Traci Andrighetti books in order

Tonight is Babette Lang’s bachelorette party. Problem is, there’s no bachelorette, only an unusual group of disgruntled guests—a wannabe hand-model bartender, a chain-smoking talent agent, the bride-to-be’s cheapskate boss, plus the sloshed fiancé and his furious sisters.

It’s not a party until there’s a body!

When one of the guests drops dead, four women with a tendency for trouble join forces to catch a killer.

Valentine Beaumont ~ Boston sleuth and gutsy beautician

Kate Connolly ~ San Francisco part-time crime-solver and sleep-deprived new mom

Merry Wrath ~ Iowa ex-CIA operative turned Girl Scout leader

Franki Amato ~ New Orleans PI and victim of a serial-matchmaking Sicilian nonna

Will these sleuths untangle this double mystery and save the party? Or is it already too late?

NB: Co-authored with  Leslie Langtry, Arlene McFarlane and Diana Orgain.

After a murderous bachelorette party in Niagara Falls, Valentine, Merry, Kate, and Franki decide it’s time to relax and have some fun in the Big Easy. New Orleans turns out to be anything but easy when the killer foursome stumble across the body of a formerly famous, elderly Dolphin burlesque dancer. To make matters worse, NOLA’s finest arrest Kate’s husband Jim as the prime suspect!

The four sleuths jump into action to catch the killer in a race against time that takes them to the seedier side of the French Quarter where they tussle with strippers, mud wrestlers, and dubious all-you-can-eat crawfish buffets.

Between cranky Cajuns, mysterious Spanish dignitaries, and a bizarre running of the bulls, these four sleuths don’t have time to Let the Good Times Roll before Jim takes the fall for the Dolphin dancer’s murder!

Get reacquainted with:

Valentine Beaumont ~ Boston sleuth and gutsy beautician

Kate Connolly ~ San Francisco part-time crime-solver and sleep-deprived new mom

Merry Wrath ~ Iowa ex-CIA operative turned Girl Scout leader

Franki Amato ~ New Orleans PI and victim of a serial-matchmaking Sicilian nonna

...and help them solve this crime!

Enjoy this USA Today bestselling collection of holiday themed cozy mystery short stories in some of our most popular series! Written by #1 Amazon, New York Times, and USA Today bestselling authors! These short holiday bites are perfect for enjoying while waiting in shopping lines or binge-reading over a cup of hot cocoa.

Stories include:

Baby It's Cold Outside (Tahoe Tessie Mysteries) by Gemma Halliday & T. Sue VerSteeg.

Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas (Greatest Hits Mysteries) by Leslie Langtry.

Christmas Al Dente (Southern Pasta Shop Mysteries) by Jennifer L. Hart.

Misdemeanors & Mistletoe (Jamie Winters Mysteries) by Kelly Rey.

Christmas, Spies & Dead Guys (Gianna Mancini Mysteries) by Jennifer Fischetto.

Eight of your favorite cozy sleuths travel to parts unknown, only to be followed by MORE MURDER! Each short shows a familiar sleuth in a new location, solving a brand new crime. Enjoy!

Titles include:

Mirto Magenta by Traci Andrighetti

To escape a hellish New Orleans summer, PI Franki Amato takes a dream case investigating a theft in Sardinia’s Gulf of Angels. Will she find the culprit and get her slice of beach heaven? Or will dark forces on the island send her to the bottom of a watery inferno?

Jewel of the Aisle by Laura Durham

A destination wedding at a historic Bahamian hotel. A missing diamond ring. A wedding planner who’s vowed to unmask the thief.

Death In The Dormitory by Nikki Haverstock

Archery coach and occasional amateur sleuth Di is looking forward to a relaxing weekend chaperoning a tournament with her Great Dane, Moo. But when a rival's team coach is taken away in an ambulance, Di suspects foul play. How will she prove her suspicion when everyone thinks it’s an accident?

Goats in the Machine by Lucy Jackson

Mysterious ghosts from the present evoke ghosts from Fancy's past when she joins a friend on a culinary Caribbean adventure.

Darby O’Kill by Zara Keane

Chaperoning a group of seniors around Ireland, I expected a weekend filled with ceilidh music and incontinence pants. Instead, I got whiskey-swilling hard rock devotees…and a corpse.

