Monday, November 24, 2014

Maniac Monday

Morning! It's Maniac Monday. So who's ready for some Cozy Mysteries. 

Enjoy


Premades are all $15 this week only


Free Books



Death Turns A Trick (The Rebecca Schwartz Series, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

$2.99 Nook Link

Rebecca Schwartz, nice Jewish lawyer with a few too many fantasies, is happily playing the piano in a whorehouse when she suddenly finds herself assigned to make sure a near-naked state senator escapes a police raid. That dirty job done, a lovely evening turns even more delightful when she’s picked up by the cops and spends the next two hours at the Hall of Justice. Could this day get any worse? Of Course! Guess who arrives home to find a dead hooker on her living room floor! 

Handsome Parker Phillips, Rebecca’s new beau and the most attractive man she’s met in ages, is arrested for the murder. (Worse, she suspects he might actually have done it.) 

On the plus side, another very attractive man is following the case--reporter Rob Burns of the San Francisco Chronicle, a possible ally. And there are other possibilities. 






Louisiana Longshot (A Miss Fortune Mystery, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

$0.99 Nook Link

It was a hell of a long shot.... 

CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever—in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play. Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. 

Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation might blow her cover and get her killed. Armed with her considerable skills and a group of elderly ladies the locals dub The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late. 






Innocent in Las Vegas: A Humorous Tiffany Black Mystery (Tiffany Black Mysteries Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

"I tell myself every day that I don't hate my job... But there's a reason I'm trying to leave the madness of the casino pit to become a Private Investigator."



Cupcake-loving croupier Tiffany Black is determined to leave her job at the casino for good. She's one small step away from acquiring her Private Investigator license, and has her eye on the prize.



Accepting her first real case - investigating the murder of casino-mogul Ethan Becker - should be exciting. Instead, things spiral out of control and Tiffany finds herself in over her head, as she confronts secretive suspects, corrupt casino henchmen and a bodyguard with a mysterious past.


Tiffany's poker-hustling Nanna and pushy parents want her to find a nice man and settle down, but Tiffany just wants to track down the real murderer before he finds her first...







Killer Cupcakes (Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

Things are going great for Lexy Baker. She's finally opened her dream bakery, gotten rid of her cheating boyfriend and settled into her grandmothers house with her perky dog Sprinkles at her side. 

But her blissful life doesn't last long. When her ex boyfriend is found poisoned with cupcakes from her bakery, Lexy finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation headed up by her hunky neighbor detective Jack Perillo. 

With the help of a gang of iPad toting, would-be detective grandmothers, Lexy decides to take it upon herself to find the real murderer in order to clear her name and get her bakery back in business. 

As things heat up on the murder trail, in the kitchen and between Lexy and the hunky detective, it's a race against time to put the real murderer behind bars and get back to baking. 

Will Lexy get her man? 

>> Includes the recipe for Lexy's famous cupcake tops! 






Death Comes to Town (A Darcy Sweet Cozy Mystery Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

Darcy Sweet would like to think that she is just an ordinary woman, happy in her life running the Sweet Read bookstore. But she isn't ordinary. She has a connection to the other side that seems to draw her into mysterious situations more often than not. Add to the mix the antics of a rather naughty, slightly psychic cat and the eccentric ghost of her great-aunt Millie, and you have a recipe for anything but the ordinary. 

When Darcy's neighbor is murdered she is drawn into the mystery against her will when she finds the body. She tries to leave the investigation to the police, one of which is her sister, but an overheard conversation and a small nudge from the other side has her investigating the murder. The stakes are raised when the murderer strikes again. Who was killing the people in her life? 

Things are complicated even more by her building attraction to her sister's new cop partner, who makes it clear he does not appreciate Darcy's interference in the investigation. Sparks fly between the two of them as they get further into the mystery surrounding the deaths. 

With a town full of suspects how will Darcy work out who the murderer is? None of the pieces to the puzzle fit. Things become more complicated and dangerous as Darcy's own life is threatened. Will she survive to see justice served?







Macaron Murder (A Patisserie Mystery with Recipes Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

The Introductory Book of the Paris Culinary Mystery Series! Includes 5 Special French Macaron Recipes. 

French native Clémence Damour returns to Paris after traveling around the world for two years. She’s dog-sitting for her parents in the posh 16th arrondissement and overseeing the family patisserie, a famous franchise known for their delectable gourmet pastries and sweets in Paris and around the world. 

To get off on the right foot with la gardienne, the caretaker of the apartment building, Clémence gives her a box of their luxury macarons. The next morning however, the half-eaten box of macarons is found near la gardienne's dead body. An incompetent inspector accuses Clémence of being the killer, which prompts her to clear her name and solve the case herself. 

