Book Spotlight: Murder on the Menu by Zanna MacKenzie

Today we're sharing a great new series, the Celebrity Mysteries by Zanna MacKenzie. The first book in the series is Murder on the Menu.

A dead boss, a sexy spy living next door – Lizzie’s in BIG trouble!

Lizzie Carter used to be a city girl with a great career and a steady boyfriend on the brink of proposing but then it all fell apart. These days, she’s living in the middle of nowhere and waitressing to make ends meet.
When her creepy celebrity chef boss is stabbed one night in the restaurant kitchen, the police have Lizzie at the top of the list of suspects. Enlisting the help of her gorgeous new neighbor Jack, who claims he’s some kind of special agent on enforced leave, might not be her best idea yet, but Lizzie’s prepared to do whatever it takes to save herself from landing in jail when she’s perfectly innocent.

Now, she has a To-Do list which includes:
*Keep her job at the restaurant
*Stay out of jail
*Figure out how to make the farm she inherited pay its way
*Beat her nemesis, the ancient cooking range in the farmhouse kitchen, and manage to bake yummy cakes so she can sell them to the village store
*Try to ignore her growing attraction to Jack
*Oh, and track down the person who actually did murder her boss.

Sleuthing can’t be that tough – can it?

Doesn't this sound like a great new series?

Check out Murder on the Menu at Amazon & buy it for $2.99 on Kindle.

Visit Zanna Mackenzie on the web: Website | Facebook | Twitter 

Book Spotlight + Giveaway: Happy Homicides by Joanna Campbell Slan

Today we're thrilled to shine the spotlight on a great new series of anthologies, edited by Joanna Campbell Slan. Meet Happy Homicides! Looking for great, shorter reads, by authors you already love? Want to get an introduction to new authors? 

Then meet Happy Homicides, vol. 1. featuring: Joanna Campbell Slan, Neil Plakcy, Lois Winston, Annie Adams, Jenna Bennett, Nancy Jill Thames, Sara Rosett, Camille Minichino, Nancy Warren, Linda Gordon Hengerer, Joyce and Jim Lavene, and Teresa Trent.

This anthology is a fantastic read and a great deal at $0.99 for Kindle!

Check out all three books in the series:

Happy Homicides, Vol. 1.

Happy Homicides, Vol. 2.

Happy Homicides, Vol. 3.

Follow editor, Joanna Campbell Slan on the web: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Today we're offering a giveaway for ONE copy of Happy Homicides, Vol. 1. The winner will receive a copy via Amazon Kindle.

GIVEAWAY:

To enter:
1. Leave a comment below with your email address.
2.Giveaway is open to US only and ends on June 26, 2016 at midnight.
3. The winner will be contacted via email.

Book Spotlight + Giveaway: Vintage Whispers by Riley Blake

Today we're featuring Riley Blake's Vintage Whispers, a new cozy mystery that looks like a fantastic read. 

Best friends since childhood, Mary Louise, Opal, and Pearl enter a retirement community with plans to live out their golden years reminiscing about the good old days while embracing the new, but when rocking chair discussions reveal different versions of bygone days, investigations are in order. Soon, three blue-haired ladies are doing what they must to find suspects in an unsolved murder, but a cold case is the least of their worries when they discover the buried body and inconspicuous clues are a little too close to home.

Read a sample of Vintage Whispers here.

Purchase Vintage Whispers on Amazon.
Follow Riley Blake on the web: Twitter 

Today we have a fun giveaway, sponsored by Riley,

GIVEAWAY

Today we're giving away one e-Book of Vintage Whispers and a great tote bag.

To enter:
1. Leave a comment below, with your email address.
2.Giveaway is open to US only and ends on June 25, 2016 at midnight.
3. The winner will be contacted via email.

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The Elizabethan Mysteries by Amanda Carmack

Do you enjoy a good historical mystery? Then you are going to want to check out today's book spotlight. Today we're sharing the Elizabethan Mysteries. Meet Kate Haywood...

