Books like 'Designated Daughters'
Readers who enjoyed Designated Daughters by Margaret Maron also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery small town cozy crime legal amateur-sleuth family female-mc literary-fiction
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A Merciful Promise by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Wall Street Journal bestselling series continues as Mercy Kilpatrick becomes embedded in the nightmare of a terrorist conspiracy.The job: infiltrate a militia amassing illegal firearms in an isolated forest community. FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick is the ideal candidate. She knows Oregon. She’s near the compound...Categorized as:
crime family female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh]()
Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe discovery of human remains unearths another nightmare from Sheriff Bree Taggert’s past in a bone-chilling thriller by #1 Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.Twenty-seven years ago, Sheriff Bree Taggert’s father killed her mother, then himself. Now Bree and her younger brother, Adam, find human bones on the grounds of their abandoned family farm... -
![Bones Don't Lie by Melinda Leigh]()
Bones Don't Lie by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsShocking evidence hits close to home for attorney Morgan Dane and PI Lance Kruger as Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh’s acclaimed series continues. Private investigator Lance Kruger was just a boy when his father vanished twenty-three years ago...Categorized as:
crime family female-mc law-enforcement legal police-procedural action-adventure adult -
![The Millionaire Murders by Rachel McLean]()
The Millionaire Murders by Rachel McLean
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn anonymous murder victim and a missing journalist: can Lesley uncover the truth?DCI Lesley Clarke has too many suspects to choose from when a wealthy lawyer and her unidentified companion are found brutally murdered in a Sandbanks mansion... -
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![A Streak of Bad Cluck by Ellen Riggs]()
A Streak of Bad Cluck by Ellen Riggs
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith hens like these, who needs enemies?Ivy is finally starting to feel at home on Runaway Farm and she’s even settled the feathers of a formerly feisty neighbor with frequent gourmet food bribes. Unless the nosy neighbor has an ulterior motive, that is. She’s as sly as Ivy’s runaway sow.New guests descend on the inn and Ivy puts the mayhem of recent weeks behind her... -
![The Wrong Bones by Melinda Leigh]()
The Wrong Bones by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA frantic chase to catch a grave robber reveals a startling discovery in this tenth installment of the Widow’s Island novella series by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.Deputy Tessa Black spots a man disturbing a grave in the local cemetery and gives chase. But when Tessa catches him, she learns that the ghoulish trespasser wasn’t robbing graves; he was burying a box of bones...Categorized as:
cozy crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Backrush by Jana Deleon]()
Backrush by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe sea heals all things.Tempest Island has weathered the worst of storms and still stands proud, providing its residents with the healing power of the sea and sun. When Alayna Scott’s life falls spectacularly apart, both professionally and personally, the executive chef’s only thought is getting back home to the island and her aunt Bea... -
![Blind Bake by Denise Grover Swank]()
Blind Bake by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen a young woman is at the wrong place at the wrong time, she becomes a person of interest in a murder investigation. Maddie Baker just wants to make ends meet. She gave up her school librarian career to return to her hometown and take care of her elderly aunt...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth cozy crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural adult alpha-mc -
![The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny]()
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsChaos is coming, old son. With those words the peace of Three Pines is shattered. As families prepare to head back to the city and children say goodbye to summer, a stranger is found murdered in the village bistro and antiques store. Once again, Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are called in to strip back layers of lies, exposing both treasures and rancid secrets buried in the wilderness...Categorized as:
cozy crime family law-enforcement literary-fiction police-procedural 21st-century adult -
![Bred in the Bone by Kendra Elliot]()
Bred in the Bone by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the fourth Widow’s Island novella by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot, the truth of a twenty-year disappearance will finally come to light. When the town drunk ends up dead in a hit-and-run, FBI special agent Cate Wilde expects that solving the case will be cut and dried. But evidence quickly surfaces that the victim was involved with another crime... -
![Bad Memory by Lisa Gray]()
Bad Memory by Lisa Gray
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPrivate investigator Jessica Shaw is leading a quiet life in a Californian desert community, where she spends her days working low-level cases. But when a former resident asks Jessica to help her sister, Rue Hunter—a convicted murderer whose execution is days away—Jessica can’t resist the offer... -
![Bone Deep by Kendra Elliot]()
Bone Deep by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen two men kidnap former FBI agent Cate Wilde’s fiancé, the boldness of the crime rattles the community. Desperate to find the man she loves, Cate joins forces with the FBI and the local sheriff’s department to launch an investigation and bring Dr. Henry Powers home...Categorized as:
