace. But when Elle is summoned by her nemesis, Rebecca, to investigate an industrial accident at an archaeological dig, she finds ties to the coven, as well as evidence of goblin involvement. Even more perplexing is new information about her mother's death. Determined to uncover the truth, Elle meets with the goblins. Suspicion is thrown on Niall, but Niall throws suspicion right back on the goblins. The coven tries to negotiate Edinburgh as their turf, and the goblins ...

No one has seen Antoine since he left to play European basketball a decade ago. It's disconcerting when he shows up claiming he needs to protect me from the "gray ones." I think he's a card short of a full deck. Lee and I are moving to Baltimore next month. I haven't found the right time to tell Mama and Daddy the exciting news. No, there's no ring yet. Still, I'm sure Lee has just been too busy to propose. Right? I need to clear out my caseload before leaving town. My clients are not being helpful. I'm running all over North Alabama searching for my client's scorned wife to stop her from ...

Vi Baxter has always thrived in the controlled chaos of community theater—designing costumes, fixing last-minute wardrobe malfunctions, and dodging diva-level drama. But when a leading man collapses onstage during rehearsal, the spotlight shifts to something far deadlier than forgotten lines. With a detective’s instinct and her feline sidekick Figaro close behind, Vi finds herself unraveling a backstage mystery full of hidden motives, poisoned props, and suspicious castmates. As tensions rise and secrets spill, Vi must use every trick in the costume trunk to catch a killer—before the ...