Books like 'Stiff Penalty'
Readers who enjoyed Stiff Penalty by Annelise Ryan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance mystery small town cozy humor medical suspense law-enforcement amateur-sleuth
-
Gators and Garters by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.72 of 5 stars · 18 ratings‘Til death do us part?Ida Belle, Fortune, and Gertie are gearing up for the big day—Ida Belle’s wedding to Walter—but when the caterer goes missing just a week before the big day, it puts a huge black mark on the joyous celebration... -
![Fortune Funhouse by Jana Deleon]()
Fortune Funhouse by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe traveling carnival has made its stop in Sinful and everyone is ready for thrilling rides, challenging games, and most importantly, funnel cake. But when a man is murdered in the funhouse and Emmaline LeBlanc is knocked unconscious so the killer can escape, the good times are over... -
![Bullets and Beads by Jana Deleon]()
Bullets and Beads by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLet the good times roll? It’s Mardi Gras time and Fortune is looking forward to seeing the spectacle firsthand, but when a visitor to Sinful is murdered during the celebration there, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t help but wonder what happened... -
![Change of Fortune by Jana Deleon]()
Change of Fortune by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSinful, Louisiana, is always a hotbed of activity, and despite the steamy heat, August is no exception. Godzilla is terrorizing the town, looking for a home-cooked meal, and Gertie is worried someone will take the gator out before she can get him under control. Francine has a situation of her own at the café, where food is missing from inventory. And Celia is always up to no good... -
-
![Endless Shadows by Kathleen Brooks]()
Endless Shadows by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRyker Faulkner has built his empire by being ruthless. No one knows the full extent Ryker has gone to in order to build himself up from nothing to one of the most powerful men in the country. So when someone comes after him, everyone knows the last thing Ryker will do is sit back and watch it burn.Kenzie Carys was used to being in the shadows. She was a nurse on night shift... -
![Swamp Spook by Jana Deleon]()
Swamp Spook by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen black cats roam, and spooks are seen, Come celebrate, it’s Halloween. Sinful, Louisiana, really knows how to throw a party, and it goes all out for Halloween. The weeklong celebration kicks off with a maze of horror in the park built of hay bales. And Fortune has the perfect assignment—the executioner... -
![Cajun Fried Felony by Jana Deleon]()
Cajun Fried Felony by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsVenus Thibodeaux had a reputation for being trouble. Some said she started at birth. When she finally left Sinful shortly after turning eighteen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When she blew back into town four years later, no one was happy about her return... -
![Swamp Santa by Jana Deleon]()
Swamp Santa by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt’s Christmas in Sinful and Fortune is set to participate in all the local hoopla. A Christmas gala, caroling, and a sleigh ride are on the agenda. Murder is not. But when someone bumps off Santa, Fortune is aware a killer is lurking among the holiday cheer... -
![Swamp Sweets by Jana Deleon]()
Swamp Sweets by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt’s November in Sinful and everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving. But when Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie bag a body on their turkey hunting trip, the quiet enjoyment of fall is over. No one really knew Miles Broussard well, and as he’d recently sold the building his business was in to retire in another state, no one could explain how he’d ended up murdered and dumped in the bayou... -
![One Foot in the Grave by Denise Grover Swank]()
One Foot in the Grave by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe third book in the Carly Moore series by Denise Grover Swank.The dead can’t speakAfter months of living in the Smoky Mountains town of Drum, Tennessee, Carly knows firsthand the financial hardship the citizens face. Still, she can’t muster the same excitement as everyone else when town patriarch Bart Drummond breaks ground on his new resort that promises more jobs and money... -
![Twined Bond by Emma Hart]()
Twined Bond by Emma Hart
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAll is well in Holly Woods. My best friend's love triangle is now a happy little circle. My sister-in-law just gave birth to my gorgeous new niece who is the world's best cuddler, and Nonna's—kind of—not on my back every ten minutes about the fact we're getting married in one month. *Supposedly.* Until the mayor's niece—our baker for the wedding—commits suicide... -
![Hook, Line and Blinker by Jana Deleon]()
Hook, Line and Blinker by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNobody knows speed like Ida Belle. Behind the wheel of her hopped-up Blazer, she’s the queen of the back roads. But when someone tries to kill Hot Rod and steals only black SUVs from his shop, Fortune worries that excessive horsepower is the least of the trouble that comes along with her friend’s new ride...Categorized as:
cozy female-mc humor law-enforcement literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult -
![Buried in Secrets by Denise Grover Swank]()
Buried in Secrets by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBook four of the USA Today bestselling Carly Moore series.Be careful where you dig…Life in Drum, Tennessee has been quiet since corruption was uncovered in the sheriff’s department three months ago—too quiet. Still, Carly is shocked when she discovers one of her sweetest lunch customers at the tavern has committed murder in cold blood... -
![Gator Bait by Jana Deleon]()
Gator Bait by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the fifth book in the hilarious Miss Fortune series. Things are starting to look up for Fortune Redding. Even though her life was at stake, the CIA assassin had balked at taking on a new identity in Sinful, Louisiana... -
