Winter is truly the best season to cuddle up with a good book … set in Florida. Here is a list of books that take place in the sunshine state to keep you warm until spring:
“Although he doesn’t usually handle burglaries, playboy/sleuth Archy McNally agrees to handle a “discrete” case for a society matron.
And his search for stolen property leads Archy into a maze of sex, lies, and blackmail, uncovering a secret that’s much too close to home. LG, Doubleday, and Mystery Guild Selections.”–Fantastic Fiction website.
“When her potential new boss at “Key Zest” magazine–Kristen Faulkner, the woman who stole her boyfriend–is murdered, aspiring food critic Hayley Snow becomes the prime suspect in the investigation and works to clear her name.”
“Helen Hawthorne is on the run, jumping from city to city and dead-end job to dead-end job, trying to stay one step ahead of her past… After two weeks as the new salesclerk at Juliana’s, Fort Lauderdale’s ultra-exclusive clothing boutique, Helen still feels out of fashion. And since the only crime likely to be committed around here is being old-or worse, looking old-Helen figures she’s safe. Until she discovers the manager has been embezzling money and selling designer drugs along with the designer clothes. Add murder to the mix-and Helen’s dead-end job is downright deadly.”
“Dixie Hemingway is a professional pet-sitter in Sarasota, Florida. When Dixie goes to feed the cat of a vacationing client and discovers the animal hiding from a very dead intruder, she is led to investigate the whereabouts of her now suspicious-looking client, who has vanished.”
“Meet Marla Shore, a Florida beauty salon owner with a knack for creating dazzling ‘dos-and solving mysteries… Marla was already having a bad day, but when one of her clients dies while getting a perm in her salon, her day just can’t get any worse…until the smugly competent Detective Vail accuses her of poisoning the wealthy widow’s coffee creamer! Now it’s up to the savvy stylist to find out just who did.”
“75-year-old Gladdy Gold and her gang of eccentric Fort Lauderdale retirees are out, about, and hunting down a killer-one who is silently stalking them. Selma Beller was the first to go-but Gladdy and her neighbors never suspected murder until another of their friends died in an eerily similar way. Now a handsome young detective won’t listen to them, and crazy old Greta Kronk is doing everything humanly possible to make herself into a suspect.”
“Read’Em and Eat is known for its delicious breakfast and lunch treats, along with quite a colorful clientele. Augusta’s cousin and best friend Delia is painfully shy – which makes the news of her murder all the more shocking. Augusta doesn’t have time for sympathy. She wants Delia’s killer found – and she’s not taking no for an answer. Now Sassy is on the case, and she’d better act fast before there’s any more trouble in paradise.”
“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’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. Grace will have to follow the pup’s lead to track down the killer.”