Cozy Mysteries with Crafty Components

Passionate seamstress and crafter Valerie Rankin has a plan after moving back to the small town of Gasper’s Cove. Her goal is to renovate the second floor of her family’s general store and transform it into a crafting co-op. But while trying to spread the exciting news in town, a local radio announcer is murdered. 

Amid complications with her renovation project and a second murder, Valerie must use her novice detective skills to pin down the killer while fighting a corrupt town council and saving her family’s business. Readers will fall in love with the community of Gasper’s Cove in this first book in the Gasper's Cove Cozy Mystery series once they meet the various interesting and lively characters, including an ex-con named Duck and an adorable golden retriever named Toby.  

In Door County, Wisconsin, there are two things the residents can appreciate: delicious cherries and handmade quilts. Claire and her close friend Cher are in the midst of meshing those two ideas together with their Door to Door Quilt show, which will be themed Quilted Cherries. But Claire has been struggling ever since she refused a proposal from her significant other, Grayson. 

She doesn’t appear to be ready to date again, even if well-known artist Foster Collins is eager to get to know her. As planning for the outdoor quilt show gets stressful, Claire must juggle romance and responsibility in this charming cozy mystery that features a “later-in-life” love story.   

After the tragic death of her husband, Jo McAlister returns to her hometown to open up Jo’s Craft Corner. Things appear to be running smoothly on the shop’s opening day, with many people signing up for evening crafting workshops. However, the only person seemingly determined to put a damper on her special day is Cuddles the Clown, the entertainment she had hired, who hasn’t stopped complaining since the moment he first stepped foot in her shop. 

Someone else appears to be done with the clown’s negative attitude as well when Jo finds the clown killed by knitting needles. Now Jo’s become the prime murder suspect and must prove that, although she may be crafty, she is far from a crafty killer.

It also includes directions to make your very own craft project!

Carmela Bertrand is the proud owner of a scrapbooking shop called Memory Mine in New Orleans. Life is comfortable, business is thriving, and her customers rave about her thoughtfully designed scrapbooks. But then an important city elite dies during Mardi Gras, and the police suspect Carmela’s ex-husband as the killer. 

Although Shamus might not be the most considerate person in town—Carmela can personally attest to that after he abandoned their marriage—she knows that her ex-husband is no murderer. Carmela may be the perfect person to cut through the lies and piece together who may be attempting to frame him.  

Helpful scrapbooking tips are also included!

This New York Times-bestselling author and Agatha Award nominee introduces readers to Harrison Black, a man who has recently been informed that his Great Aunt Belle has been murdered. As a result of his aunt’s tragic death, he has become the new owner of her candle shop, At Wick’s End, located in the River’s Edge complex. 

Harrison boldly decides to leave his old life behind and take on the responsibility of learning how to run a candle shop, all the while trying to solve this unexpected murder case, whose suspect may very well be one of the building’s tenants.  

Includes details on the candle-making process that will inspire you to want to make your own!

Residents of Sweet Briar, South Carolina, have been far from welcoming to the Chicago native Tori Sinclair, who moved to town to replace the recently retired librarian, who was forced to give up her position by the library board members unbeknownst to the newcomer. Needless to say, making enemies has been far easier than finding friends. 

But she’s been hard at work trying to be friendly, even joining a sewing circle to meet some of the town’s prominent citizens. Things take a turn for the worse when Tori discovers the body of the town’s sweetheart. Authorities are trying to link Tori to the crime by suggesting that her harmless flirting with the dead young woman’s partner prior to her murder implicates Tori in a crime of passion spurred by a scandalous love triangle. Enlisting the help of her sewing crew, Tori must clear her name before she gets tangled up in this fabricated lie.

There are sewing tips and patterns included!

Sarah Miller needs to adjust to a new life. She’s moving to a new retirement community, where she’s making new friends and taking up fresh hobbies. Sarah uses quilting to fill some of her quieter hours. When she finally starts settling in, a country music scandal rocks her world. Austin Bailey, a popular singer, is at the center of a mystery. Just before his latest concert could kick off, a young woman is murdered.

It’s up to Sarah and her clever quilting cohort to solve this stunning mystery. 

This book includes a quilting pattern, so you can recreate one of the quilting cohort’s creations!

One of Nero Blanc’s twelve Crossword Mysteries, this book finds two newlyweds facing a devastating loss. Crossword editor Belle Graham’s estranged father has suddenly passed—under incredibly ordinary circumstances. The coroner says that he died of a heart attack. 

However, when Belle arrives to sort her father’s effects, she finds that this is just one in a number of concerning murders taking place in Sanibel Island. Belle uncovers a terrifying conspiracy theory with the help of her husband, Rosco. This deadly plot may just lead to the secrets Belle never really knew about her father’s life, and the truth about his death. 

This book includes crosswords for you to solve!

A murder can be a truly puzzling thing. This first book in the Puzzle Lady series centers around amateur sleuth and crossword-queen, Cora Felton. Crime is rare in Cora’s tiny town of Bakerhaven. It’s so rare, in fact, that the Police Chief is set to investigate his first murder when the body of a teenage girl is found. The Police Chief may be a touch lost, but Cora is ready to sift through the clues. She’s ready to reconstruct the facts of the case with the same fascination and concentration that she constructs a crossword with. 

This book contains crossword puzzles for you to complete!

Breanna Miller has left Boston in favor of a quiet, rural town of Morse Point in Massachusetts. She finds solace in teaching crafts, keeping her hands and mind busy—to avoid thinking about the misfortunes of her past. Her decoupage class has grown popular since she moved to Morse Point, but Breanna is having a little trouble settling into small town life. Not everyone in Morse Point is particularly friendly, and when the Mayor presses her to speak to her landlord about selling her property, she finds herself at odds with one of the most popular figures in town.

It seems that the Mayor’s changed his mind about pressing Breanna’s landlord—until his body is found stuffed into a trunk at the lake—and witnesses report seeing Nate’s truck by the night the night of the supposed murder. Breanna finds herself disrupting her quiet life in favor of proving Nate’s innocence.

This book offers decoupage tips throughout!

For the sudoku enthusiasts, this book allows you to work out a murder by the numbers. This book follows Liza, who writes a column and creates sudoku puzzles for her local newspaper, the Oregon Daily. Liza has excellent deductive skills, which help her to create incredibly challenging puzzles. 

These skills will come in handy when a friend of hers ends up dead after he sends her a cryptic message, warning her that the clues of a conspiracy are embedded in a few sudoku puzzles. This friend was a sudoku enthusiast as well, and a fellow competitor in a sudoku tournament. Liza’s going to have to puzzle this mystery out, or she may just have her number punched. 

This book includes sudoku puzzles for you to solve!