EP 268: From Meet-Cutes to Murder Clues

• Love Bites by Cynthia St. Aubin – A quirky paranormal rom-com where an art history grad lands a job with a too-handsome boss…and suddenly finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Think meet-cute + dead bodies. 

• Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto – Wedding chaos, overbearing aunties, a romance rekindled, and…an accidental murder cover-up. Hilarious and full of suspenseful moments. 

• Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala – Cozy mystery with rom-com flavor. The heroine returns home, tangles with family drama, maybe catches feelings—and oh, her ex-boyfriend drops dead in her family’s restaurant. 

• Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano – Single-mom romantic comedy energy meets mistaken-identity murder-for-hire plot. She’s just trying to write her book and maybe fall for the hot cop, but oops…crime happens. 

• The Love Hypothesis…if it were a murder mystery would look a lot like Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson – A true-crime obsessed heroine suspects her neighbor might be a serial killer, but what if he’s just a cinnamon roll? Quirky romance with suspense vibes. 

• Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander (Bakeshop Mysteries) – Cozy rom-com feel with a baker heroine, a small-town setting, budding romance, and murders to solve between batches of muffins. 

• Murder Most Actual by Alexis Hall – A sapphic couple’s romantic getaway turns into a whodunit when a string of murders interrupts their vacation. Snarky banter + locked-room mystery vibes. 

Witch Please (Stay a Spell series) by Ann Aguirre – Indie-pub hybrid. Funny, witchy romance with magical suspense and danger laced in. 

Blonde Identity by Ally Carter  

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – Light paranormal rom-com with a witchy curse, mysterious magical happenings, and an enemies-to-lovers spark. More suspense-magical chaos than thriller, but still in the zone. 

If I Told You, I’d Have to Kiss You by Mae Marvel

Prairie Nightingale Series by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare

Big Name Fan by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare

Finlay Donovan or Dial A for Aunties are the gateways but you should stay for the following:

Bellamy Rose Pomona Afton Series – think Paris Hilton

Catherine Mack – Eleonor Dash – think mystery author who was scammed by her ex-partner out of her royalties and she tries to kill him 

The Primrose Murder Society by Stacy Hackney – down on her luck single mom – perfect for Gilmore Girls fan – upcoming

Big Name Fan by Annie Mare and Ruthie Knox – Hollywood TV detectives

It’s Elementary by Elyse Bryant – PTO drama 

Alice Chen’s Reality Check – by Kara Loo and Jennifer Young – Love Island/Reality TV Dating Shows 

The Serial Killer’s Guide to San Francisco  by Michelle Chouniard – San Franscisco True Crime Fans

How to Have a Killer TIme in DC by Sam Lunley – Quozie – DC political intrigue featuring an autistic amateur sleuth and  swoony romance 

Murder on Sex Island by Jo Firestone- Love Island/private investigator ‘

I was feeling epic by Samantha Highfill (oral history of the Vampire Diaries