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Cozy Autumn Mysteries

	Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs It is the week before Halloween and Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, are ghosting through the dusk of a cool Charleston evening on their way to the old Bouchard Mansion. Known as the Gray Ghost, this dilapidated place was recently bequeathed to the Heritage Society, and tonight heralds the grand opening of their literary and historical themed haunted house. But amid a parade of characters dressed as Edgar Allan Poe, Lady Macbeth, and the Headless Horseman, a body is suddenly tossed from the third-floor tower room and left to dangle at the end of a rope. Now, Theodosia questions members of the Heritage Society, all while hosting a Sherlock Holmes tea and catering several others, but the Gray Ghost holds many secrets, as do several other key suspects, while this murder mystery plays out on the eve of Halloween. Also available as an ebook on Libby.
	Pumpkin Spice Puppy by Laurien Benson Between taking care of her family and assorted Standard Poodles, Melanie is also working as a special needs tutor for Howard Academy, a private school in Greenwich, where her younger son attends kindergarten. This year, the headmaster has come up with an idea for a school fundraiser. At first all goes smoothly, and the uptick in foot traffic to the stores is a win-win, until the pet supply shop owner lodges a complaint. When Melanie stops by to smooth things over, she instead finds the man dead, a knife in his back, and his loyal, ever-vigilant Chow Chow locked in the storeroom. Over the headmaster's objections, Melanie is once again drawn into an investigation. With the fundraiser soon drawing to a close and celebrations imminent, Melanie will have to follow every clue—before the biggest prize is staying alive. Also available as an ebook on Libby.
	Devil's Breath by G. M. Malliet Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology who lives alone in London with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. Her life is quiet. Her schedule never changes. Until the day she hears a scream and the temptation to investigate proves irresistible. Through her telescope, Professor Rose is drawn into the life of an extraordinarily beautiful neighbor, Simone, and nicknames the men who visit her after poisonous plants according to the toxic effect they have on Simone. Just as she preserves her secret garden, she feels inexplicably compelled to protect her neighbor. But when her precious garden is vandalized and someone close to Simone is murdered with a toxin derived from a rare poisonous plant, Eustacia finds herself implicated in the crime and decides to take matters into her own hands. Also available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby.
	Turkey Day Murder by Leslie Meier Tinker’s Cove, Maine, has a long history of Thanksgiving festivities, from visits with TomTom Turkey to the annual Warriors high school football game and Lucy Stone’s impressive pumpkin pie. But this year, someone has added murder to the menu, and Lucy intends to discover who left Metinnicut Indian activist Curt Nolan dead—with an ancient war club next to his head. The list of suspects isn’t exactly brief. Nolan had a habit of disagreeing with just about everybody he met. Between fixing dinner for twelve and keeping her four kids from tearing each other limb from limb, Lucy has a pretty full plate already. So what’s a little investigation? But if she’s not careful, she may find herself served up as a last-minute course, stone-cold dead with all the trimmings. Also available as an ebook on Libby.
	Nines Lives and Alibis by Cate Conte It’s October in Daybreak Harbor, which means everything Halloween. The town is going all out for the holiday, hoping to one-up the festivities in neighboring Salem, Massachusetts, and Maddie James is delighted to be part of the planning for the annual happenings. But trouble brews when Maddie’s youngest sister, Sam, books a famous medium, Balfour Dempsey, to come to town for the celebrations and stay in the local haunted inn—along with his equally famous black cat. The town busybody books a secret reading with Balfour and doesn’t want anyone to know why. Maddie’s best friend Becky is hell-bent on getting Balfour to help her solve two 40-year-old mysteries—a murder and a missing maid. And the psychic has a stalker who’s followed him here to the island, demanding he connect with her dead husband. When Balfour is pushed off the cliffs behind the inn to his death and his beloved cat goes missing, it throws the whole town into a frenzy. And Maddie and her family find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery straight out of a Halloween movie.
	Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliott Self-taught “seer” Shay has much to learn as autumn hits the quaint coastal town of Bray Harbor. Her new skills are put to the test when she meets pub owner and ex-detective Liam Madigan’s Gran. A psychic from Ireland known for interpreting tea leaves and people, Gran encourages Shay to build upon her natural talents and hold her own group reading. Despite Shay’s reservations about putting herself in the spotlight, the evening goes off without a hitch, until she does a reading and a customer goes from chatty to dead in a flash. Worse, Shay’s assistant is suspected of intentionally serving the lethal brew and committing cold-blooded murder. Now, aided only by Liam and her dog Spirit, Shay must exonerate her employee and save the future of Crystals & CuriosiTeas. Available as an ebook on Libby.
	Feel the Bern by Andew Shaffer Fall is bursting out all over Vermont, and while the rest of the Congress enjoys its recess, Senator Bernie Sanders has returned to his beloved home state for a weekend of events in Eagle Creek, “America’s #1 Leaf Peeping Destination.” It’s up to intern and Eagle Creek native Crash Robertson to keep the senator on schedule—and out of trouble. Crash’s hopes for a quiet homecoming are dashed, however, when the lifeless body of a community banker with ties to “Big Maple” is found in Lake Champlain. While the sheriff’s department closes the case as an accident, a leaked autopsy indicates foul play…with a trail of syrup leading directly to one of the senator’s oldest friends. Bernie, taking a page from the cozy mysteries he’s addicted to, enlists Crash in a quest to uncover the killer’s true identity. Available as an audiobook on Libby.
	Lady of Bones by Carolyn Hainers It’s Halloween season in Mississippi as Sarah Booth and the gang gather to decorate and gush over Tinkie’s new baby, Maylin. Sarah Booth is just about to refresh the cocktails when she hears a knock on the door and opens it to find a woman named Frankie, distraught at the disappearance of her daughter Christa, a young journalist. Christa had been investigating the disappearance of young women in New Orleans over a five-year period—one every year around Halloween. Now Christa herself is missing, and Frankie fears it may be connected to a cult based in the Garden District, called People of Eternity. Despite initial reservations, Sarah Booth accepts the case, which takes her on a journey to a secret underworld of beguiling cult leaders, witchcraft, and potentially human sacrifice. She’ll have to keep her wits about her if she wants to crack this case…and make it home alive. Available as an audiobook on Libby.
	Raspberry Danish Murder by Joanne Fluke Hannah has felt as bitter as November in Minnesota since Ross vanished without a trace and left their marriage in limbo. Still, she throws herself into a baking frenzy for the sake of pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving-themed treats while endless holiday orders pour into The Cookie Jar. Hannah even introduces a raspberry Danish pastry to the menu, and P.K., her husband’s assistant at KCOW-TV, will be one of the first to sample it. But instead of taking a bite, P.K., who is driving Ross’s car and using his desk at work, is murdered. Was someone plotting against P.K. all along or did Ross dodge a deadly dose of sweet revenge? Hannah will have to quickly sift through a cornucopia of clues and suspects to stop a killer from bringing another murder to the table. Available as an ebook and an audiobook on Libby.
	With Sugar on Roundtop by Virginia K. Bennet Roundtop Mountain in Bristol, New Hampshire, is the site of Rebecca Ramsey's favorite childhood Halloween memory - The Haunted Hike. As the town's current librarian, she decides to bring all of those ghoulish and gruesome memories back to life for the children of the Newfound region. Local businesses sponsor spine-tingling stops along the trail to haunt and horrify, prank and petrify. Sweet treats and spooky scenes are the highlight of the event. On her first outing with her boyfriend, Chief Kenny Towne, and his daughters and his ex-wife, not everything goes according to Rebecca's plans. After the last hikers finish, a terrifying discovery is made that leaves one business owner beheaded for the hills.

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