Books like 'Dying for a Dude'
Readers who enjoyed Dying for a Dude by Cindy Sample also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery small town cozy humor crime romantic-love suspense
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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... -
Baskets and Beignets by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWorth dyeing for.Ten years ago, Ryan Comeaux was convicted of killing his girlfriend and was sentenced to life in prison. Now a witness has come forward who claims she was with Ryan the entire night and it’s not possible that he was the killer. But the local police assume she’s mistaken and aren’t interested in reopening what they view as an open-and-shut case... -
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
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... -
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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... -
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
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
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
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... -
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 Driven by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDriven to fight for her town, driven to fight for love. Riley Davies never backs down from a fight. She stands up for herself and those who can’t stand up for themselves. But she is just the manager of a farm and can only do so much . . . until a political matter threatens to ruin her farm and the town she loves... -
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... -
The Blue Pool Murders by Rachel McLean
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDCI Lesley Clarke is a busy woman.She's dealing with the reopened investigation into DCI Mackie's death, supporting DS Dennis Frampton through recurring mental health problems, and making plans for her own future.And then prominent crime boss Arthur Kelvin is found dead at a local beauty spot... -
Thirty-One and a Half Regrets by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBook Four in the USA Today bestselling Rose Gardner Mystery Series! While Rose recovers from a broken heart, she finds herself at odds with her sister—and business partner—Violet. Rose buries herself in her landscaping work, but becomes worried when her employee and friend, Bruce Wayne Decker, goes missing. In the meantime, Fenton County assistant D.A... -
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Lowcountry Boughs of Holly by Susan M. Boyer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s the most wonderful time of the year, but Private Investigator Liz Talbot is struggling to feel festive. She hasn’t seen her best friend, Colleen, in weeks and fears she may never see her again in this life. Meanwhile Nate, Liz’s husband and partner, is spending money like he prints it in the attic on a mysterious family Christmas celebration... -
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
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... -
Sinful Deed by Emilia Finn
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCopeland City is being terrorized by a new killer.He targets women in their twenties, kills them with a cowardly cocktail of drugs direct to their veins, then leaves a slew of clues for me to unearth on my medical examination table.It’s purely coincidental that I match his victim's profiles.If only Archer Malone, lead detective and the man currently occupying my bed, would believe the same... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
Wings and Broken Things by Trixie Silvertale
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA crime with no eyewitnesses. A determined psychic sleuth. Will her search for clues take her where angels fear to tread? Mitzy Moon is eager to test her expanding abilities. Although she’d love to look into the hit-and-run that struck down her favorite veterinarian, leads are slim to none... -
Espresso and Evil by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe 6th book in the BESTSELLING Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery series!When a coffee shop opens in the village, Julia is surprised when her customers flock to the new business, leaving her café almost empty... -
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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... -
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... -
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... -
Fish out of Water by Josie Watts, Janice Whiteaker
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGet a new job. Check.Find a new apartment. Check.Stake out geriatric hit men with my handsome sidekick. Check?Never rent an apartment over the internet.I learned that lesson the hard way. Turns out the sweet two bedroom I was thrilled to make mine is actually smack dab in the middle of a retirement community.Now instead of enjoying Florida’s night life, I’m helping Mrs... -
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
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... -
Tattoos and Clues by Trixie Silvertale
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA beachside stroll. A deadly discovery. Will this psychic sleuth swim or sink?Mitzy wishes she could turn a blind third-eye to her hit-or-miss powers. Instead, while taking her fiendish feline for a walk, they make a stomach-churning find on shore. Despite her loss of appetite, she can't help but get a closer look at the unique ink etched into the corpse.. -
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... -
Witch at Heart by Juliette Harper
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsASIN moved from less recent edition hereJinx Hamilton has been minding her own business working as a waitress at Tom’s Cafe and keeping up with her four cats. Then she inherits her Aunt Fiona’s store in neighboring Briar Hollow, North Carolina and learns that her aunt has willed her some special “powers” as well. They say admitting you have a problem is the first step and Jinx has a major problem... -
