Picked by Bellissimo Casino Mysteries fans

Here are 4 books that Bellissimo Casino Mysteries fans have personally recommended once you finish the Bellissimo Casino Mysteries series. Book DNA is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

The PMS Outlaws

By Sharyn McCrumb ,

Book cover of The PMS Outlaws

Wesley Browne Author Of Hillbilly Hustle

From my list on crime books set in contemporary Appalachia.

By Wesley Browne Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve practiced criminal law in Appalachian Kentucky as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor—not at the same time—for twenty five years. I can tell what’s genuine from what’s contrived in no time flat. Sometimes I can suspend my disbelief, but usually I can’t, so I lean toward books that get the details and intricacies right. If you’re looking for some modern Appalachian crime tales told by people who know how to a tell a story and know how to get the details of the place right, this list is for you. 

Wesley's book list on crime books set in contemporary Appalachia

Book cover of The PMS Outlaws Book cover of Clay's Quilt Book cover of Baggage Book cover of The World Made Straight Book cover of Where All Light Tends to Go

Wesley Browne Why Wesley loves this book

I love this one because it’s funny. Every so often, I need something witty and maybe a little offbeat, but with a crime element, and this does the trick.

Elmore Leonard’s Raylan Givens stories set in Kentucky also fit that bill, but Leonard was an outsider writing about a foreign place he researched, and sometimes those seams show. I like McCrumb because she knows the landscape personally.

The PMS Outlaws

By Sharyn McCrumb ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The PMS Outlaws as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb, internationally acclaimed for the "quiet fire"* of her Appalachian Ballad novels, clearly has a dark side--a wicked, sardonic wit that has prompted critics to compare her to Jane Austen and Jonathan Swift.

Readers and reviewers alike also have lauded Ms. McCrumb for her inspired chronicles of forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson. In her newest tale in the MacPherson saga, McCrumb examines society's fascination with beauty--and the deceptiveness of outer appearances. Elizabeth herself, hospitalized for depression over her missing husband, learns that insanity liberates one from polite hypocrisy, enabling a "crazy lady" to remark: "Anorexia is not a…

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Them Bones

By Carolyn Haines , #1 of Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries series

Book cover of Them Bones

Susie Black Author Of Death by Dreidel

From my list on mysteries with ghost characters.

By Susie Black Author

Why am I passionate about this?

As a humorous cozy mystery author, apparitions as characters are critically important members of my cast. I have introduced two ghosts—the dead wife and young daughter of one of the men in my protagonist’s life as continuing characters in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. They serve as an important yet hysterically funny bridge that connects the main character’s past to her present life and creates an extra layer of conflict in her relationship with the widower and where she wants it to go.  

Susie's book list on mysteries with ghost characters

Book cover of Pleating for Mercy Book cover of Ghost Therapy Book cover of Would You Rather... Book cover of Them Bones Book cover of Don of the Dead

Susie Black Why Susie loves this book

Unwed, broke, and over thirty, Mississippi native Sarah Booth Delaney may live on the family plantation, but take it from me; she’s no Scarlett O’Hara. And if the not-so-Southern Belle didn’t already have enough to contend with, she’s being haunted by the wise-cracking ghost of her great-great-grandmother’s nanny, who never misses an opportunity to remind her of the mess her life has become.

I burst out laughing when the irreverent ghost scolded Sarah Booth, saying her biological clock was ticking and she better start birthing babies before her eggs got too old and dried up! If you’re like me and love a sassy ghost poking fun at an unladylike sleuth, then this is the book for you.

Them Bones

By Carolyn Haines ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Them Bones as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Sarah Booth Delaney, an unconventional Southern belle whose knack for uncovering the truth is about to make her the hottest detective in Zinnia, Mississippi . . . if it doesn't make her the deadest.

No self-respecting lady would allow herself to end up in Sarah Booth’s situation. Unwed, unemployed, and over thirty, she’s flat broke and about to lose the family plantation. Not to mention being haunted by the ghost of her great-great-grandmother’s nanny, who never misses an opportunity to remind her of her sorry state—or to suggest a plan of action, like ransoming her friend’s prize pooch to…

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Savannah Blues

By Mary Kay Andrews , #1 of Weezie and Bebe Mysteries series

Book cover of Savannah Blues

Larissa Reinhart Author Of Portrait of a Dead Guy

From my list on southern humorous mysteries to make you snort.