Follow Harper's Pinterest board for Paris locations, fashion, and inspirations from each book: http://www.pinterest.com/harperlinauthor/ 

If you like Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries or Leighann Dobb's Lexy Baker series, you'll love The Patisserie Mysteries. 

Join Clémence and her friends as they solve murder cases, bake macarons and other treats, and fall in love in The City of Lights. 

Macaron Murder is the first book (25k novella) in this new culinary cozy mystery series set in France, featuring delicious recipes of French pastries and desserts. They don't have to be read in order, but it is recommended since the characters' relationships develop throughout the series.







Frosted Shadow, a Toni Diamond Mystery: Toni Diamond Mysteries [Kindle Edition]

There's nothing pretty about murder. 
Meet Toni Diamond, make up artist to middle America. She's got a nose for trouble and a passion for solving mysteries. Imagine Columbo in a lavender suit. She never met a woman who wouldn't look better with a little help from the Lady Bianca line of cosmetics. But don't be fooled by appearances. Underneath the fake diamonds and the big hair is a sharp brain and a keen eye that sees the details as well as the funny side of life. When a Lady Bianca sales rep is murdered at the annual convention in Dallas, Toni is the one who notices things that some people, like sexy Detective Luke Marciano, might easily miss. Only someone who understands as much about how to make appearances deceiving could see into the mind of this killer -- a murderer who wants to give Toni a permanent makeover. Into a dead woman.



At the sales convention, Toni has to deal with her arch rival Nicole Freedman, a woman who would stab Toni in the back if it would get her the coveted top sales award. She's got her own beauty consultants to encourage, her mother who's taken Dolly Parton as her pattern and her patron saint, her daughter Tiffany, who, at sixteen, is mortified by everything her mother does. Including breathing.



In this humorous, cozy mystery, complete with a wily and entertaining amateur female sleuth, a sexy police officer, a murder or two, a little comedy and some racy scenes, a suburban cosmetics sales woman matches wits with a fiendish murderer.







Kathy Taylor had weathered eight rough years as a black female police officer in Boston - but enough was enough. She turned in her badge, moved up north, and set up shop as a private investigator in historic Salem, Massachusetts. Now she's surrounded by Wiccans and herbalists, by crystal shops and psychic pizza-deliverymen.

And her first client has just stepped in the door.

The Lucky Cat is the very first entry in the Salem Massachusetts Mini Mystery series. These short stories will be written and loaded one a day from October 1 through October 31, 2014. You can read them one-by-one if you wish, or you can read them bundled into collections. All author's proceeds from this series benefit battered women's shelters.

Lisa has lived in scenic Massachusetts since 1986, with only two brief forays out of state. One of Lisa’s ancestors was Ann Foster, who died during the Salem Witch Trials. Ann Foster was a grandmother by that time and sacrificed herself to protect her daughter and granddaughter. Ann had been born in England, came over in 1635, and was 75 by the time of the trials. Salem reached its dark depths during those trials from 1692-1693 - but since then has healed, blossomed, and shines. It now features the amazing Peabody Essex Museum, a plethora of gorgeous historic architecture, and a beautiful coastline. It's well worth a visit. If you can't go in person, take a virtual trip through Lisa's first-hand descriptions! 






First in a series of British murder mysteries featuring retired middle-aged actress and sleuth, Libby Sarjeant.

Artist and ex-actress Libby Sarjeant is busy directing a play for the opening of a new theatre in her village when one of her cast is found murdered. The play, written by her friend Peter, is based on real events in his family, disturbing and mysterious, which took place in the village during the last war. As the investigation into the murder begins to uncover a tangled web of relationships in the village, it seems that the events dramatised in the play still cast a long shadow, dark enough to inspire murder.

Libby s natural nosiness soon leads her into the thick of the investigation, but is she too close to Peter s family, and in particular his cousin Ben, to be able to recognise the murderer?






L.A. shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears - along with $20 million in embezzled funds - and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by the LAPD's sexiest cop. With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300 pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer. But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her... 





Amazon Goodies

$0.99 Title



When Grace Holliday received her high school reunion invitation promising a killer reunion, she didn’t think they meant literally. 
  
Grace Holliday has come back home to Rabbit Falls, Colorado. Regrettably, not as successful or as wealthy as she had intended, when she left her small town, ten years before. Fired from her job, evicted, and having to move back in with her parents was not how she pictured her life turning out, and the last thing she wants is to attend her ten year high school reunion. Unfortunately, her twin sister has other ideas. 