cozy crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Buried Bones by Melinda Leigh]()
Buried Bones by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA college student’s murder shines light on community secrets left in the dark in the seventh Widow’s Island novella by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.All communities have their secrets…but on Widow’s Island, there’s a skeleton in every closet, as Deputy Tessa Black knows all too well... -
![A Broken Bone by Melinda Leigh]()
A Broken Bone by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe mysterious death of a local teen leads to a hunt for a killer in the sixth Widow’s Island novella by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.On Widow’s Island, the secrets are dark…and everybody has one. So when Deputy Tessa Black responds to a call about an explosion in a quiet neighborhood, she gets more than she bargained for: the body of a teen who went missing weeks ago... -
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![Corpse in the Carnations by Dale Mayer]()
Corpse in the Carnations by Dale Mayer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRiches to rags. … Chaos calms. … Crime quiets. … But does it really? After getting involved in two murder cases in the short time she’s lived in picturesque Kelowna, divorcee and gardener Doreen Montgomery has developed a reputation almost as notorious as her Nan’s... -
![Rest in Pink by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer]()
Rest in Pink by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the second book in a new series.Liz Danger is a ghostwriter, trapped in her old hometown for the summer... -
![Dirty Devil by Liliana Hart]()
Dirty Devil by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA series of bizarre murders that are seemingly unrelated turn out to be the work of a serial killer in the newest installment of the New York Times bestselling J.J. Graves Mystery Series.Coroner J.J. Graves and Jack Lawson investigate the murder of a victim who got exactly what he deserved. But justice is blind, and they have to put their personal feelings aside to hunt a ruthless killer... -
![Dirty Laundry by Liliana Hart]()
Dirty Laundry by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA new novel in the New York Times bestselling series: Coroner JJ Graves and her husband Sheriff Jack Lawson are back on the job when the body of an elderly woman is found in Bloody Mary. Rosalyn McGowen is everyone’s favorite great-grandmother. She always has baked treats in her bag, she smells of roses, and she takes in stray cats. No one knows who could hurt a sweet old lady... -
![An Embarrassment of Itches by M.K. Dean]()
An Embarrassment of Itches by M.K. Dean
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's Diagnosis Murder meets All Creatures Great and Small...As a house-call vet, Ginny Reese has seen her share of the weird and wacky. But nothing in her previous experience could have prepared her to find one of her clients floating in her own swimming pool.Local artist Amanda Kelly was extremely wealthy with her share of secrets... -
![Below the Bones by Kendra Elliot]()
Below the Bones by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA former FBI special agent must come out of retirement to solve a murder in the fifth novella in the Widow’s Island series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot.Former FBI special agent Cate Wilde is a new bakery and bookstore owner—and retirement is now complete with a doctor boyfriend... -
![Truth Be Told by Kendra Elliot]()
Truth Be Told by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA torrential two-day storm has cut off the small town of Solitude, Oregon, from the outside world. But for police officers Stevie Duncan and her husband, Zane, the ravages of nature have nothing on the nature of man... -
![Burned by Her Devotion by Melinda Leigh]()
Burned by Her Devotion by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn the second Rogue Vows novella, the town of Solitude, Oregon, will learn that good TV makes for terrible reality. When Chase Ryan, a popular crime TV star, turns up dead, the entire town of Solitude is shaken—but the show isn’t over yet. The confessed murderer is violently abducted on the way to the county jail, and now Detective Seth Harding must find both the killer and the kidnapper... -
![Banana Slit by Angela K. Ryan]()
Banana Slit by Angela K. Ryan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe grand opening of Anna McBride’s seaside ice cream shop is anything but sweet.After the tragic death of her Irish twin sister, Bella, Anna needed a radical change. So, she closed her counseling practice in Boston to embark on a new adventure as an ice cream shop owner... -
![Dirty Money by Liliana Hart]()
Dirty Money by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen the past meets the present… King George County, Virginia has it’s share of crime, but it’s generally a good place to live and raise a family. So when a string of violent murders sweeps through the county, J.J. Graves and her husband, Sheriff Jack Lawson, are left scratching their heads. It’s soon discovered all the victims have a connection—Malachi Graves—J.J.’s father...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth crime female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural adult audiobook book -
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![A Dirty Job by Liliana Hart]()
A Dirty Job by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA new chapter begins...J.J. Graves is trying to put the wounds caused by her father behind her. She and Jack have a shot at peace for the first time in their marriage, and it's new territory for them.A mortuary convention on a South Carolina island has J.J. and Jack combining work with pleasure... -