The Larceny in the Luau by Shea MacLeod

A priceless jewel is stolen during a luau. Can Viola find the culprit before the police arrest the wrong person?

Death In Venice by Sara Rosett

When honeymooning location scouts Kate and Alex visit Venice, they find romance...and murder.

Vangie Vale and the Full Metal Frangipane by R.L. Syme

Even after crossing a border, somehow, trouble finds Vangie. The mountains of Western Canada aren’t safe from the full-metal frangipane...

"This salon's styles are to die for."

Native Texan Cassidi Conti was expecting to face some obstacles when she moved to Danger Cove and opened The Clip and Sip, a hair salon that gives away free drinks. What she wasn't counting on was a client dying during a dye job.

But when eighty-year-old Margaret Appleby comes in for her biweekly appointment, that's exactly what happens: Margaret drinks her usual soy chai, dozes off under the dryer...and doesn't wake up. 

Now The Clip and Sip is under suspicion, clients are wary, and Cassidi is on a mission to prove that while her styles may be killer, her employees are innocent! But as Cassidi wades through the myriad of suspects in the small, coastal town, the killer sets his sights straight on everyone's favorite stylist.

If Cassidi doesn't watch her back, she may just end up Danger Cove's latest fashionable victim.

The Danger Cove books:

Secret of the Painted Lady (book #1)

Murder & Mai Tais (book#2)

Death by Scones (book #3)

Patchwork of Death (book #4)

Deadly Dye & a Soy Chai (book #5)

Killer Clue at the Ocean View (book #6)

A Christmas Quilt to Die For (book #7)

A Killing in the Market (short story in the "Killer Beach Reads" collection)

Killer Colada (book #8)

Passion, Poison & Puppy Dogs (book #9)

A Novel Death (book #10)

Clues in Calico (book #11)

Sinister Snickerdoodles (book #12)

Hurricanes & Heroes (book #13)

A Death in the Flower Garden (book #14)

Divas, Diamonds & Death (book #15)

A Slaying in the Orchard (book #16)

A Secret in the Pumpkin Patch (book #17)

Deadly Dirty Martinis (book #18)

A Poison Manicure & Peach Liqueur (book #19)

Not-So-Bright Hopes (short story in the "Pushing Up Daisies" collection)

Tequila Trouble (book #20)

Deadly Thanksgiving Sampler (book #21)

Killer Eyeshadow & a Cold Espresso (book #22)

Two Sleuths Are Better Than One (book #23)

Dark Rum Revenge (book #24)

Cozy Room With a Killer View (book #25)

It’s Christmas in Danger Cove, and all Cassidi Conti wants is clients. A rival salon owner has come to town and stolen The Clip and Sip’s business.

Her holiday hopes go south, however, after someone sexes up the sleigh display at her open house, and an incident from the past makes the paper. Luckily, her tough talkin’ Texan aunt rides to her rescue, and she’s madder 'n The Grinch in a gift shop.

But when a nail client drops dead at her rival’s salon, and the killer sends unseasonal greetings to The Clip and Sip, Cassidi wonders whether an entire Texas cavalry could save her from the impending disaster. She has to act fast to figure out who the manicure murderer is, or her Noël could be nixed—forever.

The Danger Cove books:

Secret of the Painted Lady (book #1)

Murder & Mai Tais (book#2)

Death by Scones (book #3)

Patchwork of Death (book #4)

Deadly Dye & a Soy Chai (book #5)

Killer Clue at the Ocean View (book #6)

A Christmas Quilt to Die For (book #7)

A Killing in the Market (short story in the "Killer Beach Reads" collection)

Killer Colada (book #8)

Passion, Poison & Puppy Dogs (book #9)

A Novel Death (book #10)

Clues in Calico (book #11)

Sinister Snickerdoodles (book #12)

Hurricanes & Heroes (book #13)

A Death in the Flower Garden (book #14)

Divas, Diamonds & Death (book #15)

A Slaying in the Orchard (book #16)

A Secret in the Pumpkin Patch (book #17)

Deadly Dirty Martinis (book #18)

A Poison Manicure & Peach Liqueur (book #19)

Not-So-Bright Hopes (short story in the "Pushing Up Daisies" collection)

Tequila Trouble (book #20)

Deadly Thanksgiving Sampler (book #21)

Killer Eyeshadow & a Cold Espresso (book #22)

Two Sleuths Are Better Than One (book #23)

Dark Rum Revenge (book #24)

Cozy Room With a Killer View (book #25)

Salon owner Cassidi Conti thought The Clip and Sip’s struggles were behind her. That is, until a local sightseeing company gets wind of her building’s brothel past, and busloads of tourists run her clients off.

