Culinary Fiction

Amateur sleuth and proud owner of Dogwood Donuts Maggie Sharpe was gearing up for the holidays and having just another normal day in charming southern Missouri, when an unfortunate accident occurred in front of her shop in the wee hours of the morning. When a bus full of elderly potential witnesses on their way to a Christmas event puts out a distress call, Maggie feels obligated to find some answers. She discovers that what she thought was an accident was actually a murder, which makes things anything but jolly in Dogwood Mountain.

Old West ghost towns are as American as apple pie. So what better place to sponsor a pie-eating contest than the Bar X, a fake ghost town available for exclusive private events on the edge of Silicon Valley. Valentine Harris is providing the pies, hoping to boost business for her struggling Pie Town shop and become a regular supplier for the Bar X. But no sooner does she arrive in town than a stray bullet explodes the cherry pie in her hands. The delicious dessert is not the only victim. Val finds the Bar X bartender shot dead in an alley.

In the first book of the Lexi Fagan Mystery series, Baker's Dozen, Lexi is newly arrived in San Francisco and lands a job working at McCracken's Bakery. When her lover, firefighter Jerry Stevens, turns up dead in a devastating hotel fire, Lexi has no time to mourn. Homicide detective Robert Reiger discovers Jerry's death was no accident. Caught up in the investigation, Lexi uncovers a shocking secret that just might get her killed.

Leona's spirits are flying as high as the flags over Honeytree's Fourth of July Festival. Her fledgling egg business is booming, her new relationship is flourishing, and it's finally warm enough to put the top down on her convertible. Everything is sunny-side up. But her good mood disappears faster than a speeding pullet when the local beauty queen is shot during the fireworks finale - and the murder is pinned on one of her close friends.

Este March runs the family-owned Lucky Pie Diner on Split Pine Island in Northern Michigan. The pies at Lucky Pie aren't just good, they're magical, with a family recipe that grants certain customers their greatest hopes and dreams when they eat the pie. The remote island is closed to outsiders over the winter months, but on the last day of the season, the unpopular new produce vendor, Jeff, turns up dead on his boat, and Split Pine Island's peace goes up in smoke.

For all its merriment, Christmas can also bring melancholy-and in Magic Springs, Idaho, Mia finds that the season has brought her an unhappy ghost who's pulling poltergeist-style pranks to get her attention. When she demands an explanation, the ghost just sends a message: Ask Mary Alice-that is, Mia's beloved Grans, who's been training her to develop her witchy talents. If anyone can figure this out, it's Grans . . . even if she still hasn't managed to free Mia's cat from a previous spell that she cast.

Hosting a friendly competition reality cooking show could be the perfect career boost for chef Courtney Archer - but when her cohost is found murdered, Courtney must work through layers of deception to find the real culprit.

With plans for a new performing arts center at Wynter Castle taking up all her time, baker Merry Wynter has been all but unaware of the fringe group compound near her small town - until a street preacher accosts her with taunts of doom and damnation. Worried that some of her close friends may have been lured in by the group and its charismatic leader, Merry begins digging into the ministry - and soon suspects they may have ties to the recent death of a young woman and the disappearance of many others.

It's summertime, but sales at their bakery are below zero, so Mel and Angie are willing to try anything to heat things up! When local legend Slim Hazard offers them a chance to sell cupcakes at the annual Juniper Pass rodeo, they're determined to rope in a pretty payday! But not everyone at the Juniper Pass is as sweet for Fairy Tale Cupcakes as Slim - including star bull-rider Ty Stokes.

Angie and her County Seat staff are all prepared for some much-needed R&R. Hope's been hinting at an arts-and-crafts-themed retreat. Instead, they end up at a military veteran's home, where it's their job to get it spic-and-span for summer. In between weeding the garden and painting the rooms, Angie starts up a conversation with an older vet who wants to make amends with his son before it's too late. Unfortunately, he has no idea of his son's whereabouts. It's the perfect side job for the County Seat team, but someone keeps blocking their efforts.

