Culinary Fiction

Vicki Delany presents Book 7 in the Tea by the Sea Mystery series.

When it comes to being a CIA agent, John isn't the best man for the job, but he is the best in the bakery. Sales are at an all-time low, and the bakery's profit margins are falling to dangerous levels. John and Dan head out in search of answers, where they find that a shady retirement home houses an even shadier secret. After digging into the forbidden warehouses, the baker in blue discovers that something is terribly wrong with the cinnamon rolls. They're tasty, almost TOO tasty, but why could that be? And is that a good thing? Can John discover the secrets and bring order to the bakery?

The Earl of Frome gets a shock when a gaggle of nosy bird watchers gang up on him. When one of them winds up dead, it doesn't look good for the Earl. Amateur baker Poppy Wilkinson gets embroiled in yet another murder mystery. It's a good thing she's got witchy powers as she has to solve a murder, try and learn more about her own mysterious beginnings, and turn out a winning cake, because it's cake week in the competition tent.

When Lori Birdwhistle disappeared from Milburn 20 years ago, no one was sure whether she had been murdered or had simply skipped town. But those who knew her best were confident she’d never voluntarily leave her beloved son and simply take off. But, without a body and no real clues to go on, the case quickly went cold and, before long, life simply moved on. Now, thanks to a new visitor in town, the case is, once again, being investigated. But not by the official police - this time Nora is taking charge!

Local chef Tessa Esposito is struggling to get back on her feet following her husband's fatal accident. And when the police knock on Tessa's door, things just get worse. They've discovered Dylan's death wasn't an accident after all, and they need Tessa to start filling in the blanks. Who would want her beloved husband dead, and why?

Nora Newberry has been working to make her dreams come true and finally, after 10 years, it's time! She's moved back to her hometown of Milburn, Wyoming, and, together with her lifelong best friend, Raquel Madden, is opening the diner they've been planning since high school. Life couldn't be better...and it's time to celebrate!

Instantly plunged into a mystery that threatens to test their limits, Rex and Albert must stay one step ahead of the killer. However, it seems that everyone around them had a motive for wanting the TV chef to meet an untimely end. With no end of suspects, who can they turn to for help? Everyone around them could be the killer, and it quickly becomes clear that someone does not want this mystery solved.

This is a collection of 30 short stories, each with a message and storyline designed to be filling and rewarding in and of itself.

Eigentlich wollte sich Emily Thompson nur von der Trennung von ihrem Freund George erholen, doch der Besuch bei ihrer Großmutter im irischen Galway erweist sich als überraschend ereignisreich. Als ihre Freundin Sinéad, die Inhaberin des gemütlichen Cafés Tea & Tarts, unter Mordverdacht gerät, sieht sich Emily gezwungen, selbst Ermittlungen anzustellen. Und da man als gelernte Buchhalterin nur wenig Erfahrungen im Jagen von Verbrechern hat, freut sie sich über die tatkräftige Unterstützung ihrer Grandma Deirdre.

Diane Mott Davidson dishes up another treat of murder and mystery - as caterer-turned-sleuth Goldy Schulz stirs up a heap of trouble. More Mott Davidson.

In ihrem kleinen Lokal in Kyoto bieten der pensionierte Kommissar Nagare Kamogawa und seine Tochter Koishi einen besonderen Service an: Zu ihnen kommen Gäste, die ein bestimmtes Gericht aus ihrer Vergangenheit suchen, das sie seitdem nie wieder gegessen haben – und oft auch, um Frieden und Trost zu finden. Ein Mann möchte wissen, warum sein Vater ihm immer denselben schlichten Imbiss für die Schule zubereitete, und eine junge Frau will ihrem Verlobten endlich von ihrer ärmlichen Kindheit erzählen und ihm dazu das Reisgericht servieren.

'Pyre glows with as much power as [One Part Woman] did, and adds immeasurable value to contemporary Indian literature'-The Hindu Saroja and Kumaresan are in love. After a hasty wedding, they arrive in Kumaresan's village, harboring a dangerous secret: their marriage is an inter-caste one, likely...

