Culinary Mystery

Pirate Week is sweeping through Crystal Cove and keeping Jenna Hart and her bookstore, the Cookbook Nook, plenty busy. But she’s not too swamped to also host the local Chocolate Cookbook Club’s meeting—especially because the guest of honor is her friend, candy maker and cookbook author Coco Chastain. Jenna whips up a delicious event amidst the rowdy festivities, but the mood is soon broken by robberies, simmering tempers, and a dead body—Coco’s editor, Alison.

It's springtime in Cedar River, Texas. The annual Bluebonnet Festival is brewing, and the whole town is in harmony. Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie thought opening Sip & Spin Records was going to be their biggest hurdle, but the Frappuccino hits the fan when the mayor drops dead—poisoned by their delicious coffee. Since Tansy was the one to brew the coffee, and Juni was the unfortunate citizen who stumbled upon the mayor's body, the sisters find themselves in hot water. Family is everything to the Jessups, so with Tansy under suspicion, the sisters spring into action.

When Poppy and Aunt Ginny agreed to host a Wine-and-Cheese Happy Hour for a tour group at their Butterfly House Bed and Breakfast on the Jersey Shore, they never anticipated such a sour bunch. Grumpy guest Vince Baker should be in a better mood - he's filthy rich and on his honeymoon with his much younger wife, Sunny, who seems to dote on him almost as much as her high-spirited teacup Pomeranian, Tammy Faye Baker. But the honeymoon is over when Vince drops dead the next day touring the Laughing Gull Winery.

In the small town of Normalton, Illinois, there aren't a lot of opportunities for small business owner Dani Sloan to cater big-ticket events. But that's about to change - a client named Yvette Joubert is marrying Franklin Whittaker, the richest guy around, and they want Dani to cater their engagement party! The swanky event is the perfect opportunity to put Dani on the map for wealthier clients.

Cat has a full plate at her Aspen Hills Warm Springs Resort, as a group of aspiring cozy mystery authors arrives for a writer's retreat. So when baker Dee Dee Meyer stirs up trouble by filing a false complaint with the health inspector against the B&B - all because she insists Cat's best friend Shauna stole her recipes - Cat marches into the shop to confront her.

It's not Fourth of July on Mackinac Island without fireworks and fudge. The Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop is supplying the treats-and Allie McMurphy has hired Rodney Rivers, the biggest name in aerial displays, to create an unforgettable spectacle. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a case of red, white, and boom when Allie finds him dead, covered with screaming chicken fireworks, just before the entire warehouse of pyrotechnics goes up in smoke. Is it arson or is it murder?

It’s the big finale of the Great British Baking Contest. Who will fall flatter than an eggless soufflé? And will amateur baker and witch Poppy survive to find out? Dark forces are at work in the picture-perfect village of Broomewode, Somerset. Poppy’s getting closer to solving the mystery of her beginnings, but so many questions remain. Will she finally meet her birth mother? Is the local coven helping or hindering her search? Will she and sexy Viscount Benedict finally have their first date? There are old and new mysteries to solve in this final installment of the series!

With adopt-a-cat month in full swing in Fox Hollow, pet shop owner Shell McMillan decides that hosting a night of murder mystery dinner theater will be a fun way to raise funds for the cause. But she didn't realize that the celebrity chef she'd hired for the event would turn out to be a tyrannical snob, or that her scoundrel of an ex-fiancé would turn up with his own shady agenda. Still, the show must go on, and as the lighthearted plot on-stage unfolds, the scene off-stage turns decidedly darker when the chef is found murdered.

The heat is on for pastry chef, family business operator, and unlikely sleuth Jules Capshaw. Just when she thought she could enjoy some time away from the kitchen, Jules manages to discover a skull during a picnic by the lake. As if unearthing remains that may be connected to a missing-persons case from the 1960s isn’t enough on her plate, Jules must contend with the unsolved matter of her own marriage while her estranged husband Carlos sails the open seas, awaiting a verdict.

Max Effort never thought he'd find himself at The Dead Crow's sixth annual pickled onion festival, but serendipity is a peculiar thing, so here he stood. He didn't care, because his two best friends-Min his ex-wife, and Anxious the Terrier-were with him so life was sweet. When the pub's chef goes missing, Max reluctantly agrees to step in and save the day. Having vowed never to enter a commercial kitchen again, he soon regrets the decision, especially when the chef is found dead in a broom closet with a jar of pickled onions.

Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell usually reserves judgement for local cuisine, not the people who serve it. But staying neutral isn't so easy when caught between the biggest seafood rivals in town—her BFF Mona Barnes and the successful Leighton clan. Adding to a bitter decades-old surf-turf war between family businesses, a modern Romeo and Juliet story unfolds as Mona's son gets engaged to the daughter of her sworn enemy.

In the frigid aftermath of a Boxing Day tragedy, ageing DCI Charles Cook faces a sinister conundrum—the lifeless body of eight-year-old Harry Dickens is found lying in a quiet country road, while his Aunt Janice, fourth in line to inherit the family business, is reported missing. The crimes become the catalyst for an investigation poised to shatter the rural Lincolnshire community.

As the food and cocktails columnist for the Island Times, it's Hayley Powell's job to stay on top of the latest eateries in town. Just in time for the summer tourist season, Chef Romeo, a successful restaurateur from New York City, has opened an establishment called - naturally - Romeo's. But between his over-the-top temperament and his no-holds-barred diet, Chef Romeo may not live through the grand opening.

The Whitstable Pearl restaurant has been busy all summer while Pearl’s detective agency has brought few interesting cases - until a prospective client calls. Christina Scott confides that seven years ago she had the perfect life with a seaside home, a confirmed pregnancy and Steven, a loving husband - until one morning, she woke to find herself alone. Christina’s husband had vanished, taking nothing with him but his car - which was later found abandoned at the beautifully mysterious Oare Marshes.

Bar Harbor, Maine, is quieter in the off-season, but the population has just increased a bit with the arrival of Tim and Trudy Lancaster. Tim's taking over for a retiring minister, and Trudy runs a food truck called Wicked 'Wiches. When she stops in at the Island Times office to place an ad, Hayley happily devours the sample sub Trudy offers - and the two become fast friends. But when Trudy tragically dies in her truck while catering a Halloween party, suspicion falls on a cranky, competitive caterer who'd made veiled threats to Trudy.

It may not be front page news, but Island Times food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell is now happily married. Before she can set sail on her honeymoon cruise, however, Hayley's mom, Sheila, pays an impromptu visit - and promptly becomes the prime suspect in a murder. The victim is Sheila's old high school rival, Caskie Lemon-Hogg, known for her homemade blueberry pies and her home-wrecking flirtations. As Hayley teams up with her BFFs Liddy and Mona to clear her mother's name, Sheila reunites with Liddy's mom Celeste and Mona's mom Jane for their own amateur sleuthing.

Pebble Cove is home to more than just fishermen, Victorian houses, and coastal beauty. It also harbors long-running feuds and buried secrets. When a local man drops dead after drinking a matcha tea latte, Rosemary Woodmere suspects foul play. As a witness to the murder, she’s called in for questioning. At the station, she meets a new ghost and learns the town’s police force has a dark past when it comes to covering up murder.

Burned-out chef Max Effort-he still hates his parents for the name-is slowly settling into van life. Used to swanky kitchens and state-of-the-art equipment, he's even mastered cooking outside without the flame blowing out. One-pot cooking or bust was Max's promise to himself, but the joys of letting his dinner simmer for hours on lazy summer days are soon on the back-burner when murder rears its ugly head once more.

Tearoom sleuth Gemma Rose is looking forward to a holiday filled with delicious Yuletide treats, time with friends and family, and maybe even a "white Christmas" in Oxford. But when she's snowed in at a country manor, she finds herself stumbling on a puzzling murder, complete with a body in the library, a house full of suspects, and a trail of mysterious footprints!

It is a truth universally acknowledged - cops and donuts go together. Exhibit A: Deputy Donut Cafe, owned and operated by detective's widow Emily Westhill. Named after Emily's adored and adorable tabby, the donut shop is a favorite among cops. But a twisted killer has found another use for Emily's treats. At the picnic, a firecracker is hidden in a stack of raspberry-filled donuts and aimed at the unwitting queen of the festivities. When it explodes, she is killed. Having her jelly donuts involved puts Emily in a sticky situation.