Jessie Delacroix leaves the hustle and hassle of a new career as an assistant investigator for a law firm in Savannah to return to her roots in the small tourist town of Whispering Pines. Just as they finally unravel the tangle of clues, a dire warning from a most unlikely source pushes the detection duo into new and unwelcome territory.A haunted inn.a ghostly séance.and a tearoom full of scrumptious delicacies!

Happily, “cowboy cop” has fared no better, and she’s able to convince him to stop kvetching and join forces. As her girlfriends fret themselves silly, Melody uncovers a crabby cleaner, a thuggy thief, and a lecherous lover before she hits a stonewall and the case stalls out. But when one of them, a salty shopkeeper named Promise Murray, is clocked over the head with an iron cauldron and the murder weapon shows up in Melody’s kitchen, her mountain idyll suddenly seems less than cozy.ĭetermined to clear her name, she defies a direct order from the town’s best detective, the ruggedly handsome Gabe Mitchell, and digs into the case herself. Melody Bristol loves running her family diner in Cascade, Colorado, and enjoys her sassy staff and all the eccentrics who pop in for hand-cured maple bacon and the best coffee in town. This is another book where the main character tries to solve a murder by going around law enforcement and committing crimes - such as breaking and entering. Ok, back to devouring book 2!Ĭouldn't finish it. But I believe this series was purposely designed like a serial TV show to be enjoyed in order. If you don't mind spoilers, just start anywhere, lol. It's super important for this because some story lines continue into the next book, and the killer of the previous book is definitely mentioned. I was so eager to keep reading, I've started the second book and wanted to make sure anyone reading the series starts with book 1 and goes in order. As beloved as some characters are, the author's super skilled at creating characters you just wanna send to the moon! Yep, I'm referring to slimy Sly, the handsome but creepy local lawyer that has some women falling all over him, except for the smart ones that is! lol. I'm definitely #TeamGabe as far as getting him and Melody together eventually. Since all these characters were new, I wasn't sure at first who to trust, but I quickly found out who the regulars were and how well they sleuthed together.

I really enjoy all these key characters, well I gotta admit Melody gets on my nerves sometimes with how persistent she is, but hey, she wouldn't be an amateur sleuth in a cozy if she didn't do that at times, right? But you gotta love her for her loyalty to her work family. I found another new to me series that's similar to the author's Myrtle Lake series, and I love this one just as much.

Murder at Stake by Constance Barker