by Sunny Frazier

Cat days, too, with the introduction of a new cat mystery. Also, foodie mysteries to whet your appetite and one sure to put a spell on you. Have a “spirited” summer!

The Time for Murder Is Meow according to T.C. Lotempio in the first Purr n’ Bark Mystery. Crishell “Shell” McMillan’s TV series is cancelled so the actress decides to take over her late aunt’s pet shop, the Purr N’ Bark. She takes along her Siamese cat Kahlua and adopts her aunt’s Persian, Purrday. When the local museum asks for her aunt’s Cary Grant posters for an exhibit, Shell finds her aunt’s enemy votes against it. Next thing you know the board member is found dead in the museum and Shell is the main suspect. Can the cats sniff out the real killer? Stay tuned.

Is it a cat shelter or a cat café? At the High Cliff Shelter in Whisker Jog, New Hampshire, Lara Caphart and her aunt are opening a reading room where kids snuggle up to kitties and books. Because they plan to serve snacks to visitors, the health inspector intends to shut them down. Next thing you know the woman is found dead in her car clutching the cease-and-desist order. There are more suspects than Lara and her aunt. There’s a tenant in the woman’s building who she ordered to give up his rescue cat and a disgruntled daughter-in-law. Now Lara and her spirit cat Blue must find the suspect in Claws of Action, the fourth in the Cat Lady Mysteries by Linda Reilly.

Welcome back to the Ho-Lee Noodle House in Cleveland. The Asian Night Market kicks off the summer, and Lana Lee couldn’t be more excited. It brings in tourists, locals, and business. This year there’s a food-truck competition. Wonton on Wheels looks promising until the truck blows up. Set to go on a getaway with her detective boyfriend, they instead find themselves in a homicide investigation. Wonton Terror is the fourth Noodle Shop Mystery by Vivien Chien.

Looking for traditional Mexican breads? Yeast of Eden in the seaside community of Santa Sofia, Northern California, is where Ivy Culpepper mans the ovens. When the body of a strong competitive local swimmer washes up on the beach, the drowning theory crumbles. As Ivy gets to work catering the funeral, she also gathers the Blackbird ladies and an eighty-year-old sidekick to solve the mystery. It’s Flour in the Attic, Winnie Archer’s Bread Shop Mystery #4.

The Honeybee Bakery in Savannah makes sweets of a different kind. Katie Lightfoot is a Hedgewitch, which is a woman who practices herbal healing. There are secret ingredients in her cookies and pastries. Right now she’s juggling wedding preparations, a visit from Dad, and renovations at home. But when a firefighter friend is accused of murdering a collector of rarities, Katie knows she needs to help because he’s also the boyfriend of witch and fellow spellbook club member. Cookies and Clairvoyance is the eighth Magical Bakery Mystery from the magical quill of Bailey Cates.

Warning: Murder in the Mansion contains witches, talking donkeys, and a whole lot of sass! In the tenth Witches of Keyhole Lake Southern Mysteries by Tegan Maher, Noelle has an upcycling business. She’s also dealing with her sister off to college and an aunt taking over the local ghost community (who are called the “living-impaired”). So when a friend finds a dead body in her rundown mansion, she asks for help.

BEST OF THE REST
Dale Meyer — Footprints in the Ferns Lethal Gardens #6
Julia Henry — Tilling the Truth A Garden Squad Mystery #2
J.C. Eaton — Molded 4 Murder Sophie Kimball Mysteries #5
Donna Andrews — Terns of Endearment Meg Langslow Mysteries #25
Lily Harper Hart — Raging Seas Rowen Gray Mystery #9
Steve Higgs — The Kidnapped Bride Patricia Fisher Mystery Cruise #2
Sara Bourgeois — Sweep-Stakes Wicked Witches of Coventry #6
Mary Daheim — Bitter Alpine Emma Lord Returns Mystery Series #2
Susanna Gregory — The Sanctuary Murders Chronicles of Matthew Bartholomew Mystery Series #24
Martha Grimes — The Old Success Richard Jury Mystery Series #25
David Handler — The Man in the White Linen Suit Stewart Hoag Mystery Series #11
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles — Old Bones Bill Slider Police Procedural Mystery Series #22
Ellen Hart — Twisted at the Root Jane Lawless Mystery Series #26
Lisa Lutz — The Swallows A Stand Alone
Louise Penny — A Better Man Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series #15
Hank Phillippi Ryan — The Murder List A Stand Alone
Minette Walters — The Turn of Midnight Last Hours Series #2
Ceecee James — Mid-Century Murder Flamingo Realty Murder #5
Alex Erickson — Death by Café Mocha Bookstore Café #7

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on iTunes/Apple Podcasts and Google Play. A new episode goes up this coming week.

Or click on this link to take you to Mysterious Galaxy’s website where you can purchase any of these books & a portion will go to help support KRL:

Sunny Frazier worked with an undercover narcotics team in Fresno County for 17 years before turning her energies to writing the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries. Based in the San Joaquin Valley of California, the novels are inspired by real cases and 35 years of casting horoscopes.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases.