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If you loved the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano, or you’re into Netflix shows like Dead to Me and are looking for more fast-paced and witty books with a side of mystery and maybe even murder, you’ve come to the right place. With lots of humor and even more heart, these stories mix every day struggles of parenthood, business ownership, and romance, while sprinkling in a bit of murder, mystery and counterfeit operations.
Love romance books in general? Check out our Most Anticipated Romances of 2023 >>>
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
When Meddelin Chan accidentally kills her blind date, her mother calls up her aunties to help get rid of the body. But they find out the hard way that a dead body isn’t so easy to dispose of, even more so when it’s accidentally sent in a cake cooler to the billionaire wedding that they are working for their family business. But Meddy, the aunties, and her ma will not let an unsavory corpse ruin their biggest job yet, or their buttercream! When Meddy’s ex, and biggest heartbreak, reenters the picture, things go from inconvenient to downright torturous.
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Delilah Green, a big-city photographer, swore she’d never go back to Bright Falls—but when her estranged step-sister, Astrid, offers big bucks to shoot her wedding, Delilah can’t refuse. When she sees Claire Sutherland, Astrid’s high school BFF, she decides there might be some fun to be had in Bright Falls after all. Claire, a single mom to an eleven year old and a bookstore owner, is keen on living a life without surprises. When Delilah comes back to town, Claire is intrigued by her beauty and her confidence. And as wedding preparations have them spending more time together, she begins to wonder if she has misunderstood Delilah all along, and discovers how badly she wants to know her.
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
The Museum is an elite network of assassins where Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie have worked for forty years. But in a time where technology is relied on more than people skills, the women’s talents are now considered old-school. To mark their retirement, the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation—where they realize they are being targeted and marked for death. Pulling together, the four must rely on their experiences and each other to show the Board what it means to be a woman, and a killer, of a certain age.
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Hannah Brooks is an “Executive Protection Agent” a.k.a. a bodyguard, and she could kill you with a napkin. Her latest job: to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his stalker. When Jack’s mom gets sick, he head back to the family farm in Texas to help out, but he doesn’t want his family to know about the stalker. Or the bodyguard. So, against her best judgements, Hannah agrees to fake it as Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. But the more time they spend together, the more real it starts to seem, and Hannah wonders if she’ll be able to protect Jack’s heart as well.
Don’t miss these favorite fake partner romance reads>>
How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent
Kitty Collins: friend, lover, killer. Of course, Kitty didn’t mean to kill the man that was following her from the nightclub. But she wasn’t unhappy about it, either. Turns out, she actually got away with it. Which is where Kitty Collin’s addiction began. And to be honest, she’s killing it!
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson
Phoebe Walsh is a PhD candidate that is obsessed with true crime. Even her dissertation, if she can ever finish writing it, analyzes the genre. But Phoebe is struggling to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida cleaning her childhood home, mourning a dad she was not close to, and spending time with her good-natured brother. Oh, and she’s convinced herself that her neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer. But what she discovers about Sam is far more terrifying—he may actually be a nice guy, with the ability to tear down her walls.
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
When Lila Macapagal moves back home after a breakup, she’s tasked with saving her Tita Rosie’s restaurant, and dealing with her matchmaking aunties who are equal parts loving and judgmental. When her ex, a food critic who is known to be nasty, drops dead after a confrontation with Lila, her life gets flipped upside down. With the cops on her case, and the landlord threatening to shut down their business, Lila is forced to start doing her own digging, nosy auntie network in tow.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a romance novelist, but to her, love is dead. When her new editor won’t give her an extension for her next book, she’s ready to kiss her career goodbye. Then she gets a tragic phone call that brings her back home to grieve her father, after being gone for ten years. She hates this town, and nothing has changed, except for losing her father. Until, while standing in her family’s funeral parlor, she sees a ghost. The ghost, her new editor, is just as confused as she is, and he has lots of unfinished business that will help teach Florence a thing or two about love stories.
Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp
Daisy Ellery is a baker, but not your average type. She and her dog Zoe bake and deliver pies to the men who have done wrong to the women in town. The secret ingredient: sweet vengeance. When Daisy parks her Pies Before Guys mobile baking van outside a local diner, Frank, the owner, tells her that he noticed someone suspicious lurking around her van. Then, she finds a letter on her door, threatening to expose her unsavory secret. Daisy will have to figure out who is blackmailing her, and why, in order to save her business, herself, and to continue getting payback.
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
Ava Wong has built the perfect life. She is a rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer, her husband is a surgeon, and she has a beautiful son and home. But beneath the facade, her marriage is failing and she hasn’t practiced law in years, her expensive degree going to waste. Winnie Fang, Ava’s college roommate, is looking to reconnect after twenty years. But Winnie, to Ava’s surprise, has changed. No longer the shy, awkward girl, Winnie is dripping in luxury goods and confidence. The secret? A counterfeit luxury bag scheme, and she’s looking for someone with a U.S. passport to help her. But when Winnie vanishes again, like in college, Ava is left to face the consequences.
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