If you have been following me for a while, you know that I don’t do a “romantic” Valentine’s Day post. I have done:
- Have a Non-Romantic Valentine’s Day
- Valentine’s Day – Friends Forever
- For the Love of Families
- Teen Dating Violence Awareness
- Friendship Before Flowers
This year, I am going to let just a taste of romance into my Valentine’s Day post. No, I am still not interested in the love at first sight or romantic date tropes, but I thought I would feature some slow-burn romance in the mystery genre.
Erin Price is new in town, focused on getting her new business started. She’s not looking for a love interest. But she does meet someone in this cozy mystery:
Gluten-Free Murder
Erin Price moves to Bald Eagle Falls, a place where everyone knows everyone as well as everyone else’s business, taking over the store left to her by her aunt to start up a gluten-free bakery. The grand opening is marred by just one thing, the death of her business rival, Angela Plaint. It appears that Angela was poisoned by one of Erin’s cupcakes, making her a prime suspect.
Equipped with cupcakes, her desire for the truth, and new bakery assistant Vicky’s help, Erin goes head-to-head against Detective Terry Piper to solve the murder. Rumors of treasure hunting, drug dealing, and a missing boy swirl around Bald Eagle Falls as Erin tries to sort the clues from the red herrings and find the killer before the killer can take care of her.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ P.D. Workman has done it again! This introduction to a new series involves a fresh start, sympathetic characters, and a murder. I spent the last ten minutes of the book standing up to read because I was off to do something but just couldn’t put it down until I got to the end. I haven’t been that invested in a book in a while.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Couldn’t put it down !! From a cute kitten to a police dog to a bakery for people with allergies ! Highly recommend!
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She Wore Mourning is definitely not a romance. It is a grittier mystery than my cozy series. But Zachary might just happen to meet someone in this book who will become important to him later!
She Wore Mourning
A dead child.
A mother deep in mourning.
Private Investigator Zachary Goldman’s life isn’t all roses, but he tries to put his own shattered life behind him to investigate the death of five-year-old Declan Bond.
Declan’s death has been ruled an accident, but his grandmother thinks there is more to it. She fears Declan’s mother will not be able to find peace until Zachary can give them an answer once and for all. But as Zachary digs into the circumstances surrounding Declan’s death, he finds that all is not as it seems, and somebody doesn’t want him to find the truth.
As Christmas Eve, the deadline for solving the case looms closer, both Isabella and Zachary fall deeper into the darkness. they’ll have to survive Christmas Eve to find it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Psychologically complex and gripping … Zachary must deal with his own psychological issues as well as those of the child’s parents along with attempts on his life. I’m binge reading this series.
Zachary Goldman, Private Investigator, is flawed with a capital F. Shattered by the tragedies of his own life, he will somehow still manage to pick himself up and dig just a little bit deeper than anyone else to find the vital clues.
Maybe being broken makes it easier for others who have faced tragedy to trust him. Walk with Zachary as he solves cases that will stretch his abilities to the limit.
Even with his own life in shambles, Zachary Goldman is still the one you want on the case.
Investigate this P.I. mystery now!
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And more
I have not been able to vet all of these to make sure that they qualify as “slow burn”, but they are titles represented to me as being “just a touch of romance”:
An Obsession with Justice
“This is an autistic detective story where the lead (Matt Spencer) has the beginnings of an on, and mainly off, romance with a neighbor (Polka Dot Kate) who runs a local dress store. Their early stumbled attempts at romance happen during several points of the book. Anyone who buys this book gets the option to opt in and get a free Kindle short book of when Matt and Amy first met at school, and how she came to his rescue.”
A dead body in a snow-dusted park. A young man OBSESSED with justice. Will they kill him before he discovers the truth?
Matt Spencer’s brain is a little different. When bad things happen to people, he HAS to know why.
So, when he discovers the suspicious death of a Vietnamese refugee, he’s compelled to find answers.
Soon dragged into a MURKY and DANGEROUS world of Human Trafficking, Gangsters, and Cold Blooded Killers, Matt needs help FAST…
Amy is petrified at what could happen. She’s seen her precious autistic son develop into a young man she’s so proud of, yet fears his vulnerability. Despite her grave misgivings she joins Matt’s crusade for justice, knowing that it may well DESTROY THEM BOTH.
Death by Baguette
Paris—the city of love, lights … and murder? Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she escorts five couples on an unforgettable Valentine-themed vacation to France! Unfortunately it will be the last trip for one passenger…
Lana Hansen’s future is looking bright. She has money in her bank account, a babysitter for her cat, and even a boyfriend. Regrettably she won’t get to celebrate Valentine’s Day with her new beau, Chad. Instead, she will be leading a lovers-only tour in France. Luckily for Lana, her best friend, Willow, and her partner, Jane, will be joining her.
Things go downhill when Lana’s new boyfriend shows up in Paris for her tour—with his wife. Chad is not the website developer he claimed to be, but a famous restaurant critic whose love of women rivals his passion for food.After Chad drops dead during a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, a persistent French detective becomes convinced that he was poisoned. And the inspector’s sights are set on several members of the tour—including Lana!
