Culinary Mystery

Professional bakers and a local food blogger are participating in the Baking Spirits Bright holiday baking competition and they aren’t about to go down without a fight. The competition quickly heats to a boiling point, with flaring tempers and mysterious happenings. When one of the entrants is found dead, stabbed with Becca’s chocolate chipper, Becca tries to salvage the season by finding the killer. But the heat is on, and Becca is in danger of getting burned.

While viewing the harbor's Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow's walk of Timothy Neville's Charleston mansion, local banker Carson Lanier seemingly tumbles over a narrow railing, then plunges three stories to his death. But a tragic accident becomes something much more sinister when it's discovered that the victim was first shot with a bolt from a crossbow.

Fall festivities are underway in Coral Shores, Miami. Cuban-American cooking-show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith wakes up to find a corpse in her front yard. The body by the fake tombstone is the woman that was kicked out of the school's Fall Festival the day before. Miriam's luck does not improve. Her passive-aggressive mother-in-law puts her in charge of the Women's Club annual gala. While making plans at the country club, they hear a volatile argument between the new head chef and the club's manager. Not long after, the chef swan dives to his death at the bottom of the grand staircase.

Former actress Becca Ransom lived her dream in Hollywood for seven years before returning to her hometown of Larch Haven, known as the Venice of North America. The Vermont town has canals instead of roads, gondolas instead of cars, and charming cottages plucked from the pages of a fairy tale. It’s also where Becca is pursuing her newest passion as a chocolatier at True Confections, the chocolate shop owned by her grandparents, Lolly and Pops.

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be. While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can't stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu.

When Charlie accepts an invitation for a potluck Thanksgiving feast, she immediately decides to bring dessert. Homemade pies, of course. And they look so delicious that two of the guests decide to sneak a few bites before the meal. Which wouldn’t be an issue, except they both end up dead! Obviously, Charlie didn’t poison the pies, but that’s not how it appears. Can she solve the case in time to save the day?

Can Roxy filter through the lies before the true culprit grounds her investigation for good? Pour yourself a cup of intrigue with "Pour-Over Predicament" and follow Roxy as she uncovers that in Honey Springs, the truth can be as slippery as black ice.

Paige Palmer spent her entire adult life studying to earn her doctorate in philosophy, only to be passed over for the job of her dreams. Escaping academia, she takes a job as barista at a quirky and cozy shop, The Roastery on 33rd, feeling somehow drawn to the charming spot in the quaint New Hampshire town. But there are secrets in the Roastery that have been percolating for decades. When a body is discovered in a secret room in the building, Paige’s impatient and tough-as-nails boss becomes increasingly convinced that an in-house investigation will be necessary to catch the culprit.

This set includes the first three novels in the Cape Bay Cafe Mysteries, starring amateur sleuth Francesca Amaro—barista, baker, and owner of Antonia’s Italian Café: Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse; Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys; and Margaritas, Marzipan, and Murder.

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.

After accepting an invitation to attend the ballet in snowy Salzburg, Miss Atalanta Ashford is shocked when a convicted jewel thief is found dead in the concert hall where the theft occurred a decade ago. Did he return to the scene of the crime because he wanted to prove his innocence? Is the real culprit among the high-society guests? In her quest for the truth, Atalanta uncovers dangerous secrets about the European elite that put her own life in mortal danger…

A birthday trip to Bonn sees amateur detective Atalanta Ashford drawn into the scandalous will of a wealthy grandmother during a scenic cruise down along the Rhine. But growing tensions lead to a sudden and shocking death. Facing suspicion all around, Atalanta must unravel a deadly web of family secrets as treacherous as the river they voyage on, to find the killer.

Satisfying her hunger for epicurean adventure in the French provinces, small-town caterer and minister’s wife Faith Fairchild decides to throw the perfect dinner party. But during cleanup, after the last guest has departed her gastronomical triumph, she encounters something neither expected nor welcome: a dead body lying in her vestibule. Unfortunately it doesn’t help la belle americaine’s credibility when the corpse vanishes before the local gendarmes arrive. But Faith realizes that, though the police refuse to take her seriously, a killer just might.

After a long hot summer in Balsam Dell, Carly Hale is ready for crisp Vermont weather and gourmet grilled cheeses at her Grilled Cheese Eatery. And the upcoming Halloween food competition is the perfect way to impress the locals. But Ferris Menard, the owner of Sub-a-Dub-Sub, is nursing a serious grudge against Carly. Two days before the competition, one of Carly's employees quit his part-time gig at Menard's sub shop, sending Menard into a serious snit. In a confrontation at the Eatery, Menard accused Carly of sabotage and vowed to bring her down.

Identical twin sisters Alex and Hannah are the owners of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookshop that sells their famous poison-themed Killer Chocolates. But now, there’s a real killer in their midst. Shortly before Christmas, their septuagenarian neighbor, Jane, confides to Alex that a murderer from a true-crime show has taken up residence in the village. Unfortunately, she’s also shared her suspicions with town gossip Netta. The next morning, Alex shows up at Jane’s house to watch the show, but instead she discovers Jane's body, with a box of Killer Chocolates nearby.

When famous TV chef Matteo McLeish turns up at the Old Forge Café and offers chef Charlie Hunter a place in his kitchen for the duration of Hampden Green's local opera festival, she thinks it's because he rates her cooking skills. In fact it's because he's heard she's good in a crisis. The wholesome star of Nonna's Kitchen is being blackmailed by one of his team.

Ja, 'zefix! Was ist denn mit den Eberhofer-Weibern los? Die Oma beschließt nach ca. 2.000 Kuchen und noch viel mehr Schweinsbraten, Semmelknödeln und Kraut, sich der häuslichen Pflichten für immer zu entledigen und nur noch zu chillen. Ausgerechnet an Weihnachten! Und die Susi verfolgt ausschließlich ihre Karriere als stellvertretende Bürgermeisterin. Und dann wird der Franz direkt nach der Christmette von der Mooshammer Liesl abgefangen. Der Steckenbiller Lenz ist verschwunden.

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.

When Thwing is found sleeping with the fishes beneath a local lobsterman's boat, the police quickly finger Julia's brother-in-law Sonny as the one who cooked up the crime. Sure, everyone knows Sonny despised the Mussel King . . . but Julia believes he's innocent. Proving it won't be easy, though. It seems there's a lot more than murder on the menu, and Julia needs to act fast . . .

Fran's dream of winning the top prize of ten thousand dollars as a contestant on a new TV baking show is quickly shattered when one of the famous judges, Jeremy Johnson, is brutally stabbed in the middle of filming. As Fran investigates, she uncovers a web of deceit, jealousy, and betrayal among the contestants and judges. With tensions high and suspicions swirling, Fran realizes that the murderer could be someone she knows all too well.