Books like 'The Black Cat'
Readers who enjoyed The Black Cat by Martha Grimes also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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Concealed Cargo: Children for Sale by Jodi Burnett
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Special Agent Clay Jennings and his K9 partner, Ranger, take to the streets of Denver to fight human trafficking, he is shocked by the inordinate number of stolen innocents who’ve been forced into the sex trade. With each new face, his resolve to help these children escape their personal horror grows stronger... -
A Private Investigation by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen fourteen-year-old Zoe Johnson doesn’t come home on a Monday night in early December, the alarm bells in Kings Lake Central police station do not ring straight away – after all, she’s from the Dockmills, one of the toughest estates in the town... -
Lost Creed by Alex Kava, Joshua Mackey
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFifteen years ago Ryder Creed's sister, Brodie, disappeared from an interstate rest stop. She was only eleven and Creed was fourteen. Since then her disappearance has haunted him, so much so that Creed has dedicated his life to his K9 business. He rescues abandoned dogs and trains them for scent detection. Together they search for the lost and missing... -
Wedding Cake and Woes by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe 15th book in the BESTSELLING Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Series!After nearly a year of being engaged, the time has finally come for Julia and Barker's wedding, but like most things in Peridale, things don't exactly go smoothly... -
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Still Waters by Sara Driscoll, Susan Bennett
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSet against the gripping backdrop of K-9 search-and-rescue missions, Sara Driscoll’s mystery series is “wonderfully readable” (Publishers Weekly). A treat for dog lovers who like their heroines smart and their stories with a harder edge.A training session in the Minnesota wilderness becomes a fight for survival for FBI handler Meg Jennings and her K-9 partner.. -
Under Pressure by Sara Driscoll, Susan Bennett
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFBI handler Meg Jennings and her K-9 partner, Hawk, are drawn into a case that involves a fortune in uncut gems, and an enemy whose power and ruthlessness know no bounds... Diamonds are no one’s best friend when the jewels in question are smuggled conflict gems. Meg Jennings and her Labrador, Hawk, have undertaken many search-and-rescue missions, but this case has an unusual twist... -
Leave No Trace by Sara Driscoll, Jen J. Danna
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFBI handler Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue K-9 partner are heading south where it’s hunting season. But this time the prey is human. One arrow through the heart could be a tragic hunting accident. A second one, within days, looks more like a crime. That’s when Meg Jennings and Brian Foster of the FBI’s Forensic Canine Unit head to Georgia to investigate... -
The Rags of Time by Peter Grainger
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsMark Randall lay dead in a field near Lowacre long before Smith had done what he had to do in Belfast. By the time he went back to work, the investigation was well underway. “It’s not my case” he says more than once, and he really doesn’t need it to be; he has enough to think about as it is... -
Revenge in the Roses by Dale Mayer
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRiches to rags. ... Bullets start flying. ... Rage is rising, ... especially for some!When the journey to Rosemoor for a celebratory evening turns deadly, Doreen’s life is flipped on her head. She can only watch in horror as Mack is shot right in front of her. Horrified, she vows to solve this case and fast, before the shooter realizes he failed and comes back for a second attempt... -
Storm Rising by Sara Driscoll, Angela Dawe
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe heart-pounding thriller of a series continues as FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue K-9 companion confront the fury of nature—and the more dangerous nature of man . . . In the wake of a devastating hurricane, Special Agent Meg Jennings and her Labrador, Hawk—invaluable members of the FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team—have been deployed to Virginia Beach... -
Dark Side of the Moo by Ellen Riggs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSweet life on the farm turns sour when a guest mooves on to greener pastures. Permanently.Ivy was happy to put her old life at Flordale Corporation behind her, but with a recent murder tarnishing her new inn’s reputation she can’t afford to be choosy about paying guests. So when her former teammates from HR ask to hold their retreat at Runaway Farm and Inn, she throws down the welcome mat... -
Champagne and Catastrophes by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRead for FREE on KINDLE UNLIMITED! The 14th book in the BESTSELLING Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Series! "Love the way Agatha quietly draws you into the story and then, bam, changes the direction!" Julia and Barker have finally set a date for the wedding, but that doesn't mean Julia has jumped straight into the planning, even though it's only three months away... -
Red Velvet and Revenge by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Julia South-Brown is asked to judge the first Peridale Bake Off competition alongside local radio DJ, Tony Bridges, she expects it to be some light village fun while her new husband, Barker Brown, finishes work on his second novel. However, it ends up being anything but when Tony shows he is nothing like his charming radio personality... -
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... -
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No Man's Land by Sara Driscoll, Angela Dawe
