I really enjoy reading books by Charlaine Harris. She somehow manages to take ordinary situations and find the terrifying focus underneath - and she is not for the faint of heart. These may look like cozies but are not! She has written several series of which I've read most of and am starting to re-read once again.

See more about her books at this site - http://www.murderexpress.net/charlaineharris/index.htm

Aurora "Roe" Teagarden - a small town librarian, who seems to be followed by murder and mayhem

1. Real Murders
2. A Bone to Pick
3. Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
4. Julius House
5. Dead Over Heels
6. Fool and His Honey
7. Last Scene Alive
Roe is is reunited with the circumstances in her first murder when a movie comes to town to create a movie version of a book that was written about the grizzly murders. With this comes her former flame, Robin Crusoe, and her stepson Branson. It's been several years since I read the original books but it all came back quickly reading this latest installment.
8. Poppy Done to Death

The Shakespeare/Lily Bard Series - Lily is a profession house cleaner and survivor of a horrible kidnapping and rape while in her early 20's.

1. Shakespeare's Landlord
2. Shakespeare's Champion
3. Shakespeare's Christmas
4. Shakespeare's Trollop
5. Shakespeare's Counselor

Sookie Stackhouse Series - Sookie is a small town waitress with a disability - she can read minds. And then along comes Bill who is a blank slate. Quickly she finds out that she isn't alone in the disability department and finds herself attracting all kinds of supernatural creatues. Vampires, werewolves and spooks, oh my!

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead