Recommendations based on "Ruthless Ruff Patch (Country Cottage Mysteries 25)"

In this latest installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s cherished No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, two confounding cases compete for Mma Ramotswe’s attention—and she may need to call in back up. “An escape from life’s woes as well as a suggestion for how to make the whole deal more palatable—fragility, fruit cake, and all.” —The Boston Globe Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni are enjoying a nice meal out at a peri-peri restaurant when an American woman named Julia approaches seeking Mma Ramotswe’s help. Julia’s beloved late grandfather was Botswanan, and he instilled in her an abiding love of his homeland. Now, years after his passing, Julia has come to visit the land he had spoken of so often and to find her relatives. Unfortunately, her grandfather’s stories, while charming and entertaining, were somewhat light on detail; all Julia can remember are a few first names and some descriptions of his village. It’s not a lot to go on, but if anyone is well poised to help, it’s Mma Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier detective. Meanwhile, a second case leads Mma Ramotswe to look for assistance from an unexpected quarter. For the first time, Charlie leads his own investigation at the detective agency, going undercover into a dubious, word-of-mouth get-together known as the Cool Singles Evening Club, where married men are encouraged to pretend to be single and meet women under false pretenses. Who could be behind such a distasteful venture? Getting to the bottom of this will be a tall order, to be sure, but Charlie is eager for the opportunity. As Mma Ramotswe learns more about Julia, she begins to understand that Julia’s heartbreak runs deeper than she had initially realized. Together, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Potokwane must find a way to help their client heal and move forward—from both her past and her present. Julia had originally come to Botswana seeking family and connection, but in the warm embrace of Mma Ramotswe and Mma Potokwane, what she ends up finding is a home.

The New York Times bestselling author of Lethal Letters returns to the North Carolina Coast, where aspiring novelist and amateur sleuth Olivia Limoges discovers crime doesn’t take a vacation . . .   After Olivia and Chief Rawlings enjoy a brief honeymoon on Palmetto Island, they’re joined by the rest of the Bayside Book Writers for the Coastal Carolina Crime Festival. The festival’s highlight is Silas Black, celebrity screenwriter and television producer, who is currently working on a popular television show in North Carolina.   As the festival gets under way, a trickster seems to be bringing famous local ghost stories to life. But when the body of a woman close to Black is found on the beach, Olivia and her friends must deduce who on the island could resort to murder—before the sands of time run out for someone else…

Murder is on the to-do list when construction contractor Shannon Hammer looks for a killer in the fifth Fixer-Upper Mystery...Don't miss the Hallmark Movies & Mystery Originals starring Jewel, based on the Fixer-Upper Mystery series!At the annual Victorian Home and Garden Tour, Lighthouse Cove, California’s premier contractor, Shannon Hammer, realizes that the competition is about to turn deadly....   Shannon is in high demand among rival homeowners, who will do anything to win Best in Show. One-upmanship and even espionage break out among neighbors, construction crews, decorators, and landscapers. Thanks to several new hires, Shannon is sure she can handle the extra load—until murder throws a wrench in the works.   The small town’s corrupt building inspector is found dead on one of Shannon’s jobsites, and soon plenty of suspects are coming out of the woodwork. When another body is discovered, Shannon calls on her team of close friends and devilishly astute thriller writer Mac to help her nail down the details and build a case against the killer before the door shuts on someone else—for good.

Don't miss Concrete Evidence, a Hallmark Movies & Mystery Original starring Jewel, based on Crowned and Moldering—the third novel in the New York Times bestselling Fixer-Upper Mystery series!When Mac Sullivan—famous thriller writer and Shannon’s new beau—first moved to Lighthouse Cove, California, he bought the historic lighthouse mansion that the town is named after. Mac needs help cleaning up the place, and Shannon is more than happy to get her handywoman hands on the run-down Victorian.But during demolition, a grisly discovery is made among the debris—the bones of a teenage girl who went missing fifteen years ago. Locals had always assumed Lily Brogan ran away from her difficult life, but it seems her troubles followed her to the grave. If Shannon has any chance of getting her renovation back on track, she’ll need to tackle the cold case. But with new suspects coming out of the woodwork every day, she’ll have to be careful to pry the right secrets and clues from the poor girl’s problematic past...

