Cozy-mystery Stories

A monster is running down Main Street! An old mountain hermit, dressed as Death, drops dead at a Halloween festival in Hope Rock County. Nobody knows why. But mysterious forces are at work on the Appalachian ridges. Granny witches and the Ancients. Black witches and sin eaters. Most folks think the old ways and traditions are a thing of the past. But the past rears up its aged head, and there's more going on here than meets the eye. A lovely tract of land is threatened by developers. Will life in the sleepy little town be forever changed? Can Hadley Pell solve the murder and keep Paradise from being lost forever? The Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery Series: 1. Nobody's Sorry You're Dead 2. Nobody Knows Your Secret 3. Nobody Can Say It's You 4. Nobody's Fool Y'all 5. Nobody Says It's Easy

Fly fishing was something that her late husband, Harry Pell, loved to do. When Hadley's friend, Hobie Stricker, invites her to try for the Big One, she only has trout in mind. A dead body brings a lot of unwanted attention and a lot of unanswered questions, too. Her brother-in-law, Sheriff Bill Whittaker has sworn Hadley to secrecy. The newly elected mayor of Hope Rock County is giving the good sheriff a fit. There are rumors that he wants to clean house, especially at the local law enforcement's office. How can you not trust your younger sister with all that you know? How do you keep the peace in the family and keep Bill's trust? It seems you can't. At least, not without one big sister fight. To mend family fences and help heal Maury's hurt feelings, Hadley decides to take her little sister on a road trip. But this is not just any road trip. Hadley makes reservations at the VistaView Motor Court, a revamped and renovated resort built in the 1920s. She visits her local beauty shop for a trim before heading off, but when Lou Edna, proprietor of the Beauty Boutique, hears that she and Maury are planning to hightail it out of town, the beautician insists she must accompany the pair. It's going to take a lot of fast talking to smooth this out with Maury. There is mystery surrounding the VistaView, and it's been decades in the making. The answers are there, but will Hadley be clever enough to pick up on the clues? Will she live to tell what she has uncovered? Will they lock her away in an insane asylum if she does? Join these ladies as they embark on another wacky mountain mystery. The Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery Series: 1. Nobody's Sorry You're Dead 2. Nobody Knows Your Secret 3. Nobody Can Say It's You 4. Nobody's Fool Y'all 5. Nobody Says It's Easy

It's murder at the Buy-Right, a small town grocery store, a cozy-mystery set in rural America. When a body is found behind the store in a dumpster, Daisy Ann, the cashier, is mortified. She sets out to find the killer before he strikes again.

Whose bones lie in Caroline's grave? * A mysterious drowning * A dead person seen alive * A secret society reviving ancient rites * Rumours of smuggling, espionage and betrayal When a handsome stranger asks Jayne for help, her quest takes her to Greece where a web of lies, intrigue, and jealousy is soon laid bare. But how can Jayne unravel the intrigue of her friend's death, when no one will believe her? And where is Caroline now?

Two undercover cops, posing as a couple at a posh Florida resort, have a love/hate relationship that could get them killed before they find the secret gambling den they're hunting. Things get more dangerous when the murderous villain's wife recognizes one of the cops as her policeman ex-boyfriend from Montana.

The 1920's are just beginning to roar when seventeen-year-old Kate March, an amateur slew and budding reporter, charges headlong into the most famous murder scene in Hollywood history. The industry's beloved film director has come to a ghastly end but Kate knows murder makes good copy. Reckless with excitement, Kate sets her sights on solving the mystery and saving her family's failing newspaper business. Slick dandies and dolled up shebas are no match for Kate and her best friend, Addy, who plunge unceremoniously into dangerous schemes involving salacious gambling dens and illegal speakeasies; not to mention the dark and seedy underbelly of Paramount studios. A spectacularly wild time is had by all until Kate lands on the wrong end of a murder charge.

Darcy. A strange name for a woman, but it suited her. And she was a woman wrapped in mystery. She wasn't like the other women of her day-she wasn't a lady of high society or a woman in service to the higher class-she wasn't a beggar and she wasn't in trade. And yet, for all her not fitting in, she could blend wonderfully into any crowd. No one knew her and yet all had seen her. She was just another face, and yet her face could be so remarkably strange you wondered how she could ever be taken as a commoner. She was secretive and dark, and could be just as impressive as she could be revolting. Darcy was the child of a strange fate and heir to a curious destiny. This could be no better displayed than by the fact that she was greeted by two shrill screams as she was carried unconscious across a bright and crowded ballroom in the arms of the most eligible bachelor in the city.