The fun of an English baking contest set in the beautiful English countryside complete with witches, recipes, and murder. Join Poppy and her friends as she puzzles out another complex murder that might have ties to her!

Every baker has their weak spot. For Poppy, it’s bread. So, when The Great British Baking Contest hits bread week, she’s as fragile as an overbaked croissant. Just when she needs to keep all her focus on flour, water, yeast, and salt, another ingredient enters the mix. Death. Someone is not who they appear to be, and secrets from the past are bringing deadly consequences to the present.

Who in Calmhaven does not know Molly Gertrude Grey, the gentle aging owner of the Cozy Bridal Agency? But Molly and her enthusiastic assistant, Dora Brightside, have more talents than just matchmaking. They are amateur sleuths with a nose for trouble! When poor Abe Mortimer, the town mayor, keels over during the wedding reception of his dear daughter, Miss Molly is certain it’s no accident. Her intuition tells her that something disturbing is afoot.

Annie Hart, daughter of Bryan Hart—talent agent to the stars—spends her life getting roped into whatever new task her father needs her to do for his VIP clients. So when she inherits a yarn shop in the small Indiana town of Franklin, she is curious to see what it feels like to have something that is solely hers! But when her arrival is greeted by the local law enforcement, Annie senses things are not quite as they seem in this idyllic town . . . everyone knows everybody in Franklin yet when it comes to the death of the shop's previous owner, nobody seems sure of anything!

Newly single pizzeria owner Delilah O’Leary is determined to keep her restaurant afloat in the picturesque resort town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. To boost her bottom line, she sets her sights on winning the hefty cash prize in the town’s annual “Taste of Wisconsin” culinary contest. In her corner, she’s got her strong-willed, “big-boned” cat Butterball, her wisecracking BFF, her cantankerous great-aunt, and a nearly-flawless recipe for Pretzel Crust Deep-Dish Bratwurst Pizza.

It's a steamy September, and business is brisk at Perkatory, the hottest coffee shop in Devil's Beach, Florida. Much of the clientele pours in from Dante's Inferno, the hot yoga studio next door. But the bright, sunny Gulf Coast days turn decidedly dark roast when the body of the studio's owner turns up in a nearby swamp.

Since Amber started the Bad Girls’ Detective Agency, she’s been feeling the pressure. So – when she and her best friends win a trip to a new luxury castle retreat on a remote island – she hopes it will be a chance to relax in style. The girls are all excited to experience world-famous chef Valerie la Fontaine’s tasting menu. But none of them expect there to be another dish being served that weekend: revenge. And when Valerie is found dead inside a locked room in a tower, the Bad Girls know this is a case that only they can solve…

The relationships between bad-tempered Tom Farley and his neighbors are as bitter as a bowl of raw cranberries, but would one of them have taken it far enough to replace birdshot with a real bullet and make him a target at a shooting competition? That's what the injured turkey farmer is claiming from his hospital bed—in between terrorizing the nurses—and he insists it's because a property developer is looking to buy them all out for big money. But Tom says he was born on that land, and he intends to die on it. Sadly, that happens sooner than he expects.

A surprise trip to Miriam's parents in Punta Cana, which should be filled with arroz con pollo and breezy days under the tamarind tree, quickly becomes a hunt for a possible property saboteur. But before Miriam can begin to uncover the person damaging the vacation rentals her parents manage, she’s called away to Puerto Rico to film a Three Kings Day special. She's welcomed to the blue ballast-stone streets of Old San Juan by crime-scene tape, and things only get worse from there.

Emily Cherry may be retired, but she’s not about to roll over and die! Defying the doubts of her three adult children this plucky computer-shy grandma embarks on a unique path by launching her very own food blog. The only problem is that during her inaugural restaurant review, she stumbles upon a lifeless body.