After getting called to an arson scene that will be a jurisdictional nightmare, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department arson detectives Andrew Walker and Walter Sharpe are more than happy to leave and instead investigate an ongoing fire in a new housing development. It’s but one of a series of arsons set in the million-dollar new homes, with one eventually revealing the body of a crispy corpse.
After a tragedy disrupted her plans to become a criminologist, Annie Murray found happiness starting her life over as a bookseller and promoter for the Secret Bookcase bookstore in the Northern California town of Redwood Grove.
This week we have 5 more cozy and historical mysteries all with a magical or spooky side making them perfect for Halloween reading-A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor: A Food and Spirits Mystery by Darci Hannah, Booked on Murder by Allison Brook, Furever After by Sofie Kelly, a Magical Cats Mystery, Six Stunning Sirens by Lynn Cahoon, and Death and the Visitors by Heather Redmond.
Halloween is always one of the busiest times of the year for the town of Salem, Massachusetts, but now it’s especially chaotic. Paragon Productions has descended on Salem for a location shoot of their witch-themed movie called Night Magic, and everyone seems to be in a tizzy with the arrival of the actors and crew. Already working as WICH-TV’s program director and occasional field reporter, Lee Barrett Mondello has also been assigned by her station manager to direct a documentary about the film’s production.
Having found success renovating homes for their Domestic Partners show on Home Design Television, bestselling author PJ “Pete” Penwell and his partner JP Broadway are taking on the challenging 1913 manor built for lumber baron William Royce Woods. Infamous for a family curse that has been passed down and led to the deaths of many of the Woods family, this renovation has been planned to coincide with Halloween in their hometown of Pleasant Woods, Michigan.
For the upcoming Gala Week ushering in the New Year and raising funds for the Silvercrest Library, the cast of the popular mystery television show Chasers have been invited to premiere their new episode written by local resident and mystery author Calliope Nightfall. Tabitha Baxter, the president of the library board and self-declared leader of the gala, is thrilled to be welcoming the star Whitney Wilton and her niece/party planner Lyra, at least right up until Lyra falls ill and is later found dead.
This week we have 4 more cozy and historical mysteries for your fall reading-Quilty as Charged: A Measure Twice Sewing Mystery Book Two by Maggie Bailey, No Paw to Stand On: A Bookmobile Cat Mystery by Laurie Cass, The Grim Steeper: A Witches Brew Mystery #3 by Gretchen Rue, and Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair.
Annie Murray’s plans to become a forensic psychologist or criminal profiler ended with the death of her best friend Scarlet. Annie’s never forgiven herself for not discouraging Scarlet from pursuing leads in a cold case, one of the unsolved mysteries assigned to them by their criminology professor. Annie believes that their recklessness led to Scarlet’s murder, and the guilt caused Annie to abandon her dreams and instead accept a job as a bookseller in Redwood Grove, California.
This week we have 4 more fun mysteries for you-A Very Woodsy Murder by Ellen Byron, Murder at an English Séance by Jessica Ellicott, Come Shell or High Water by Molly MacRae, and Trouble is Brewing by Vicki Delany. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of all 4 books and links to purchase them from Amazon at the end of each review.
After her humiliation of being left at the altar was live-streamed and went viral, social media influencer Maddy Montgomery took advantage of an unexpected inheritance to flee L.A. and move to New Bison, Michigan to take over her late Great-aunt Octavia’s bakery. Along with Baby Cakes Bakery came the unexpected gift of Aunt Octavia’s 250-pound Champion English Mastiff, Baby, a Georgian-style home, and the four close friends who make up the Baker Street Irregulars.