By Larissa Reinhart Author

Why am I passionate about this?

My first editor informed me I was a mystery writer and my first mystery conference categorized me as a Southern humorous mystery writer. I didn’t intend to write Southern humorous mysteries but find the world-view of my characters and the world they live in quite comical and southern (my characters and I live in Georgia). I also abhor crime, so the dead bodies that keep appearing in my stories need to be dealt with lightly. I’m happy to be a Wall Street Journal bestselling and international award-winning author with eighteen books and counting in three series, Cherry Tucker Mysteries, Maizie Albright Star Detectives, and Finley Goodhart Crime Capers. 

Larissa's book list on southern humorous mysteries to make you snort

Book cover of The PMS Outlaws Book cover of Them Bones Book cover of Savannah Blues Book cover of Double Whammy Book cover of Skinny Dip

Larissa Reinhart Why Larissa loves this book

I love Andrews’ combination of Women’s Fiction and Mystery, and I think this series creates a wonderful bridge between Andrews’ writing style between the two genres and her pen names (originally, she wrote mysteries as Kathy Hogan Trocheck). Savannah Blues is more character- than plot-driven, but for those looking for a light mystery in a sultry southern setting with all the ubiquitous eccentrics and some BFFs bent on ex-husband revenge, you’ll enjoy the story like I did. You learn a bit about antiquing and Savannah architecture while cheering on amateur sleuth Weezie and enjoy a lot of laughs with her friend Bebe Loudermilk. By the end of Savannah Blues, I wanted to move across Georgia and have Weezie dress me up at home in Savannah.

Savannah Blues

By Mary Kay Andrews ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Savannah Blues as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Mary Kay Andrews has perfect pitch when it comes to endearing, smart-mouth heroines, and she has caught the languid looniness of the Low Country perfectly.” — Anne Rivers Siddons

Meet Weezie (aka Eloise) Foley, a feisty antiques “picker,” banished by her spiteful ex-husband from the house she herself restored in Savannah’s historic district, who must come to terms with a life that has suddenly changed…and not, it seems, for the better.

In Mary Kay Andrews’s delectable New York Times bestseller, Savannah Blues, readers will feel the sultry Georgia breezes and taste sea salt in the air, as they lose themselves…

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Skinny Dip

By Carl Hiaasen , #5 of Skink series

Book cover of Skinny Dip

Eve Gaal Author Of The Happy War

From my list on adventure books that will make you forget reality.

By Eve Gaal Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a survivor. Whether flaming engines on a plane, a hurricane, or breast cancer, I have made many unusual journeys. The way I see it, I am also a writer, and God keeps giving me material for my adventure novels. Of course, I’m also a reader and could fill this page with more than five recommendations. Hopefully, you’ll want to read one of these awesome books. I guarantee they will make you escape reality.

Eve's book list on adventure books that will make you forget reality

Book cover of The Stranger in the Lifeboat Book cover of The Art of Racing in the Rain Book cover of The Alchemist Book cover of Wuthering Heights Book cover of Skinny Dip

Eve Gaal Why Eve loves this book

I love any book written by Carl Hiaasen for the simple fact that he’s not boring, and of course, his writing, though somewhat politically incorrect, makes me laugh. I can forget about everything when reading one of his books.

In this novel, there’s a twist that the bad guy doesn’t think about when he pushes his wife off a cruise ship. The book is seriously hilarious. If you want to disappear into some Floridian madness, you’ll want to read this book.

Skinny Dip

By Carl Hiaasen ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Skinny Dip as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Joey Perrone is a woman with a mission. She's just been pushed overboard from a cruise liner by Chaz, her scumbag husband, and survived to tell the tale. But rather than reporting him to the police, she decides to stay dead and - with a little help from her friends and a few of Chaz's enemies - instead of getting mad, she's going to get even.

Filled with a host of endearingly offbeat characters, and a narrative that is hilarious, romantic and thought-provoking by turns, Skinny Dip takes us on a journey through the warped politics of Southern Florida and…

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