Books like 'By the Book'
Readers who enjoyed By the Book by Gregory Ashe also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance mystery small town mlm lgbtq cozy crime friendship family
-
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
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... -
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... -
Rewriting the Stars by Claire Kingsley
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsFirefighter Levi Bailey is used to being alone. Not that he’s lonely. How could he be, with a band of unruly brothers, and their wives and growing families. Maybe he’s the odd man out. The one brother who isn’t destined to be with his soulmate.Besides, he has her.She’s his Juliet, the only woman in the world he can’t ever have. To an outsider, it probably seems crazy... -
-
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... -
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... -
Hurricane Force by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the seventh book in the Miss Fortune series. A force to be reckoned with… During missions as a CIA assassin, Fortune Redding saw and overcame most every obstacle, but Sinful, Louisiana, keeps producing new challenges for her. When a hurricane blows through, it brings a shower of counterfeit money raining down on the tiny bayou town... -
Making It Right by Catherine Bybee
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller. In the final book in Amazon Charts bestselling author Catherine Bybee’s Most Likely To trilogy, River Bend’s rebel follows in her father’s footsteps to become sheriff. But it might be time to forge her own path… Some kids inherit a family business; Jo Ward inherited a badge... -
Swamp Team 3 by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, a new installment in her bestselling Miss Fortune series. What’s a little arson between friends? Undercover CIA agent Fortune Redding spent her first three weeks in Sinful, Louisiana dodging insults, makeup advice, guard dogs, bullets, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc, both professionally and personally... -
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... -
Broken Shadows: Shadows Landing #5 by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTrent Faulkner was happy working with his hands to build custom furniture. He had made a name for himself and his design company. Love wasn’t even on his radar. Then one client broke down his barriers, only to make him leave in the morning. Trent made a resolution to forget about her, but that was hard to do when she was everywhere he looked, including in his heart... -
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... -
-
Fierce Shadows by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDare Reigns is Charleston’s newest undercover ATF agent. Dare and his bosses believe a nearby resort is responsible for several deaths from tainted alcohol. As a favor to his friend, Marcy Davies, Dare agrees to a blind date with her grand-niece who lives in the area. What he didn’t tell her was having a date night at the resort would be the perfect cover for him to begin his investigation... -
The Keeper of Bees by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEmery Hazard has pretty much everything under control. He and his fiancé, John-Henry Somerset, are more in love than ever, despite the stress of wedding preparations hanging over them. His business as a private investigator is growing. He’s even enjoying time with his growing circle of friends... -
-
Ride or Dye by Aimee Nicole Walker
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsGabe and Josh Roman-Wyatt have been living life in the fast lane. Demanding jobs, precocious twin toddlers, an ever-growing circle of friends, and a menagerie of pets means their home is filled with love and laughter but very few quiet moments for the happy couple. Gabe’s solution is to plan a surprise vacation at a perfect hideaway where the two of them can slow things down and reconnect... -
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... -
Soldiers of Fortune by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the sixth installment in the bestselling Miss Fortune series. When Celia Arceneaux was elected mayor of Sinful, Louisiana, Fortune Redding expected trouble. The woman has an unmatched talent for making the worst of any situation, especially if it means getting revenge on her sworn enemies Ida Belle and Gertie... -
Swamp Sniper by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the third book in the Miss Fortune Mystery series.When only a crack shot will do…In the two weeks CIA assassin Fortune Redding has been hiding in Sinful, Louisiana, she’s been harassed, poisoned, and shot at…and that was the easy part. But now, she’s about to face her biggest challenge since setting foot in the tiny bayou town... -
Blaze by Jocelynn Drake, Rinda Elliott
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe rings have been selected. The champagne placed on ice. The cake decorated. And the pre-wedding sex is off the charts... Lucas Vallois and Andrei Hadeon are finally ready to walk down the aisle. There’s just one small problem. A ghost from Lucas’s past shows up days before the wedding, desperate for help... -
Edge of Nowhere by Freya Barker
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOpen roads and honor meets poke bowls and self-controlI’m a homesick nomad.A protégé, a mountain man, an ally, and a seeker.My name is Wapi.I’m a work in progress looking to belong, and though my road has been a winding one, my heart has found focus.I’m a straightlaced hellcat.A princess, a fool, a target, and a handle.My name is Lindsey... -
10-Code by Freya Barker
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAs a forty-one-year-old mother of three boys, working two jobs, Marya Berger doesn’t have the time or energy to consider a relationship. Especially after a lifetime of poor choices in the romance department. But when the disappearance of a young boy strikes a little too close to home, and a younger man she’s tried to ignore offers his help, she doesn’t stand in the way... -
-
Staying For Good by Catherine Bybee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsZoe Brown may have been voted Most Likely to Never Leave River Bend, but the paper-thin walls and suffocating air of her family’s double-wide trailer were not what she wanted for her life. Other than BFFs Melanie and Jo, the only thing that kept Zoe sane during high school was her boyfriend, Luke... -
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... -
