The most outrageous cozy mysteries

In this fourteenth book in the Country Club Murders series, Ellison Russell returns from a long honeymoon to find an older woman has been murdered in her bed. With a new husband, her mother in the hospital (targeted by the murderer?), her difficult sister as a houseguest, one too many animals, and a full social calendar, Ellison can’t catch a break. Ellison is smart and funny, and she’s found herself a new, inappropriate, and wonderful husband. The spoof of the 1980s country club society is spot on.

Finlay is a struggling novelist and always-broke single mom, at the mercy of her smarmy ex. Overheard talking about the plot of the novel that’s stalled on her computer, she is mistaken for a hit woman. Lured by an enormous payout, she goes along with the charade, thinking she can bow out at any time. Of course consequences are everywhere as Finlay finds a sidekick and together, they masquerade in a shady bar, find themselves at a grave site, and come too close to crime for comfort. The second book in the series is Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead. You want to cheer for Finlay and strangle the ex. It’s all hilariously improbable.

Social media expert Maddy Montgomery, left standing at the altar, is #StartingOver in small-town Michigan after inheriting her great-aunt’s bakery and a 200-pound English Mastiff named Baby. Her plan to sell the bakery and go back to her sophisticated life is spoiled by a restriction in the will requiring her to spend a year in New Bison. Maddy doesn’t bake, and her Louboutins aren’t made for walking giant dogs, but the locals are friendly, and Lake Michigan is beautiful. Maddy feels ready to take on the challenge—until New Bison’s mayor is fatally stabbed, and her fingerprints are on the knife. When there’s another murder, she even begins to suspect the one person she has trusted. Maddy’s snarky dialog and clever use of hashtags, along with the irresistible Baby, make this a stand-out.

Anastasia Pollock is caught in an outrageous situation. Husband, Karl, is at a sales meeting in Harrisburg. No, wait! He drops dead in Las Vegas where he has gambled away their nest egg, tuition for their sons’ college, and $50,000 he owes a loan shark. Lucille, Anastasia’s hateful mother-in-law, an outspoken eighty-something card-carrying Communist, has moved in with Anastasia because she’s broke and has nowhere to go. Anastasia designs projects for a craft magazine, and Marlys, her self-centered fashion editor, is found dead, glued to Anastasia’s office chair. When it turns out that Karl and Marlys were having an affair, Anastasia is the prime suspect in the murder. Anastasia survives all this with sarcastic humor, deadpan comments, and a parrot who quotes Shakespeare. First in a highly successful series.

When her scam-artist almost-ex-husband, Charley, saves her life after a motorcycle accident, Amanda almost forgives him. Then she discovers he was murdered hours before the crash. And he never went into the light—he’s been rejected. As a ghost, he cannot lie, and he cannot leave Amanda’s side. She’s stuck with him.

Amanda is desperate to solve the murder, clear herself as prime suspect, and get rid of Charley. Digging deep exposes more of Charley’s lies—the family he claimed died is loving and alive in a tiny Texas town; he was blackmailing both his killer and Amanda’s father the judge. Amanda not only traps the killer but discovers new relationships that change her life forever. Charley still doesn’t go into the light—he’s around for four sequels.

Some scary scenes, Amanda’s dry wit, and a ghost no one else can see or hear makes this fun to read.