Check out some of the new titles releasing during the week of May 23 – 29, 2021 with two debut series from Jess Dylan and Dana Mentink. Reading is an adventure and I hope a few of these books take you to an exciting place. Enjoy!

Beyond A Reasonable Donut by Ginger Bolton (Cozy)
Emily and her assistant, Nina, are looking forward to manning the Deputy Donut tent at the Faker’s Dozen Carnival in Fallingbrook, Wisconsin—a festival held on Friday the thirteenth to celebrate good and bad luck. But Emily has barely dropped the corn fritters in oil when bad luck boils up. First, their bucket of confectioner’s sugar disappears—and then while a mime creates a distraction, a magician robs their cash register.

Carried to the Grave and Other Stories by Leslie Budewitz (Short Story Collection)
In this delicious new collection of five short stories and one novella, Leslie Budewitz takes us further into the heart of Jewel Bay—from the playhouse to the Merc, from funerals to food festivals—with equal parts humor, suspense, and compassion, and no shortage of murder to spice up the menu. In Carried to the Grave, a long-hidden family secret refuses to be put to rest.

Body in the Book Drop by Lynn Cahoon (Cozy)
In this Cat Latimer mystery prequel – Cat’s just starting her graduate degree program that will set her up as a Covington professor. Her mom is working at the local public library, but if a board member has his cost cutting way, not for long. When he’s found dead at the library, Cat’s mom is the primary suspect since her banana bread knife is the murder weapon. Cat has to prove that her mom isn’t a killer – before the real culprit decides that curiosity really does kill the Cat.

Murder on the Beach edited by Destination Murders (Short Story Collection)
Searching for the perfect Beach Read? Then grab this fun collection of eight beach-themed stories written by award winning and best-selling cozy mystery authors. With these light, often funny stories of mystery and intrigue, you will travel to a variety of shores, from the rocky coastlines of New England, to the white stretches of sand on the Atlantic, to the teal and emerald waters of the Gulf Coast, the surfing havens on the Pacific, and even beaches in between.

The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit by Krista Davis (Cozy)
With Old Town’s DIY Home Decorating Festival in full swing, Sophie’s swamped, juggling a bumper crop of artisans, antique dealers, and decorators for the busy street fair. Still, when her best friend Nina suddenly needs a ride from the airport, Sophie is happy to help…until she sees Nina disembarking in a state of disarray. It’s obvious the trip to Portugal soured somewhere along the way. But after one of Nina’s traveling companions turns up murdered the following day, Sophie knows something is truly rotten.

Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan (Cozy) *new series*
Sierra Ravenswood is the new part-time employee of the Flower House, a flower shop in Aerieville, Tennessee. It’s true she didn’t expect to be back in her hometown at twenty-eight-years-old, but after her dream of making it as a singer in Nashville crashed and burned, she’s just grateful to have found a soft place to land.

Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein (Cozy)
Between working as a law firm receptionist, reluctantly pitching in as co-owner of her twin sister’s restaurant, and caretaking for her regal Siamese RahRah and rescue dog Fluffy, Sarah has no time to enjoy life’s finer things. Divorced and sort-of dating, she’s considering going back to school. But as a somewhat competent sleuth, Sarah’s more suited for criminal justice than learning how many ways she can burn a meal.

Murder at St. Winifred’s Academy by JD Griffo (Cozy)
Alberta can hardly believe it. Her childhood screen idol, 1950s Hollywood starlet Missy Michaels, has signed up for the local Tranquility Players revival of the classic Arsenic and Old Lace. But before Missy memorizes a single line, she’s found dead in her dressing room wrapped in lace and clutching a bottle of arsenic. The ultimate drama-queen suicide? Everyone thinks so—except Alberta. A Ferrara woman knows murder when she sees it.

Murder in a Scottish Garden by Traci Hall (Cozy)
Paislee’s custom sweater and yarn business, Cashmere Crush, is the sole support for not only the single mum and her ten-year-old son Brody, but also her eccentric Gramps and Wallace, their black Scottish terrier. So when her landlord, Shawn Marcus, serves her an eviction notice and then pulls a disappearing act, she’ll go to any lengths to find the man and reason with him.

Murder at the Montrose Mansion by Denise Jaden (Cozy)
There are plenty of things a girl wants to do on her sixteenth birthday. Clearing a family member from suspicion of murder isn’t one of them. Amber is finally turning sixteen, and Mallory is determined to make the day perfect, baking her everything from brioche to pink lemonade cupcakes for the party her mom is throwing her. Their favorite Honeysuckle Grove detective, Alex Martinez, will be in attendance, too, at least until he gets called away to investigate a recently discovered death involving possible foul play.

Buttons and Blows by Gayle Leeson (Cozy)
When retro fashion designer Amanda learns that Violet, the sweet little old lady from whom she bought antique buttons, has been murdered, she’s dismayed—especially when she realizes the murder occurred the evening after Amanda had visited Violet’s shop. Now the ghost who was enamored of the victim is demanding that Amanda help him bring the woman’s killer to justice.

Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink (Cozy) *new series*
After her divorce from her thrice-married embezzler husband, Trinidad Jones is finally ready for a fresh start. So when she’s left one of ex’s businesses in Upper Sprocket, Oregon, she decides to pack up her dog, cash in her settlement, and open her dream business: the Shimmy and Shake Shop, introducing the world to her monster milkshakes. And even with a couple sticky situations underway, namely that the other two ex-wives also call Sprocket home, Trinidad’s life seems to be churning along smoothly.

See Something by Carol J. Perry (Cozy)
Lee has been promoted from field reporter to program director. Keeping track of all the shows and managing the local TV personalities—including a cowboy, a clown, and a performing dog—has her head spinning. Perhaps that’s what makes her take pity on the distraught woman she finds sitting alone on a bench on the Salem common. When she realizes that the poor woman doesn’t even know her own name, Lee takes her into the warmth of the home she shares with her Aunt Ibby and their clairvoyant gentleman cat, O’Ryan.