Looking for something to read? Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of December 25 – 31, 2022 with three debut series. I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Have fun reading!
The Case of the Absent Heirs by Cathy Ace (Cozy)
The sixth book in the series finds the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency looking forward to spending their first Christmas and New Year together as guests of the Duke and Duchess of Chellingworth. They’re expecting some memorable festivities – which might owe more to ancient Welsh traditions than mince pies and plum puddings if Dowager Althea has anything to do with it. Format: Digital and Print soon available
Muffin But the Truth by Ellie Alexander (Cozy)
Ashland is known for its Elizabethan charm and touches of Shakespeare around every corner, but the surrounding Rogue Valley draws adventure enthusiasts to its outdoor wonderland of high alpine lakes, mountain ranges, and pristine rivers. Jules Capshaw and the team at Torte have been hired to cater a weekend getaway on the mighty Rogue River. Format: Print, Digital, and Audio
Killer Cupid by Laurien Berenson (Cozy)
Melanie is delighted at the prospect of three uninterrupted days alone with Sam (and, of course, her prize-winning Standard Poodle, Faith). They’re booked at the White Birch Inn, a picturesque New England resort nestled at the foot of a snow-covered mountain. Format: Print and Digital
Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke (Cozy) *new series*
When Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, a record-slash-coffee shop in Cedar River, Texas, they knew there could be some scratches on the track, but no one was expecting to find a body deader than disco in the supply closet. Format: Print and Digital
Bookclubbed to Death by V.M. Burns (Cozy)
After the local library in North Harbor, Michigan, is flooded in a storm, Sam offers her bookstore as a new venue for the Mystery Mavens Book Club. Unfortunately, she immediately runs afoul of the club leader, Delia Marshall, a book reviewer who can make or break careers—something Sam can ill afford with her debut historical mystery soon to be published. Format: Print, Digital, and Audio
Tenant and Trouble by Hope Callaghan (Cozy)
When a mysterious stranger is found beaten and barely alive just hours after demanding to speak with her new tenant, Liz and the Garden Girls jump in to investigate and begin unraveling the tenant’s troubling past to figure out if Liz and Floyd have a tenant in trouble or a tenant who is trouble. Format: Print and Digital
Cat Dancer by Shaw Collins (Cozy)
After one month in Forgotten Valley, Cassia Lemon knows three things: Owning a mansion costs a lot, her friend Genevieve’s idea of fun frightens her more than a little, and Sheriff Andrews will punish the slightest infraction of the rules. Most of which Cassia decidedly does not like. Format: Print and Digital
A Spot of Earl Slay by Aubrey Elle (Cozy) *Moved to a January 2023 releaseWhen Naomi Front moves her teenage daughter, Ella, to the small town of Fayette, all she hopes for is a new start after an ugly divorce. But the mother-and-daughter duo have a rocky start on day one—finding the corpse of the local busybody in their storage shed. Welcomed into their neighbors’ house when the police arrive, Naomi and Ella quickly learn that the victim on their property is not likely to be missed. Format: Digital
Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous by Amanda Flower (Cozy)
Millie’s decidedly not Amish best friend, Lois Henry, is outspoken, colorful, and so hopelessly romantic, she’s had four husbands. Millie doesn’t judge, and she also doesn’t expect to run into Lois’s most recent ex, gambler Gerome Moorhead, in small-town Harvest, Ohio. With him is the very young, new Mrs. Moorhead, aka “Honeybee.” Lois is outraged, but Millie is completely shocked to learn the next day that Gerome is already a widower. Format: Print, Digital, and Audio
Rum and Choke by Sherry Harris (Cozy)
The Florida Panhandle Barback Games are coming up and Chloe’s been drafted to represent the Sea Glass Saloon—competing in various obstacle-course events that conclude with rolling an empty keg up a hill. The rivalries are so fierce that some of the participating bars even stoop to bringing in ringers. Format: Print and Digital
Slippery Saturday by Denise Jaden (Cozy)
Tabby is excited for the winter solstice festival, where she plans to gently introduce her little sister to the magic of Crystal Cove. But when the local witches act evasive rather than friendly, and when one of them falls to her death from a high-wire act that appears to have been rigged, Tabby has no choice but to give her sister a crash course in magic-led sleuthing. Format: Print and Digital
The Lies That Bind by Karen MacInerney (Cozy)
Bookstore owner Max Sayers of Seaside Cottage Books is starting to settle into Snug Harbor, Maine when a local playboy plunges to his death… and Max’s best friend Denise is on the hotseat for murder. Denise is an obvious prime suspect—the dead man just nabbed the coffee house she’d been planning to buy for years right out from under her—and Max seems to be the only one in Snug Harbor who believes her friend isn’t Maine’s answer to Lizzie Borden. Format: Digital
Death by Arts and Crafts by Alexis Morgan (Cozy)
As the newest member of the Snowberry Creek City Council, perpetually overextended Abby McCree is picked to liaise between the council and the new planning committee for the town’s first ever arts and crafts fair. As far as gigs go, it’s a fun one—Abby’s spending the weekend tooling around Washington State, checking out similar fairs with her two besties, coffee shop owner Bridey Roker, and ceramic artisan Dayna Fisk. Format: Print and Digital
Moving is Murder by Nellie H. Steele (Paranormal, Cozy) *new series*
Ellie Byrne’s pending divorce from her cheating husband threatens to leave her broke and homeless. But when she inherits a bed and breakfast in the unique town of Salem Falls, her prayers may be answered. That is, until she finds out her aunt didn’t just die on the property, she was murdered. Format: Print and Digital
The Secret of the Lost Pearls by Darcie Wilde (Historical) *re-release*
Rosalind Thorne may not have a grand fortune of her own, but she possesses virtues almost as prized by the haut ton: discretion, and a web of connections that enable her to discover just about anything about anyone. Known as a “most useful woman,” Rosalind helps society ladies in need—for a modest fee, of course—and her client roster is steadily increasing.
Thank you so much, Dru Ann!
Thank you for the great list!
Great looking list, thanks Dru Ann.
Thank you Dru Ann! It’s a great list of books. Merry Christmas
I recommend both Rum and Choke (loved the ending) and Death by Arts and Crafts (stayed up until 3 this morning to finish it. Really enjoyed both books looking forward to more books in both series.
Love your lists! I can personally recommend Rum and Choke, Muffin but the Truth, Book Clubbed to Death, and Vinyl Resting Place, but I know that if it is on your lists, I am likely to love it.