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... -
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Fearless by Stephanie St. Klaire
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLife teeters in the balance when tragedy strikes the small mountain town of McKenzie Ridge… Everly Shaw’s world takes a direct hit leaving her battling demons she thought she buried long ago. A daredevil at heart that throws caution to the wind, the only risk she wouldn’t gamble on was love... -
Rage's Model by Elizabeth N. Harris
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRage MC is under siege, old ladies and children locked down under heavy security. Allies surround their women with protection because no one knows who the targets are. A serial killer on the loose with a grudge as wide as an ocean. He’s been locked up, but he’s not given up. He made plans, and now he’s got the chance to fulfil those plans and to hell with anyone who tries to stop him... -
Blown To Pieces by Katie Graykowski
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAfter restauranteur, Big Tommy Prather, is blown to pieces in his front yard, Mustang Ridges and her two best friends are on the case. While the local police have ruled the death an accident, Mustang and the girls suspect murder. They can prove it…sort of... -
Muffin But Trouble by Chelsea Thomas
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen you’re an amateur sleuth, you’ve always got baggage……and that means you never get a vacation from murder.Chelsea, Teeny, and Miss May are trying to have a fun trip to Los Angeles.But they’ve barely checked in to their hotel when they get a call from their old friends Amy and Petunia…There’s been a murder!Worse yet, all the evidence seems to point to everyone's favorite dog groomer.. -
Very Nice Funerals by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsRose Malone is doing all right except that her daughter is struggling with PTSD, her lover is leaving her for the Appalachian Trail, and there’s a rumor that there’s a million bucks in the building she inherited which has inspired every money-hungry man in her weird little town to bring her cheap flowers and offer to search the place for her... -
Rocky Start by Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRose Malone’s landlord and employer has just died and now she has no idea if she has a job or if she and her daughter, Poppy, have a place to live, and that’s on top of the arrest warrant that’s been out for her for nineteen years. Then a stranger shows up and tries to throw her out. It just isn’t the week to do that... -
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Holiday Rebel by Rebecca Zanetti
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSecrets are Unwrapped during this Holiday SeasonRory Albertini has survived in a world of espionage and danger by being patient and outwaiting any enemy. So, when his fiancé and the only woman he’s ever loved dumps him, he immediately creates an attack plan... -
'Til Death by Sharon Sala
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHe left in handcuffs. Now it's time to set himself free. Nearly twenty years after he was wrongly convicted of setting the fire that killed his father, Lincoln Fox returns to Rebel Ridge, Kentucky. There, deep in the Appalachians, the truth of that terrible night lies buried-and he's sworn to uncover it... -
Last Seen at Lighthouse Lane by Sage Parker
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLaura Williams hasn’t stepped foot in her hometown since she was old enough to leave.But when a doctor calls about her mom’s declining medical condition, she has no choice but to return home and look after her.Besides, it couldn’t be as bad as living in a city with the man who broke her heart. 2 weeks before their wedding... -
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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... -
Shortbread and Sorrow by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Julia’s gran, Dot, wins an all-inclusive spa trip to Scotland, Julia finds it difficult to refuse the offer of a relaxing week away from her café. Along with her sister, Sue, they pack up her tiny vintage car and drive all the way from Peridale to Seirbigh Castle, ready to be pampered... -
Deadly Summer by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTen years ago, Summer Butler was television’s most popular teenage sleuth. Since then, she’s hit—what gossip sites just love to call—the gutter. Nearly bankrupt, betrayed, estranged from her greedy mother, and just about unemployable, she’s coaxed into that desperate haven for has-beens: reality TV... -
Buried by C.J. Carmichael
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAn alternate cover edition can be found here.Justice is overdue in the coastal town of Twisted Cedars where two unsolved mysteries lay buried in the past.Over thirty years ago a series of murders targeting Oregon librarians was never solved. Now someone with inside knowledge is feeding clues to true crime writer Dougal Lachlan, promising him the best story of his career... -
Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsControversy erupts in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, when the owner of the local bookstore tries to play peacekeeper—but winds up playing detective instead...Nora Pennington is known for her window displays, and as Halloween approaches, she decides to showcase fictional heroines like Roald Dahl’s Matilda and Madeline Miller’s Circe... -
Winchester Christmas Wedding by B.J. Daniels
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Winchester Ranch is a place of age-old scandal and deadly family secrets. For DEA agent T. D. Waters, the thriving ranch and mysterious Winchester clan have the answers he's looking for. With the heart of a cowboy and a rebellious streak that can't be tamed, he's not going to let anyone interfere with his investigation. Nor will he let a beautiful, lonely siren distract him from his mission...
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