1558. Kate Haywood, a simple musician in the employ of a princess, will find herself involved in games of crowns as she sets out to solve the murder of the queen’s envoy....
England is in tumult under the rule of Queen Mary and her Spanish husband. Confined to house arrest at Hatfield House, young Princess Elizabeth is the country’s greatest hope. Far from court intrigues, Elizabeth finds solace in simple things: the quiet countryside and peaceful recreation, including the melodies of her chief musician and his daughter, Kate Haywood.
But Kate will prove herself most valuable when an envoy of the queen—sent to flush out heretics in the princess’s household—is found dead on the grounds of Hatfield. Acting as Elizabeth’s eyes and ears, Kate is sent out on the trail of a killer whose mission could destroy her family, friends—and the future of England.

Doesn't Murder at Hatfield House sound good? Best part is that Amanda Carmack has four books in this series for readers to devour, and the fifth book, Murder at Fontainebleu, is due out on June 5, 2016. 

Books in the series:
1. Murder at Hatfield House
2. Murder at Westminister Abbey
3. Murder in the Queen's Garden
4. Murder at White Hall
5. Murder at Fontainebleu
Murder at the Queen's Masquerade (short story)


Click the cover to check out these titles on Amazon.

Follow Amanda Carmack on the web: Website

Today we're giving readers the chance to win a book in this series! One lucky reader will win their choice of any one paperback in this series. Haven't read this series yet? Then get started with Murder at Hatfield House. Or maybe you've started and want to pick the latest release, Murder at White Hall.

GIVEAWAY:

To enter:
1. Giveaway is for ONE paperback in the Elizabethan Mysteries.
2. Complete the ENTRY FORM.
3. Giveaway is open to residents of US/Canada and closes on Monday April 11, 2016.
4. Winners will be contacted by email.

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: the Missy Dubois Mysteries by Sandra Bretting

Readers, there is a new voice coming soon to the cozy world, it's Missy Dubois:

Hat designer Missy DuBois opened her shop, Crowning Glory, along Louisiana's Great River Road to cater to the sophisticated Southern bride. But bless her heart, who knew creating stylish wedding veils would lead to murder?

Hired to craft a veil for a socialite getting married at Morningside Plantation means Missy can bask in the height of antebellum atmosphere. But when the bride is found dead in a women's bathroom, Missy the milliner finds herself entangled in one unfashionable murder. With the list of suspects thicker than the sweltering Louisiana heat, including a gaggle of bridesmaids shedding nary a tear and a family with no shortage of enemies, it seems anyone at the mansion may have done away with the bride-to-be. While Missy has Southern charm to spare, she's going to need more than manners and a manicure to put a hat pin on this murderous affair . . .

Fashion? Southern Charm? Murder and Mayhem? Sign me up!!

Missy is making her debut in Murder at Morningside, which releases on May 24, 2016. Her second adventure, Something Foul at Sweetwater, will hit the shelves on December 20, 2016. Both books are available for pre-order from Amazon.

Pre-order from Amazon:


Follow Sandra Bretting on the web: Facebook | Website

Today we're hosting a special giveaway. We're giving away a $15 Amazon Giftcard or a $15 Book Depository Giftcard (winner's choice). Maybe you'll pre-order both of Sandra Bretting's books!

GIVEAWAY

To enter:
1. Giveaway is for a $15 Amazon Giftcard or a $15 Book Depository Giftcard.
2. Complete the ENTRY FORM.
3. Giveaway is open International and closes on Sunday April 10, 2016.
4. Winners will be contacted by email.

Book Spotlight & Feature: the Amish Mysteries by Laura Bradford

Laura Bradford writes one of my favorite cozy mystery series, the Amish Mysteries. The Amish Mysteries are set in Heavenly, Pennsylvania, where we meet Claire Weatherly. 

Claire Weatherly has fled a high-stress lifestyle for a slower pace—in Amish country: Heavenly, Pennsylvania. She only planned a short visit but instead found herself opening an Amish specialty shop, Heavenly Treasures, and settling in.Claire loves her new home, and she’s slowly making friends among the locals, including Esther, a young Amish woman who works in the shop. So when the store’s former owner,the unlikable Walter Snow, is murdered, and the man Esther is sweet on becomes a suspect, Claire can’t help but get involved.

Newly returned Detective Jakob Fisher, who left Heavenly—and his Amish upbringing—as a teenager, is on the case. But his investigation is stalled by the fact that none of his former community will speak with him. Claire’s connections make her the perfect go-between.

As Claire investigates, she uncovers more than she wanted to know about her neighbors. And suddenly, everything she had hoped to find in this peaceful refuge is at risk . . .

