Culinary Fiction

This cozy collection includes three delightful full-length mystery novels in the Haunted Tearoom Cozy Mystery Series featuring April May and the town of Serenity Cove.

As December sweeps through South Lick, Indiana, Robbie's life seems merry and bright like the string lights glistening around town. But strange happenings signal a bumpy ride into the holidays. First a man raises eyebrows at Pans 'N Pancakes when he claiming to be the long-lost half-brother of Robbie's assistant. Then a fire destroys the home of a controversial anesthesiologist, exposing skeletal remains in his attic. Helplessly intrigued, all Robbie wants for Christmas is to stop her winter wonderland from becoming a real nightmare.

Ever since meeting the wary owners of an antique shop opening across the street, Robbie has been scrambling to manage weird incidences plaguing her cafe and country store. Pricey items vanish from shelves without explanation, a fully equipped breakfast food truck starts lingering around the area each morning, and loyal diners mysteriously fall ill. When an elderly man dies after devouring an omelet packed with poisonous mushrooms, Robbie must temporarily close down Pans 'N Pancakes and search for the killer with a real zest for running her out of business - or else.

An anonymous skull, an unsolved murder, sinister rumors from the Cold War era of espionage - Bruno's investigation into a long-standing cold case finds him caught between an enigmatic winegrower and a menacing communist organization from the past.

As a single mom, Hayley Powell already has a full plate - she's got deadlines to make and a teenage daughter with eyes for an aspiring singer-songwriter. But when country music superstar Wade Springer rolls into town, Hayley spies an irresistible side gig: personal chef to her all-American idol. After he tries her home cooking, Wade's so impressed that he hires her on the spot - and invites her to dine with him alone.

Every journey might start with a single step, but where does it end? Albert Smith and his faithful dog, Rex Harrison, have been on the road for far longer than they ever expected, but they can’t go home yet. Not until they solve one final case.

Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz cooks up bigtrouble as she tries to help her longtime friend and fellow chef Yolanda Garcia. When the rental house shared by Yolanda and her irrepressible aunt Ferdinanda is destroyed by arson, the pair move in with cop-turned-PI Ernest McLeod. But then Ernest is shot dead and his house is set on fire, nearly killing Goldy, Yolanda, Ferdinanda, and nine beagle puppies that Ernest had recently rescued from a puppymill. Concerned for her friends, Goldy invites them to stay with her while the sheriff’s department investigates. Yet even Goldy's house isn't safe....

It’s three days before Christmas, and detective-turned-chef Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is drafted in to cater a charity event run by a notorious millionaire at a 13th-century abbey on Bodmin Moor. Things get more complicated when a snowstorm descends, stranding them all, and the next morning they find one of the guests has been gruesomely murdered in their bed…

When a tourist is found dead and a villager is accused of murder, Reeva knows the village has bigger problems than icky ice cream. It’s time for Long and McLaughlin Private Investigators (a.k.a. Reeva and Ruby) to put their sleuthing skills into action and catch the real killer.

It’s almost spring in Ashland, Oregon, and the town is preparing for the Shakespeare and the annual Chocolate Festival. Business is cookin’ at Torte, and the store is expanding as Jules’ team whips up crèpes filled with mascarpone cheese and dark chocolate. Torte stands a chance of being this year’s confectionery belle of the ball! Life couldn’t be sweeter...unless murder taints the batter.

Things are looking up for the Brew-ha Cafe, and Lila Macapagal can’t think of anything that could break the spell, especially with Valentine’s Day coming up—she can’t wait to celebrate with her boyfriend, Jae Park. Adding to the lovey-dovey atmosphere is Hana Lee, Shady Palms’s newest resident. She’s also Jae’s beloved cousin and chocolatier at Choco Noir, the latest addition to the town’s culinary offerings. Everything is coming into place for Hana, who left her old life in Minnesota behind to work at Choco Noir, owned by her best friend.

June's annual Brown County Bluegrass Festival is always a hit for Robbie's country store and cafe, Pans 'N Pancakes. This year, Robbie is even more excited because she's launching a new bed-and-breakfast above her shop. But the celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he can conduct an encore performance....

With Lana Lee as his right-hand woman and head event planner, Ian Sung orchestrates an extravagant evening filled with music, live entertainment, and generous giveaways. But at the end of the night, during an elaborate firework show in the parking lot, a member of the lion dance performance team is found dead backstage with a single bullet hole through the heart and a red envelope in their pocket containing four one-dollar bills―an omen of death.

Ashland is known for its Elizabethan charm and touches of Shakespeare around every corner, but the surrounding Rogue Valley draws adventure enthusiasts to its outdoor wonderland of high alpine lakes, mountain ranges, and pristine rivers. Jules Capshaw and the team at Torte have been hired to cater a weekend getaway on the mighty Rogue River. Jules is going to have to put her culinary skills to the test while baking gooey chocolate chip skillet cookies over an open flame and preparing extravagant feasts under a canopy of stars.

Ever since Thanksgiving, when an engagement ring in a velvet box—and no gift tag—was left behind, Poppy and her pals have been left with an unsolved mystery. But at least this mystery isn't the kind that involves murder. That all changes when the body of a fish supplier is discovered in the kitchen of her ex's restaurant—and he's frozen, not fresh. For once, it's not Poppy who tripped over the corpse, yet she can't escape being drawn in since the victim has a note taped to him reading Get Poppy. Figures—an engagement ring isn't labeled, but the dead guy is addressed to her.

Things are eerily quiet at Gemma's quaint English tearoom, and she can't understand why - until she learns about the trendy new "tea bar" that's opened on the other side of the village. To her horror, she soon finds her customers being stolen. But Gemma has bigger problems when the rival owner is savagely murdered and she is considered the key suspect! And with her detective boyfriend accused of nepotism, Gemma is forced to tackle the case on her own. Luckily, she can still count on the help of the nosy Old Biddies, while the naughty antics of her tabby cat uncover clues, too!

To top off her coffee business, Sage is now helping out with her boyfriend Bax's gaming company. Conveniently for Sage, it's located next door to her Ground Rules Roastery. That makes it easy for her to pitch in with Bax's employee team-building event. The plan is to boost morale with a scavenger hunt. And it seems to be going well—until Robbie, a programmer known for being a prankster, turns up dead in Sage's roastery.

When Sloan Krause walks in on her husband, Mac, screwing the barmaid, she gives him the boot. Sloan has spent her life in Leavenworth, Washington becoming an expert in brewing craft beer, and she doesn't have time to be held back by her soon-to-be ex-husband. She decides to strike out on her own, breaking away from the Krause family brewery, and goes to work for Nitro, the hip new nano-brewery in the Bavarian-themed town. But then she finds one of Nitro's competitors dead in the fermenting tub, clutching the secret recipe for the IPA.

Goldy Schulz is thrilled to be catering a holiday breakfast feast for the staff of the Aspen Meadow Library. But little does she know that on the menu, alongside the Great Expectations Grapefruit, Chuzzlewit Cheese Pie, and Bleak House Bars, is a large helping of murder.

With the August heat strong enough to melt solid chocolate into syrup, Jake and Ellie crave a break from the bakery ovens, despite tourist season promising a sweet payday. But they never envisioned spending the last weeks of summer drifting around Passamaquoddy Bay searching for pirate’s treasure—and a dead body. Sally Coates believes her husband was murdered off the coast, and begs Ellie, a trusted childhood friend, to locate his remains. It’s unusual that a skilled fisherman would vanish along with the gold doubloon he inherited from his grandfather.