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSpecial Agent Meg Jennings and her search-and-rescue dog are on the trail of a killer hiding where others fear to tread… For Meg Jennings and her K-9 companion, Hawk, exploring the ruins of a deserted building is an exciting way to sharpen their skills without the life-or-death stakes they face as part of the FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team... -
Shoot the Breeze by Gina LaManna
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome to St. Paul, Minnesota—home to strong coffee, deadly winters, and Detective Kate Rosetti—a rising star in the local homicide department. When a young woman turns up dead along the Mississippi River in her latest assignment, Detective Rosetti quickly realizes it’s the work of a notorious cross-country serial killer... -
Justice by Jodi Burnett
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA US Marshal K9 ThrillerUS Deputy Marshal Caitlyn Reed, and her K9 partner, Renegade, are tasked with guarding a federal judge in an obscure court in north-western Wyoming. What should be a boring assignment soon explodes into an all-out catastrophe when a killer makes several attempts on the judge’s life... -
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... -
Mascots Are Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes the funniest high school reunion you've ever attended!"Welcome Back to Who’s There, Iowa, Who-rish, to your 10 Year Reunion!”A 10 year high school reunion happens only once, and to many, they can be a nightmare of revisiting past slights, humiliating moments and the class paste-eater—aka Officer Kevin Dooley... -
The Body on the Barstool by Lolli Powell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratings2016 WISHING SHELF INDEPENDENT BOOK AWARDS BRONZE WINNER!New Yorker Erica "Ricki" Fontaine's n'er-do-well uncle has dropped dead and left her a dive bar in a small Ohio River town. With a lousy apartment, less-than-promising job prospects, and even worse romantic ones, the inheritance comes at just the right time. Ricki packs up her cat and heads for the Buckeye State... -
Meerkats and Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJust as Merry Wrath’s former career as a CIA agent seems to be fading into a distant memory, the agent turned Girl Scout troop leader discovers that her beloved little suburban ranch house may not be what it seems. When a masked gunman breaks in to demand the return of "Nye," she fears that she may not have been the first spy to live there... -
Mosquito Bite Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a killer summer camping trip!In her career as a spy, Merry Wrath had her share of camping trips—from glamping in a yurt at Oktoberfest with drug lord Carlos the Armadillo to an awkward team building campout in the backyard of a Yakuza mob boss who thought “trust falls” should have lethal consequences... -
Make Believe Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a former CIA agent turned Girl Scout troop leader and a laugh-out-loud mystery! Merry Wrath’s summer plans didn’t originally include an unexpected visit from her old friend, Hilly—a quirky CIA assassin who’s been forced by HR to take her first vacation in…forever... -
Manga and Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a comic book convention turned crime scene!Welcome to Druid-Con!It’s Who’s There, Iowa’s first Druid-Con, a comic book themed convention organized by the teens of The Cult of Nicoderm (a group of four local teens who’ve taken the idea of extracurricular activities a bit too far)... -
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Mad Money Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes another madcap Merry Wrath mystery that will leave you laughing til it hurts!When Merry Wrath inherits an urn of cremains, she isn’t sure which is more surprising—that she was now the owner of a body or the fact that her family’s mythical Aunt June actually existed... -
Maltese Vulture Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes the latest laugh-out-loud mystery about big trouble in a small town...What's better than one King Vulture? Two, of course!Merry Wrath, former CIA turned Girls Scout troop leader, is over the moon when her wacky taxidermist sisters-in-law present her with a stuffed King Vulture named Nellie Lou... -
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... -
Burning Justice by Tee O'Fallon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter narrowly surviving a childhood fire that killed two of his friends, ATF Special Agent Brett Tanner knows what it’s like to get too close to the flame. The trauma only spurs him and his K-9 partner to track down the arsonists targeting a Colorado town. This latest warehouse blaze looks suspicious as hell…and there’s a body. Now it’s murder... -
Scones and Scandal by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen the official Peridale neighbourhood watch breaks up, Julia finds herself leading a brand new team. Their first order of business? Solving the murder of the former leader.. -
Birthday Cake and Bodies by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe 9th book in the BESTSELLING Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery series!When Julia gathered Barker's family at Peridale Manor for his surprise birthday party, she did not expect it to result in murder! Minutes before the celebration is scheduled to begin, Barker's nephew, Luke, is found strangled in his bed, putting an end to Julia's dream of a quiet family get together... -
Kickback by Damien Boyd
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTrainee jockey, Noel Woodman, has been kicked to death by an aggressive stallion at a horse racing stables near Bridgwater. Everyone is convinced it was an accident, except his brother, Jon, home on leave from Afghanistan... -
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... -
Persons of Interest by Peter Grainger
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the peace and tranquillity of the woods at Pinehills on a Saturday afternoon, a mobile phone begins to ring. The phone belongs to DC Smith and it isn’t unusual that the call is from Kings Lake Central police station; what is unusual is the fact that he seems to be the subject of an investigation rather than taking part in one... -
Not a Creature Was Purring by Krista Davis
