Culinary Mystery

Fed up with dating after a disastrous setup, the only thing Hayley wants to snuggle up to is a box of made-to-order chocolates from plus-sized, plus-mouthed chocolatier Bessie Winthrop. But when Bessie is found dead in her kitchen, only Hayley suspects that Bessie's "heart attack" might actually be a candy-coated murder.

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.

Beneath the gloss of star chefs and crystal-laden tables, the truffle supply chain is touched by theft, secrecy, sabotage, and fraud. Farmers patrol their fields with rifles and fear losing trade secrets to spies. Hunters plant poisoned meatballs to eliminate rival truffle-hunting dogs. Naive buyers and even experts are duped by liars and counterfeits. Deeply reported and elegantly written, this exposé documents the dark, sometimes deadly crimes at each level of the truffle’s path from ground to plate, making sense of an industry that traffics in scarcity, seduction, and cash.

Sonnige Weinberge entlang der Donau, malerische Städtchen umgeben von duftenden Wiesen und kulinarische Köstlichkeiten – die Wachau ist ein Paradies auf Erden. Die ehemalige Polizistin Lou Conrad genießt die Schönheit ihrer Heimat, wo sie einen kleinen Feinkostladen führt. Doch dann rührt ein Mordfall die Idylle auf: Auf dem neu eingeweihten Bienen-Wanderweg wird eine junge Frau tot aufgefunden. Handelt es sich etwa um eine Touristin, die tragischerweise zur falschen Zeit am falschen Ort war?

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.

Follow the aroma of shamrock sugar cookies to the Beacon Bakeshop, a lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan where amateur sleuth Lindsey Bakewell is busy preparing for Beacon Harbor's St. Patrick's Day festivities—with a little help from her adorable Newfoundland, Wellington, of course!

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.

TBC

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?

Felicity has always been hesitant in the kitchen herself after many failed attempts, but a takeout meal gone wrong inspires her to craft some handmade fortune cookies. They become so popular that Felicity runs out of generic fortunes and starts making her own personalized predictions. When one customer’s ill-fated fortune results in his murder, Felicity’s suspiciously specific fortune has the police focusing on her as the main culprit. Now she must find a way to turn her luck around and get cleared from suspicion.

What’s more satisfying than waffles and maple syrup? Murder...For ex-spy Charlotte Mission, life in the cozy town of Gossip, Texas, is anything but boring. With a retired spy grandmother for company, an inn to clean, kittens around every corner, and guests to keep happy, she’s living a perfectly normal life. But Charlotte has a secret. She’s Gossip’s first and only "fixer". With her particular set of skills and a secret armory at her disposal, Charlie’s the person folks around town come to when they’re in deep, seemingly irreversible trouble.

Mord? Aber bitte mit Sahne! Isabella hat genug von der Großstadt! Da erfährt sie, dass das alte Café ihrer verstorbenen Großmutter im Schwarzwald zum Verkauf steht. Ein Wink des Schicksals! Isabellas neuer Lebensplan: Omas legendäre Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte wieder unter die Leute bringen. Doch wie sich herausstellt, starb einst eine Frau nach dem Genuss ebendieser Kirschtorte - vergiftet! War Oma eine Giftmischerin? Isabella muss das Rätsel um die tödliche Torte lösen, wenn ihr Neustart im ländlichen Zapfbach gelingen soll.

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.

Ruby Steele, 30, beautiful, fit, seems just like any other ex-pat hiding out in the Bahamas and playing local bartender. But unruly patrons find out the hard way: Ruby is a mixed-martial-arts pro, and not one you’d want to cross. A 40-something female tourist seeks out Ruby, desperate for her help. She was out partying all night with her friend, both of them drinking way too much and doing things they don’t want their husbands to know about. The problem is, as of 12 hours ago, her friend is missing.

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.

When Amy Ridley decided to compete in the Kellerton Summer Festival Pie Contest, the last thing she expected was to find the reigning pie queen, Mandy Jo, dead - a raspberry pie smashed on her face! Mandy Jo made fantastic pies, but she accumulated more enemies than baking trophies. But when Amy receives a note threatening her own life, she decides to do some investigating herself.

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.

Father Felix, head master and parish priest at St. Polycarp Church and School is on his way to Palermo, Sicily, with a wild bunch of teenage girls from St. Hilda's school. He is sharing chaperone duties with Amelia Johnston and Julia Hopwood, both teachers at St. Polycarp and incorrigible amateur detectives, or snoopy busybodies in father Felix's mind, who credit themselves with solving the recent murder of Ms. Pinkerton at St. Polycarp School. Ms. Johnston and Ms. Hopwood think their trip is just an exciting week away during the long summer break.

It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air-balloon rally. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out. As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.

1920s, Pasadena, California: People are dropping dead after communion services at Daisy's church; Detective Sam Rotondo has finally professed his love for Daisy; and Daisy sees swaying trees in her crystal ball, a prop in which she doesn't place any faith. But when the crystal ball's image leads Daisy to her client's missing butler, and then a bunch of bootleggers, Daisy unknowingly bumps into the man responsible for the parishioners' deaths. She doesn't recognize him, but he recognizes her and that lands Daisy at the top of his to-be-murdered list.