While escorting her group through the cobblestone streets of Montmartre, the grand gardens of Versailles, and the historic Marché des Enfants Rouges market, Lana must figure out who really killed Chad before she has to say bonjour to prison and adieu to her freedom.
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.
Mimosas, Magnolias, and Murder
Cece wants a day of self-care, mother-daughter time, and . . . anything but her ex-husband’s wedding.
But wedding it is, as she tries to sneak the groom’s forgotten ring to her daughter before the ceremony. Her plan for a quick escape from the venue is thwarted when she discovers a body and a garden full of suspects, including her former mother-in-law.
With the Cavanaugh name in danger of being dragged through the Wickford rumor mill, Cece’s ex reluctantly asks her to investigate the suspicious death and put the gossip to rest. Cece agrees . . . if he’ll pay off her van and save her housekeeper’s job.
The new detective in Wickford and missed phone calls from her boyfriend, Alder, create more trouble for Cece as she questions suspects and gathers clues—not just for the murder, but trying to figure out what is up with her missing boyfriend and his elusive voice mails. Every moment is precious, because the longer it takes for Cece to clear the family name, the more likely her ex is to back out of their deal.
In a desperate attempt to end Cece’s snooping, the killer sets a trap to silence her. Will Cece’s hope for justice and a paid-off van go up in flames?
The Inn at Sand Castle Beach
A letter in a bottle….A note in the wall…
Sophia and Kay were raised by their single father in the wine region off the coast of California.
The girls had the best life growing up, despite their mother dying shortly after they were born. At least that’s what they were told…
As time passes and their father ages, the girls receive an inheritance – a beautiful beach home on Sand Castle Beach in Maui, a place they’ve visited many times during their childhood.
As Kay begins renovations on their new vacation home, she finds a note that changes her life.
Her mother is alive?
An unlikely person enters the scene…
More secrets begin to be uncovered…
Letters from the Lighthouse
We weren’t supposed to be going to the pictures that night. We weren’t even meant to be outside, not in a blackout, and definitely not when German bombs had been falling on London all month like pennies from a jar.
February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he’s not used to company and he certainly doesn’t want any evacuees.
Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she’s desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.
Poodle Versus the Assassin
Small-town action, zany characters, and a Nasty Small Poodle will capture your heart!
The mayor has been killed, and 50-something newspaper publisher Zora Flynn might be next. But Rocco, her pampered prince of a poodle, is her secret weapon.
Can he sniff out a killer before Zora becomes the next victim?
Readers are loving this new cozy mystery series. “This was a fun read and a clever mystery. I loved it from start to finish!”
Death of a Schoolgirl
She answered a child’s cry for help. She never expected to uncover a murder and unlock secrets a king wants to keep…
Yorkshire, 1820. Happily married to a country squire and the mother of a young son, Jane Eyre Rochester enjoys an enviable life, one that as an orphan, she could have never dreamed would come true. But when a cryptic letter from her former student arrives — the writer begs for help — Jane will risk everything to save the life of an innocent child.
A frantic trip to London is fraught with danger, as Jane is robbed at knife-point. But Jane Eyre is nothing if not courageous. She arrives at the pricy girls’ school in time to see a dead body removed from the premises. Now Jane must race against the clock to prevent another child from dying. When her identity is mistaken for that of an errant German teacher, Jane decides to go undercover in this house of horrors. Once inside the school, Jane’s worst suspicions are confirmed. A killer roams the halls and targets young girls. Each hour that passes puts another child’s life on the line and Jane can only keep her identity secret for a little longer…
Can Jane track down the killer and convince the local authorities to lock up this cunning murderer? Or will Jane forfeit her reputation, the family diamonds, her health, and maybe even her life on what might be a fool’s errand?
Condos and Corpses
A life of service is her passion, but this stunning place could be perfect. That is, aside from the dead body…
Connie Petretta wonders if it’s time for a change. After eleven years at a Boston nonprofit, the dedicated humanitarian worker struggles to find her way as she deals with the bequest of her beloved aunt’s Florida beachside condo. But selling it goes sideways when somebody plummets from an adjacent balcony seven stories to his death.
Sleuthing on the side to absolve her friend next door of the crime, Connie finds herself enchanted by the charming gulf-front town. But with the accused’s baffling behavior throwing a wrench into the investigation, the only legacy she might be leaving in the seaside resort is an innocent woman’s conviction for Murder One.
Letters in Time
Emma Chase moves to a quaint Cottage she inherited outside St. Michaels, Maryland. Her plan is to rest and recover from the horrendous car accident that almost took her life. When the movers find an antique plantation desk hidden in the garage, she has it moved into the Cottage.
The next morning, a mysterious letter appears dated 1862 and signed by a stranger named Daniel, who declares his love for Emma. Does she believe in ghosts? Should she respond? Then, the police arrive to investigate a murder committed across the creek from her Cottage.
Is there a connection? Does Daniel hold the secret that can save her from a murderer?