A Clean Cozy Mystery - Mountain Air and Murder Hadley Pell, a college-educated housewife and widow, is still reeling from the loss of her beloved husband five years ago. She lives in a small town in the Southern Appalachians where nothing much happens. Nothing much, that is, until murder comes to town. And it isn't until Hadley is given the job of cleaning out the victim's house, an incredible hoarder of the first degree, that Hadley begins to unravel the mystery. When it's discovered that Eustian Singlepenny has been poisoned and a friend is arrested for his murder, Hadley dives head first into the muddy maze, searching for clues to the killer's true identity. A humorous tale full of local color and wit, this is the first book in the Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery NOBODY mystery series written under the pen name of Jeri Green. The Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery Series: 1. Nobody's Sorry You're Dead 2. Nobody Knows Your Secret 3. Nobody Can Say It's You 4. Nobody's Fool Y'all 5. Nobody Says It's Easy

Cloverton's Mayor, Harry Hoover, faces a reelection challenge from a woman who once worked in his office, while old Ben Beaver has been shot to death in his barn. The Provincetown Times has hired their latest talent, a woman who is giving Cloverton's favorite reporter, Melanie Hart fits. Are any of these events related? Will Melanie and her best friend, Ginger Black, be able to pull the stands together in time to prevent evven more deaths?

Y/N got tired of city life and moved out to the country into their grandpa's old cottage on his old farm. Together, with their friend, Briar, they work on the farm and meet the people of the nearby Pelican Town. There are interesting colors of people, each having their own colorful personalities. But, as they stick around town a little longer, mysteries start to rise up - long lost love stories that had once been washed away by a terrible storm, lost loved ones and buried secrets start to come back up to the surface. But their own romances begin to unfold and Y/N's heart yearns for some of the villagers, and they soon realize that maybe digging up old secrets could hurt their chances with new love. [Ships have not been determined yet]

It was a heck of a shot. It was the perfect murder. Someone killed Kyle Winthrop as he lay in his bed. His mother, Claire, doesn't care much - she's too strung out on prescription pain pills. But his Grandmother cares, and she begs her good friend, Hadley Pell, to try to solve this horrible crime. Hadley runs into a brick wall - there's little to go on. Still, her curiosity and keen mind won't let her abandon the case. She's determined to help her friend. In the middle of another Appalachian murder mystery, Hadley doesn't have clue where to begin. She's up to her eyeballs in clutter. Literally. While cleaning out a hoarder's house, she stumbles upon old papers. Could these dusty old newspapers and legal documents hold information that will help her crack the case? A humorous tale full of local color and wit, this is the second book in the Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery NOBODY mystery series. The Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery Series: 1. Nobody's Sorry You're Dead 2. Nobody Knows Your Secret 3. Nobody Can Say It's You 4. Nobody's Fool Y'all 5. Nobody Says It's Easy

In this debut mystery series novel, Charlie Parker, accountant and partner in an Albuquerque private investigation firm, is visited by her old school friend, Stacy North. Stacy's Rolex watch is missing and she begs Charlie to help locate it before her husband finds out. Things are complicated by the fact that Stacy had been seeing another man, Gary Detweiller, and he's the one she suspects of having stolen the watch. With a little detective work, Charlie retrieves the missing watch and all should be well. But three days later, Detweiller is murdered. All eyes turn to Stacy as the prime suspect. Once again, Stacy begs Charlie's help in proving her innocence. As she begins to ask questions, Charlie learns that Detweiller's life was not as simple as first perceived and that any number of people had grievances against him. And before she can pinpoint the killer, her own life is in danger as well. "An impressive debut mystery!" -- Albuquerque Journal "Charlie is slick, appealing and nobody's fool--just what readers want in an amateur sleuth." -- Booklist "This is a dandy. Don't miss it!" -- Book Talk

Holly Winslow is missing. Her parents insist she's a runaway, mixed up with the wrong crowd. But P.I.'s daughter, Noa Drury, isn't buying it. She's had a 'visitor' who has suggested otherwise: Holly's ghost. 16-year-old Noa has a 'gift' - the ability to see and speak to spirits. Her job is to pass on messages to the living from the spirit world, and while there are plenty of people who'd rather she kept quiet, this is one message she is determined to see delivered. You see, Noa's been waiting for a message from a very special person and if figuring out the mystery of Holly Winslow's disappearance means making it happen then she'll do whatever it takes, no matter the danger, no matter the trouble she gets into with her spirit guide, Max, and no matter the threat to her own life.

