Showing results by author "Carolyn Ridder Aspenson" in All Categories

Lily is back and she's got a baby on board! Listing homes can be murder. Just when I thought juggling diaper duty with dazzling real estate deals was my biggest challenge, life throws me a curveball. The biggest listing of my career lands on my desk, and I can practically hear the cha-ching of the largest commission in my career. I’m talking the kind that gets my six month old daughter four years at an out-of-state college, when she’s 18, of course. When she’s ready, of course. But when I arrive to meet the homeowner, I find the house empty, and the door locked. I decide to explore ...

Jenna Wyatt never expected to see Riley Chatsworth again—not after the betrayal that shattered their friendship at Harvard. But when Riley, now a top executive at a powerful insurance company, is charged with murdering her agency's biggest client, she pleads with Jenna to clear her name. Torn between distrust and duty, Jenna reluctantly agrees to investigate, wary of the woman who nearly destroyed her life years ago.

Jenna Wyatt thought she'd left her demons behind when she traded her GBI badge for a private detective's license. But when a desperate mother's plea echoes the unsolved mystery of Jenna's own missing sister, she's pulled into a labyrinth of deceit spanning decades.

A wealthy shut-in is found murdered in his mansion. Five other people were in the lavish home at the time of the crime—one of whom had motive enough to kill. And Detective Rachel Ryder is determined to discover who. But the more she and partner Rob Bishop learn about the wealthy and unsociable victim, the harder it becomes to narrow down the suspect list. Frustrated, the investigators refuse to allow anyone to leave, until the culprit is unmasked.

IT'S ALL JUST ANOTHER DAY IN CASTLEBERRY, WHERE THE PAST ISN'T JUST HISTORY, IT'S THE TALK OF THE TOWN. Welcome back to Castleberry, Georgia. Sit down, grab a sweet tea, and buckle up for a story filled with twists and turns! Castleberry is your usual small Southern town, where everyone knows your business before you do, and the biggest event of the year is Peach Pie Festival, where something shady always happens. Some people like their peach pie with ice cream, but me? I like mine delivered to me by a ghost and with a side of murder. Twenty-five years ago, Anna Mae Hansard did what the ...

The sheriff says stay out of it. I say, "hold my casserole. There’s a murder to solve." "Steel Magnolias meets The Golden Girls!" Lily Sprayberry Solves Crimes... And sets up murders? As cozy mystery enthusiasts know all too well, sometimes even the most idyllic small towns can have a dark side. I never would have guessed that I'd find myself at the center of a murder investigation, but that's exactly where I am. Now, let me set the record straight: I didn't do it. But my recommendation for a handyman to fix up the late Buck Haverty's place has landed someone else in hot water. I can't ...

CHRISTMAS IN HOLIDAY HILLS IS ALWAYS MAGICAL—UNTIL COOPER THE CAT TAKES IT A WHISKER TOO FAR. Cooper’s always believed Christmas is about getting—especially when it comes to tuna. But when his curiosity lands his charge, good witch Abby Odell inside a magical snow globe sitting under The Enchanted’s Christmas tree, he learns the hard way that sometimes it’s better to give… especially a confession. With Abby trapped in a twinkling winter wonderland and her magic on the fritz, Cooper’s milking his freedom for all it’s worth—extra treats, cozy naps, and no one to tell him no....

Welcome to Holiday Hills Georgia where the coffee’s hot, and magic is on the menu! Join good witch Abby Odell, her talking Burmese cat familiar, and her quirky cast of friends and foes in the magical town of Holiday Hills, where books, coffee, pastries, and magic are what matters most. Something strange is brewing in Holiday Hills, and it’s not just the potions. Magic is totally out of control. Witches are losing their grip—literally. Bessie accidentally turned a customer into a baby, and several witches have lost their powers altogether. Werewolves have traded their fearsome forms ...

The town fashion diva looks like something the cat dragged in, but murder will do that to a vampire. I thought the biggest drama this week would be finishing my next book and dealing with Cooper’s ongoing protest over his vet-required diet. But then Bianca’s long-lost cousin—the vampire who’d somehow managed to become everyone’s favorite in just six months—wound up on a slab and he wasn’t coming back from the dead this time. Now Bianca, usually all high heels and sharp opinions, is unraveling fast. She’s mascara-streaked, wearing sweats (!!), and snapping at everyone. ...

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, STOP SHOWING ME THE SCARIEST GHOST OF THEM ALL. For fans of Trixie Silvertale The Dunwoody estate had plenty of dusty antiques, but only one that made my hair stand on end—a gilded mirror with more baggage than my ex-husband. A ghost warned me it was cursed, but did I listen? Bless my heart, no. Now our grocer is dead in the produce aisle, the mirror’s glowing like a neon sign, and Castleberry’s gossip mill is working harder than Del’s biscuit dough. With spirits dropping hints, suspects piling up faster than pie orders at the diner, and my Dolly-Parton-...

