Tag: #Cozy

Posted in Cozy Mysteries

Jingle Bells and Shotgun Shells

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

It’s Christmas time in Honey Hollow and Santa might have a list, but I’ve got one of my own—a hit list.
Okay, fine. Santa’s got a list, but I’ve got a body—and if I don’t solve this case before Christmas morning, I might just end up on the naughty side of a jail cell. As for that naughty list of mine, well I’ll take care of that. I always (almost) do.

When Santa drops dead, I’m making a list and checking it twice… for suspects.

Look, I never planned to spend my Christmas investigating murder instead of committing it. But when Santa face-plants into my festively decorated elf attire and drops dead during the Jingle Bell Jubilee, what’s a reluctant hitwoman to do?

I’m Effie Canelli, and my holiday to-do list just got complicated: bake gingerbread, wrap presents, figure out who offed Santa, and oh yeah—avoid assassinating someone who is near and dear to my boyfriend (direct orders from my Uncle Jimmy, the family’s resident crime lord).

My hot detective boyfriend Cooper is officially investigating, but between my meddling Nona Jo orchestrating surprise weddings, Aunt Cat and Carlotta wreaking havoc at every turn, and a growing list of suspects with murder on their Christmas wish lists, I’m knee-deep in yuletide chaos.

So grab your spiked eggnog and join me in Honey Hollow, where the cookies are sweet, the family dynamics are sweeter, and someone is decking more than just the halls this Christmas season. Trust me—this holiday murder spree is the gift that keeps on giving!

It’s a race against time—before the real Santa slides down the chimney and someone else ends up on the wrong side of a sleigh.

Merry Christmas to me, huh?

Cosmopolitan Magazine calls Addison’s books, “…easy, frothy fun!”
Humor with a side of homicide.

A laugh out loud standalone cozy mystery by New York Times, USA TODAY, & Wall Street Journal bestseller Addison Moore

***A MURDER IN THE MIX Crossover!*** Includes RECIPE!

Posted in Cozy Small Town Romance

The Bookshop of Secrets: A heartwarming cozy mystery with a touch of magic! 

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

What happens when a simple bookshop project to help people face their fears goes viral, and reveals that someone in your small town is achingly, desperately invisible?

Charlie Whitmore thought she’d finally figured out life in Leafwood Falls. Two years after trading her Manhattan law career for the Oak & Ink Bookshop, she’s settled into a rhythm of cozy fall mornings, community book clubs, and only occasional sabotage by Hemingway, the imperious orange bookshop cat who expresses his literary opinions through destruction and hairballs.

Then her assistant Mia has the perfect idea for Halloween.

The Fear Jar starts simply: drop in your anonymous fear, take a personalized book recommendation. A small Halloween project for the bookshop. But this is Mia, purple-haired, endlessly enthusiastic, physically incapable of doing anything halfway, and within days the jar goes viral. Confessions flood in. Social media explodes. The whole town is suddenly writing down their deepest terrors and trusting Charlie to answer with the perfect story.

Until Charlie notices something heartbreaking. Someone in Leafwood Falls is drowning in invisibility, writing their loneliness over and over, hoping someone will notice.

Charlie wants to respect anonymity. Mia wants to solve the mystery, in a dramatic reveal at the Halloween masquerade party. And Hemingway has his own, feline opinions. And as October winds toward its witching hour, the cozy bookshop mystery becomes something more complicated, because in a small town where everyone knows everyone, discovering who’s been writing those fears means unraveling secrets people have spent years keeping hidden.

Curl up with a pumpkin spice latte and let this Halloween bookshop mystery work its magic. You’ll laugh at Mia’s chaotic sleuthing, fall in love with fall in Leafwood Falls, and find yourself believing that bookshop cats know more than they’re letting on. Perfect for readers who love their mysteries cozy, their small towns quirky, and their October evenings full of twinkle lights and possibility.

Return to the beloved town of Leafwood Falls, where a viral Fear Jar, one all-knowing bookshop cat, and a purple-haired investigator with boundary issues prove that October’s best magic happens when someone finally sees you.

Posted in Cozy Small Town Romance

The Midnight Reader: A heartwarming cozy mystery with a touch of magic! 

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

The Midnight Reader: A Leafwood Falls Quick-read
A heartwarming cozy mystery with a touch of magic!

Can be read as a standalone or part of a the series!

What happens when someone’s been breaking into your bookstore… but all they leave behind is beautiful literary criticism?

Charlie Whitmore has finally found her rhythm as owner of Oak & Ink Bookshop in charming Leafwood Falls, Vermont. More than a year after leaving her high-powered Manhattan law career behind, she’s settled into small-town life with her boyfriend, her sharp-tongued assistant Mia, and Hemingway, the imperious orange cat who rules the shop with literary opinions and strategic hairballs.

But when Charlie discovers someone has been visiting Oak & Ink after hours, she expects the worst. Instead, she finds carefully penciled margin notes signed “R.W.”—thoughtful, insightful commentary that suggests someone who truly understands books, grief, and the healing power of stories.

With Mia’s investigative enthusiasm and help from Tom, the poetry-quoting blacksmith who makes Mia’s heart flutter in unexpected ways, Charlie sets out to solve the mystery. But the truth they uncover is more heartbreaking than any break-in: sometimes the people who need books most are the ones who can no longer afford to own them.