Determined to settle an old score, her sister drags Grace back to their old school, intent on humiliating her rival. Despite the best efforts of the planning committee, things quickly go from bad to deadly and before the night is through, one of Grace’s classmates will be murdered. 

All Grace wants to do is put the horrible night behind her, go home, and scour the want ads. Unfortunately, the only job available is the only one she doesn’t want: figuring out who killed the Reunion Queen.





SOBRIETY’S NOT FOR SISSIES. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PHRASE “DEAD DRUNK” BECOMES LITERAL. 

On Christmas Day, Bruce Kohler wakes up in detox on the Bowery in New York City. He realizes it’s time to change his life, but how can he stay sober without dying of boredom? Then homeless alcoholics begin to turn up dead, and one of these is Bruce’s friend Godfrey, a cynical aristocrat with a trust fund and some secrets. 

Two old friends give Bruce a second chance and agree to help him with his investigation: his best friend, Jimmy, a computer genius and history buff who’s been in AA for years, and Jimmy’s girl friend Barbara, a counselor who sometimes crosses the line between helping and codependency. 

Pretty soon, the suspects are piling up. Along with the laughs. But, witty as she is, Zelvin never loses her compassion for the painful process of recovery. 





Jamie Winters loathes her job as a secretary in the sleaziest law firm in New Jersey. Trouble is, someone else loathes the whole firm—enough to kill one of the partners, the two-timing, eleven-fingered king of lowbrow television commercial spots, Dougie Digits. Now, Jamie is being strong-armed into investigating by Dougie's frosty widow, Hilary. The suspect list is long, including the firm's bookish paralegal, embezzling bookkeeper, ambitious associate, and resentful senior partners. Add to that list a mélange of oddball clients with grudges of their own, and Jamie has her work cut out for her. With assists from her studly landlord and husband-hungry sister, Jamie uncovers enough dirt on her coworkers to launch a tabloid in her hunt to find the killer...before he or she strikes again! 





When Tess Tremaine starts a new life in the colorful town of Goose Pimple Junction, curiosity leads her to look into a seventy-five-year-old murder. Suddenly she’s learning the foreign language of southern speak, resisting her attraction to local celebrity Jackson Wright, and dealing with more mayhem than she can handle. 

A bank robbery, murder, and family tragedy from the 1930s are pieces of the mystery that Tess attempts to solve. As she gets close to the truth, she encounters danger, mystery, a lot of southern charm, and a new temptation for which she’s not sure she’s ready.  





$2.99 Title



Recently dumped by her boyfriend of two years, FBI crime analyst Jules Cannon decides to take a much needed vacation and heads to her hometown of Trouble Island, Texas. All Jules wants to do is relax, forget about her failed relationship, and work on her tan.  

Her anticipated beach vacation turns out to be anything but, as her mildly eccentric aunt manipulates Jules into working at her clothing boutique, her former high school sweetheart hints at the possibility of rekindling old flames, and if things couldn’t get any worse, when a local restaurant owner is found murdered and her best friend becomes the prime suspect, the only thing Jules is destined for is trouble. 




When Lila Moore inherits her grandfather's house, she finds herself in a small Midwestern town where margarine is never an acceptable substitution for butter, a coveted family recipe can serve as currency, and the friend who will take your darkest secrets to the grave will still never give you the secret to her prize-winning begonias. 

Lila is charmed by the people of Auburn, from the blue-eyed lawyer with the southern drawl to the little old lady who unceasingly tries to set Lila up with her grandson. But when strange things begin to happen, Lila realizes some of her new friends are guarding a secret like its a precious family heirloom. It's a dangerous secret, and it has come back to haunt them. Lila is caught in the middle, and her life may depend on uncovering it. But even if she can, can she stay in Auburn when not everyone is what they seem, and even the house wants her gone?





Maggie Phillips hasn’t had it easy. As the wife of retired Navy SEAL, and the adoptive mother of two little hellions, Maggie is constantly looking for ways to improve her family’s financial situation. She accepts a cleaning position for her new neighbors (who redefine the term ‘eccentric’), never imagining she will end up as the sole alibi for a man with a fascination for medieval torture devices when he is brought up on murder charges. 

While Maggie struggles to prove the man’s innocence, her deadbeat brother arrives, determined to sell Maggie and Neil on his next great scheme and to mooch with a vengeance. If that isn’t bad enough, her in-laws, (the cut-throat corporate attorneys) descend on the house, armed with disapproval and condemnation, for the family’s annual Thanksgiving celebration. 

