Books like 'The Handsome Man's Deluxe Café'
Readers who enjoyed The Handsome Man's Deluxe Café by Alexander McCall Smith also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery cozy crime humor law-enforcement literary-fiction domestic-drama female-mc friendship
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The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsPraise for Nicola May’s books ‘This book will twang your funny bone & your heartstrings’ – Milly Johnson ‘A fun and flighty read’ the Sun ‘A funny and fast-paced romp – thoroughly enjoyable!’ WOMAN Magazine Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life... -
Finding Billie Romano by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUSA Today bestselling author wants to take you to Ireland for a story that will leave you wanting more long after you turn the last page... Twenty-five year old Billie Romano is struggling. She is grieving the death of her beloved dad and nothing in her life is going right... -
Charmed Forces by Camilla Chafer
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPrivate Investigator Lexi Graves is pleased to clear up her latest assignment. It’s a simple case of misguided suspicion after all.Then her brother, Detective Daniel Graves, turns up on her doorstep, alone, blood-spattered, and almost entirely incoherent... -
The Hope Chest by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA grandmother’s loving bequest changes three lives forever in a heartwarming novel about finding love, hope, and family by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.An inheritance has reunited three estranged cousins... -
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Dogcatcher in the Rye by Ellen Riggs
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTurning a hobby farm into a quaint country inn is a piece of cake compared to solving a murder.Ivy Galloway may not know an alpaca from a llama, but nothing’s going to stop her from pursuing her dream of opening a farm-themed inn in her hometown of Clover Grove. Not after what she went through to rescue Keats, her brilliant border collie, and flee the big city... -
Handcuffs in the Heather by Dale Mayer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRiches to rags. ... Everything is under control, ... until it isn’t. And Doreen’s in the middle of it!The four boxes of files Doreen inherited from journalist Bridgeman Solomon have already helped her solve one crime, and Doreen hopes they’ll continue to assist her as she sticks her nose into future cases... -
Summer at the Little French Cafe: The perfect laugh out loud romance for summer by Karen Clarke
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the beautiful village of Chamillon lies the Café Belle Vie, where you’ll always find croissants and friends when you need them the most – and where Elle is hoping to uncover the truth about her past… Thirty-year-old Elle Matheson has decided it’s finally time to find the mother who gave her up as a baby... -
Murder Al Dente by Nancy Skopin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“An intuitive detective, a kidnapped child, and an assassin with a heart of gold …”In Murder Al Dente, PI Nicoli “Nikki” Hunter once again gets herself in hot water when she’s hired by a multimillionaire boat owner, (and sex toy manufacturer,) to find out who’s trying to kill him. Nikki has barely begun her investigation when he’s found dead aboard his mega yacht... -
Just Different Devils by Jinx Schwartz
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it—most of the time. She's an intrepid cruiser, but wild rumors of marauding gangs of flesh-shredding giant Humboldt squid on a rampage in the Sea of Cortez could keep even Hetta tied to an expensive dock... -
Dagger in the Dahlias by Dale Mayer
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRiches to rags. … Chaos quiets. … Crime is circling. … And cold cases never cease …After almost a month in picturesque Kelowna, Doreen Montgomery still can’t keep her notoriety to a minimum or her nose out of other people’s business. Now those suffering from the loss of a loved one seek her out, wanting her help... -
Revenge in Paradise by Deborah Brown
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen a man of questionable character’s corpse is found at The Cottages, beaten to death with Madison’s own gardening tools, she and her partner, Fab, set out to prove that the man’s abused girlfriend did not kill him. Along the way, Madison finds herself behind bars twice, held hostage in a mansion, and running from flying bullets... -
Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratings'Tis the season for sleuthing in Donna Andrews' cheery new addition to the New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow series.Meg has been roped into participating in a weaponsmithing competition, a Forged in Fire wannabe organized by a blacksmith friend... -
Murder Boogies with Elvis by Anne George
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Southland's most mismatched set of siblings -- flamboyant Mary Alice and prim and proper Patricia Anne -- are back and ready to boogie in a King-sized story of hip-shaking mayhem and murder most tacky.At an age when most women are slowing down, oversized, over-the-top Mary Alice a.k.a. "Sister" -- is always on the lookout for the next good time...and the next husband... -
