July's Cozy Reads

What does clothing experts, psychics, animal behaviorists, BBQ cooks, and book lovers have in common this month? They are all mystery solvers in this month's outstanding collection of cozy mysteries that are guaranteed to keep fans happy, happy, happy!

July finds a huge release of favorite series as well as debut books. Grab a few to stick in your beach bags to keep you entertained and enjoy a great time of reading as you soak up the sun.

July Highlight Book of the Month:

RUBBED OUT: A Memphis BBQ Mystery #4
Riley Adams (Berkley Prime Crime)

(What is more perfect for the summer cookout season than the perfect BBQ mystery! Riley Adams captures the essence and "flavor" of the Memphis BBQ scene with this fun series, and she always includes the most delicious lip–smacking recipes as a treat for her fans.)

Even Lulu Taylor—proprietress of Aunt Pat's Barbeque Restaurant in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee—needs to get out of the kitchen now and then. But at the Rock and Ribs festival, she finds more than a taste of trouble.

Reuben Shaw rubs a lot of people the wrong way—including Lulu's best friend, Cherry, who has the misfortune of being in the booth next to his at the festival. The pigheaded pit master thinks he's a shoo–in to win the barbeque competition, but he spends more time stirring up trouble than seasoning his spare ribs. Hours after she gets into a quarrel with him, Cherry finds Shaw dead with a butcher knife in his chest. Now it's her turn to get grilled—by the police. Lulu sets out to clear her friend's name and finds Shaw had more secrets than his BBQ recipe. She'll need to act fast, because the real killer will spare no one...including Lulu.

July Debut Book of the Month:

FINAL SENTENCE: A Cookbook Nook Mystery #1
Daryl Wood Gerber (Berkley Prime Crime)

Jenna Hart, an avid reader, admitted foodie, and new owner of a cookbook store and café in picturesque Crystal Cove, California, is up to her neck in trouble when she finds her college roommate, celebrity chef Desiree Divine, buried on the beach, and a fellow shop owner accuses Jenna of murder.

(With a cast of fun characters and an intriguing mystery, this promises to be a great series to look forward to!)

Hardcovers:

NOT THE KILLING TYPE: A Booktown Mystery #7
Lorna Barrett (Berkley Prime Crime)

New York Times bestselling author Lorna Barrett delivers another compulsively page–turning Booktown Mystery in which amateur sleuth and bookstore owner Tricia Miles gets caught up in a local election that turns lethal.

It's November in Stoneham, New Hampshire, and that means it's time for the Chamber of Commerce elections. The race is already a bit heated, as the long–standing Chamber president is being challenged by a former lover—Tricia's own sister, Angelica. Then local small business owner Stan Berry throws his hat in the ring.

Unfortunately, it's not there for long when he's found murdered in the Brookview Inn. The murder weapon is a brass letter opener belonging to the inn's receptionist. Tricia knows there's no way the receptionist is a killer. And when Angelica asks Tricia to help clear her name and win the election, she sees little choice except to start snooping.

She soon uncovers a ballot box full of lies and betrayals, and a chamber full of people who had grudges against the victim. But were they serious enough to lead to murder? And who truly had something to gain? Tricia will have to do some serious sleuthing before she pulls the lever on a killer.

DEADLY FORECAST: A Psychic Eye Mystery #11
Victoria Laurie (Berkley Prime Crime)

The New York Times bestselling author is back with her newest Psychic Eye Mystery. Wedding bells are ringing for psychic Abigail Cooper, but her senses are tingling that fiancé Dutch is in danger.

It's said to be good luck if it rains on your wedding day, but Abby sees something darker than storm clouds on the horizon. She's just had a disturbing premonition of her fiancé's murder. Her husband–to–be has been assigned to a case involving a series of suicide bombings, and Abby's spirit guides warn her of imminent danger.

FBI agent Dutch Rivers is keeping his cool, but Abby can't quell her anxiety. After another suicide bombing at a local beauty salon, Abby vows to do everything in her power to keep Dutch safe and get him to the altar. But on the morning of the ceremony, she finds herself in a dire situation, with time running out.

