Books like 'The Stiff and the Dead'
Readers who enjoyed The Stiff and the Dead by Lori Avocato also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary heroine sleuth m-f
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Clue Krewe by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsBeckett Rousseau is the firstborn son of one of New Orleans’ most prominent families. He’s the quintessential golden boy—great looks, money, and a political career in his future—until his wife murders him. Or at least that’s what everyone thinks.Athena Durand is still reeling from her murder conviction but now that it’s overturned, she’s at a loss on how to proceed with her life... -
Swamp Spook by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWhen black cats roam, and spooks are seen, Come celebrate, it’s Halloween. Sinful, Louisiana, really knows how to throw a party, and it goes all out for Halloween. The weeklong celebration kicks off with a maze of horror in the park built of hay bales. And Fortune has the perfect assignment—the executioner... -
Fractured by Riley Edwards
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsLoving Echo Kent was painful. Not the falling in love part, that was easy. One look at the tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed narcotics detective and I knew I wanted him. A few months later I knew I couldn’t live without him. But my Echo, he had demons and secrets and a mountain of guilt. His love was selfish and one-sided—he could love but he refused to allow others to love him... -
The Asheville Christmas Wedding by Hope Holloway, Cecelia Scott
Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe conclusion of a charming, heartwarming holiday trilogy that will whisk you away to a dreamy winter in the mountains... -
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Flame and Fortune by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsNo smoke without a fire. It’s New Year’s in Sinful, and the competition for the New Year’s Queen is heating up as the warring churches go head-to-head. Fortune Redding is not the sequined dress kind of woman, but reluctantly agrees to partake in the debacle so that Ida Belle and Gertie can best their nemesis, Celia, who’s put up former Sinful mean girl RJ Rogers... -
Echo Road by Kendra Elliot, Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWhen two cross-country cases collide, Bree Taggert and Mercy Kilpatrick join forces to catch a serial killer in an addictive novel of suspense by bestselling authors Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot.During a vicious heat wave, a county maintenance worker stumbles upon two suspicious suitcases abandoned by the side of the road... -
State of Shock by Marie Force
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThey never saw this coming… Hold on to your hat for the next First Family book, coming December 20, 2022... -
Fortune Funhouse by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 33 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... -
Thugs and the Women Who Love Them by Wahida Clark
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsEssence® bestselling author Wahida Clark is all too familiar with the terrifying truths of ghetto life. The first novel in her gritty, gripping series takes you on into a world where a wrong choice could be the last choice a person ever makes. In a 'hood boiling over with sex, brutality, and crime, three friends are at a turning point... -
The Inn on Amelia Island by Hope Holloway
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe uplifting and unforgettable conclusion to the Seven Sisters series!After coming together following their father’s stroke, the Wingate women have found second-chance romance, faced trials and tribulations, and built wonderful lives on Amelia Island. Their father is fully recovered and healthy, their businesses are flourishing, and the whole family is bursting with love and laughter... -
The Dressmaker on Amelia Island by Hope Holloway
Rated: 4.69 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA sisterhood saga with threads of drama, dreams, and danger. Life for the Wingate women of Amelia Island is never dull! While Raina balances the challenge of nurturing newborn twins and a budding romance, trouble arrives on her doorstep to threaten her sweet new life... -
State of Bliss by Marie Force
When you have their jobs, there’s no such thing as a peaceful vacation…Sam and Nick are ready to get out of DC—and the White House—for a much-needed vacation to celebrate their second anniversary. Due to ongoing political pressures, they decide to scuttle their plans for a return to Bora Bora to stay closer to home at their favorite oceanfront house at Dewey Beach in Delaware... -
Nine of a Kind by Sandi Lynn
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsChristianI grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, raised by two people who wanted nothing but the best for me. They’d given me everything. A beautiful home, an excellent education, and so much love and respect. They were the two people I trusted most in the world—until I found out the truth... -
Swamp Sweets by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 30 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... -
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State of Suspense by Marie Force
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA high-profile murder has Sam and her team chasing an elusive killer…Just back from their anniversary trip to Dewey Beach, there’s no slow roll back to work for the first couple as Sam is immediately thrust into a baffling new case that has everyone on edge. The FBI wants in on this one, and she’s determined to figure out what happened before they can take over her investigation... -
On Her Watch by Melinda Leigh
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsSheriff Bree Taggert becomes a target when she follows the twisting trail of a serial killer in a bone-chilling novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.A pair of hikers find a tarp-wrapped body in a clearing in the woods. When a search in the surrounding area yields two more, Sheriff Bree Taggert knows they’ve stumbled onto a serial killer’s dumping ground... -
Chasing Fortune by Brittney Sahin
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsEcho Team has a new addition—a K-9, and he’s in need of training . . .Eight-plus years as Echo Three and Chris Hunter is still as mission-focused as ever, continuing to fight for his country as part of a secretive team of operatives serving the President.When Chris decides to rescue a dog for the team, he soon discovers he and the guys are far from K-9 whisperers, and they need help... -
Bullets and Beads by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsLet the good times roll? It’s Mardi Gras time and Fortune is looking forward to seeing the spectacle firsthand, but when a visitor to Sinful is murdered during the celebration there, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t help but wonder what happened... -
State of Denial by Marie Force
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsDenial: refusing to admit the truth or reality of something unpleasant… His mother has been arrested, his government is under new threat, the relentless media is driving him mad, and denial becomes the word of the day for President Nick Cappuano. Meanwhile, his wife, DC Metro Police Lt. Sam Holland Cappuano has caught a big new case with suspects everywhere she looks... -
Tainted by Riley Edwards
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFormer Navy SEAL sniper Matthew Kessler thought his life was charmed. He was wrong. He thought his father had amassed the family’s wealth through hard work. He was wrong again. He thought the battlefield had taught him everything he needed to know about strength and courage. He was absolutely wrong. In the blink of an eye, everything he thought he knew about his family became a lie... -
The Forgotten One by Catherine Bybee
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee spins a dazzling tale of long-lost relatives, overnight riches, and unexpected romance in the dramatic second book of The Heirs series.Sarah McNeilly is a rare find in the tabloid industry. She won’t ignite gossip. She finds the truth. And for once, that’s what her boss wants... -
Kevin by Riley Edwards
Three Teams—one mission.An enemy who wants them all dead.Former Navy SEAL Kevin Monroe could spot a liar from a mile away. A well-trained government liar?—They were even easier. And the woman sitting across from him in the White House briefing room spinning a tale of corruption, treason, and staged murder was a drop-dead-smokin’-hot professional liar with arresting eyes... -
State of the Union by Marie Force
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsIt’s the biggest night of President Nick Cappuano’s life. Will his first lady make it to the Capitol in time for his speech?President Cappuano has been working for months on his first State of the Union address, his highest profile moment yet as the country’s new president... -
Forever Paired by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.77 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsLandon Davies had worked hard to start his own restaurant. It was a very different path than most of his family had taken. He was one of the few family members that were not military or law enforcement. But his hard work had given him a restaurant that was beginning to take off when a woman’s scream in the alley outside his kitchen changed everything... -
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The Sterling Shore Series by C.M. Owens
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsLimited time bundle that includes Book 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 of the Sterling Shore series. No cliffhangers. Book 1 - Hooked on the Game Kade Colton and Raya Capperton come from two different worlds, but one thing they have in common is that they have both judged each other wrong. Opposites don't just attract; they collide and shift the world off its axis... -
Eight of a Kind by Sandi Lynn