-
![Frightfully Fortune by Jana Deleon]()
Frightfully Fortune by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsRest when you’re dead?It’s time for the annual Halloween festival in Sinful, and Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t wait to suit up and enjoy the food and activities. But when a dead man gallops through the park on a black stallion and slides to a decapitated stop right in front of Swamp Team 3, they know another festival is about to be turned on its head…so to speak... -
![Forever Saved by Kathleen Brooks]()
Forever Saved by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJace Davies has devoted his life to helping others. He is opening a new medical practice in his small hometown of Keeneston and is looking forward to starting the next phase of his life. Who knew that the new phase would begin with a 9-1-1 call? Stella Winters left her ex-boyfriend behind for a move to Keeneston to accomplish her dream of opening a garden center... -
![Twirled Bond by Emma Hart]()
Twirled Bond by Emma Hart
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIf I thought Holly Woods was crazy before, I was wrong. Devin is finally married. Nonna's on the wedding warpath. Drake might be getting ideas. His mom just dropped a bombshell, and Bek is caught between a hot as hell FBI agent and my super-sweet little brother. And I still don't have the shoe closet Drake promised me when he moved in six months ago... -
![Dirty Minds by Liliana Hart]()
Dirty Minds by Liliana Hart
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCoroner J.J. Graves and Sheriff Jack Lawson are in a race against time as they hunt down a sniper who is taking the law into his own hands. No one is safe, and everyone is a target... -
![Later Gator by Jana Deleon]()
Later Gator by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA poacher is at work in Sinful, Louisiana, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc is hot on the trail of the outlaw, trying to apprehend him before the state gets wind of the crime and sends a game warden to take over his investigation... -
![Adverse Possession by Rebecca Zanetti]()
Adverse Possession by Rebecca Zanetti
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe plural form of Nemesis is NemesesAnna Albertini never thought she’d have to look up the plural form of nemesis. In fact, she never thought she’d have one, much less three. But as she and her new partner try to make a go of their fledgling law firm, enemies come from every direction.First, there’s a newspaper reporter trying to make a name for herself by dogging Anna’s every move... -
![Zero Trace by Cara Carnes]()
Zero Trace by Cara Carnes
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDon’t get noticed. Zoey “Zero D” Danson thought it was an easy rule to follow. For years she toiled in cubicle 12A of the NSA’s data farm compiling security briefings and Intelligence reports. But she put her neck on the line and burned a dirty government operation to keep a covert ops team alive. Now she’s “one of them.” She’s not a nameless, faceless civilian anymore... -
![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... -
![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... -
-
![One in Vermillion by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer]()
One in Vermillion by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the third book in a new trilogy.Liz Danger is stuck in her hometown of Burney, Ohio, because her insane employer has rented a house there for the summer, which means she has three more months of trying to get a copy edit done, babysitting a seven-year-old, and figuring out what to do with three hundred and ninety-two teddy bears... -
![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... -
![Small Town Mountain Daddy by K.C. Crowne]()
Small Town Mountain Daddy by K.C. Crowne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Three babies?? This has got to be a serious mistake." How did this happen?Ezra is the last guy I should be creating a human with.Never mind THREE.Sure he's sinfully hot...But he's also a cocky Neanderthal.And the man who bullied me since I can remember.One major lapse in judgement leads to three heartbeats in my sonogram visit... -
![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... -
![Montana Ranger's Wedding Vow by Elle James]()
Montana Ranger's Wedding Vow by Elle James
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDallas Hayes muscled her way through Army Ranger training only to be considered a curse on her all-male unit in an operation in Syria. When half the team is killed, she’s left Injured, losing the lower portion of her left leg. Back in the States, she’s fitted with a prosthetic, still jogs and works out, but she’s medically discharged. Angry and resentful, she doesn't trust anyone... -
![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... -
![Burning Bond by Emma Hart]()
Burning Bond by Emma Hart
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBURNING BOND is book six of the HOLLY WOODS FILES series. While it can technically be read as a standalone, it's advised to read the first five books prior to this for full enjoyment. -- Two men, both determined to protect me. I think I love one. I’m almost sure I’m in love with the other. Ride or die just got a whole lot realer... -
![Bailed Out by Rebecca Zanetti]()
Bailed Out by Rebecca Zanetti
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Past Never Stays BuriedAnna Albertini is settling into a routine while ignoring the fact that the blue-eyed Irishman she’d allowed into her bed has up and disappeared on her. Two weeks without a phone call is no big deal, but still. With her hottie Italian boss goofing up the prosecuting attorney’s office, she at least has something to fix... -
![Forgotten Legacy by Robin Perini]()
Forgotten Legacy by Robin Perini