To Lily Sprayberry, selling homes is easier than buttering a biscuit—until a fire ignites her deadliest case yet. When I accepted the listing for the Wilson’s charming old farmhouse just outside town, I never imagined it would end in flames—or with a body inside. But that’s exactly what happened. I arrived for a showing to find the place ablaze, smoke choking the sky. Inside, firefighters discovered my client, James Wilson, dead. The sheriff—my husband, Dylan—and his investigators labeled it a tragic accident. But I knew better. Something felt off about the scene, too many ...

Abby and Cooper are back and Cooper is snarkier than ever with this murder investigation. Most people come to the North Georgia mountains for the views, the fresh air… maybe even a slice of Charity’s famous peach pie. But when a semi-beloved local dies suddenly, Abby Odell isn’t convinced it wasn't intentional. Especially when the witch told her a secret, one that could change the heart of magical itself. Abby—and her opinionated feline familiar, Cooper know things will get worse before they get better, but they don't care. A murderer is on the loose, and they need to find him ...

Witches don’t always follow the rules, and when they don’t, bad things happen. Like Cassandra Bloom’s death, for starters. Holiday Hills residents, magical and humans, were afraid of Cassandra. She was the bad witch in every fairytale, the one with the ugly wart and long, stringy gray hair. But she didn’t just look scary. She was scary. Sure, everyone in town might feel secretly relieved Cassandra’s no longer with us, but they’re missing the bigger picture. Cassandra didn’t die of old age. She was murdered.

Every Christmas season Holiday Hills turns into a magical, witchy wonderland filled with snowmen, sugar cookies by the dozen, and bottomless mugs overflowing with hot cocoa and whipped cream. Everyone in town looks forward to the season, but all celebrating comes to a grinding halt when the big guy’s messengers arrive with the worst of news. It seems someone’s stolen Santa’s list and hidden it in Holiday Hills. Without it, Christmas won’t happen, and a world without Christmas can never be the same. But Abby and her familiar cat Cooper won’t let that happen, not on their watch. Can...

My name is Abby Odell, and I’m a witch. Some call me a newbie because I didn’t know I was one until my mother died and her spell that bound my powers died along with her.

Small town realtor Lily Sprayberry can’t catch a break. You solve new murders and uncover old crimes,but can you save someone from doing hard time?To return what was lost, solve my riddle at all costs. Travel back to ’83 and the murder of a girl from Forsyth County. The note sat inside an empty lock box on the dining room table of Bramblett County realtor Lily Sprayberry’s open house listing. A lockbox that formerly contained an expensive coin collection she promised would remain safe.

I wear many hats. I'm a friend. A sort-of girlfriend. A ghostwriter, and...oh yeah, a witch. My editor always tells me to “write what you know.” Unfortunately, that’s what’s happening...literally. When the main character in my latest novel - a witch herself - takes a new job with the Magical Bureau of Investigators, she stumbles upon a threat so big, it could destroy everything she holds dear. Fiction, right? Nope. For reasons beyond my witchy sixth sense, everything I write is now happening to me in real life!

Ghosts, small town sleuth, dog, cozy mystery Chantilly Adair has seen enough ghosts in Castleberry, Georgia, to know when something isn't right. But when Nell Pickett appears in Del's Diner — confused, slightly transparent, and completely invisible to everyone else — this one hits close to home. Nell volunteered at the historical society just yesterday. Now she's dead. The official ruling? Heart attack. The problem? There's an inventory tag stuck to the bottom of a dead woman's shoe, and it came from the box of Pruitt family donations Nell was cataloging hours before she died. With the ...

HOLIDAY HILLS CAN'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT BESSIE'S CHARMED CAROLING MUSIC! Join Abby and friends as they make it their number one priority to find the music sheets and bring the holidays back to Holiday Hills. In the picturesque town of Holiday Hills, every snowflake that falls has a touch of magic and every resident has a quirky secret or two. This year, the most awaited event is Bessie's annual Christmas carol night where magicals from near and far come together to sing enchanting carols crafted by a rare and ancient family spell that can only be conjured once a year. But as the ...

I have a perfect life. I recently rented the most adorable little apartment on top of my favorite bookstore coffee shop on Main Street in Holiday Hills, the charmingest of charming small southern towns. I spend my days ghostwriting a cozy mystery series for a well-known author, and maybe just a minute or two crushing on the town’s police chief. But of course, I’d never let that cat out of the bag.