Murder in the Family by Paula Bernstein
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHannah Kline is a successful Los Angeles obstetrician and the recently widowed mother of a young daughter. She is barely managing to hold it all together, when her life is shattered once again by the brutal murder of her beautiful, bright, zany and recently divorced sister-in-law Beth. Hannah is determined to do whatever she can to assist the police in finding the murderer... -
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Murder Carries a Torch by Anne George
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTrue love never dies. Well…almost never.Though unalike as snowflakes, sisters Patricia Anne and Mary Alice share a sympathetic heart for their distraught cousin Luke—known affectionately in his boyhood as “Pukey Lukey,” because of his penchant for getting sick in moving vehicles... -
The Joy and Light Bus Company by Alexander McCall Smith
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this latest installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, Mma Ramotswe is tempted to put the brakes on a business venture before it even gets rolling.Mr. J.L.B... -
Knifed In Nice by Zara Keane
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“I hadn’t planned on a trip to the French Riviera, but then, I hadn’t planned on shooting a London crime lord in his well-padded derrière.”Meet Angel Doyle, a semi-reformed thief and accidental P.I.During an unfortunate incident at her first legit job in years, Angel fires a ketamine dart into one of London’s most notorious gangsters. Now she’s in disguise and on the run... -
Gun in the Gardenias by Dale Mayer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery—and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot—as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia... -
Killer in the Kiwis by Dale Mayer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRiches to rags. ... Chaos again. ... Winning is important, ... at least for some!Doreen is overwhelmed with joy when she sees all the volunteers who show up to help get her deck addition built. Most of the men are cops, friends of Corporal Mack Moreau’s, and are happy to help Mack’s special friend and the lady who has helped solve so many crimes for them with a spot of home renovation... -
The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAt the ripe old age of 32, former wild child Isabel "Izzy" Spellman has finally agreed to take over the family business. And the transition won't be a smooth one.First among her priorities as head of Spellman Investigations is to dig up some dirt on the competition, slippery ex-cop Rick Harkey - a task she may enjoy a little too much... -
One Minute Later: A Novel by Susan Lewis
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsInternational bestselling author Susan Lewis’ riveting, unforgettable novel of a woman whose life changes in an instant and the handsome young man with whom she shares a secret history—perfect for readers of Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, and Susan Wiggs. How well do you know the people you love? For one young woman returning to the past, the answer could be heart-shattering.. -
The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsMma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are approached by their part-time colleague, Mr. Polopetsi, with a troubling story: A woman, accused of being rude to a valued customer, has been wrongly dismissed from her job at an office furniture store... -
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsModern ideas get tangled up with traditional ones in the latest intriguing installment in the beloved, best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. Precious Ramotswe has taken on two puzzling cases. First she is approached by the lawyer Mma Sheba, who is the executor of a deceased farmer’s estate... -
Tetid for damer med traditionel figur by Alexander McCall Smith
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe tenth installment of this universally beloved and best-selling series finds Precious Ramotswe in personal need of her own formidable detection talents.Mma Ramotswe’s ever-ready tiny white van has recently developed a rather disturbing noise. Of course, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni–-her estimable husband and one of Botswana’s most talented mechanics––is the man to turn to for help... -
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The Baltimore Boys by Joël Dicker
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSwiss Sensation Joel Dicker's compulsive follow-up to the phenomenally bestselling The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair... -
Two Weddings and a Fugitive by Donna Joy Usher
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAnother Novel by the Multi-Award-Winning Author, Donna Joy Usher. It’s been three months since Chanel returned from Las Vegas and she’s done everything in her power to forget about Billy. All that changes the day he shows up asking for her help. Boris Tolokonsky, head of the Las Vegas-Russian Mafia, has escaped, and Intel says he is heading for Australia…and for Matt King... -
