Books like 'The Stargazey'
Readers who enjoyed The Stargazey by Martha Grimes also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery crime law-enforcement cozy police-procedural friendship suspense whodunit animals
-
Graves on the Fens by Joy Ellis
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt arrives in the morning. An old-fashioned airmail envelope addressed to Detective Nikki Galena. Inside, on a single sheet of blue airmail paper, are three words:You failed me.The second airmail envelope arrives at Nikki’s home address. The same message. Only this time, it’s followed by four names: Alexandra Cornfield, Ruth Baker, Bethany Lyons, Leanne Delaney.Four missing women...Categorized as:
crime suspense law-enforcement police-procedural mystery fiction audiobook contemporary -
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... -
Dark Skies: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFROM THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HOLY ISLAND Beware what lies beneath… One fateful, starry night, three friends embark on a secret camping trip but only two return home. Thirty years later, the body of a teenage boy rises from the depths of England’s biggest reservoir and threatens to expose a killer who has lain dormant…until now... -
-
-
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... -
Poison Garden by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe clock is ticking…For Detective Chief Inspector Ryan, the stakes have never been higher. Most of the world thinks he’s dead, killed by an assasin's rifle in his own home. But another man took the bullet intended for him, and now Ryan’s living on borrowed time... -
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... -
Cover Shot by LynDee Walker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s been a slow news month in Richmond, and crime reporter Nichelle Clarke is enjoying the downtime when ominous messages and a dead body kick things into high gear. And that’s before the guy with the rifle takes a hospital full of people hostage...Categorized as:
cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense adult amateur-sleuth audiobook -
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... -
Vegetables and Vengeance by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJulia South-Brown is busy. Between trying for a baby, having her adopted daughter move out, renovating her beloved cafe, and training for the annual Peridale marathon, she doesn't have much time for anything, especially solving the recent murder of local farmer, Ted Coleman... -
Mania: An Alexander Gregory Thriller by LJ Ross
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DCI RYAN MYSTERIESYou can’t run from the past…Back in London after a dramatic trip to North America, Doctor Alexander Gregory finds himself without an occupation while he awaits the all-important decision of the disciplinary panel at Southmoor Hospital...Categorized as:
cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit action-adventure adult -
Cold Malice by Toni Anderson
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsASAC Steve (Mac) McKenzie is out to prove himself by leading a task force investigating a series of murders in the heart of Washington, DC. His undercover work in an antigovernment compound twenty years earlier is related—as is the sweet, innocent girl he befriended back then. Now that girl is a beautiful woman, and she has something to hide...Categorized as:
cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult audiobook -
Roxanne by Peter Grainger
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLife, as Smith used to say, is just one thing after another - as one investigation ends, a new one begins. But for reasons unknown to the rest of her team, DCI Cara Freeman will be haunted by the next case for the Kings Lake Central murder squad. They find themselves delving into the seamy side of life in the town, and one of their number will have departed before this new investigation is over... -
Pretty Little Girls by Jenifer Ruff
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsUntil you know who to trust, trust no one.The disappearance of a prep school girl from an affluent family leads to a hidden world of shocking secrets.FBI Agent Victoria Heslin investigates alongside local police, but the mysteries only get deeper... -
-
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... -
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... -
Horsey Mere: A chilling Norfolk Broads crime thriller by David Blake
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTHE DEBUT CRIME THRILLER SERIES OF THE YEAR!The remains of a 17th Century witch, an MP found hanging above a five-pointed star, and three girls with powers they struggle to control... -
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... -
Soul Surrender by Kathi Daley
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNow that Zak and Zoe have their house, their lives, and their wedding back, things seem to be on track once again, until a man is found dead and Zoe is once again pulled into a murder investigation. The victim is a well known and liked member of the community who didn't appear to have any enemies until his secret past caught up with him... -
The Girl That Vanished by A.J. Rivers
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRing...Ring...One call from her past was all it took to change everything.A ten-year-old girl has vanished on her way home from camp.And things took a turn for the worse when another child, a child that Emma knows, goes missing.Disappearances, death, and tragedies has followed Emma Griffin throughout her childhood... -
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... -
In the Cold Dark Ground by Stuart MacBride
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSergeant Logan McRae is in trouble…His missing-persons investigation has just turned up a body in the woods – naked, hands tied behind its back, and a bin bag duct-taped over its head. The Major Investigation Team charges up from Aberdeen, under the beady eye of Logan’s ex-boss Detective Chief Inspector Steel. And, as usual, she wants him to do her job for her... -
The Night of the Party by Anna-Lou Weatherley
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwo Couples. Three Secrets. One Murder.In a beautiful house surrounded by woodland, the Drayton family and their dearest friends are enjoying dinner together. The wine is flowing, the meal has been lovingly prepared, and it’s going to be an evening none of them will ever forget…A doting motherwith a manipulative daughter.A loving husbandlying to his family.A close friendkeeping a shocking secret... -
-
The Body in the Marsh by Nick Louth
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWhen a woman goes missing, it gets personal for DCI Craig Gillard. But he could never imagine what happens next. Criminologist Martin Knight lives a gilded life and is a thorn in the side of the police. But then his wife Liz goes missing. There is no good explanation and no sign of Martin…To make things worse, Liz is the ex-girlfriend of DCI Craig Gillard who is drawn into the investigation... -
A Woman to Blame by Vincent Panettiere