Mass Market:

TULLE DEATH DO US PART: A Vintage Magic Mystery #6
Annette Blair (Berkley Prime Crime)

Maddie's love of classic fashion has made her Vintage Magic boutique a success—even if the visions she experiences when touching certain items often lead her into trouble. Decades ago, at a Mystic Country Club costume ball, a secret scavenger hunt ended in an unexplained death, hastily concealed.

Now, Maddie's invited to participate in a similar anniversary event: but one touch of the vintage petticoat used to hide evidence of the original crime hurtles Maddie into a scavenger hunt of her own. She must find missing petticoat pieces and re–stitch the clues it reveals...to expose a killer!

 

TARNISHED AND TORN: A Witchcraft Mystery #5
Juliet Blackwell (Obsidian)

As the owner of a popular vintage clothing store, Lily Ivory can enjoy a day of antique jewelry shopping and still call it work. But as one of San Francisco's resident witches, searching for hidden treasures can sometimes lead to dangerous discoveries.

When Lily arrives at an antique jewelry fair, her bargain sensors go off left and right—but she also picks up a faint vibration of magic. Could the hard–bargaining merchant Griselda be a fellow practitioner? It certainly seems that way when a sudden fire sends panic through the crowd, and Lily discovers Griselda murdered in a way that nods to an old–fashioned witch hunt.

A crime that hits close to home turns into an unwelcome flash from the past when the police bring in their lead suspect—Lily's estranged father. Though he may not deserve her help, Lily is determined to clear her father's name and solve a murder that's anything but crystal clear.

A CUSTOM–FIT CRIME: A Magical Dressmaking Mystery #4
Melissa Bourbon (Obsidian)

After a year of hard work in her Texas hometown, Harlow Jane Cassidy's dreams are finally within reach—if she can just get it all done in time.

Harlow's designs will be featured in a big magazine spread, but she only has a few days to finalize her collection. Plus she's busy helping to plan her mother's upcoming wedding, playing host to her old friend Orphie, and avoiding a competitive Dallas designer set on stealing Harlow's ideas. Harlow's making it all work—until someone breaks into Buttons & Bows and the rival designer is found dead.

But when a near miss makes it clear that Orphie could be the next victim, Harlow will have to untangle the threads of evidence if she wants to save her friend, her mother's wedding, and her business from becoming fashion road kill.

LACED WITH POISON: A Sweet Nothings Lingerie Mystery #2
Meg London (Berkley Prime Crime)

You're invited to the Sweet Nothings trunk show. See what the shop has to offer, taste some wonderful food, catch up with friends, and solve a murder. Emma Taylor is happy to be drawing in customers at her aunt Arabella's lingerie shop, Sweet Nothings, but replacing the store's broken window is going to cost a small fortune. Hoping to hoist up their sagging profits, Arabella arranges to have a trunk show at the home of a local socialite who will invite all of her friends and take care of the catering. All Emma and Arabella have to do is show up and show off their wares. Seems simple enough.

A gorgeous spread is prepared for the event, including delicious cupcakes topped with edible flowers. But after one of the partygoers takes a bite and winds up dead, the guest list becomes a suspect list. Now Emma must separate facts from idle gossip before the killer gives the cops the slip.

YARN TO GO: A Yarn Retreat Mystery (Debut)
Betty Hechtman (Berkley Prime Crime)

Dessert chef Casey Feldstein doesn't know a knitting needle from a crochet hook. But after her aunt dies unexpectedly, leaving Casey to run her yarn retreat business, the sweets baker finds herself rising to the occasion—and trying to unravel a murder mystery.

When Casey finds out that her late aunt's business, Yarn2Go, has one more yarn retreat scheduled, she decides to go ahead and host the event, despite her complete lack of experience as a knitter. At least the retreat is on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula.

