These are some of my favorite authors that I always go back to.

Susan Wittig Albert writes two series that I especially like.

The China Bayles series is set in current day Central Texas. China used to be an attorney in Houston and has given up that life to have an herbal shop in a small town.  Each of the books has an herb connected to the major theme. China also ends up in the middle of mystery and often with her friends and family.

 The Darling Dahlias set in 1930's Alabama.
The Dahlias belong to a garden club that seems to have a nose for solving mysteries in the town of Darling. I love the references to that time period. There are also old fashioned recipes, of which I have tried a few.


http://www.abouthyme.com/index.php
http://www.darlingdahlias.com/index.php


M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series is a hoot.
Agatha was a publisher in London who takes early retirement and moves to Carsley in the Cotswolds in England. It is a small village where she hopes to live a quiet live. But she quickly becomes bored and gets into the middle of lots of trouble. These books are quite humorous to me.

http://www.agatharaisin.com/


These three series are very entertaining and quick reads. Give them a try. I would recommend you start with the first book in each of the series to get the background of the characters. But each book does give a brief background of the story line also.

Enjoy!