Mystery Reads

Gift Guide: A Cup of Murder by Cam Larson

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Targeted Age Group:: 16-adult
Category: Cozy

About A Cup of Murder:
It’s been a rough week for Laila Rook, the barista at Roasted Love, a community favorite indie coffeehouse that serves coffee in ceramic cups and features art from local artists on the walls.

A new upscale chain coffeehouse, Sunrise, opened across the street, and Laila’s customers are leaving. The owner of Sunrise, Michael Simms, wants to put Roasted Love out of business and enjoys letting them know with his rudeness and his mean Doberman.

Jacob Weaver, the owner of Roasted Love won’t back down, and he’s not being too quiet about it, either.

When the owner of Sunrise is found murdered by poison in his coffee, Jacob is the prime suspect, and Laila has to decide if Jacob could be guilty and figure out how to save Roasted Love from closing – not to mention balance a cute paramedic and an orphaned Doberman.

Between Jacob’s mood swings and things not adding up, the clock is ticking on the future of Roasted Love.

Book 1 of the Roasted Love Cozy Mystery Series.

Gift Guide: Handmade, Holiday, Homicide by Joanna Campbell Slan

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Targeted Age Group:: 25 to 75
Category: Cozy

About Handmade, Holiday, Homicide:
Super-crafter Kiki Lowenstein is cramming as much into the ho-ho-holiday season as she can. But Kiki’s ambitious plans come to a crashing halt when her student, Eudora Field, drops dead at the start of one of Kiki’s community center classes. An overeager security guard is convinced that Eudora didn’t make her transition without help. Now it’s up to Kiki to determine who was nice, and who was very, very naughty, indeed.

The Blue Coyote by Karen Musser Nortman

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The Blue Coyote is an IndieBRAG Medallion honoree and a finalist in the 2013 CLUE Awards. Frannie and Larry Shoemaker love taking their grandchildren, Sabet and Joe, camping with them. But at Bluffs State Park, Frannie finds herself worrying more than usual about their safety, and when another young girl disappears from the campground in broad daylight, her fears increase. The fun of a bike ride, a flea market, marshmallow guns, and a storyteller are quickly overshadowed. Accusations against Larry and her add to the cloud over their heads. Frannie begins to puzzle out the mystery: Are the itinerant road workers as much of a threat as Frannie thinks? What about the lone woman camper who also disappears? Or is the girl’s deadbeat dad behind it all?

Targeted Age Group:: Adults

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Campgrounds are perceived to be, and generally are, safe places for children. But we once witnessed an incident similar to the inciting incident in the book when a young girl had been told if she felt threatened to approach anyone else for help, stranger or not. That’s not always a good idea.

Sadie’s Suspicion by Elizabeth Ryan

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Sadie McCallister is a recently divorced owner of a scrap-book store with a gorgeous ex-husband, and fabulous 3 year old daughter and a quirky sense of humor. When her ex-father-in-law dies suddenly, Sadie suspects it was not from natural causes. She not only has to prove he was murdered, but who did it! And that’s not easy when even his own son doesn’t want to believe it.

This is the first in a series of cozy mysteries revolving around Sadie and her crazy friends and family! It’s a fun read that I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Targeted Age Group:: Adult

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I have always loved to write and have recently become obsessed with cozy mysteries. I’m also an avid scrap-booker, so basing my story in a scrap-book store seemed like a no-brainer!

Dying Before “I Do” by Judy Fitzwater

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Jennifer Marsh is back in DYING BEFORE “I DO”!

Love and murder: two words that should never go together. But when Jennifer and long-time beau Sam Culpepper finally decide to tie the knot, murder rears its ugly head to intervene. Now Jennifer has more to contend with than choosing colors and flowers for the most important day of her life. She and Sam must thwart whoever is bent on keeping the secrets of an old kidnapping case. One man is dead, and young reporter Teague McAfee is next in line. Jennifer finds herself embroiled in a twisty tale of love gone wrong, while dodging her friends who are determined to give Jennifer and Sam the perfect wedding.

This 7th installment in the delightful JENNIFER MARSH MYSTERIES is sure to satisfy fans of the series. All of Jennifer’s writer friends–Leigh Ann, Teri, April, and Monique–plus Emmie Walker and Muffy are back to help Jennifer plan her wedding and solve the mystery as bullets, arrows, and poison threaten to derail it.
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Targeted Age Group:: general

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Dying Before “I Do” is the seventh in The Jennifer Marsh Mystery Series. Readers asked me to write another in this cozy mystery series, and I was very happy to once again find myself in Jennifer Marsh’s world. Jennifer is an unpublished mystery writer with a group of zany writer friends who are always willing to jump into the fray to help Jennifer solve whatever crime she’s currently involved in. In this book Jennifer and long time beau are finally getting married. The mystery part of the book, which involves an old kidnapping case, started out with my usual “what if” inspiration. Why are people suddenly dying and in danger over something that was over and done with four years ago? What if the kidnapping was more complicated than it at first appeared? I love mysteries that challenge me to write them and this was one of them.

Deadly Decor by Karen Rose Smith @karenrosesmith

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Book 2 in Karen Rose Smith’s Caprice De Luca cozy mystery series.

Quiet Kismet, Pennsylvania, may look like any other small town, but as a home stager, Caprice De Luca can see behind closed doors–and it seems someone has designs on murder. . .Life is a full house for Caprice these days. She’s dating, she’s rescuing adorable cocker spaniels, and she’s decorating the roomy interiors of Kismet’s most well-heeled residents with fun fantasy themes. But she’s worried about her pregnant sister. Bella’s marriage is coming apart like a bad wallpaper job, and to make matters worse, she’s decided to meet up with a former flame Bob Preston, a house painter Caprice frequently employs. When he’s found dead in a pool of green paint swirling with blood, it’s time for Caprice to stage an investigation. With all eyes trained on Bella’s husband, Caprice shifts her attention from finding the perfect curtains to finding the perfect culprit. . .

Catch up with Caprice’s adventures in STAGED TO DEATH, Book 1 of the Caprice De Luca home staging mystery series.
Book 3 GILT BY ASSOCIATION will be available in February 2015

Targeted Age Group:: 18 and up

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Since this is book 2 in the Caprice De Luca Home-staging series, I wanted to continue Caprice’s interest in solving crimes, staging houses and taking in stray animals. I also wanted to resolve Caprice’s sister’s family problems.