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsForgotten secrets. Forgotten lies. A family legacy…A determined killer. On the outskirts of Singing River, Wyoming, a couple dies in a fire that ravages their remote mountain home. Everyone believes it’s a tragic accident—except FBI profiler Riley Lambert. She isn’t convinced, and neither is her fiancé, ex–Navy SEAL turned sheriff Thayne Blackwood... -
-
![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... -
![Junior For The Mountain Man by K.C. Crowne]()
Junior For The Mountain Man by K.C. Crowne
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy sister's gorgeous best friend and her little boy are in serious trouble.Now, I can't rest until I know the two of them are safe.I'm not afraid to show those scums they never should have set foot on these mountains.My mountains.Combat may have left me broken...But Piper's surprising return woke my passion for life again.Now, men with a death wish want to cause her and her little boy harm...Categorized as:
female-mc humor literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult anthologies classics -
![Blazing Summer by Denise Grover Swank]()
Blazing Summer by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSummer Butler is killing it in the ratings—and all of America is tuning in as New York Times bestselling author Denise Grover Swank greenlights a new season of TV’s hottest sleuth… Summer Butler had no idea that Darling Investigations would be such a smash. But ratings don’t lie—fans love watching the former star solve real-life crimes in her hometown... -
![The Skeleton in the Closet by Angie Fox]()
The Skeleton in the Closet by Angie Fox
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratings**USA Today Bestselling series!**From New York Times bestseller Angie Fox, the second book in the Southern Ghost Hunter mysteriesA haunted library is no place for a girl who can see ghosts, but when Verity Long stumbles on a dead body in the middle of the main reading room, she has to believe someone…even a dead someone…must have witnessed the crime... -
![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... -
![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... -
![A Humbug Holiday by London Lovett]()
A Humbug Holiday by London Lovett
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt's holiday time in Firefly Junction but not everything is sweet sugarplums and glittery tinsel.Sunni Taylor has been too busy to get into the holiday spirit, even with her mom coming to town for a visit. Her festive spirit gets a spark when Detective Brady Jackson asks her to attend the town's production of A Christmas Carol... -
![Bluegrass Undercover by Kathleen Brooks]()
Bluegrass Undercover by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn her first follow-up to the Best Selling Bluegrass Series, Kathleen Brooks brings Keeneston back to life through the Davies Brothers. Cade Davies had too much on his plate to pay attention to newest resident of Keeneston. He was too busy avoiding the Davies Brothers marriage trap set by half the town...Categorized as:
cozy female-mc humor law-enforcement literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult -
![Tied Bond by Emma Hart]()
Tied Bond by Emma Hart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHolly Woods is going to hell in a handbasket—but this time, Satanists aren’t to blame. Halloween is. Nonna doesn’t understand why there are skeletons and demons everywhere. Mom is threatening to stitch a devil into Nonna’s pillowcase if she doesn’t shut up. Bek is bumbling over a date with Jason, the handsome FBI agent who conveniently got himself relocated to Austin, and I… Well... -
![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... -
-
![Guilty as Sin by Rosalind James]()
Guilty as Sin by Rosalind James
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThere are secrets. There are guilty secrets. And then there's switching places with your twin. Paige Hollander and her identical twin Lily stopped switching places a decade ago. But Lily's run into trouble, and Paige is on leave from the SFPD, recovering from a traumatic shooting. It's not like she has anything better to do, and she remembers how to be feminine. Sort of...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement literary-fiction suspense action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![The Lost Promise of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary]()
The Lost Promise of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA completely gorgeous story about lost loves and small-town secrets that will sweep you away to the Irish coast. Maggie remembers her summers in the village of Sandy Cove in Ireland like they were yesterday. She and her family would swim in the crystal-clear waters, collect beautiful seashells and relax on the sand... -
![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... -
![Chocolate Cake and Chaos by Agatha Frost]()
Chocolate Cake and Chaos by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe 4th book in the BESTSELLING Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery series is 28th April 2017! A funeral wreath is delivered to Barker’s cottage. Is it a prank, or a grim warning? Julia’s fears that somebody is trying to kill Barker are confirmed when a dead body with a striking resemblance to him is found on his doorstep the very next day, just as their romance is deepening... -
![Macarons and Mayhem by Agatha Frost]()
Macarons and Mayhem by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsExcitement blossoms through Peridale when a prestigious gardening magazine picks the village as the spotlight for their next issue, but that joy quickly turns to dread when members of the local gardening society, The Peridale Green Fingers, start dying one by one after their obituaries are sent to The Peridale Post the day before their murders... -
![Deader Homes and Gardens by Angie Fox]()
Deader Homes and Gardens by Angie Fox
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSouthern belle Verity Long is back in business--as a ghost hunter. Now all she has to do is visit the town's creepiest mansion and exorcise a family of vengeful spirits. Piece of cake. After all, ghosts love her and need her...that is until she meets the ghosts of Rock Fall mansion...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
