The Lavender Lady Casefile

Do ghosts exist? Perhaps, if, they have a murderous secret to tell . . . When newly-widowed Effie James is asked by her good friend, a professor of psychology, to help him with his latest book by participating in a local ghost-watching group, she is, at first, rather reluctant. But Corwin Fielding, the attractive and erudite leader of the paranormal researchers, has no objections to an "impartial" observer on his team, and the others in the group are a friendly and welcoming bunch. So when the C-FITS are called in by a woman who is worried that her recently deceased mother might be haunting her old family home, Effie quickly finds herself thrown in at the deep end. And the eerie scent of lavender that mysteriously comes and goes in the old lady's bedroom is not the least of her worries. Effie slowly comes to suspect that the old lady might not have died of natural causes after all, and that her killer might not take very kindly to the idea of a nosy group of strangers poking their noses in.

Looking for a new cozy mystery author to love? Dive in to this collection of excerpts from the Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press Spring/Summer 2017 season (books published from late April to August). The Cozy Case Files collection includes: Trumpet of Death by Cynthia Riggs Sticks and Bones by Carolyn Haines Murderous Mayhem at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison Love & Death in Burgundy by Susan C. Shea Your Killin' Heart by Peggy O'Neal Peden Gone Gull by Donna Andrews Dog Dish of Doom by E.J. Copperman Enforcing the Paw by Diane Kelly Cat About Town by Cate Conte A Crime of Passion Fruit by Ellie Alexander

Looking for a new cozy series? In the new edition of Cozy Case Files, Minotaur Books compiles the beginnings of eleven charming cozy mysteries publishing in Fall 2020 for free for easy sampling. The tenth edition of Cozy Case Files features the latest cozies by the following authors: Ashley Weaver, Jane K. Cleland, Ellen Hart, Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews, Ellie Alexander, Cate Conte, Diane Kelly, Elizabeth Penney, Vivien Chien, and Susan Cox. In 1930s England, Amory Ames must sort through secret identities and whirlwind romances to uncover the killer in the crowd in A Deception at Thornecrest. Or in Hidden Treasure and In a Midnight Wood, things from the past shake things up in the present. Christmas is threatened to be canceled in A Garland of Bones, The Gift of the Magpie, and A Whisker of a Doubt. Then after the holidays are over, a murder in the midst of preparation for the town’s annual IceFest means brewer Sloan Krause must serve a pint of hoppy justice in Without a Brew. In Bending the Paw, murder without a body is like a dog without a bone. Need an excuse to order takeout? Thread & Dead and Killer Kung Pao have you covered with a lobster festival or the popular Ho-Lee Noodle House. And finally, San Francisco is calling your name in The Man in the Microwave Oven.

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Monica Noble is throwing a party to welcome the village’s new residents. The guests include Margaret and her cheating husband Sean. Also on the list are a celebrity chef, an Oxford university professor, a 40-something divorcee, and the owner of a chain of gyms. Then as the drinks are flowing, a shotgun blast rings out. One of the guests is found dead. DCI Dury and Sergeant Jim Greer are soon on the scene and discover that the victim had many enemies. Almost all the guests harbour secrets and motives for murder. Even Monica’s daughter comes under suspicion. When another villager is strangled to death nearly a week later, the stakes are raised. Can Monica help the local detectives save her daughter and solve the murders before anyone else pays the ultimate price?

Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. The handsome young artist had a reputation as a ladies man. DI Hillary Greene discovers that many wealthy married women were buying his paintings and taking private art lesson from him. It appears that several of them might have wanted him dead. Can Hillary get to the bottom of a complex case involving jealousy, love, and cold-blooded murder? Hillary also has a new detective sergeant, Gemma Fordham. Seemingly efficient and pleasant, she harbours a secret agenda.‍

Don’t miss Faith Martin’s fiendishly clever new novel, Murder by Candlelight, set in the 1920s and described as ‘the perfect village mystery’ by J.M. Hall ‘A brilliant book! The pairing of Ryder and Loveday is a stroke of genius.’ Clare Chase, author of the Eve Mallow and Tara Thorpe mysteries

DI Hillary Greene is not a happy woman. Not only has her corrupt husband died, leaving her in the mire with an internal investigation team, but she's living on a relative's canal boat in the tiny village of Thrupp. Things perk up, however, when her boss assigns her the case of a body found in a canal lock.