As the police investigation intensifies, Maggie searches for the killer among the upper echelon of Hudson, Massachusetts in the only way she can— by scrubbing their thrones. 

Of the porcelain variety, that is… 



$3.99 Title



When a broken man arrives in town, desperate to locate his missing girlfriend, loved-up PI Lexi Graves can hardly wait to reunite the lost lovers. However, the further Lexi delves into the case, the more she begins to sense the missing woman doesn’t want to be found. 
To make matters worse, just as Lexi and her boss slash boyfriend are enjoying a romantic date, their restaurant is robbed by a pair of thieves. Her best friend, Lily, owns a bar that also falls prey to the gang. Following Lily’s hunch about who’s behind it, Lexi eagerly rushes to help her friend solve the case. 
Between stakeouts, shootouts, and the determination to prove true love wins all, Lexi redoubles her efforts. She enlists her friends and family network to bring the lost lovers together once more, while doling out to the thieves their rightful comeuppance. But just as Lexi begins closing in on her quarry, a frightening twist plunges her into the most dangerous situation she has ever encountered. 





If ever a whole town could be haunted, Devil's Moon, Kentucky would be that town. Ripley Van Raden, or Rip as her friends call her, has come back to her hometown to start her own ghost tour business. That’s not her only career path though. Librarian by day, and ghost tour guide by night, Rip is ready to take on the ghosts following her around and the mysterious residents who show up for more than the tour in the Devil’s Moon Cemetery. 

Her first day on the job as librarian, Ripley finds a dead body and a ghost who can only communicate through electronics. Who knew ghosts could send text messages? To make things even more complicated, Ripley meets a hot cop who happens to also be a ghost hunter. She doesn’t know if Brannon Landon is interested in helping her or just around for the paranormal activity. 

When Rip discovers threatening notes between the pages of a novel, she must solve the library patron’s mysterious death before she unwillingly joins the other side of her haunted tour. 





Miranda Vaughn has spent the last year and a half fighting for her freedom. Arrested for a fraud scheme involving her supervisors, she's lost her job at a prestigious investment firm, her fiancé, and her reputation. She walks out of the courtroom a free woman, only to find that life has a few more curve balls to throw her way. The jury may have found her not guilty, but Miranda is broke, in debt to her beloved aunt, and can't find a job because of the cloud of suspicion still swirling around her. 

She's not going to be able to move forward with her life until she finds out who set her up. Buried in the evidence against her, Miranda finds a larger scheme, one involving far more money than the $37 million her boss fleeced from unsuspecting investors. Determined to uncover the truth, Miranda begins her own investigation—leading her to Macau and Belize, and into the arms of one sexy FBI agent, who may or may not prove to be trustworthy. When the danger heats up, Miranda finds herself in a race against time to find the person behind it all. Before he finds her... 





When Ellie Kent moves to an English village with her new husband Graham, she fears the villagers will always see her at that young American who snared their attractive vicar during his sabbatical in California. But this challenge is nothing compared to what happens when she stumbles across a body in the churchyard. The villagers insist they don't know the murdered man, so suspicion mounts that the killer must be the incomer -- the vicar's new wife. As evidence piles up against her, Ellie tries to stay one step ahead of the police to unravel a decades-old literary mystery and love story. Will others die before she can solve it? And what will be left of her new life and marriage, even if she succeeds?





Pretty please with spaghetti on top? 

Andy Buckland has always dreamed of being a chef. But after a live studio audience is stricken with food poisoning during her debut cooking show, she finds herself blacklisted in the culinary community. The only job open to her is working in her family's southern pasta shop, and, to make matters worse, her first assignment is serving baked ziti to her former lover and his spoiled bride-to-be at their engagement party! But a broken heart and a bruised ego are the least of Andy's troubles when she discovers a dead body at the party with the words "welcome home" written in flour next to it. Is it a warning? A threat? Or a frame-up job? Andy is determined to find out. With the help of her over-the-top Italian family, Andy will prove that she has what it takes to not only cook the best dish in town but also catch a killer, too! 





Amber Fox has been making too many mistakes, and something's got to give... 

For starters, Amber accidentally shoots Chief Inspector Janice Skipper and gets thrown off the police force. Oops! Then, she accepts a job as an insurance investigator from her ex-fiancé, Brad Beckett. Only Brad thinks they've still got unfinished business in the romance department, making for a steamier working environment than Amber counted on. And when fashion designer, Umberto Fandango, goes missing, Amber's investigative skills are put to the ultimate test. Nothing about the case is what it seems, and to make matters worse Amber's arch-enemy, Chief Inspector Skipper, is also investigating the disappearance. If Amber wants her old job back, she's in a race against time to solve the mystery before Skipper does... all the while dodging her ex-fiancé, her own mixed up feelings, and a couple of crazy mobsters. 

