My Friends Are So Talented

It's the truth. Long before I put pen to paper, I devoured books like some devour chocolate chip cookies. The fact is, that love of reading never went away. I read every night before I go to sleep. It's my gift to myself after a long day of WRITING ALL THE WORDS and semi-forcing myself to stop dillydallying on social media. (I'm talking to you, FB.)

Last month I put out a call to my uber talented author friends, asking them to post links to their books. Some of those I'd already read and loved. Many others were new to me. Since then, I've spent many a night reading the new-to-me books and I'm anxiously awaiting soon to be released books. I'm excited to share those titles with you. Place these books on your virtual TBR (To Be Read) shelf today. You won't regret it!

In no particular order, here's the must-read list:


Oceanside Mysteries by CeeCee James:  It's time! It's finally time! I've waited forever to finally be able to introduce my newest series- Oceanside Mysteries. Books 1 and 2 are 99cents for a limited time. Maisie Swenson took a job as the manager of the Oceanside Hotel in Florida, to help take care of her mom. Being that the hotel is 5 stars, she knew she'd get some crazy requests. Snow in June? Check. Helicopter wedding? Check. But she never expected what happened next! Grab your copies here!





Mayhem in Jinx Cove by Savannah Mae:  Melanie Abney leads a seemingly normal life for a twenty-something-year-old who just lost her job. When she returns to Jinx Cove, she’s anything but thrilled, but soon realizes that admitting failure is the least of her problems.

Something is very wrong in Jinx Cove and Melanie is determined to get to the bottom of it. With her life-long best friend by her side, she goes on a hunt for answers, but what they uncover is the most disturbing news of all. 

In a town filled with tales of missing women, conniving con men, and the legend of the witches of Jinx Cove could what’s happening in her life have everything to do with witchcraft and nothing to do with a string of bad luck?

Picked to Death by Maggie West:  Antique pickers Sherri Green and her bff, lovable town gossip Carol O’Brien, search for treasure amid the trash in their small midwestern town of Paradise. 

What they find is more than they bargained for. 

When they score a box of antique vases at a local auction in nearby Round Bottom, it sets off a chain of events that makes a competing picker see red. But that’s not the worst of it. Someone in the tight-knit picking community ends up dead. 

Can Sherri and Carol discover the murderer from a treasure trove of suspects before the crime gets buried along with the the town's most hated victim?

Picked to Death is a clean and wholesome, short read perfect for lovers of cozy mysteries set in a small town that feature an amateur sleuth.

Picked to Death is the first short book in the Antique Pickers in Paradise Cozy Mysteries series, and is a complete mystery that you can read in an hour or two. As a clean read, it does NOT contain strong language or graphic violence. Just Sherri and her sidekick Carol. Oh and Sherri's husband Ralph and their sweet cat, Kitty Jo.

Be sure to check out all of the short books in the Antique Pickers in Paradise Cozy Mystery series, Picked to Death, Cotton Picking Murder, Picked On, and Pick a Letter, for more small town fun and crime solving in the close-knit community of Paradise.

Black Widow Valley by Frankie Bow:  Young men have been disappearing in Black Valley, New York--which now has the misfortune of being known as "Black Widow Valley." As it happens, Mary-Alice Arceneaux has a personal connection with the tiny community, and is called in to help. Mary-Alice is thrilled to be a part of the investigation--but by the time she arrives at the forbidding Kilmer House where she will spend the night, she realizes she may be in over her head. Fortunately (?), Sinful's Sheriff Robert E. Lee is on the case too!

This modern retelling of Lost Man's Lane takes the action from the sultry bayous of Southwest Louisiana to the rustic hamlets of upstate New York State. 

The Miss Fortune series has been described as Miss Congeniality meets Golden Girls, a lighthearted fish-out-of -water adventure with a dash of romance in Louisiana bayou country. Many thanks to Jana DeLeon for letting us write in her Sinful world!

In addition to writing in the Miss Fortune universe, Frankie writes the Professor Molly Mysteries. Get Trust Fall, a Professor Molly short story FREE at bit.ly/Trust-Fall

Witch Way Home by Danielle Garrett:  Holly’s faced some serious challenges following her banishment from the supernatural community but nothing quite like this… 

She’s fighting for her freedom but when her strongest ally is found murdered, everything is on the line—including her own life.

With her rag-tag band of supernatural friends in tow, Holly’s off to launch her biggest—and most dangerous—investigation yet. She must stop the killer without setting off the SPA’s alarms or else she can kiss her chance at freedom goodbye.

***

Grab a Lemon Cloud and come back to Beechwood Harbor with Witch Way Home, the fourth book in the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries series of paranormal cozy mysteries where vampires, ghosts, shifters, and witches all work, play, and—mostly—get along.

Telling Thyme by Karny McFlynn:  It was just a little leak in the basement...

When Everly Thyme moved to her family's home in Bonhomme, Maine she was prepared for a few minor repairs.
Not this, nothing could have prepared her for this mess.
An unwelcome houseguest who refuses to leave and an Aunt who's MIA. Everly has no choice but to find her own solutions.
But when the questions start piling up as fast as the disasters, Everly has no choice but to plow forward with only her fraying nerves for guidance. There's not enough cupcakes in the world for this.
Will she manage to find the truth and clean up this mess before she loses everything familiar in her world?
Welcome to Bonhomme, Maine, where witches aren't born, they're kidnapped, cajoled, manipulated and otherwise pressed into service.

How much damage chaos can a little water cause?

Witch Cast by Sonia Parin:  Fool her once… fool her twice… This will be the third time... 