A Dye Hard Holiday by Aimee Nicole Walker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of year for Gabe and Josh Roman-Wyatt as they celebrate their first holidays as fathers, but someone’s war on St. Nick threatens to ruin their holly jolly Christmas... -
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... -
Saving Shadows: Shadows Landing #1 by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsGavin Faulkner was the only doctor in the small South Carolina inner coastal town of Shadows Landing. He was used to patching up everything from fishing lures stuck in skin to gator bites. Nothing could surprise him anymore—except when he found an unconscious woman partially submerged near his dock after a fierce thunderstorm. Ellery St. John’s last memory was of a bat swinging toward her head... -
I Do, or Dye Trying by Aimee Nicole Walker
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNewly engaged Josh Roman and Gabe Wyatt know the road to happily ever after won’t be easy, but the two men are certain their biggest challenges are in the rearview mirror. However, life in Blissville is never what it seems and all signs point to dangerous curves ahead... -
Off Duty Volume 2 by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHazard and Somerset: Off Duty Volume 2 is a collection of short stories. It includes the following:“John-Henry Somerset: Sold!”Somers enters a charity bachelor’s auction without telling his boyfriend. This story takes place before The Rational Faculty.“Pretty and Pink and Perfect”Hazard plans a toddler’s birthday party. This story takes place before The Rational Faculty... -
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... -
Dead Heat by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPaige Davies finds her world turned upside down as she becomes involved in her best friends' nightmare. The strong-willed Paige doesn't know which is worse: someone trying to kill her, or losing her dog to the man she loves to hate. FBI Agent Cole Parker can't decide whether he should strangle or kiss this infuriating woman of his dreams... -
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... -
-
Police Brutality by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor the first time in a long while, Emery Hazard’s life is good. His new business as a private detective is taking off. Things are good at home. He loves his boyfriend, John-Henry Somerset; he loves their daughter. He might even love the new friends they’ve found. There’s only one problem: Somers has been talking about marriage... -
The Rational Faculty by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThree months have passed since Emery Hazard and John-Henry Somerset faced a madman and lived to tell about it. Three months have passed since Emery Hazard resigned from his job as a detective. Three months can be too long and too short, all at the same time. On Halloween, a professor at the local college is murdered in his apartment, in front of dozens of witnesses. Then the killer disappears... -
Black Moon: MM Romantic Suspense by Elle Keaton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOne corpse, two corpse, old corpse, new corpse.Summer is crashing into fall and Mat and Niall have a wedding to overthink.A body is discovered floating in the harbor and this time it's the missing ex-Piedras Marine officer Duane Copper... -
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... -
Secret Wishes and Summer Kisses on Lily Pond Lane by Emily Harvale
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEveryone’s got a secret wish in Little Pondale this summer. Mia’s been exceptionally lucky since moving to Lily Pond Lane. But even on her honeymoon with the man of her dreams, she still has one remaining wish. Ella wishes Gill would propose. But since Mia’s wedding something’s changed in their relationship... -
Relative Justice by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn impossible son. An impossible murder. The honeymoon is definitely over. When Emery Hazard and his husband, John-Henry Somerset, arrive home from their honeymoon, they’re shocked (understatement of the year) to find a boy waiting for them on their doorstep. Colt, fifteen and eager to pick a fight, claims to be Hazard’s son... -
Domestic Animals by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSometimes, the most dangerous animals are the ones you let inside.When a man hires Emery Hazard to track down a teenager who, he claims, robbed him, Hazard isn’t convinced. The story has holes in it, and the client seems eager—too eager—to keep the authorities from getting involved. But Hazard is willing to play along; he suspects something much darker is going on, and he wants to know what it is... -
Father Complex by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHaving a father can be hard. Being a good one might be even harder.The call-out for the double homicide, when it comes, is a strange one: two men gunned down in a motel room, no witnesses, no real clues. Even stranger, the men were enemies, and no one seems to know why they were in that motel room together... -
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 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... -
-
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... -
Unholy Soul by Andi Rhodes, Lacy Rose
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThere isn’t a person in the world who hasn’t committed a sin. Some sins are worse than others, but seven of them are deadly. But those seven worst of the worst? They’re what drive Saints Purgatory MC to keep fighting... -
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... -
Vandal: An MM Bully Romance by Rachel Leigh
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI have a secret. A deep and painful secret that has been feasting on my insides. Clawing at my heart and lacerating it in a slow and painful agony. If Wyatt thinks that he can just walk into my life and rattle things up,he’s got another thing coming.He’s nothing to me.Scum.Dirt.As good as dead.You see, I have a secret, but so does he... -
The Reunion: The Secret of Cypriere Bayou by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn heiress comes home to terror in New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon's Mystere Parish: Family Inheritance miniseries. Bodyguard to an heiress is Tyler Duhan's idea of hell. The steely, sexy ex-marine has heard—and dismissed—the gossip about the haunted old LeBeau mansion and its "cursed" heiresses...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.