Who is Umberto Fandango? Is he dead? And can Amber stay one step ahead to stay alive? 





A Hilarious Cupcakes-And-Crime Caper


Nanna is a sweet, little old lady - or so she'd like you to believe. 
Too bad the cops investigating Adam Bitzer’s death don’t buy it for a second. 
And worse, they think she’s the one responsible for Adam’s death… 

Can Tiffany Prove Nanna's Innocence in Time?


Just when Tiffany was ready to take a break from being a Private Investigator, she's pushed back into the thick of things. 
Along with some help from her friends Ian, Stone and Jack, Tiffany must uncover the truth about what happened to Adam - before it's too late... 





When Las Vegas exotic dancer Raven McShane launches a private detective business, no one takes her seriously at first. But when a former dancer and good friend needs help solving the town's most notorious murder, Raven joins forces with a built bouncer and a smokin' hot Mormon to uncover the killer's identity. Raven dodges casino thugs, old-money families, and long-buried secrets, all of which lead her down a path that's seedier than the strip in the morning light. If she can stay one step ahead of the killer, she just may prove that this beauty has brains, too. 



$4.61 Title



In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store--Coffee, Books, and More--open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder?
When Jill's elderly friend, Miss Emily, calls in a fit of pique, she already knows the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily's gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill--along with all of her problems. . .and her enemies. Convinced her friend was murdered, Jill is finding the list of suspects longer than the list of repairs needed on the house. But Jill is determined to uncover the culprit--especially if it gets her closer to South Cove's finest, Detective Greg King. Problem is, the killer knows she's on the case--and is determined to close the book on Jill permanently. . .
81,000 Words



$4.99 Title



Deputy Dorie Berenger knew the day would go from bad to worse when she found a stoned alligator in the town drunk’s swimming pool. Then DEA agent Richard Starke shows up in Gator Bait, Louisiana, giving out orders and insults faster than you can cast a fishing line. 

Dorie knows the residents of Gator Bait aren’t going to talk to a stranger, especially a Yankee, but she stuck with Richard until he catches his bad guy. With no other alternative to restore peace to the small town, Dorie agrees to help Richard catch a criminal and in the process, uncovers decades of secrets that have been hiding deep in the Louisiana bayou. 






Looking for a light and breezy, feel-good beach read? You've found it in Pajaro Bay. 

Camilla Stewart desperately needs to make a fresh start: her despicable ex-fiance stole her life savings, embezzled from her job, and then disappeared without a trace--leaving behind nothing but his eight-year-old son, Oliver. 

But when she arrives in the little beach town of Pajaro Bay, she immediately runs into local sheriff's captain Ryan Knight, and finds escaping her past won't be as easy as she planned. 

Because Ryan soon realizes that Camilla and little Oliver may be the only people alive who can identify a serial killer... and they are next on his hit list. 

In this first entry in the Pajaro Bay series, readers are welcomed to the charming little village, with its cast of quirky characters and its funky cottages overlooking the sun-drenched coast. 






When CIA agent Merry Wrath is "accidently" outted, she's forced her into early retirement, changes her appearance, and moves where no one will ever find her—Iowa. Instead of black bag drops in Bangkok, she now spends her time leading a young Girl Scout troop. But Merry's new simple life turns not-so-simple when an enemy agent shows up dead at scout camp. Suddenly Merry is forced to deal with her former life in order to preserve her future one. 

It doesn't help matters that the CIA sends in her former, sexy handler to investigate…or that the hot new neighbor across the street turns out to be the local detective in charge of her case. And when Merry is forced to take on a roommate in the voluptuous form of a turned KGB agent/bimbo, things become trickier than wet work in Waukegan or cookie sales in the spring. Nothing in the CIA or Girl Scouts' training manuals has prepared her for what comes next… 


$5.99 Title



No one in Sinful liked Pansy Arceneaux, but who hated her enough to kill her?

When aspiring actress Pansy Arceneaux returns to Sinful, Louisiana to head up the beauty pageant portion of the Summer Festival, CIA assassin Fortune Redding knows she’s in for trouble. Her undercover identity as a former beauty queen makes Fortune the perfect choice to chair the event with Pansy, but Pansy’s abrasive personality makes it impossible to get through a single rehearsal without a fight.

When Pansy turns up dead, Fortune is the prime suspect.

Armed with only her wits and two conniving seniors referred to locally as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune launches an investigation to find the real killer before her cover is blown.

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