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSanta Claws is coming to town and checking his list for a murderer--as the New York Times bestselling Paws & Claws Mysteries continue... Inn owner Holly Miller finds it ruff staying cheerful over the holidays when the dead body of a beloved businessman turns up in the pet-friendly town of Wagtail, Virginia... -
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Case of the One-Eyed Tiger by Jeffrey M. Poole
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“[T]hank you Jeffrey Poole for again creating another adventure …. excited to see many more in the future!” – S. Redwing, 5 stars, AmazonFirst book in a new cozy mystery series. When a shocking murder shatters the tranquility of a sleepy Oregon town, and a priceless sculpture turns up missing, all fingers soon start pointing at new resident Zack Anderson... -
Exercise Is Murder by Bruce Hammack
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHow does a blind man solve a murder? Former Houston homicide detective Steve Smiley is faced with a dilemma. His college roommate, attorney Ned Logan, is found at the bottom of his exercise pool. The cops think it’s an accident. Steve’s instinct tells him it’s not. But how to prove it? He needs eyes…and a driver. Heather McBlythe is starting over, again... -
Chicken Culprit by Vikki Walton
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCheck Out the First Book in the New Backyard Farming Mystery Series CHICKEN CULPRIT Finally healing after her heart-breaking divorce, Anne Freemont is ready to put the painful past behind her. Discovering an old Victorian for sale in the small mountain town of Carolan Springs may be just what she needs. The beauty of Colorado beckons, so Anne heads west to start her new life... -
The Reluctant Coroner: A Fenway Stevenson Mystery by Paul Austin Ardoin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBlood is thicker than oil—until murder is involved.Fenway Stevenson doesn't want to return to the coastal town where her estranged father is practically king. But the death of her mother draws her back home—and the murder of the county coroner draws her into a deepening conspiracy... -
Luck and Judgement by Peter Grainger
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWhen a worker goes missing from a North Sea gas platform, there seem to be just two possible explanations – it was a tragic accident or a suicide. It does not take Smith and his detectives long, however, to discover that James Bell led a double life back onshore in Kings Lake, a life complicated enough to make him at least one dangerous enemy... -
The Railway Murders by J.R. Ellis
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA puzzling locked-room mystery that puts someone Oldroyd loves in terrible danger…When a film shoot on Wharfedale’s vintage railway turns into a grisly crime scene, DCI Oldroyd’s idyllic visit to the countryside with his partner Deborah is well and truly stopped in its tracks. One of the film’s stars has been shot dead in a train carriage while the cameras rolled outside... -
Sticky Sweet by Connie Shelton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Sweet’s Sweets Bakery MysteryIt’s here -- USA Today bestselling author Connie Shelton’s newest Samantha Sweet cozy mystery... -
Pistols and Poinsettias by Bruce Hammack
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSteve isn’t celebrating Christmas…he’s trying to survive it.Blind PI Steve Smiley loathes Christmas—too many memories. When his partner secures an invitation for them to teach at a mystery writers’ conference in Miami, what promises to be a welcome early December escape turns into a tidal wave of mysteries to solve... -
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... -
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In Trouble with the Claw by Eryn Scott
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCould Lou be falling right into the killer’s trap?Louisa’s first fall in Button is everything she hoped it would be: corn mazes, pumpkin patches, quirky town traditions, and beautiful foliage. The only unexpected thing: a dead body found in a pile of fall leaves.When Lou starts getting clues about the murder, she’s wary, to say the least... -
Mystery Night Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes the next Merry Wrath mystery about one former CIA agent turned Girl Scout Troop leader who is playing the deadly game of her life! Mrs. Gable in the Conservatory with a noose? It was supposed to be a fun weekend of pretend murder... -
Musket Ball Murder by Leslie Langtry
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes a Civil War reenactment, a missing body, and one ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout Troop leader with hilarious results! Merry Wrath has a problem. Her Girl Scout Troop co-leader has signed them up to participate in a Civil War reenactment based on the little-known Battle of Idiot Creek... -
Beach Blanket Barbie by Kathi Daley
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsZoe suspects that something is up when Levi’s ex-girlfriend Barbie comes to town unexpectedly. When she ends up floating face down in the lake Zoe and the gang shift into full sleuth mode to find a killer. As they delve into Barbie’s life since she left Ashton Falls, they find a complex puzzle that is going to take a group effort to unravel... -
Fatal, Family, Album by Joanna Campbell Slan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here. Two FBI agents come looking for Kiki's nanny, Brawny-- And suddenly, the Detweiler household is turned upside down. Kiki and her husband Detweiler must ask themselves the toughest questions they'll ever face: Can we trust this person with our kids? The answer might say more about them than it does about Brawny... -
The Handyman Homicide by Libby Howard
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe new campground comes with a body. Sassy Letouroux is not normally an impulsive woman, but when the campground that held so many childhood memories comes up for sale, she throws caution to the wind and buys it—sight unseen.Arriving with her 85 year old mother and her bloodhound, Elvis, Sassy realizes there’s a lot to do before the campground will be ready for the spring rush of guests...
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