Cozy crime set in set in SANTA BARBARA, California

17th August 2026

Murder on Charity Lane by Jo Nichols, cozy crime set in SANTA BARBARA, California.

No. 2 in the Marigold Cottages Murder series

Jo Nichols is the pseudonym of husband and wife writing team Joel Ross and Lee Nichols

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The setting is Marigold Cottages: “Six cottages encircled the drought resistant  courtyard of gravel paths, decorated with succulents, lavender, and puffy white fountain grass“. The owner of the the cottages is Mrs B, who oversees the community. They have a little community Library, and all seems to be going well since a double homicide only 6 months ago, which brought everyone together (detailed in the first novel in the series – The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective).

The characters and their proclivities are introduced early on and there is a sense that Mrs B may just be a bit of an over-functioner, nevertheless considered a lovely person by all.

She hooks one of the inhabitants, Ocean, up with a new girlfriend but the new addition to the community – CJ – appears to be a suspect in a killing in at a grand house on Charity Lane, overlooking the Pacific.

The Murder Collective is once again in session.

This novel is whimsical and populated by a diverse set of characters that makes for a quick and enjoyable read.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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