Hoping to save her business, Cassidi contracts Finials and Facades Renovation and Restoration Services to remove some racy relics from the premises. To help cover the costs, her step-cousin Gia commits the duo to doing hair and makeup for the vow renewal ceremony of a wealthy socialite and her gangster husband.

But when the soon-to-be-renewed groom drinks an espresso during an eye makeup session and keels over dead, Cassidi fears a mob retaliation.

Now she has to figure out what an exotic flower arrangement, an antique cameo, and an Agatha Christie book have to do with the murder, or it’s RIP for The Clip and Sip—and for Cassidi!

The Danger Cove books:

Secret of the Painted Lady (book #1)

Murder & Mai Tais (book#2)

Death by Scones (book #3)

Patchwork of Death (book #4)

Deadly Dye & a Soy Chai (book #5)

Killer Clue at the Ocean View (book #6)

A Christmas Quilt to Die For (book #7)

A Killing in the Market (short story in the "Killer Beach Reads" collection)

Killer Colada (book #8)

Passion, Poison & Puppy Dogs (book #9)

A Novel Death (book #10)

Clues in Calico (book #11)

Sinister Snickerdoodles (book #12)

Hurricanes & Heroes (book #13)

A Death in the Flower Garden (book #14)

Divas, Diamonds & Death (book #15)

A Slaying in the Orchard (book #16)

A Secret in the Pumpkin Patch (book #17)

Deadly Dirty Martinis (book #18)

A Poison Manicure & Peach Liqueur (book #19)

Not-So-Bright Hopes (short story in the "Pushing Up Daisies" collection)

Tequila Trouble (book #20)

Deadly Thanksgiving Sampler (book #21)

Killer Eyeshadow & a Cold Espresso (book #22)

Two Sleuths Are Better Than One (book #23)

Dark Rum Revenge (book #24)

Cozy Room With a Killer View (book #25)

"Franki's first Mardi Gras is murder..."

Francesca "Franki" Amato is a straight-shooting rookie cop in Austin, Texas, until an embarrassing 911 call prompts her to take a job at her best friend’s PI agency in New Orleans. But Franki soon learns that solving crime in The Big Easy is no Bourbon Street party. Case in point, her first investigation involves the murder of a beautiful boutique manager who was strangled with a cheap yellow scarf, and her primary suspect is her client.

When Franki’s not on the clock, she hopes to get cozy with a handsome bank executive named Bradley, but her meddlesome Sicilian nonna has other ideas about who she should date. As Mardi Gras approaches and the boutique mystery deepens, Franki must decipher the odd ramblings of a voodoo priestess, or she could end up single—and the next strangling victim.

It’s springtime in New Orleans, and Franki Amato’s BFF and boss, Veronica Maggio, has dragged her to an art auction at one of the city’s historic house museums. Up for sale, a provocative, not to mention peculiar, painting of their sixty-something ex-stripper landlady that is anything but priceless. Franki thinks the only crime at play is the image on the canvas until a cocktail waitress is found unconscious in front of an empty easel.

After Franki finds a purple splotch on the presumed weapon, she and Veronica spring into action to ID the attacking art thief and locate the missing painting. But Franki's biggest surprise isn't the culprit—it's the “blooming idiot” who bought the portrait before the auction started.

"Franki finds nothing sweet about this sugar plantation mystery..."

For PI Franki Amato, New Orleans is anything but The Big Easy. Her best friend and employer has assigned her an unsettling investigation—the murder of a gorgeous cosmetics CEO at an allegedly haunted plantation.

Adding to Franki’s stress, her meddling Sicilian nonna is planning her engagement even though her boyfriend, Bradley, hasn’t popped the question, and his new secretary seems determined to ensure a proposal never happens. 