Peril in High Heels by Gemma Halliday, Kelly Rey
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTake one fashion designer, one epic fantasy film being shot in the middle of Nowheresville, and a very real dead body, and you have a hilariously action-packed mystery!Fashion designer Maddie Springer is a huge fan of the Lord of the Throne books by J.R. Ravensberg... -
Accidental Lawyer: A humorous peek into Baltimore's legal Community by Kim Hamilton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSet in the brilliant and diverse city of Baltimore, Accidental Lawyer, is a humorous, often irreverent portrayal of the dubious practice of personal injury law.Jessica Snow has a crisp new law degree, a grinding ambition, and a pesky moral compass that is often at odds with her new job as an ambulance chaser... -
The Château Murder by Nell Goddin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA dead Baron. A missing emerald. And way too many suspects.Amateur sleuth Molly Sutton has her hands full this time! Shut out of Castillac’s latest murder case and running out of money, she’s praying for a brilliant scheme or at least some dumb luck to strike... -
Dead Even by Annelise Ryan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn Sorenson, Wisconsin, a local bigshot is found with a pool cue through the heart—and Mattie Winston must untangle a web of lies to sink a killer . . . In her previous career as a nurse, Mattie Winston’s job was to keep death at bay. Now, as a medicolegal investigator, she’s required to study death intimately—to figure out causes and timing, and help deduce whether it was natural or suspicious... -
Banana Chiffon and Bad Deeds by London Lovett
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMeet London's newest amateur sleuth, Scottie Ramone, in Banana Chiffon and Bad Deeds—A prequel novella to the Scottie Ramone Cozy Mystery series.A missing grandmother, a murdered neighbor and a crush from the past are just a few of the surprises waiting for Scottie in the heart of the Rocky Mountains... -
Enchanted Bones by Carolyn Haines
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn Carolyn Haines's Enchanted Bones, PI Sarah Booth Delaney comes to the rescue in a short mystery set in Zinnia, Mississippi, that will delight fans and new readers alike... -
Lost Legacy by Annette Dashofy
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn a sultry summer afternoon, Paramedic Zoe Chambers responds to a call and finds a farmer’s body hanging from the rafters of his hay barn. What first appears to be a suicide quickly becomes something sinister when Zoe links the victim to a pair of deaths forty-five years earlier... -
Just Deserts by Jinx Schwartz
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHetta Coffey is a woman with a yacht, and she's not afraid to use it. As a self employed engineering consultant with a penchant of oddball-read: shady- projects, she has a way of attracting trouble. With her floating home drydocked for repairs in Mexico, Hetta needs a place to live and a job to pay the boatyard... -
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Deadly in High Heels by Gemma Halliday
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNew York Times and USA Today Bestselling series! When fashion designer Maddie Springer is invited to help style contestants in the Hawaiian Paradise Beauty Pageant, she jumps at the chance! The fantastic publicity coupled with a weeklong vacation with her best friends Marco and Dana, is a win-win. But trouble follows her to paradise when one of the beauty queens winds up dead...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth cozy crime female-mc humor law-enforcement realistic action-adventure -
Sisters of Willow House: Utterly heartwarming, feel good Irish fiction by Susanne O'Leary
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA heart-warming novel about the bond between sisters, set along Ireland’s windswept shores, where romance beckons and secrets unfold… Roisin McKenna and her husband Cian are taking time apart. Unsure of what she wants, Roisin’s prayers are answered when she receives a call from her sister Maeve who is desperate for her help... -
The Eleventh Hour by Anina Collins
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe first book in the Poppy McGuire Mystery Series! Poppy McGuire has always been a curious soul, but it's her life that's usually the topic of conversation in the small town of Sunset Ridge. But now one of the town's most important citizens has been found murdered, and everyone's life is suspect... -
From Garden To Grave by Rickie Blair
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMurder. It’s a perennial problem. Verity Hawkes is a shut-in. After two years bunkered in her apartment, the only thing that gets her out is the disappearance of her beloved but eccentric aunt. As she takes over her aunt’s landscaping shop, she’ll need to go from hoarder to horticulturist in a hurry…Her new home of Leafy Hollow is quaint, except for her most obnoxious client... -
