New Mysteries by L. A. Keller

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Here are some new mysteries released on Amazon in the last thirty days. These are randomly selected and in no particular order. My search included those new mysteries which had an amateur sleuth and were listed as humorous. This doesn't necessarily limit the list to cozy mysteries but it should weed out some of those which are too far out of the genre.


Shot in the Dark (A Coffehouse Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

At $13.99 for the Kindle version this better be a great book. Reading the book description leaves me unimpressed. I hope the book is packed with more excitement than it appears.

 A new smartphone dating game turns the Village Blend into a hookup hot spot, until one dark night, when a gunshot leaves a dead body behind and the landmark coffeehouse becomes the center of a whole new scene--a crime scene. 

 As Village Blend manager Clare Cosi attempts to finalize a date for her wedding, her ex-husband becomes addicted to making dates through smartphone swipes. Clare has mixed feelings about these quickie matchups happening in her coffeehouse. Even her octogenarian employer is selecting suitors by screenshot! But business is booming, and Clare works hard to keep the espresso shots flowing. Then one dark night, another kind of shot leaves a dead body for her to find.

 The corpse is a successful entrepreneur who became notorious for his "hit it and quit it" behavior: prowling for women on dating apps, then devastating his conquests with morning-after insults. Though the NYPD quickly arrests one of his recent victims, Clare finds reason to believe she's been framed.

 Now, with the help of her ex and crew of quirky baristas, Clare starts "swiping" through suspects in her own shop, determined to find the real killer before another shot rings out.


A Pattern for Murder (The Bait & Stitch Cozy Mystery Series, Book 1) by Ann Yost

Ann has written a number of books, several of which are series. You might want to try one that is offered for free before purchasing this one at $7.99.

There's never been a serious crime in the Keweenaw Peninsula—that anyone can remember. That is until Larry the Basset and Lydia the Poodle discover a fresh body below the lighthouse. The victim, a wealthy landowner recently returned from California, has been at odds with the community over a lighthouse slated to become a retirement home for local seniors.

When Sheriff Horace A. Clump has no intention of giving up his Sunday brunch of pannukakku to pursue an investigation, Hatti Lehtinen, manager of The Bait and Stitch—a combination bait and knitting shop—is determined to find the killer herself. After all, she's an Agatha Christie fan and besides, she’s desperate to protect her friends and relatives from false accusations. But as more bodies turn up and lies are uncovered, it becomes clear that not everybody in Hatti’s circle is innocent, after all.


Conned in Cleveland: A Sam Carter Mystery Series Volume 2 by Nelle Lewis

I read the first book in this series and loved it. I’ve met the author and she’s as delightful as her characters.  This book is definitely going on my To Read list.

 Sam Carter’s got a lot of balls. Now she just needs to figure out how to keep them all in the air. Halfway to earning her PI license under her older brother Paul’s not-so-careful watch, she’s scrambling to post more points in the ninja-skill column than the blunder column. Her newest mission: find out why a tourist company’s scavenger hunts are being sabotaged...and why the hunt host winds up dead next to a nine-foot tall guitar. Sam and Paul have also been recruited by their mother to hunt down her boyfriend’s missing panties…and somewhere in all this, Sam has to finally address her brief but tasty reunion with her old-time crush that she’s been keeping on ice.


The Last Resort in Lost Haven (The Lost Haven Cozy Mysteries Book 1 by Penny Plume

This is the first book by this author and is being offered free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

 The artsy little town on the coast of Lake Michigan has always been home to Jenna Hooper, owner of The Welcome Shoppe and the unofficial (to everyone but her) town historian. The only excitement she needs is coffee that is a bit too hot while she's lost in one of her beloved books, but local millionaire Harrison Kavanaugh is dead-set on tearing down the Main Street shops and building a hideous resort that will destroy Lost Haven's quaint, quiet appeal.

Jenna and her fellow shop-owners are desperate to stop the resort and save their livelihoods, but when one of them turns up dead, they quickly become more concerned about their actual lives. Everyone is a suspect--including Jenna--and it's up to her to find the killer and save her friends from being framed, killed, or possibly the worst fate of all: finding a real job.


Happy Trails,

Leslie


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