As Bradley grows distant and the plantation grows dangerous, Franki turns to a psychic who is deathly afraid of ghosts. But her relationship is the least of her worries. She has to figure out what pink lip gloss, pirates, and a legendary diamond have to do with the bizarre homicide before she, too, drops dead like a Southern belle during a sweltering summer.

With Christmas around the corner, Franki Amato’s got visions of her sugarplum, Bradley Hartmann, dancing in her head.

Now that she finally has some time off from her PI job, she’s cooking him up a special holiday treat, and it’s not figgy pudding. 

Her Yuletide plans are dashed, however, when her meddlesome Sicilian grandma goes missing and she has to hurry home to Houston to investigate.

All the evidence points to foul play, but then there’s a bizarre break in the case—one that makes her wonder whether her notorious nonna has been naughty or nice.

"A strip club murder has Franki feeling exposed..."

Private investigator Franki Amato has just turned thirty, and she feels anything but festive. For starters, she can’t have cake because she’s given up sweets, and one of her teeth is torturing her. To add insult to birthday injury, she has to investigate a surreal strip club homicide—with her sixtyish ex-stripper landlady.

Then her meddling Sicilian grandma crashes the New Orleans non-party and insists that she steal a lemon to land a husband. Unfortunately for Franki, the man she has in mind has his mind somewhere else, and their relationship seems to have soured. 

Adding to her troubles, she has to figure out what a missing amber pendant and a mysterious amaretto bottle have to do with the murder, not to mention why she’s being followed.

When a second dancer goes down and a third is threatened, Franki turns to a weird witch to crack the case and cancel a curse before someone blows out her candles for good.

"Franki goes to Rome, but her trip is nothing like Gidget's..."

Franki Amato is taking it easy in The Big Easy when her best friend and boss, Veronica Maggio, gives her terrible news. The research assistant for their PI firm has gone missing with his fraternity brother on a spring break trip in Rome! Franki catches a flight to Italy, but not for a Roman holiday. Because evidence suggests the boys have gotten mixed up in something sinister.

To crack the case, Franki goes toe to toe with the likes of gladiators, mobsters, and a monk. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, and hope is running out. Will she find the boys in time? Or is it arrivederci, baby?

"Franki's back—with a bite!"

Halloween is looming large in New Orleans, and Private Investigator Franki Amato’s in a gloomy mood. Her boyfriend Bradley has to leave on an extended business trip, and her slacker brother is coming to town with her matchmaker nonna who’s determined to see a Sicilian lemon superstition bear fruit. 

Meanwhile, the entire city is spooked because a caped figure is targeting its blood banks. Things turn macabre when a psychic makes a dark prediction about Franki’s brother and a frat boy is found in a cemetery crypt with his blood drained.

As bad luck would have it, Franki is hired to investigate the murder by the number one police suspect, an eighteenth-century vampire impersonator. A detective acquaintance offers to team up to find the killer, but he’s interested in more than Franki’s professional input. 

To solve the case, she goes solo into NOLA’s vampire community and immerses herself in local vampire legends. Can Franki prevent another bloodletting? Or will the next blood spilled be her own?

"Franki's family Christmas in New Orleans is anything but The Big Easy..."

It’s the night before Christmas in New Orleans, and a storm is brewing for PI Franki Amato. Her family is coming to town, but she’s pretty sure Santa isn’t. Her boyfriend’s flight home has been canceled, but her mom and matchmaker nonna still expect his proposal. To make matters worse, Franki and the family go to a restaurant where her only gift is stolen.

With her holiday cheer on hiatus, Franki investigates the staff and uncovers something alarming. She has to act fast to ID the gift thief, or she could sleep in heavenly peace—with the fishes.

"All that glitters isn't gold on Franki's steamboat investigation..."

It’s Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, but PI Franki Amato has too many problems to celebrate. A proven Sicilian lemon tradition hasn’t landed her a proposal, so her nonna has amped up the meddling to get her married, and pronto. Franki’s also under pressure to solve the strange murder of a family friend’s nephew, Nick Pescatore, who was found on a Mississippi River steamboat rumored to be haunted.