"You have to help me. She's going to kill my father." Perry reluctantly gets embroiled in a murder investigation when a young girl begs him for help. But Rose is not the only one seeking his legendary lockpicking skills. Shadowy characters from his past have a bargain for him: will he accept their terms for Rose's sake?

A reluctant mountain housewife joins ghost hunters. Hadley Pell lives in a small town in the Southern Appalachians with her feline friend, Onus. She and her boyfriend, musician and instrument maker, Hobie Stricker, are on the outs. She's also on the outs with her baby sister, Maury. Strange things are happening to her that she just can't explain. Lou Edna is one of Hadley's oldest friends. When a man in the beautician's trailer park turns up dead, Hadley insists that she, Maury, and Lou Edna must take a vacation. Nothing soothes frayed nerves better than a relaxing all-girls trip away. Until Beanie finds out about Hadley's plan. Beanie is one of Hadley's oldest friends, but he's is not the brightest light bulb in the pack. All fun breaks loose as the group heads out on an adventure that proves to be the camping trip of a lifetime. The Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery Series: 1. Nobody's Sorry You're Dead 2. Nobody Knows Your Secret 3. Nobody Can Say It's You 4. Nobody's Fool Y'all 5. Nobody Says It's Easy

A Secret in Ash Brooke by Dutch Rhudy Summary: A small town detective agreed to mentor a local newspaper reporter, who wished to enhance his sleuthing hobby. In the process of improving his observational skills, the reporter scrutinized various citizens torso and behavior. As his facial recognition abilities increased, he grew more aware of subtle similarities and differences. The reporter soon became intrigued with an exceptional physical likeness between two young women. Each portray different cultures, and appear nothing alike in manner of dress, or in their separate lifestyles. The reporter, convinced they must be twins, maintained a constant vigil on his suspects. He befriended one of these ladies to learn more about her. All attempts at justifying to himself she was a twin, proved futile. Subtle comments among her friends and family, confirmed she had only one sibling, an older brother. These facts led our sleuth-hound reporter, to believe these two women were one in the same person. Turning his attention from the proper lady, with her strict religious upbringing; to the one of questionable moral values. His observations only invited confusion, and generated unanswered questions. Each time his suspicions exposed another clue, a positive clarification negated the probability. Their timetables overlapped, and one person cannot possibly be in two places at the same time. Or can they? Certain his assumptions are correct, our reporter continued his quest to learn the truth.

An island paradise. An estate worth millions. A murdered man. Beulah Beale is battling a cheating husband entangled with his younger secretary, a village where some want change and development, some want the status quo. Then, she and her sidekick, Nina Kelly find the dead body of an eccentric recluse. A sinister garden of evil where every plant is deadly. A robbery. And an inept peace officer who loves donuts more than doing his job. Can Beulah figure out the mystery and solve the crimes before someone else is killed? A Case of Murder on the Dunes: A Beulah Beale Cozy Mystery is a funny tale of two ladies on the hunt to catch a murderer.

The Saturday market in Mellow Reach smells like warm bread and fresh basil-the kind of place where neighbors argue about tomato prices and mean nothing by it. Sticky cobblestones. Chipped enamel mugs. Nothing much goes wrong here. Then Thomas Reed's display collapses, and suddenly everyone's an expert. Most people saw the argument. Most people made up their minds before the pole stopped swinging. Officer Harper poked at the wreckage, called it an accident, and snapped his notebook shut. Done. Margaret Ellison wasn't there. Didn't matter. Thirty years as Mellow Reach's librarian teaches you things-how to go unnoticed while noticing everything. The angle of a fallen pole. A timeline with a loose thread nobody pulled. The particular way someone's hands flutter when they're hiding something embarrassing rather than something dangerous. She knows the difference. Always has. She knows Thomas, too. Helped him find his footing here fifteen years ago, back when this town was still deciding whether to let him in. Watched him build something worth keeping. So when the whispers calcify into verdicts-when old friendships crack along old fault lines and the harvest festival her late husband spent a decade building is suddenly up for debate-her stomach drops like a stone in cold water. Staying out of it is a choice. She's made enough of those. Semi-Retired. Not blind. Not yet done. This is an early draft shared for feedback. I'd love to know: - Would you continue reading? - Does it feel cozy? - Where did your interest drop?