Set in the magical world of Leafwood Falls, The Midnight Reader delivers all the bookish charm, gentle humor, and small-town warmth that made readers fall in love with The Next Chapter Bookshop. This novella is perfect for an afternoon escape into a place where cats dispense wisdom, books have opinions, and good things happen.

Perfect for readers who loved THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER, THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY, and THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP. A tender story about community, second chances, and the magic that happens when we approach each other’s mysteries with curiosity instead of fear.

Posted in Cozy Mysteries

Turkey Trots and Target Shots

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

It’s Thanksgiving in Honey Hollow and things are about to go from delicious to deadly.

The turkeys aren’t the only things on the run in Honey Hollow—so is a killer. Effie finds herself at the heart of another homicide, and despite the fact her own hit list is growing, she’s determined to find the killer. And then there’s that whole Cooper Knox debacle. Here’s hoping she doesn’t have to solve that with a bullet, too.

Love small towns, close-knit friendships, and humor with a side of homicide? You will LOVE the Pain in the Assassin series! Hilarious from start to finish!

An assassin who works for the mob. One hot detective. And a killer. Living in Honey Hollow can be murder.

Cosmopolitan Magazine calls Addison’s books, “…easy, frothy fun!”
Humor with a side of homicide.

A laugh out loud cozy mystery by New York Times, USA TODAY, & Wall Street Journal bestseller Addison Moore

***A MURDER IN THE MIX SPINOFF!*** Includes RECIPE!

My name is Eufrasia Canelli, but everybody calls meEffie. I come from a big Italian family with big hearts, big appetites, and an even bigger bankroll that’s cleverly hidden from the IRS.

I’m not married to the mob, I was born into it.Just last year, I was laid off from my career at a tech company, and in an effort to keep from moving back home, I went crawling to the biggest crime lord I know—my Uncle Jimmy.

He gave me two options: dance at his strip club or hunt down his enemies.

Seeing that I’m no fan of public nudity, I opted for murder.

Let’s just say my mortality rate so far is nil.

Okay, so I’m not a straight shot, but my Uncle Jimmy doesn’t seem to mind and I’m still raking in enough money to keep a roof over my head.

I also took a part-time job at a local bakery. Not only do I get to satisfy my sweet tooth for free, but I get a decent cover when I’m asked about my employment.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Honey Hollow is rolling out the feathered carpet as all of Main Street hosts theGobble and Grab Turkey Trot where shops are handing out samples and having sales right up until the big day. In fact, the bakery is hosting a pumpkin pie-eating contest to kick off the festivities. And let’s not forget the huge book signing taking place on night one, featuring Harmony Honeycutt’s new book on how to manifest your dreams.

So when my next hit ends up face down in a pie I served up, I’m not only shocked—I’m also a little curious as to who beat me to the killer punch. And wouldn’t you know it? That dead guy just so happens to be Harmony Honeycutt’s ex. It makes me wonder if she’s just manifested herself a murder.

Harmony might be at the top of my suspect list, but I’m at the top of Cooper’s.

Now I’ve got to find the killer before I end up behind bars for committing a homicide I had nothing to do with.

I guess it’s true what they say—living in Honey Hollow can be murder.

Posted in Cozy Small Town Romance

The Copper Kettle Cafe: A comforting story of love, community, humor, and the magic of finding home! 

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A comforting story of love, community, humor, and the magic of finding home!

What happens when a perfectionist chef who demands uniformity meets a stubborn organic farmer who believes imperfection has character?

Can be read as a standalone or part of a the series!

Olivia Mercer’s meticulously planned culinary career lies in ruins after her prestigious Boston restaurant collapses in scandal. With her reputation tarnished and job prospects nonexistent, she reluctantly returns to her hometown of Leafwood Falls to temporarily manage the town’s café, while family friend Maggie undergoes cancer treatment.

The Copper Kettle Cafe seems stuck in the past, from its ancient, temperamental espresso machine that seems to have opinions about who operates it, the mysteriously changing chalkboard quotes that appear each morning, to her grandmother’s recipe box that somehow always produces exactly the recipe she needs at exactly the right moment. And then there’s Hemingway, the cantankerous orange cat from the nearby bookshop, who has a mysterious talent for showing up precisely when Olivia needs guidance. Whether she wants it or not.

Olivia’s plan is simple: maintain the café for six months, then return to the culinary world where she belongs. But Leafwood Falls has other ideas.

When she clashes with local farmer James Foster over his “inconsistent” organic produce, sparks fly in more ways than one. James believes food should have soul. Olivia demands technical perfection. He grows vegetables with personality. She creates dishes with precision. They’re completely wrong for each other. Except for their undeniable chemistry and shared passion for creating something authentic.

As Olivia rediscovers her grandmother’s recipes and begins to reimagine the café’s future, she finds herself questioning everything she thought mattered in her career. But when a prestigious job offer arrives that could salvage her culinary reputation, Olivia must decide what truly satisfies her—the high-stakes restaurant world she’s always pursued, or the small-town connections and imperfect farmer who are showing her that the most delicious recipes are the ones that don’t follow the rules.

Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, and Jenny Colgan, this delicious small-town romance serves up a perfect blend of witty banter, laugh-out-loud moments, heartfelt connections, and the special magic that happens when someone finally finds where they belong.

Return to the beloved town of Leafwood Falls, where a sprinkle of magic, a dash of community, and one opinionated bookshop cat make every story sweeter.