Two brothers fight over the inheritance of five acres and a hunting beagle kennel—until one of them is murdered. It’s up to “Sister” Jane Arnold to hunt down the truth, with a little help from her four-legged friends, in this delightful new mystery from New York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown.“Cunning foxes, sensible hounds, and sweet-tempered horses are among the sparkling conversationalists in this charming series.” —The New York Times Book ReviewIt’s hunting season in the foothills of Virginia, and “Sister” Jane Arnold is content to spend it alongside her friends, particularly one Olivia Bradford. Olivia is a formidable figure in town—not least because she keeps the peace between her sons Winston and Andrew—but when she passes away, the brothers return to their squabbling ways. Faced with contention over their inheritance, tensions escalate, and the two get into a fierce fight—and soon after, one of them turns up dead.All eyes turn to the surviving brother, the suspect with the most obvious motive. But Sister can’t fathom that he’s capable of murder, and soon suspects begin to reveal themselves left and right. The more she learns, the more Sister begins to doubt the people she’s hunted with for decades. . . . Could the killer be hiding in plain sight?

Life isn’t all sunny in Fort Lauderdale’s Lanai Gardens. Returning from a blissful double honeymoon with her sister Evvie, Gladdy Gold announces that she wants her new hubby, Jack, to join her detective agency. But Gladdy’s gals say no dice, and soon Ida, Sophie, and Bella are striking out on their own, enrolling in a class to learn how to be real PIs. But there’s more than enough trouble for two detective agencies when sultry Joyce Steiner moves in, reopening an old rivalry with Arlene Simon, whose husband ran off with Joyce fifty-five years earlier. When Joyce is found murdered, Arlene becomes the prime suspect, and Gladdy and her girls will have to band together if they’re going to prove that the truth is not just elusive but a real killer.

Folks in Moraine, Wisconsin, are buzzing about the latest swarm of trouble humming around Story Fischer . . . It's a real buzz-kill when beekeeper Story Fischer gets a visit from her frantic sister, Holly, desperate for help hosting a combative trio of employees that Holly's husband, Max has brought home for a weekend of R and R. Good thing the well-stocked shelves of Story's grocery store, The Wild Clover, can provide assistance. During an afternoon tour of Story's hives, however, one of the guests drops dead. Just what Story needs only days after hunky boyfriend, Hunter Wallace, finally decided to move in. As if a dead body isn't enough to put a damper on romance, Story becomes a prime suspect when the carrot juice she brought with the breakfast fixings is found to contain poison. Now it's up to Story to comb through the evidence and find the real perpetrator before she ends up getting stung herself . . . Praise for the Queen Bee Mysteries'One honey of a tale.' Lorna Barrett, New York Timesbestselling author'Reed's story is first-rate, her characters appealing.' Richmond Times-Dispatch

In a quiet Dorset Village, Old Cross Cottage has stood for centuries, overlooking the place where four roads meet. Marred by tragedy, it's had a series of residents, none of whom have stayed for long. Pink and pretty, with a thatched roof, it should be an ideal retreat, but as new owners Rachel and Mark Bell discover, it's anything but. Ruby Davis hasn't quite told her partner the truth. She's promised Cash a holiday in the country but she's also promised the Bells that she'll investigate the unrest that haunts this ancient dwelling. Hoping to combine work and pleasure, she soon realises this is a far more complex case than she had ever imagined. As events take a sinister turn, lives are in jeopardy. If the terrible secrets of Old Cross Cottage are ever to be unearthed, an entire village must dig up its past.

SKELETON OF THE PAST Back in the Sixties, the street belonged to students, druggies, and rolling stones. Nowadays it's a sedate family enclave, and freelance writer Liz Sullivan, who is child-and house-sitting on the block, is astonished when the kids find human bones in their dug-up sidewalk. Whose bones? Probably those of a male in his twenties, whose body was stashed away some thirty years ago. Positive identification seems unlikely. But Liz and her friend, police detective Paul Drake, go digging, and from the memories of people who lived the days of peace and love in Palo Alto they resurrect a past that someone would--and will--murder to keep buried. Meanwhile, the bones take a walk, the helter-skelter past resumes its sway, and Liz picks a bone with a killer. . . . "A refreshing and offbeat take on the female detective." --San Francisco Chronicle

Young Maggie Greene may be trespassing in the old, empty Victorian mansion on a quiet street in Hidden Springs, but all she wants is some private time in the magnificent tower room to write her stories. Certain she'll be in trouble if caught, she hides when a realtor shows up. But someone else is in the house too, someone even more worried about getting caught. When Maggie finds the realtor's body at the bottom of a flight of stairs and the other person gone, Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane is called in. He assumes the realtor's death is a tragic accident--until a second person is found dead in the house. When Maggie is threatened, Michael must catch the murderer before anyone else dies. Cozy mystery fans will love this third installment in The Hidden Springs Mysteries series from an author who knows how to make small-town America sweet, sentimental--and a little sinister.