Ghosts in the House, Missing Teachers, and Murder at the Birthday Party

by Angie Fox

Southern Spirits is the crowd favorite here, sitting at 4.16 with over 15,000 readers behind it. Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, and then her ex's brother (the 'forbidden fruit in a tailored suit') asks her to evict some undead tenants from his estate. Reviewers keep calling it fun and funny, and the audiobook narration gets praise too. If you want a ghost story that doesn't keep you up at night, start here.

“Verity Long was on the bad side of the town's citizens after what she termed The Incident, and now she was set to lose the home which had been in her family for generations. But what was to come next was NOT what she'd been looking toward. Frankie, a 1920s gangster ghost, found himself trapped by...”

by J.R. Erickson

Come Home, Katie has a 4.32 from nearly 1,800 readers, which is strong for a series opener. A former scientist gets the ability to see spirits after a near-death experience, then answers an anonymous plea in her advice column to find a missing seventeen-year-old. I like that Celeste leaves the safety of her screen and goes looking herself. This one suits readers who want a missing-person mystery with a supernatural twist.

by Patti Larsen

Decease of Cake has a great premise: an actress who spent ten years playing Detective Verily Ashe on TV has to act like a real detective when her mother-in-law's birthday party ends in murder. She was only a cop on television, which is where the fun comes from. It holds a 4.27 with about 450 readers, so it's a lower-profile find. Pick it up if you like your cozies a little theatrical.

by Jeff Bond

This is the odd one out, and I mean that kindly. A 74-year-old teacher who spent five decades picking and shaping students he calls 'Winners' goes missing, then a female student disappears, and four of his old favorites reunite to help. Reviewers describe it as a cross-genre story about what over-achieving costs. At 3.91 with over 700 ratings, it's the lowest-rated book on the list, so it won't work for everyone. Readers who want something more thoughtful than a standard whodunit will probably get the most out of it.

“The Winner Maker is a uniquely blended, cross-genre tale of the good and bad of over-achieving and the price paid to become a “winner.” The book opens with a very dramatic scene with students gathered around their awe-inspiring honors English teacher atop the Chrysler Building in Chicago. As the...”

by Tessa Silver

Theatre of Secrets is book seven in the Quillhaven series, but it's billed as a standalone. Seasoned director Olivia Sweetwater arrives in the enchanted town and finds murder, magic, and a ghost with unfinished business waiting for her. The 4.88 is the highest on the list, though it comes from only 84 ratings, so I'd read it as a good sign rather than a verdict. This is for the cozy-and-cardigan crowd.

by Travis Casey

Oceans of Trouble is the most grown-up suspense pick of the week. Tyler Chambers sleeps with the wrong woman in Hawaii, and soon rumors spread and he feels watched everywhere he goes. The blurb compares the fallout to the chaos of Pearl Harbor, which is a bold comparison. It has a 4.08 with 130 ratings, and one reviewer mentions it's the second book of a trilogy, so you may want to check where to start. Worth a look if you like paranoia in a tropical setting.

“To be honest, I started reading this book because of a friend of mine was telling me that he was having difficulty getting through the story and asked if I would read it to see if I could better grasp the story. I do have to say though after reading this book, and I did push myself to read the whole”