How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe next book in the perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series sees Precious Ramotswe calling upon all her maternal instincts when she's faced with a two-ton case. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but can Mma Ramotswe and the rest of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency come together to raise a pipsqueak pachyderm? We may find out in this novel. We may not... -
The Colors of All the Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith, Lisette Lecat
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsPrecious Ramotswe dips her toe into the world of politics in the newest addition to the beloved and best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. When Mma Potokwane suggests to Mma Ramotswe that she run for a seat on the City Council, Mma Ramotswe is at first unsure... -
Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this latest installment of the beloved and best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi help a young woman on a quest to find someone from her past.Changes are afoot at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, where Mma Makutsi, who has recently been promoted to co-director, has been encouraging Mma Ramotswe to update to more modern office practices... -
To Hatch a Thief by Zara Keane
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn Irish cozy mystery featuring mystery, mayhem, and…chickens? When a valuable diamond necklace is stolen, former American cop and classic movie buff, Maggie Doyle's, peaceful vacation on a remote Irish island comes to an abrupt end. An island lawyer hires Maggie to find the necklace before its owner realizes it's missing... -
The Dead Girl's Stilettos by Quinn Avery
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAfter a Jane Doe is murdered in journalist Bexley Squires's hometown, she's hired by one of Hollywood’s brightest stars to clear his name as a suspect. But her skills as an amateur sleuth weren’t enough to find her missing sister... -
A Wedding to Die For by Heather Haven
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA wedding without a groom leaves a lot to be desired. So when the wedding of Lee’s best friend is threatened by the arrest of the groom for murder, thirty-four-year old Lee Alvarez -- a combination of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone and Janet Evanovitch’s Stephanie Plum - heads south of the border in search of the real killer...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth cozy female-mc humor investigator law-enforcement animals contemporary -
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Tess's Tale by Donna Joy Usher
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAnother book by the multi-award-winning author Donna Joy Usher. Please note - this is a light-hearted, humorous, chicklit, female sleuth novel. If you are looking for a literary masterpiece with a deep meaning this is probably not the book for you... -
The Princess of Greektown by Suzanne Jenkins
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThirty years ago, Terry Smith was Detroit’s top news anchor. She set the standard for excellence in investigative journalism, staying at the news desk long after her time should have been over. Just as Terry’s son-in-law is murdered in the city, Detective Jill Zannos faces upheaval in her own life... -
Too Far to Fall by Shane Sawyer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA pretty little townAn inheritanceA break-inA bodyEdie Doyle may be new in town, but she’s about to uncover long-held secrets. Secrets someone will do anything to protect.When her Great Aunt Jane dies, Edie inherits her house—and a load of trouble. The frozen corpse is just the beginning...Categorized as:
cozy crime law-enforcement literary-fiction amateur-sleuth female-mc mystery fiction -
Sprinkles of Suspicion by Kim Davis
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne glass of cheap California chardonnay cost Emory Gosser Martinez her husband, her job, and her best friend. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of her troubles.Distraught after discovering the betrayal by her husband and best friend, Tori, cupcake caterer Emory Martinez allows her temper to flare. Several people witness her very public altercation with her ex-friend... -
Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong by Gina Kirkham
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMeet Mavis Upton. As mummy to 7-year old Ella, surrogate to far too many pets and with a failed marriage under her belt, Mavis knows she needs to make some life-changing decisions. It's time to strike out into the world, to stand on her own two feet … to pursue a lifelong ambition to become a Police Officer... -
War and Peach by Susan Furlong
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe author of Rest in Peach serves up another bite of Southern charm in the latest Georgia Peach mystery. Nola Mae Harper is too busy restocking the jars of preserves and chutney flying off the shelves of her shop, Peachy Keen, to keep up with all the gossip about the upcoming mayoral election, but she does know the debate is sure to be a real barn burner...
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