A gardener digs up an old skeleton in the "back forty" of Shandley Gardens, a public garden in the Sonoran Desert. Volunteer coordinator Bea Rivers discovers that the victim, a man who disappeared in 1969, may be connected to a small town in New Mexico, where he'd made quite a few enemies among amateur archaeologists. There may be some connection with illegal artifacts... and with Shandley Gardens' founders. As Bea is drawn into the investigation, she meets an ever-increasing cast of quirk...

A desert garden hides deadly secrets. Bea Rivers' new job at Shandley Gardens seems idyllic, but financial woes and hidden resentments threaten the peace. When founder Liz Shandley dies in a tragic accident, Bea's job is at risk. But was it an accident?As the police investigate a murder, Bea must balance single parenthood with a tangled web of relationships and enigmatic botanical clues. Can she uncover the truth before the killer strikes again?Perfect for ...

Bea Rivers has had three years to settle into her new role as the executive director of Shandley Gardens. She loves the job even if it sometimes interferes with raising her family. Out of the blue she is invited by an old college friend, Paige Pearson, to attend an intimate botanical garden conference at the seaside La Jolla Gardens in exclusive La Jolla, California. Bea decides to attend and convinces her friend Lila Busby, who just became the director of a garden in New Mexico, to attend...

Christmas cheer turns to cringing fear in this second Beach Reads cozy mystery starring bookstore owner Summer Merriweather.With the help of her late mother’s book club, Summer tries to solve a decades-old mystery—and save the life of an endangered cozy author.There’s no place like home for the holidays, even if home is sleepy, beachside Brigid’s Island, North Carolina. During this season for giving, the town wakes up to a welcome throng of...

A quiet lakeside town in western New York is the new home of Manhattan artist Chloe Abbington—and the backdrop for murder—in this charming cozy mystery series debut.For Chloe Abbington, the transition from fine art painter in New York City to painting-event business owner in charming Whisper Cove is more than a little jarring. But when poison-pen journalist Fiona Gimble writes a viciously negative review of the newly opened Paint with a View, Chloe learns that crit...

Love and murder are in the air this Valentine’s day in Maggie Blackburn’s third Beach Reads mystery, perfect for fans of Eva Gates and Miranda James.When Beach Reads bookshop hosts a Valentine’s Day event, “Romance by the Sea,” bookseller Summer Merriweather has no idea that the guest author is under investigation for her own husband’s murder. When that same author is found dead at the local bed and breakfast, nobody assumes it’s natural causes–there were plenty of...

This series debut set in Oregon offers “plenty of clever clues and red herrings” to delight fans of cozy mysteries by Jenn McKinlay and Joanne Fluke (Peg Cochran, USA Today bestselling author).Lexi Jones and her dog, Cookie, make a bitter discovery in their sweet-as-candy town . . .Life is sweet when you live in Confection, Oregon. Or, at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. But on a summer day, when tourists and locals alike gaw...

In Bailee Abbott’s second book in the Paint by Murder mysteries, Chloe and Izzie are taking their paint party business on the road—with murder as the first stop!Chloe Abbington and her sister, Izzie, are enjoying huge success running Paint with a View, their paint party business in the tranquil western New York lakeside town of Whisper Cove. Now, their aunt Constance—president of the local chapter of the Chautauqua Sisterhood—has hooked them up with a gig hosting a...

A smart, well-crafted mystery set in a charming small-town Ohio, where bookstore-cafe owner Krissy Hancock has a sideline in sleuthing—just right for fans of Leslie Meier, Cleo Coyle, and Carolyn Hart.Christmas has come to Pine Hills, and Krissy’s blooming relationship with Officer Paul Dalton has her in an especially festive mood. The café’s new seasonal signature drink is a hit too. But not everyone shares the same holiday spirit. There are some loud complaints a...

When the town council hires Chloe Abbington's close friend, famous wall muralist Lana Easton, to paint a mural advertising the return of the floating amphitheater, not everyone in Whisper Cove is happy about the theater or Lana. Naysayers think the noise from concerts and visitors will disrupt their quiet community. It doesn't help that a lot of money taken from the town's budget is being used to pay the muralist for her services. The mood turns even more grim when Lana is found dead, and ...

Perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Kate Carlisle, the members of the Jane Doe Book Club are on the case as Kate Young's peachy-keen Georgia-set mystery series comes back for seconds.What better time than Halloween to dig into a bracing discussion of a diabolical murder mystery? And what better choice for the Jane Doe Book Club than Agatha Christie's Crooked House? Lyla Moody and her friends are soon embroiled in debate over whether the heroine's actions ...

**Just in time for the holidays—and the perfect stocking stuffer for the mystery lover in your life—two Melanie Travis mysteries, WAGGING THROUGH THE SNOW and HERE COMES SANTA PAWS, are collected in one trade paperback volume!It will also appeal to fans of dog mysteries written by David Rosenfelt and Spencer Quinn.**WAGGING THROUGH THE SNOWWith a demanding teaching job and five poodles scampering around the house, Melanie Travis barely has energy for...