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHours after a thoroughbred racehorse collapses and dies after finishing last in a race he was favored to win, his trainer—a young woman with a promising career—is found dead on a suburban Chicago beach. To the police, it's a simple case of murder-suicide. But Mike Hegan, veteran police detective, refuses to believe the official story... -
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... -
A Deeper Fear by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFBI Agent Lucy Kincaid’s husband, Sean Rogan, is in a dark place after being held captive. He won’t talk about it with anyone, not even Lucy. She’s hoping a conference in Sacramento, which includes family and the unveiling of a highly sought after drone Sean’s been working on, will help him heal... -
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... -
Escape Clause by John Sandford
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhenever you hear the sky rumble, that usually means a storm. In Virgil Flowers’ case, make that two of them. Welcome to another exceptional thriller from the writer whose books are “pure reading pleasure” (Booklist) The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota Zoo...Categorized as:
animals cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult -
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... -
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... -
Senseless by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvery Serial Killer Knows. . . The vicious burns scarring the victims' flesh reveal the agony of their last moments. Each woman was branded with a star, then stabbed through the heart. With every death, a vengeful killer finds a brief, blissful moment of calm. But soon it's time for the bloodshed to start again. . . The Perfect Time. . -
-
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... -
The Shrine by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA murder for the history books…After a long and eventful winter, DCI Ryan and his team are looking forward to the joys of spring. But, when one of their colleagues is shot dead on her own doorstep and the brass think it’s an inside job, Ryan finds himself drafted in to investigate.He’s barely scratched the surface when reports flood in of a terror explosion at Durham Cathedral...Categorized as:
cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit action-adventure adult -
The Detective’s Daughter by Erica Spindler
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNew Orleans Detective Quinn Conners is haunted by her father's whiskey-soaked, last words - that he solved the Hudson murder and kidnapping. It wasn't the first time he'd made that drunken claim, and she didn't believe him. Twenty-four hours later she found him dead by his own hand... -
Til Death by Annette Dashofy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen one of Chief Pete Adams’ first murder convictions is overturned, he and County Detective Wayne Baronick are assigned to reinvestigate the case. As new theories about the murder surface, Pete begins to question not only the original suspect’s guilt, but his own investigative skills from the days when he first took over the Vance Township Police Department... -
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... -
No Way Out by Allison Brennan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom Allison Brennan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cut and Run, comes a new e-novella, No Way Out: FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid faces her worst fear when her husband goes missing Nine years ago, mercenary Kane Rogan and photojournalist Siobhan Walsh risked their lives to rescue Hestia Juarez, a thirteen-year-old girl being forced to marry a much older man to expand her father’s crime family... -
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... -
The Only Witness: A Cozy Animal Mystery by Pamela Beason
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA novel of mystery and suspense from Daphne Award Winning Author Pamela BeasonKIDNAPPING…OR MURDER?A MISSING BABYSeventeen-year-old Brittany Morgan dashed into the store for just a minute, leaving her sleeping baby in the car. Now Ivy’s gone and half the town believes Brittany murdered her daughter...Categorized as:
animals cozy crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense action-adventure adult -
The Beginning by Catherine Coulter
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Cove and The Maze , the first two thrillers in the FBI series, for the first time together in one volume. In these exciting novels of intrigue and suspense, readers are introduced to Special Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock-and they'll watch the sparks fly as the agents' relationship heats up amid cases that could destroy everything they hold dear...Categorized as:
crime law-enforcement police-procedural suspense whodunit action-adventure adult betrayal -
-
The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsObsession leads to lies... When air force captain Luke Trussell opens his door one Sunday morning, he's shocked to find the police -- and even more shocked when they charge him with rape. He knows he made a mistake in judgment the night before, but he certainly didn't force his attentions on the woman who's been stalking him for months... -
Dead Ringer by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSOME NIGHTMARES . . . Beside each body, he leaves a simple charm bearing a woman’s name. Ruth . Judith . Rachel. The victims were strangers to each other, but they have been chosen with the utmost care. Each bears a striking resemblance to Kendall Shaw, a local anchorwoman…each brutally strangled by a madman whose obsession will never end... DON’T FADE . . -
The Braque Connection by Estelle Ryan
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsForged masterpieces. Hidden messages. A desperate swan song.When world-renowned nonverbal communication expert Doctor Genevieve Lenard wakes up in an unknown location, drugged and kidnapped, it pushes the limits of her autism coping skills.For the last year, Russian philanthropist and psychopath Tomasz Kubanov has been studying Genevieve just as she and her team have been studying him... -
Proof of Life by J.A. Jance
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBe careful what you wish for . . . Before he retired, J. P. Beaumont had looked forward to having his days all to himself. But too much free time doesn’t suit a man used to brushing close to danger... -
ESCORT GIRL: part 3 of 6 by Stephanie Bond
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn Amazon exclusive!In this romantic mystery, a young woman who works for a PR firm is chaperone, babysitter, and therapist to VIPS who come to Atlanta to promote their movies, music, books, TV shows, politics, and products.. -
Misty Lake in Focus by Margaret Standafer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor Cassie Papadakis, a lonely childhood inevitably led to a lonely life. Trusting no one, she threw herself into her work and avoided relationships at all costs. Until she met Frank McCabe and everything changed. Two weeks with him taught her what happiness was. But then, in an instant, her world was shattered. Frank never understood why Cassie disappeared so suddenly from his life...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.