The Amish mysteries draw readers in with their interesting characters and tangled mysteries. They are on my top 5 recommended reads to new readers, so if you haven't tried them yet I strongly recommend you do.

Books in this series:
01 - Hearse and Buggy

02 - Assaulted Pretzel

03 - Shunned and Dangerous

04 - Suspendered Sentence

4.5 - A Christmas Mourning

05 - A Churn for the Worse

Click on the book covers to check these books out at Amazon.

Visit Laura Bradford on the web: Website | Twitter | Facebook

If you like this series please consider reviewing on Amazon and/or Goodreads, and sharing with your friends. Reviewing and recommending is one way we can show publishers how much we love a series and we want it to continue.

Today Laura has graciously offered a fantastic giveaway, for one lucky winner. A copy of A Churn for the Worse!

GIVEAWAY

To enter: 

1. Giveaway is for ONE paperback of A Churn for the Worse. 

2. Complete the ENTRY FORM. 

3. Giveaway is open to residents of US/Canada and closes on Saturday April 9, 2016. 

4. Winners will be contacted by email.

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: The Country Store Mysteries by Maddie Day

Today we're featuring a series that debuted last year, the Country Store Mysteries.

In this freshly baked series, author Maddie Day lifts the lid on a small town in southern Indiana, where a newcomer is cooking up a new start--until a murderer muddles the recipe..

Nursing a broken heart, Robbie Jordan is trading in her life on the West Coast for the rolling hills of southern Indiana. After paying a visit to her Aunt Adele, she fell in love with the tiny town of South Lick. And when she spots a For Sale sign on a rundown country store, she decides to snap it up and put her skills as a cook and a carpenter to use. Everyone in town shows up for the grand re-opening of Pans ‘n Pancakes, but when the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead, Robbie realizes that not all press is good press. With all eyes on her, she'll have to summon her puzzle-solving skills to clear her name, unscramble the town's darkest secrets, and track down a cold-blooded killer--before she's the next to die...

I love culinary cozy mysteries with delicious food, and this one sounds great! I'm looking forward to reading this one soon. 

Books in this series:

01 - Flipped for Murder

02 - Grilled for Murder (releases May 31, 2016)

Visit Maddie Day on the web: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Have you read the Country Store Mysteries? If so, consider reviewing them on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Read, Review, Repeat! 

Haven't read the Country Store Mysteries yet? Well we are giving away a paperback of the first book!

GIVEAWAY

To enter:
1. Giveaway is for ONE paperback of Flipped for Murder.
2. Complete the ENTRY FORM.
3. Giveaway is open to residents of US/Canada and closes on Friday April 8, 2016.
4. Winners will be contacted by email.

Book Spotlight: The Case of the Questionable Quadruplet by Jacqueline Diamond

Today we have the pleasure in sharing a new-to-us author. Jacqueline Diamond is the author of more than 100 romance and mystery novels, and she is debuting her Safe Harbor Medical Mysteries, a spin-off from her Safe Harbor Medical Romance series.

Dr. Eric Darcy is on the trail of his patient’s killer.

The mother of triplets stuns the young obstetrician by claiming there was a fourth baby, a quadruplet stolen from her at birth years ago. Is there a deadly secret hidden in an old medical file… which has just disappeared?

When someone murders his patient, Eric believes the police in his small town are dismissing a vital clue. Then the bodies start to pile up. Never imagining his own life might be in jeopardy, the widowed doctor turns amateur sleuth, partnering with his private investigator sister-in-law. Don’t miss this fun cozy mystery with a touch of medical thriller!

Readers of USA Today bestselling novelist Jacqueline Diamond’s Safe Harbor Medical® romances will love this spin-off series. Mystery fans will welcome the return to the genre by the author of Danger Music and The Eyes of a Stranger.[summary via Amazon]

Follow Jacqueline Diamond on the web: Website | Facebook 

The Case of the Questionable Quadruplet hits the shelves on April 5, 2016. Purchase at Amazon for $2.99 for Kindle. Purchase at Createspace for $12.95 for paperback.

Our Book Spotlight feature shares fabulous new (and old) cozy mysteries! This is a great chance for readers to get acquainted with a new author and/or series. To arrange a Book Spotlight feature for your book please email us at : thecozymysteryjournal@gmail.com.