![An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo]()
An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsChief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates the brutal death of a young Amish man in An Evil Heart , the latest installment of the bestselling series by Linda Castillo.On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road... -
![Marshal by Jodi Burnett]()
Marshal by Jodi Burnett
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe U.S. Marshals service seeks a K9 Unit for their elite strike team tasked with hunting down America's most wanted criminals. Caitlyn Reed and her K9 partner, Renegade, are called up to the varsity to face this harrowing challenge. Has she bitten off more than she can handle?Moose Creek Sheriff Colt Branson finds himself in the foray as a part of the U.S... -
![Hunting Hour by Margaret Mizushima]()
Hunting Hour by Margaret Mizushima
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDeputy Mattie Cobb is working through issues from her past and has withdrawn from Cole Walker and his family to focus on herself, when she and her K-9 partner Robo get called to track a missing junior high student. Until they find the girl on Smoker's Hill behind the high school, dead...Categorized as:
amateur-sleuth cozy crime family female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure -
![Murder in the Cookbook Nook by Ellery Adams]()
Murder in the Cookbook Nook by Ellery Adams
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe witty new story from the bestselling author of The Secret Book & Scone Society series is perfect for bibliophiles who love a A Bookish Cook-Off with a little murder on the side… Six chefs are preparing to compete in an outdoor tent at Storyton Hall in Virginia for prizes that will boost their careers—but is there someone who can’t stand the heat? It looks that way when one of the... -
![A Dirty Shame by Liliana Hart]()
A Dirty Shame by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis is book 2 of the J.J. Graves series.J.J. Graves is back in Bloody Mary, but she's a long way from feeling at home. Between her bodily scars from being the target of a murderer and the emotional scars left by her parents, she doesn't know who she can trust. But death doesn't stop for anyone. The first murder is grisly. The second even more so...Categorized as:
crime female-mc law-enforcement literary-fiction police-procedural adult audiobook book -
![On Her Watch by Melinda Leigh]()
On Her Watch by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSheriff Bree Taggert becomes a target when she follows the twisting trail of a serial killer in a bone-chilling novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.A pair of hikers find a tarp-wrapped body in a clearing in the woods. When a search in the surrounding area yields two more, Sheriff Bree Taggert knows they’ve stumbled onto a serial killer’s dumping ground... -
![Fatal Reunion by Annette Dashofy]()
Fatal Reunion by Annette Dashofy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAs Monongahela County’s new coroner Zoe Chambers-Adams gears up for a third day searching for a missing woman, she receives the news she’s been dreading: a body has been found. What she discovers at the scene leaves no doubt—the missing woman was violently murdered. Worse, the manner of death mirrors the Monongahela Strangler case that terrorized the county when Zoe was in high school... -
![Poison Ivy by Helena Marchmont]()
Poison Ivy by Helena Marchmont
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt's party time in Bunburry! The deluxe Magnolia Inn is hosting surprise birthday celebrations for Bunburry's favourite senior citizens, Liz and Marge. But the party is not the only surprise. A glamorous widow, Francesca Fairfax Adams, is staying in the Magnolia Inn, and catches the eye of self-made man and amateur sleuth Alfie McAlister... -
![The Fearless One by Lori Foster]()
The Fearless One by Lori Foster
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Count on Lori Foster for sexy, edgy romance.” —Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling authorHe had it all planned…until she showed up. Jedidiah Stephens came to the Colorado Rockies for one to uncover the truth behind the fire that killed her family. She’s been chasing down clues, and everything has led her to an isolated campground...Categorized as:
family law-enforcement female-mc literary-fiction crime romance suspense contemporary -
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![The Trouble With Love by Becky McGraw]()
The Trouble With Love by Becky McGraw
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSabrina Roberts has become a reclusive workaholic, since her husband Kenny, an adrenaline junky cop, was killed in the line of duty eighteen months ago. Determined not to let the same thing happen to her after his death, Sabrina makes her job as a detective with the Phoenix Police Department her life... -
![Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle]()
Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsContractor Shannon Hammer gets tangled up in murder at a spooky old asylum in the latest Fixer-Upper Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Kate Carlisle. . . .Shannon Hammer is about to embark on one of the biggest projects of her career... -
![Dashing Through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews]()
Dashing Through the Snowbirds by Donna Andrews
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDashing Through the Snowbirds is the next merry installment of Donna Andrews's New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series.Christmas in Caerphilly is wonderful! Unless you’re a Canadian whose inconsiderate boss is forcing you to spend the holiday there, far from family and friends, with only a slim chance of a white Christmas... -
![Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews]()
Round Up the Usual Peacocks by Donna Andrews