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt was incredible how one single action could change the balance of a person’s life within seconds.NathanI was an artist and one of the best plastic surgeons in Los Angeles. My business was thriving, and helping people was my specialty. Growing up, I’d endured a lot of pain where my mother was concerned. After she passed away, I still carried that pain and resentment into adulthood... -
Stone Rules by Samantha Christy
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsCharlie Tate doesn’t live by the rules. Ethan Stone is bound by them. When Charlie returns home after five years away, she has only one thing on her mind – revenge. When she enlists the help of Ethan, a private investigator, she has him challenging many of his rules. And Charlie begins to look at him as she has never been able to look at any other man... -
A Love So Good: The Chamber Brothers by K. Renee
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsLife for the Chamber Brothers can be described many different ways but easy is a word that can never be used. After the death of their mother, brothers Priest and Nas step up to run their father’s drug empire.A true test of loyalty helps Priest Chamber find out his marriage isn’t really built on unconditional love... -
Pigeon by Lola Wright, Pam Clinton
IvyWhen my mother, who suffers from mental illness, leaves my brother and me in the care of our grandparents, my life changes dramatically. Being raised on a large ranch, loved and cared for, I had a great childhood with them. With my grandparents passing, though, things changed. My brother and I have always had a difficult relationship, but it only gets worse now that he’s in control of my life... -
The Chocolate Shop on Amelia Island by Hope Holloway
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe saga continues with secrets, surprises, and sweet temptations… Sadie Wingate has been keeping secrets...from her family and from her brand new husband. But once the truth is revealed, her whole world melts like a truffle in the sunshine... -
A Merciful Promise by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Wall Street Journal bestselling series continues as Mercy Kilpatrick becomes embedded in the nightmare of a terrorist conspiracy. The job: infiltrate a militia amassing illegal firearms in an isolated forest community. FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick is the ideal candidate. She knows Oregon. She’s near the compound... -
The Final Hour by Brittney Sahin
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsTrained to fight and born to lead, Emilia can handle anything the sexy Irishman throws her way—except love.Sean McGregor, the handsome and protective Irish billionaire, was once the king of one-night-stands, but when a beautiful and courageous Italian comes into his life, everything changes. He only wants her—the one woman he can’t have... -
Nora Roberts' Chesapeake Bay Saga 1-4 by Nora Roberts
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 32 ratings#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents a collection including all four novels in her captivating saga about the lives and loves of four brothers on the windswept shores of the Chesapeake Bay.SEA SWEPTCameron Quinn is coming home to say goodbye to the only father he ever loved... -
At the River by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA Wall Street Journal bestselling series.The mystery of three missing teens and a traumatizing murder unearths decades of buried secrets in a shocking novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author.Twenty years ago, five teenage campers disappeared. Two eventually turned up, bound and left for dead on the Columbia River’s rocky shore... -
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It'll Be An Adventure by Cherise Sinclair
From NYT & USA Today Bestselling author Cherise Sinclair comes an outstanding addition to the beloved Masters of the Shadowlands series. The secret of author Murphy’s success is hands-on research. Murphy loves writing popular Regency thrillers and jumping into new adventures under the guise of research. For one novel, she’d joined a K9 search-and-rescue group—and liked it so much she stayed... -
Myles by Riley Edwards
Former Delta Operator Myles Simms doesn’t know when to quit. The concept so foreign to him he can’t give up on Delilah Watts. A woman he’s never met—a woman who might be the enemy yet he’s compelled to save her. Intel Specialist Delilah Watts never imagined sending an email would be deadly. Kidnapped and left to die, yet she regrets nothing... -
Maximus by Riley Edwards, Operation Alpha
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat happens when a woman who’s done the unthinkable needs protection—can a man who’s lost his belief in humanity keep her safe? Max Brown doesn’t trust anyone but his team. The former SEAL learned early in life that people let you down—they lie, they steal, and they lie some more. Love is a word that is used to manipulate. Family is meaningless. Max is an island and he prefers it that way... -
Playing With Danger by Riley Edwards
