Cozy Ozarks Mysteries
Welcome to the cozy Ozarks where scandal is as high as the hills and secrets run deeper than the valleys.
Sammy Shepherd Series
The Showcase Must Go On
The biggest magic theater in Branson is about to lose its best magician. Sammy Shepherd, magician turned theater manager, is pitched into mystery. Will it be curtains for The Showcase?
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Dealing in Murder
Antiquities can be dangerous. You never know an object’s true history. Join Sammy Shepherd as she is dealt a hand that she alone must play. Does she have an ace up her sleeve?
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Bar-B-Clue
Welcome to Goofy Gregg’s BBQ where the meats are served nearly as hot as the scandal. Sammy Shepherd learns what the B in Bar-B-Que stands for. Can she smoke out the culprit?
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If you love cozy mysteries set in real world locations and feature punny titles with delightful slices of life alongside practical knowledge, the Cozy Ozarks are for you. Cozy Ozarks Mysteries blends Agatha Christie’s cozy and cunning whodunits with Ellie Alexander’s pun-soaked charm and Joanne Fluke’s delightful chapter-end surprises.
Much like Ellie Alexander’s stories that center around a communal destination spot, such as the brewery in her Sloan Krause series, the Cozy Ozarks Mysteries take place in key central locations of local note. Book One of the Sammy Shepherd series surrounds The Showcase, a fictional magician’s theater in Branson’s famous Theater Row. Book Two follows the adventures of the Queens of Hearts who return weekly to the Elk’s Lodge, Branson Cafe, Chateau on the Lake, and other cozy spots, both familiar and new. Book Three takes place at Goofy Gregg’s Bar-B-Que Bar-&-Grill, a fictional amalgamation of several beloved bbq bars that locals may be able to identify. Whether you’ve ever or never visited Branson, you’ll recognize it by heart with Sammy Shepherd as your guide.
What makes this series shine? Every chapter ends with a unique Ozarks-inspired extra. Where the Hannah Swensen stories provide a mentioned recipe served up with each chapter, the Cozy Ozarks Mysteries also serve up its own chapter-end surprises, on theme for each book. The Showcase Must Go On provides slight-of-hand magic tricks that you can try at home. Dealing in Murder shares rules for locally popular card games so you can play your hand with friends. Bar-B-Clue shares locally acclaimed recipes for BBQ rubs and sauces.
Perfect for readers of Alexander’s Without a Brew and Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series, Cozy Ozark Mysteries combines twisty plots with small-town warmth. The series, set against the backdrop of Ozarkian tourist attractions, lakefront haunts, and homespun diners, delivers a punny title and a cozy puzzle: from The Showcase Must Go On, with its murderous off-stage antics, to Dealing in Murder, where lady cardsharps hide deadly secrets and political coverups, to Bar-B-Clue, sizzling with blackmail and intrigue. Each book delivers a standalone mystery with its own post-chapter surprise to delight readers and keep them coming back for more.