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNew York Times, bestselling author Donna Andrews first introduced us to Meg Langslow as a crime-solving bridesmaid. In her 31st mystery, Round Up the Usual Peacocks, Meg returns to her roots, juggling cold cases and wedding guests. Kevin, Meg's cyber-savvy nephew who lives in the basement, comes to her with a problem... -
![Gone to Her Grave by Melinda Leigh]()
Gone to Her Grave by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn Solitude, Oregon, everyone has secrets…and some will kill to keep them. When she believes a teen is falsely accused of drug dealing, social worker Carly Taylor takes on a high-risk case and her estranged husband—the detective in charge of the investigation—to prove the boy innocent...Categorized as:
crime family female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult anthologies -
![The Tilt by Chris Hammer]()
The Tilt by Chris Hammer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA man runs for his life in a forest.A woman plans sabotage.A body is unearthed.Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder - a 'file and forget'.But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day... -
![The Body in the Gravel by Judi Lynn]()
The Body in the Gravel by Judi Lynn
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEven in a lovely town like River Bluffs, Indiana, flipping houses can be a challenge. Especially when there’s the proverbial skeleton in the closet—and a literal corpse in the driveway . . . House-flipper Jazzy Zanders has her work cut out for her. Her latest flip, which she co-purchased with her fiancée Ansel and cousin Jerod, is a three-story fixer-upper that’s more of a droopy-downer... -
![Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Heather Day Gilbert]()
Belinda Blake and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Heather Day Gilbert
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsExotic pet-sitter Belinda Blake is nervous about her new job at the White Pine Wolf Preserve, but it turns out that the care and feeding of wild carnivores may be the least dangerous part of the gig . . . Pet-sitter Belinda Blake is no stranger to dealing with wild animals, but she’s wary when the owner of the Greenwich, Connecticut, preserve asks her to help out with her “fluffy darlings... -
![The Sign of Four Spirits by Vicki Delany]()
The Sign of Four Spirits by Vicki Delany
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGemma Doyle won’t be spooked when a body shows up at the psychic fair in bestselling author Vicki Delany’s ninth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.When a psychic fair arrives in West London, Gemma Doyle, owner of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, wants nothing to do with it... -
![Murder on Tour by V.M. Burns]()
Murder on Tour by V.M. Burns
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBookstore owner and Michigander Samantha Washington is thrilled to see her debut historical mystery finally on the shelves, but a killer seems determined to steal away the spotlight . . . While Sam wraps up her first whirlwind book tour, Nana Jo has kept Market Street Mysteries running smoothly. The last stop is a prestigious book festival in Sam’s hometown of North Harbor, Michigan... -
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![A Fair Time For Death by Adriana Licio]()
A Fair Time For Death by Adriana Licio
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe annual Chestnut Fair brings visitors from far and wide to the sleepy village of Trecchina. This year, one will be coming to die.The moment Vanda Riccardi makes the grisly discovery in the forest, a blow to the head knocks her cold. By the time rescuers find her, the corpse is gone... -
![Death at the Deep Dive by Josh Lanyon]()
Death at the Deep Dive by Josh Lanyon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen Pirate Cove's mystery bookstore owner and sometimes-amateur sleuth Ellery Page discovers a vintage diving collection bag full of antique gold coins tucked away for safe keeping in the stockroom of The Crow’s Nest, it sets off a series of increasingly dangerous events, culminating in meeting Police Chief Jack Carson’s parents. Er… Culminating in murder... -
![Branded by B.J. Daniels]()
Branded by B.J. Daniels
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsResponding to a 911 call, Whitehorse Deputy Halley Robinson is stunned to find herself face-to-face with her teenage crush, Colton Chisholm. The schoolboy who had teased her is now a strong and sexy man—and he's on a mission to solve a case! But if he plans on unmasking a killer, he's going to need her help...Categorized as:
crime family female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult book -
![Death in Darkness by Nell Goddin]()
Death in Darkness by Nell Goddin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA disturbed wife. A nanny. And a pack of cowardly, lying friends.Simon Valette, a cultured and successful Parisian, moves his family to Castillac looking for peace and quiet. Before they've had a chance to settle in, someone is found murdered in their library. Molly and Ben work double-time to disentangle all the lies--including those told by their own friends... -
![The Château Murder by Nell Goddin]()
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... -
![A Bone to Pick by Melinda Leigh]()
A Bone to Pick by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsDeputy Tessa Black gave up her career as a detective with the Seattle PD and returned to the Pacific Northwest island she calls home to care for her ailing mother. Tessa thinks her mother’s illness is the worst thing she’ll face—until she responds to a routine call in the state park and discovers a local man harpooned to a sign...Categorized as:
crime family female-mc law-enforcement police-procedural action-adventure adult audiobook
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