Cozy Crime Fiction

Ex-journalist Violet Brewster is keen to make a good first impression in her new community, having just moved to the small village of Merrywell. When Violet hears about the mystery of Helen Slingsby, who disappeared from the village forty years earlier, she decides to help uncover what happened. But despite Violet’s best efforts, she can find no trace of the missing woman.

Seven people might have murdered Eric Crowther, the mysterious recluse who lived in the gaunt house whose shadow fell across the White Cottage. Seven people had good cause. It was not lack of evidence that sent Detective Chief Inspector Challenor and his son Jerry half across Europe to unravel a chaos of clues. The White Cottage Mystery was Margery Allingham's first detective story, published initially as a newspaper serial.

Lacey Doyle, 39 ans et fraîchement divorcée, a opéré un changement drastique : elle a délaissé la vie trépidante de New York et s’est installée dans la pittoresque ville côtière anglaise de Wilfordshire. L’été est presque là, et Lacey est encore plus tombée amoureuse de la ville et de son petit-ami chef. Elle s’est même trouvé une meilleure amie : la nouvelle propriétaire d’un B&B local. Et quand celle-ci a besoin de ses services pour la décoration de son hôtel, achetant presque tout dans la brocante de Lacey, ses affaires se voient même dopées.

Jenny Starling has her dream job cooking for Lord and Lady Avonsleigh in a genuine castle. Then one of the castle’s treasures, a fabulously jewelled dagger, is used to murder a staff member. The victim is found stabbed through the heart in the conservatory. Lady Avonsleigh insists that Jenny help the police find the murderer. But how can Jenny solve this case when the murder was committed in front of several reliable witnesses, none of whom saw a thing?

In a beautiful Belgravia house, Dowager Countess Georgiana intends to celebrate her son's birthday—delightful festivities are planned. Lord Stokely has a different agenda for the occasion, one concerning governance, politics, and the seizing of power. Burgoyne's Agency has yet a third and very dangerous design for the evening—the toppling of Britain's foremost charismatic personality and most photogenic peer—Stokely. Outside of Belgravia, Britain is in a turbulent state.

When the exuberant president of Ng'ombwana proposes to dispense with the usual security arrangements on an official visit to London, his old schoolmate, Chief Superintendent Alleyn, is called in to persuade him otherwise. Consequently, on the night of the embassy's reception, the house and grounds are stiff with police.

Traumatisée après qu'une coiffeuse rancunière l'a shampouinée à la crème dépilatoire, Agatha Raisin se réfugie incognito dans un hôtel de la côte en attendant que sa chevelure repousse. N'ayant plus rien à perdre, elle consulte également une sorcière réputée pour ses talents. Miracle, la magie opère, mais pour peu de temps, car la sorcière est retrouvée assassinée... Agatha renoue aussitôt avec ses réflexes de détective, aidée par l'inspecteur Jimmy Jessop, ensorcelé par ses charmes. À moins que ce ne soient les effets du philtre d'amour qu'Agatha a acheté à la pauvre sorcière ?

There was a certain heavy air of intrigue and mystery emanating from the old inn high on the cliff top. The Catherine-Wheel had once been a home for pirates and smugglers, but now it looked like it was harbouring a murderer. It had begun with an advertisement in the paper requesting descendants of the late innkeeper, Jeremiah Taverner, to stay for a weekend at the inn. They had arrived, a mixed assortment, to the family reunion eager to discover the secrets of their ancestry. But one of them had been hideously murdered, bringing the inn's stormy past into frightening focus.

Melissa Craig is struggling with her new novel, so when the invitation arrives to visit a nearby country house for some writing time, she decides a bit of peace and quiet is just what she needs. The house is everything she could have hoped for, even if the staff do seem rather unsettled. She has barely unpacked when the owner of the house persuades Melissa to investigate some threatening notes he has received. But before she can do any digging, he is found murdered in his own orchard.

Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective. Please note this book was first published as Just Not Cricket under Faith Martin’s pen name Joyce Cato. Jenny Starling is doing the catering for the village cricket match. But she’s not expecting one of the players to turn up dead. Everyone from the village has turned out to watch the match, and with this being the club’s centenary, Jenny Starling has been hired specially to provide her stunning food for the event.

“We have a secret the Devil and I.” These are the chilling words on the back of an old photograph that Sister Joan uncovers while cleaning out the attic storerooms. What she discovers among the dusty antiques leads to her most dangerous case yet. Joan has the strangest feeling that she's being followed. But the person she thinks she saw died over a year ago . . . Or did he? Then a young secretary turns up dead. She's been strangled. Another body is found and Sister Joan must get to the bottom of things before the murderer strikes again.

Mumbai is a city that thrives on extravagant spectacles and larger-than-life characters. But as Chopra is about to discover, even in the city of dreams, there is no guarantee of a happy ending.

While catering a gala for the Cruz Museum, Nora Charles agrees to look into the disappearance of director Violet Crenshaw's niece, a case previously undertaken by her frisky feline friend Nick's former owner, a private eye whose whereabouts are also currently unknown. As Nora and her curious cat Nick pull at the string of clues, they begin to unravel a twisted tale of coded messages, theft, false identities, murder, and international espionage.

Fran's dream of winning the top prize of ten thousand dollars as a contestant on a new TV baking show is quickly shattered when one of the famous judges, Jeremy Johnson, is brutally stabbed in the middle of filming. As Fran investigates, she uncovers a web of deceit, jealousy, and betrayal among the contestants and judges. With tensions high and suspicions swirling, Fran realizes that the murderer could be someone she knows all too well.

In the village of Spire, murder is afoot. Wealthy landowner Alexander, Earl of Greengrass, is caught with his trousers down in the village graveyard before meeting a gruesome end. Luckily Susie Mahl happens to be on hand. With her artist’s eye for detail and her curious nature, she is soon on the scent of the murderer....

For Sophie it’s a trip home and for Hector it’s time to meet Sophie’s parents... Though their trip has village tongues wagging about a stop at Scotland’s notorious elopement spot, Gretna Green. No matter what, it’ll make a nice break from the murder and mayhem that has been plaguing their beautiful Cotswolds village. But Sophie and Hector are barely across the border on the way to Inverness before a sinister encounter leaves them shaken.

In Scotland, the Gandiegow quilters are in an uproar when their favorite fictional quilters - the Buttermilk Guild - are killed off by a best-selling mystery author. Diana McKellen is called in by the publisher to fix this PR nightmare. It's said, there's no such thing as bad publicity, but Diana questions this long-standing notion when an editor is murdered at a book signing.

When the village doctor calls, saying he is sure there is something fishy about one of his patients’ deaths, Sukey follows up his claims. Well-liked and kindly Adelaide Minchin appears to have died in a fall. Sukey can find no evidence to the contrary, but promises the doctor she will keep his theory in mind. Meanwhile, the police force is suddenly very busy after two young girls go missing in the very same village. As Sukey investigates the last place the girls were seen, she realises it was very close to Adelaide’s cottage.... Is it possible that the cases are linked?

Pru and her husband, Christopher Pearse, are long overdue for a getaway. So when Pru is invited to redesign an Arts and Crafts garden in Cotswolds, she and Christopher jump at the chance. Unfortunately, their B&B is more ramshackle than charming, and the once thriving garden has fallen into neglect. With the garden's owner and designer, Batsford Bede, under the weather, Pru tackles the renovation alone. But just as she's starting to make headway, she stumbles upon Batsford's body in the garden - dead and pinned beneath one of his limestone statues.

Belle, jeune et riche, Frances Mortimer, épouse d'un brillant égyptologue du British Museum, promis aux plus hautes fonctions, a tout pour être heureuse. Mais ne mènerait-elle pas une double vie, ne cacherait-elle pas d'inavouables secrets ? Elle aurait dû éviter de croiser le chemin d'une momie particulièrement dangereuse, une rencontre qui ne devait rien au hasard.