Culinary Fiction

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.

Daisy's worried one of her employees at Daisy's Tea Garden may be in a spot of trouble. Lately Karina's been loading up on soup and second-day baked goods at the end of her shift - and while the shop's scrumptious treats may be hard to resist, Daisy suspects there's more going on, especially since Karina has been seen hanging out in a rundown part of Willow Creek. Planning her own daughter's wedding is enough to keep her busy, but Daisy can't help feeling a protective maternal instinct - and an instinct to investigate.

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.

Antonia Bingham, a renowned chef and the new owner of East Hampton's Windmill Inn, escaped to the Hamptons to get away from a harrowing past. Yet she finds herself in more danger than ever when she learns about a curse that haunts the inn - all previous owners have died suspiciously. When she's not cooking sumptuous meals for her guests, Antonia digs into the investigation to uncover who's behind the curse. But the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to being the next victim - will she solve the case in time to save herself?

Lush and visual, chock-full of delicious recipes, Roselle Lim’s magical debut novel is about food, heritage, and finding family in the most unexpected places.

Love is in the air at FairyTale Cupcakes as Angie prepares for her wedding, but, at the same time, her co-owner, Mel, is about to help with a breakup. Mel's old friend Diane has decided to dump her fiancé after discovering he's only marrying her for her money. She wants Mel to personally deliver a batch of caramel breakup cupcakes to the louse and give her a play-by-play of his reaction. But when Mel finally tracks the man down, the look on his face isn't what she expected: he's dead.

Summer has ushered in a new season in the charming hamlet of Ashland, Oregon. Torte is bustling with tourists taking in star-drenched shows at the Elizabethan, setting out to hike in the surrounding Siskiyou Mountains, and sampling the bakeshop's summer lineup of raspberry lemon tarts and mint mojito cold brews. Jules and the team are buzzing with excitement when they learn that Andy, Torte's head barista, has been selected to compete in the West Coast Barista Cup.

With the August heat strong enough to melt solid chocolate into syrup, Jake and Ellie crave a break from the bakery ovens, despite tourist season promising a sweet payday. But they never envisioned spending the last weeks of summer drifting around Passamaquoddy Bay searching for pirate’s treasure—and a dead body. Sally Coates believes her husband was murdered off the coast, and begs Ellie, a trusted childhood friend, to locate his remains. It’s unusual that a skilled fisherman would vanish along with the gold doubloon he inherited from his grandfather.

Sammy is eager to get a homeless shelter established in Sunny Cove, and now that she has the money to do it she knows she can make it a reality. The first step is finding a place to have the shelter, and she thinks she’s found it in the form of a run-down Victorian. Unfortunately, everyone in town seems to believe the house is haunted. Sammy believes in God, not ghosts, but she has to admit that activity at the house just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Sammy’s got to get to the bottom of this if she’s ever going to make this shelter a reality.

The Shakespearean hamlet is bursting with fresh spring energy. Fragrant lilacs and the sweet aroma of vanilla cake fill the air as everyone in town gathers at Lithia Park for the celebration of the year—Thomas and Kerry’s wedding. It’s a picture perfect day. Guests gather on picnic blankets in front of the bandshell to watch Kerry walk down the aisle and wed Ashland’s favorite detective in training, Thomas.

Hedgewitch Katie Lightfoot is juggling wedding preparations, a visit from her father, and home renovations on top of her long hours at the Honeybee Bakery, where she and her aunt Lucy imbue their yummy cookies and pastries with beneficial magic. But when firefighter Randy Post is accused of murdering a collector of rarities, and his prints are on the statue that was used to kill the man, Katie steps in.

Katie will be marrying firefighter Declan McCarthy in less than a week, and she's still finding time to run the Honeybee Bakery, where she infuses sweets and treats with special spells and cheerful charms. But her hope of getting hitched without a hitch is short-lived. When Declan's family shows up early to enjoy a few extra days in Savannah, his youngest sister finds an unsavory surprise: her ex-husband, dead in a hotel room hours after they argued.

For Evie St. Claire, life in Honeysuckle Springs isn't anything like she'd imagined. Sure, the old house is charming, and the smalltown lakeside community is picture perfect. But her kitty roommate Birdie is unpredictable, snarky, and demanding. When a ransom note shows up at Evie's backdoor, she must come clean about her aunt's stolen ashes. She'll also need to decide if she's willing to meet the ransom demands and give up her aunt's spell book, or if she'll search for the culprit herself.

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.

"Verärgere niemals den Koch. Er könnte dir dein letztes Gericht servieren!" Sechs Gourmets, drei Gänge, ein Toter. So ruhig hatte sich der Lehrer Klaus Busch seinen Ruhestand nicht vorgestellt: Nach einem gemeinsamen Essen im Kreise befreundeter Feinschmecker bricht er tot vor seiner Haustür zusammen. Schnell ist klar, dass er vergiftet wurde. Hauptkommissar Tischler ermittelt. Die Herausforderung könnte nicht größer sein. Denn unter den sechs Personen befinden sich zwei Herren, die der Kommissar nur allzu gut kennt, Polizeioberrat Schwenk und der Bürgermeister von Brunngries.

A Christmas charity contest leads to murder! Amateur baker Poppy Wilkinson agrees to be a celebrity contestant in a charity gingerbread house competition in Bath, England. She can support a good cause while promoting the long running TV reality show in which she’s a contestant — The Great British Baking Contest. However, beneath the gingerbread walls and behind the lollipop trees swirl bad feelings, jealousy, and murder. Good thing Poppy is also a witch and a talented amateur sleuth.

The island fishing village of Eastport has plenty of salty local character. It also has a sweet side, thanks to Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree, her best friend Ellie, and their waterfront bake shop. This summer, Eastport's favorite lovebirds, kindergarten teacher Sharon Sweetwater and Coast Guard Captain Andy Devine‚ are getting married. The gala reception is sure to be the fête of the season, especially with a wedding-cake-sized whoopie pie. But the celebratory air, and sweet smell of success‚ are ruined by foul murder.

Shiloh Bellamy cashed in her big-city job and 401K to return home to Michigan to save the family farm, but turning Bellamy Farms into a sustainable, organic operation is no small feat. And that’s especially the case once her new investor is found dead at the farmers’ market not long after signing the contract, a contract the whole town knows her father was wholeheartedly against. Now Shiloh must clear her family's name and track down the real killer before her farm dreams wilt before her very eyes.

Natalie Morgen made a name for herself with a memoir about overcoming her harsh childhood after finding a new life in Paris. After falling in love with a classically trained chef, they moved together to his ancestral home, a tiny fishing village off the coast of Brittany. But then Francois-Xavier breaks things off with her without warning, leaving her flat broke and in the middle of renovating the guesthouse they planned to open for business.

Olivia Glass turns her back on her life as a high-powered executive in Chicago and relocates to Tuscany, determined to start a new, simpler life - and to start her own vineyard. Olivia is thrilled to take her first trip to Florence, and that her love life is heating up. She is even more ecstatic when her small vineyard produces its first bottle of wine. Yet when a famous wine critic trashes her wine - and then ends up dead - Olivia finds herself in the crosshairs of a murder that she is pinned on - and one that she must urgently solve herself.