When the sinister old boat sets sail on an overnight gambling cruise, Franki goes undercover with a motley crew, including a Mark Twainophile captain with a murderous past and a slimy galley chef with a mobster brother, not to mention an ex-stripper landlady with a newfound career as a memoir writer and all-too public speaker.

Franki has to figure out what missing Civil War gold, a playing card, and a mysterious woman on roller skates have to do with Nick’s death. If she doesn’t, it’s anchors aweigh for Franki—down to Davy Jones’ locker.

"Franki's trip to Mount Etna really blows!"

Franki Amato’s BFF and boss, Veronica Maggio, takes her to sunny Sicily for a PI conference but neglects to tell her about their teambuilder, a trek up Mount Etna. And the volcano isn’t the only earth-shattering surprise in store for Franki. Next her engagement ring is stolen, and then she learns her life is in danger. She has to find out who took the ring, and why people on the island seem to know her. If she doesn’t, she could end up in hot lava—literally.

"An ax murder leaves Franki less than jazzed..."

Jazz Fest is in full swing in The Big Easy, but PI Franki Amato is singing the blues. The owner of an historic Italian grocery and deli is murdered in a manner eerily reminiscent of the Axeman of New Orleans, a notorious serial killer who hasn’t struck in over a century, and someone Franki knows has been arrested for the crime. 

Adding to her distress, Franki, her mom, and her meddling Sicilian nonna finally meet her fiancé’s family, but the tone of their encounter is decidedly downbeat. And just as her personal life strikes a sour note, the killer jazzes up his techniques.

The pressure is on Franki to decipher an odd assortment of clues—an old gramophone record, a stolen trumpet, and a bottle of marsala wine. If she doesn’t, she could be the next one to get the ax.

"Franki's island investigation is no walk on the beach!"

To escape a hellish New Orleans summer, PI Franki Amato takes a dream job in Sardinia’s Gulf of Angels. Her ex-stripper landlady, who referred her for the investigation, says it’s a simple case that will leave time for a seaside vacation.

But when Franki arrives in Italy, her hopes of fun in the sun fade like a tan in winter. Nothing and no one are what they seem, and clues point to murky goings-on at the site of a submerged Roman city.

Will Franki find the culprit and get her slice of beach heaven? Or will dark forces on the island send her to a watery inferno?

“Franki Amato's Venice vacation makes New Orleans seem like Disneyland...”

Franki Amato is in Venice to celebrate her best friend’s Christmas Eve nuptials. She’s looking forward to a relaxing break from the PI grind and a romantic gondola ride with her Casanova. But when a chef goes belly up after making violet risotto for the reception, her holiday plans start sinking like La Serenissima.

Dead set on finding the killer and saving her BFF’s wedding, Franki navigates the city’s streets and canals that are darker and more twisted than catacomb tunnels, and all while ghosts of past and present are quite literally haunting her.

She has to figure out what grave robberies and an eighteenth-century nun have to do with the murder and decipher a string of clues as murky as the Venetian lagoon—a candlelit coffin, a jeweled cross necklace, and a bottle of Valpolicella.

Will Franki get her gondola ride? Or will she too become a phantom of Venice?

Spring into fun with these spring themed short stories by New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award winning authors! Enjoy a little mystery, a hint of romance, and a lot of laughter with these shorts from some of Gemma Halliday Publishing's bestselling series.

Stories include:

The Missing Laughing Leprechaun (a Mini Martin Mystery) by Gemma Halliday & Jackson Stein.

Fishing Badge Murder (a Merry Wrath Mystery) by Leslie Langtry.

A Drizzle Before Dying (a Cookies & Chance Mystery) by Catherine Bruns.

Not-So-Bright Hopes (a Danger Cove Quilting Mystery) by Gin Jones & Elizabeth Ashby.

Mystic Wedding Bell Blues (a Mystic Isle Mystery) by Sally J. Smith & Jean Steffens.

Rhinestone Ransom (a Gemstone Mystery) by Jennifer Fischetto.

Strawberry Swirl & Suspicion (a Cambria Clyne Mystery) by Erin Huss.

That Dog Won't Hunt (A Birdwell, Texas Mystery) by Aimee Gilchrist.

Sailing into Love (a Love in the City romantic comedy) by Melissa Baldwin.