Culinary Fiction

As it turns out quilting is the deadly new fad people are just dying to try...And here I thought the annual quilt auction would be a boring way to spend an evening! One big murder in my tiny hometown was more than I ever wanted to see, but now the death toll has risen to two. Eek! Hey, at least I've got my favorite 10-pound bundle of mischief at my side for good. My Jack Russell buddy, Pip, and I are experienced amateur detectives now and we're more than ready to put another tough case to bed.

With Chicago winters in the rearview mirror, Chloe Jackson is making good on a promise: helping her late friend’s grandmother run the Sea Glass Saloon in the Florida Panhandle. To Chloe’s surprise, feisty Vivi Slidell isn’t the frail retiree Chloe expects - nor is Emerald Cove. It’s less a sleepy fishing village than a panhandle hot spot overrun with land developers and tourists. But it’s a Sea Glass regular who’s mysteriously crossed the cranky Vivi. When their bitter argument comes to a head and he’s found dead behind the bar, guess who’s the number one suspect?

For Julia Snowden, the Founder's Day summer celebration in Busman's Harbor, Maine, means helping her family's clambake company to prepare an authentic taste of New England seafood. Any Mainer will tell you that a real clambake needs wood for the fire...so why is there a foot sticking out of the oven?

A treasure hunter finds a priceless coin on the beach in front of Allison’s bakery at sunrise, and she is stunned at the treasure. But she is more stunned to find him murdered. Allison, left standing at the scene of the crime, dog by her side, treasure in hand, couldn’t have picked a worse place and a worse time. She hardly looks innocent. And if she doesn’t solve this crime soon, things, she realize, are about to get a whole lot worse.

A rude tourist dies after eating his way up and down the boardwalk, and all eyes fall on Allison, as the police blame her new macarons. The macarons have a secret ingredient that is so delicious it has customers lining up and down the boardwalk - but they are not, she knows, the cause of death. Allison, forced to clear her name and salvage her customers, has no choice but to retrace the victim’s foodie trek up and down the boardwalk, and to figure out what he ate - or who he insulted - that could have gotten him killed.

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.

Pastry chef Kate McGuire is loving life on the laid-back island of Coral Cay, Florida. As junior partner in a bakery renowned for luscious desserts - especially her cookies - life is pretty sweet. So when an old friend arrives and announces a spur-of-the-moment beach wedding, that's just the icing on the wedding cake. But the groom vanishes right as a television crew descends on the town to film a hot-new realty show.

Fleeing some unsavory doings in her hometown of Charlotte, Jenna accepts her uncle's gracious invitation to stay with him in small-town Hokes Folly, North Carolina. In exchange, she'll help him out in his antiquarian bookstore. But soon after she arrives, Jenna finds her uncle's body crumpled at the base of the staircase between his apartment and the bookstore. Before the tragedy even sinks in, Jenna learns that she's inherited almost everything her uncle owned...which adds up to more than a million dollars.

It's the beginning of a new school year at Normalton University, and Dani Sloan has purchased a table for the big orientation extravaganza on the quad, determined to recruit the incoming freshmen as customers for her innovative packed-lunch business. Her food samples are a hit, but the good always seems to come with a dose of bad, and just a few days later, a man is murdered during the annual college-sponsored zombie crawl.

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.

Charlotte McKay is new to Sweetwater Falls, but that doesn’t mean she's about to look the other way when everyone’s least favorite miser goes missing. Following her dream of selling her cupcakes at a bakery is put on hold as she follows a trail of clues, each stranger than the last. Nearly every person in Sweetwater Falls has a grudge against Amos, who was known more for his penny-pinching than his benevolence.

Afternoon tea isn't just about flavorful brews and delicious treats. It's also about presentation—fine china teacups (never mugs!), with carefully coordinated saucers and plates. With her fragile stock running low, Lily has an excuse to indulge in one of her favorite hobbies: visiting an antiques fair for replacements. Lily snaps up a charming Peter Rabbit-themed tea set in a wicker basket, perfect for children's events. But a few days later, a woman named Kimberly marches into the tearoom, rudely demanding to buy it back—then later returns and removes an envelope hidden in the lining.

Poppy McAllister is happy about opening a Jersey Shore B&B - but working in a professional kitchen has always been her real dream. Now it's coming true, at least briefly, as she teams up during the high-profile Restaurant Week challenge. Poppy's specialty is pastries, and if anyone can make glorious gluten-free goodies, it's Poppy. Things get heated quickly. Relatively harmless pranks soon escalate into real hazards, including an exploding deep fryer. And now one of the judges has died after taking a bite of Poppy's cannoli - making her the chef suspect.

Early October is "winding down" time in Busman's Harbor, Maine, but there's nothing relaxing about it for Julia Snowden. Between busloads of weekend leaf peepers at the Snowden Family Clambake and a gut renovation of the old mansion on Morrow Island, she's keeping it all together with a potentially volatile skeleton crew - until one of them turns up dead under the firewood. When the Russian demo team clearing out the mansion discovers a room that's been sealed off, Julia's baffled as to its purpose and it's secrets. When one of the workers is found murdered, things come to a boil.

Emma Laurent has always preferred helping others to asking for help. But now, she’s the one in need. Her stepmother is selling her late father’s candy shop, her grandmother’s assisted-living facility has become a financial burden, and the anniversary of her fiancé’s death is quickly approaching. Rather than face her problems, Emma does what she does best - finds someone else to help by offering a mother and son with nowhere to go somewhere to stay.

Baking. It can get a guy killed. When retired cop Albert arrives in Stilton for a festival, he has cheese on his mind, but that’s not what he gets. Arriving the morning after the factory and warehouse have been raided, all the stilton is gone, and the security guard Dave, who bravely fought to stop the thieves, needs someone’s help to save the day. With sidekick Rex Harrison, the failed police dog, at his side, our aging but sprightly hero will put his ear to the ground and his mind to work as he unravels the clues to this mystery.

Story Tree Cozy Mysteries box set includes the first three books in the series: Books, Brownies and Murder, Books, Scones and Murder, and Books, Canapés and Murder. Follow Clary as chases criminals, canapés, and crafty liars.

Allison Sweet, 34, a sous chef in Los Angeles, has had it up to here with demeaning customers, her demanding boss, and her failed love life. After a shocking incident, she realizes the time has come to start life fresh and follow her lifelong dream of moving to a small town and opening a bakery of her own.

Just six weeks after the grand opening of Lickety Splits Ice Cream Shoppe, owner Kate McKay has been enlisted to whip up sundaes at the most decadent soiree in the Hudson Valley. If only Kate knew how deadly sticky her sweet deal will turn out. Once Kate arrives at a glamorous gala hosted by world-famous fashion designer Omar DeVane, she's instantly intimidated by the mogul's luxurious mansion and the frosty personalities of his handlers. But the party completely loses its flavor when guests follow screams to a room that's eerily empty - except for Omar's freshly murdered body....

I'm over men. I'm done with them. Or at least the ones that work in my kitchen. Fine, one man in particular. Wyatt Shaw is cocky and condescending and so far out of his element that he doesn't know which way is up. Or how to run his brand new kitchen all by himself. That's where I come in. Sous chef extraordinaire. Second in command. Bane of his existence. I am the reason Wyatt's doing so well as the new executive chef of one of our city's most prestigious restaurants. He has me to thank for his glowing accolades and five-star write-ups. Only if you were to ask him, he'd say I'm his biggest problem.