Lexie can’t believe she’s been roped into performing her coven duty. Literally. She’ll be on the stage, the one place she’s been avoiding all her life. If her abysmal acting skills don’t get her killed, surely mentioning the name Macbeth inside the revamped Garland Theater will. 

There’s a killer on the loose intent on becoming a serial killer doing away with anyone playing Lady Macbeth. Just her luck, she’s landed the leading role.

As the incoming High Chair of the American Continent and all Circumferential Domains Pertaining to the Mackenzie Coven, Lexie is still wearing her training wheels, and while her gifts are awakening they are useless against the threat lurking in the shadows. Something… someone has charmed her and she’s unable to detect danger.

It looks as if she is one performance away from playing host to a menacing shadow. It’s already killed once. Somehow, she must figure out a way to capture it. If only she could see it… 

Helping her deal with a ghost in denial, a shadow living vicariously, and a rogue witch is her new assistant, a super efficient Mackenzie Coven intern, but not everything is as it seems with her…

Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language but lots of fun, quirky dialogue & characters.

A Second Coat of Murder by Cassie Page:

Olivia’s painter is dead.

Someone wrote a note on the wall in his blood.

Detective Johnson thinks Olivia did it (doesn’t he always) . . . and she has only hours to clear her name before Matt’s parents arrive.

Olivia came to charming Darling Valley, aka Billionaire Hollow, to make a killing renovating the weekend mansions of the tech giants of Silicon Valley. 

Quirky Tuesday just dropped in from LA . . . she’s Olivia’s fortune-telling sidekick, but her real gift is sniffing out criminals.

Download now and watch these two BFFs go to town on the saints and sinners of Darling Valley . . . before Olivia has to meet her future in-laws from a jail cell.

The Campervan Bushman Series by Alannah Foley:  An edge of humour, a sense of adventure, and a hint of romance. 

Murder at Sea of Passenger X by Anna Celeste Burke: Welcome aboard! Georgie Shaw and her handsome new husband, Detective Jack Wheeler, are living it up on Marvelous Marley World’s luxurious cruise ship when trouble strikes. "The screaming came in bursts followed by shouts of man overboard, just like in a movie." Who is passenger X? Did he fall or was he pushed? Does it have anything to do with the rash of jewelry thefts or the murdered man found near the spot where Passenger X went overboard? 

With a killer on the loose, Georgie and Jack are soon enlisted to help solve the case. It's a non-stop scramble to unravel the mystery before Georgie's eccentric boss, "Mad" Max Marley, arrives in Tahiti demanding answers. That won't be easy since Passenger X isn't the only one with a dubious identity as the list of suspects grows. 

That list includes Georgie's old friend Chef Gerard and his striking blond, blue-eyed Sous Chef, Paolo. Masters of five-star cuisine and wizards with chocolate, are they cooking up more than sumptuous feasts and banquets of desserts? How about the guy in the Perroquet suit or "Monster Marston," a standout in the fitness center? 

It's all hands on deck to figure out whodunit. Even Georgie's cats get involved in the action on board this cruise that comes with a boatload of mystery! 

RECIPES INCLUDED!

The Curse of Arundul Hall Book 2 by J New One ghost, one murder, one hundred years apart. But are they connected?

Ella has discovered a secret room in The Yellow Cottage, but with it comes a ghost. Who was she? And how did she die? Ella needs to find the answers before either of them can find peace. But suddenly things take a nasty turn for the worse.

Ella Bridges has been living on Linhay Island for several months but still hasn't discovered the identity of her ghostly guest. Deciding to research the history of her cottage for clues she finds it is connected to Arundel Hall, the large Manor House on the bluff, and when an invitation to dinner arrives realises it is the perfect opportunity to discover more.

However the evening takes a shocking turn when one of their party is murdered. Is The Curse of Arundel Hall once again rearing its ugly head, or is there a simpler explanation?

Ella suddenly finds herself involved in two mysteries at once, and again joins forces with Scotland Yard's Police Commissioner to try and catch a killer. But will they succeed?

'Miss Marple meets The Ghost Whisperer' - Perfect For Fans of Golden Age Murder Mysteries, Cozy Mysteries, Clean Reads and British Amateur Sleuths

Just in time for Mother's Day, Death at Egg Harbor by Alannah Rogers, features three generation of women, one family funeral business, two suitors, and a very fat cat. Available for $2.99 or FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

After living in Minneapolis for twenty years, forty-two-year-old Jamie Burger moves back to her hometown of Egg Harbor, Minnesota heartbroken and broke. Her only possessions: a small suitcase and her faithful friend Fat Bob the cat. Moving back in with her mom and grandma is hard enough, but she soon finds herself doing what she's always avoided—running the family funeral home.

Her first client: her best friend Duffy Davis, whose dad has just passed. But it seems like Mr. Davis had a few big skeletons in his closet, including a secret second family. As Jamie helps negotiate the ensuing court battle, she's also busy being romanced by her high school crush, falling for Duffy's brother, and trying to stay as far away from dead bodies as she possibly can.

This full-length novel is both funny and poignant, featuring the lovable small town characters, cat hijinks, adventure, and sweet romance readers have come to expect from Alannah Rogers, author of the #1 Amazon bestselling Beatrice Young cozy cat mysteries. 

This novel has no foul language, sex, or gratuitous violence, though there are some graphic details about the natural process of death and all that funeral homes entail.

**Please note that this novel was formerly titled "Nice Day for a Funeral." The cover and title have been updated.**



Happy Reading,

Ava