But the idyllic setting is soured when a retreat regular is found murdered in her hotel room. Feeling a sense of responsibility, Casey begins to weave the clues together and detects a pattern which may shed light on her aunt's suspicious death. Despite the danger, the last thing Casey plans to do is retreat. She'll catch this killer...or dye trying.

DYEING WISHES: A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery #2
Molly MacRae (Obsidian)

Kath Rutledge's grandmother left her a charming fiber and fabric shop, a close–knit group of needlework lovers, and a television–addicted ghost in the attic. She may also have inherited the special skills required to untangle a murder.

Always up for trying something new, Kath and her friends from the fiber and needlework group TGIF—Thank Goodness it's Fiber—are visiting Cloud Hollow Farm for the day to learn the fine art of dyeing. With spring in the air, the friends head out to greet the sheep. But the sheep are more interested in something else—two bodies spread under a tall tree. And one of those bodies is someone they know.

Kath's friends nudge her to investigate, and no one is more adamant than Geneva, the ghost who loves to play assistant sleuth. But when Kath discovers another murder cut from the same cloth, she's more determined than ever to hang a roving killer out to dry.

ONE DEAD COOKIE: A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery #4
Viriginia Lowell (Berkley Prime Crime)

Olivia Greyson is the proud owner of The Gingerbread House—a quaint shop that specializes in all things cookie—and her best friend, Maddie, is her sidekick, baking up scrumptious treats for their cookie–themed parties. But a dead body on their front porch might put their bake shop in a truly sticky situation.

Olivia is busy baking up special cookies for Maddie's upcoming engagement party when soap star Trevor Lane shows up unexpectedly in town. It soon becomes clear that Trevor, who grew up in the neighboring town of Twiterton, left behind a number of enemies with long memories. Even Trevor's assistant and childhood friend, Dougie, seems to harbor a grudge against him.

Soon after his arrival, Trevor is found dead on The Gingerbread House porch, his handsome face branded with the image of a cookie cutter. When their friend Stacey is implicated in the murder, Olivia and Maddie rush to find the killer. Because it seems someone in Chatterley Heights has a sweet tooth for revenge.

WOOF AT THE DOOR: A Call of the Wilde Mystery (Debut)
Laura Morrigan (Berkley Prime Crime)

Animal behaviorist Grace Wilde keeps her ability to psychically communicate with furry and feathered critters under wraps. But when a Doberman turns out to be the only witness to a crime, Grace will have to let the cat out of the bag in order to catch a killer.

Grace Wilde's job is anything but normal. When she's not helping out at the zoo by comforting agitated lemurs, she's listening to the woes of annoyed house pets. Grace's life gets even more complicated, though, when the cops summon her to a crime scene to help deal with the murder victim's terrified Doberman.

The pooch turns out to be the only one who saw what happened the night of the shooting—and only Grace can get the information out of him. The problem is, how will Grace tell the distractingly gorgeous Sergeant Kai Duncan that it's the dog who's giving her the intel without spilling her big secret or sounding crazy? Left on her own, Grace will have to follow the pup's lead to track down the killer. But she'll have to be careful—or curiosity may end up killing the cat whisperer.

GRACE TAKES OFF: A Manor House Mystery #4
Julie Hyzy (Berkley Prime Crime)

A trip to Italy's Tuscan countryside is a dream come true for curator and manager of Marshfield Manor, Grace Wheaton. At least until her boss—and benefactor of this whirlwind excursion—becomes the target of a murderer. When Grace and her boss, Bennett Marshfield, turn up at the Italian villa of one of his oldest friends, they're troubled to discover that most of his friend's impressive art collection—including a prized bronze skull crafted by Picasso—is fake. Someone has been selling the real deals and replacing them with skilled forgeries.

Unfortunately, Grace and Bennett have to fly home the next day, so there's no time to investigate. But their troubles are hardly over. On the plane, Grace catches a woman trying to poison Bennett. The woman, of course, isn't talking, but by the end of the flight, there are two dead bodies. Now Grace has to wing it to find a mile–high murderer—especially since she suspects Bennett is still in danger.