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsIt’s strange how quickly life can go from predictable and boring to…not. How a chance meeting can set off a chain reaction. How a single moment can offer much-needed clarity. How a kiss can alter the course of your life. Valentine Malone fell into my life…correction, I fell into his in the aisle of a grocery store... -
The Hard Truth by Brittney Sahin
Trading bullets for board meetings, or so he thought... Connor Matthews, former Marine and gun for hire, is not what you'd call the quintessential businessman. But when his father's unexpected passing leaves the family business to him and his brother, Connor agrees to take over until his brother finishes his last tour of duty... -
Maximus by Kris Michaels
Whatever it takes. As long as it takes. In the shimmering, elite world of Sochi, Russia, where art mingles with power and secrets lie hidden beneath layers of paint, Guardian’s assassin, Maximus embarks on a dangerous mission to dismantle the criminal empire of the ruthless oligarch, Abrasha Molchalin... -
Rescuing Mary by Susan Stoker
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFord “Truck” Laughlin and Mary Weston have weathered their share of storms over the last couple years. Truck’s job, Mary’s health. His bossiness, her bitchiness. All while dancing around their intense attraction. Mary’s tried to push him away for his own good but Truck won’t let her give up…on herself or on them. Just when she decides they deserve a fair shot, disaster strikes... -
Reckless Invitation by Samantha Christy
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsI play guitar.I create music.It's all I ever wanted to do.But I'm in a serious rut.I've lived under the shadow of my ugly past for so long, I can't see a future.Then she falls into my life.And suddenly, all I can hear are riffs, melodies, and beats.She's my muse--my inspiration.She's exactly what I need to get me back into the groove... -
A Merciful Fate by Kendra Elliot
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsRaised by preppers, survivalist and FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick has a deep-rooted need for a safe place. Her getaway in the Cascade Foothills is her secret. But when skeletal remains are unearthed—those of a murdered man linked to a notorious heist—Mercy realizes she isn’t the only one with something to hide. Thirty years ago, an armored-car robbery turned deadly. The mastermind was captured... -
Long Gone by Denise Grover Swank
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWelcome to Lone County, Arkansas, where every corner holds a secret, and the past is never really buried.Disgraced ex-detective Harper Adams has traded her badge for a desk job at her father's law firm, a move as dull as the small town she's returned to. But things take a turn when a local woman wants to declare her missing husband dead, five years after his mysterious disappearance... -
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Fortune Furlough by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIt’s not a vacation until there’s a murder. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie are finally off to Florida on the vacation they’ve always talked about. Days filled with white sand, turquoise water, and fruity drinks are the only thing on the agenda... -
Gone Too Far by Debra Webb
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThis second entry in USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb’s Devlin & Falco series proves that sometimes the past is best left forgotten.As veteran detectives of the Birmingham Police Department, Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco have seen it all. So when the city’s new hotshot deputy district attorney turns up dead as part of a double homicide, the partners immediately get to work... -
Frightfully Fortune by Jana Deleon
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 33 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... -
If I Live by Terri Blackstock
Casey is hiding again—in Memphis this time—but it’s different now. She knows without a doubt that Dylan believes her and is doing all he can to help bring Brent’s killer to justice. He’s become an unexpected friend . . . and even, maybe, something more. Hope makes everything more bearable...Categorized as:
heroine sleuth m-f suspense mystery christian contemporary length-medium glimpses-kisses -
One Little Secret by Avery Maxwell
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAshton WestbrookPlaying house with a secret-keeping heiress was not how I envisioned helping when my brothers called me. My expertise is the dirty work, not glorified babysitting. Now Nova Blaine is here in this tiny town. Invading my home, my thoughts, and turning my carefully controlled existence upside down.I’m tasked with finding her assailant, an assignment that requires me to stay close... -
Securing Avery by Susan Stoker
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsNavy Nurse Avery Nelson never dreamed she’d be taken hostage during her deployment in Afghanistan. She’s assisting local women with healthcare, not fighting in a war. But digging her way out of her would-be grave turns out to be the battle of her life...
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