Ambrosia Bourgeois, the New Orleans Goddess of Gastronomy, uses food to seduce men in hopes of concocting Mr. Right. Paralleling Southern cuisine, each chapter captures the hearts, minds, and even the bodies of various men. Ambrosia tries to perfect her craft by using traditional recipes from her deceased grandmother. When she discovers that her meals fall short of converting each man to her calculated preference, she moves on to the next one - a total of 16. Her subjects range from a local sheriff to a Bourbon Street musician. Will she reach her goal of complete succulent seduction before the monstrous hurricane hits her city?

Southern matriarch Lillian Summer Fairview is settling right nice into prison, until Big Martha, the toughest broad on the cellblock, comes asking for a favor. Her niece has fallen for a guy she met online, and Martha’s convinced Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True is up to no good. All Lil’s friends have to do is investigate the guy and report back. Will these amateur sleuths be able to track down the elusive Romeo in the scam-filled world of online dating without alerting the local police to their shenanigans, or will they find themselves in trouble right up to their granny panties?

Summerview Secondary School is holding its annual charity auction. Margery and Clementine Butcher-Baker are on hand to prepare delicious baked goods for the big day - with the assistance of Clementine's mysterious sister, Maria. As the auction begins, chaos erupts when Eleanor Black, the owner of Dewstow Museum, is found murdered in the stage storeroom. Maria has vanished. Her fingerprints cover the crime scene. Clementine refuses to believe her sister is capable of murder and is sure they need to widen the search – Eleanor has a long list of enemies.

Betti Bryant knows she’s not supposed to be a barista five years after graduating from college, but her life is actually super adorable—except for the part where she has to endure her ex-boyfriend’s musical rendition of their breakup at the coffee shop’s Open Mic Night every Friday. When an entire local art collection is stolen from the cafe during his performance, Betti sees her chance to persuade her panicked boss to cancel Open Mic Night, at least until the crime is solved. Instead, he announces plans to sell the beloved cafe to a real estate developer, who will demolish it.

When the local high school hosts a fundraiser, restaurant owner Carly Hale is happy to sign on and enlists her mother’s help selling her much-loved grilled cheese sandwiches at the school. But no good deed goes unpunished, and the vendor stationed next to them at the event turns out to be aggressively rude and bullies them both. Never one to be pushed, Carly’s mom gives the man a vicious tongue-lashing and assumes that’s the end of it—until later that day when the man is found dead, strangled with her scarf.

Rachel Rowan yearns for a new start. So, ready for change and up for a challenge, she has decided to relocate to the beautiful coastal town of Swaddle, California, to pursue her lifelong dream of opening her very own bakery! While the majority of the locals are thrilled with her new Comfort Cakes Bake Shop, Rachel soon learns that the owner of a local café is determined to ruin her. When Rachel finds a dead body in her kitchen just before the grand opening and she is accused of the murder, she quickly realizes that this is more than a little friendly rivalry!

Sadie Hoffmiller believes in her abilities as a cook and as a detective. She believes in the beauty of a perfectly baked pumpkin roll. She does not, however, believe in ghosts. As Halloween approaches, Sadie is looking forward to spending her favorite baking season of the year making delicious New England recipes in Boston, Massachusetts, with her favorite leading man, Pete Cunningham, as they babysit his three young grandsons. When the boys insist that Mrs. Wapple, the woman who lives across the street, is a witch, Sadie and Pete are anxious to distract the boys from such silly ideas.

Sadie is looking forward to an entire week cruising the Alaskan wilderness with her two grown children, Shawn and Breanna, and her boyfriend, Pete. They board the ship and except for the mysterious woman on the ship that Shawn seems to know but will not discuss, and the fact that Breanna's future mother-in-law has already hijacked the wedding plans, and the unexpected death of a passenger in the middle of the buffet line, Sadie's vacation would have been perfect.