Culinary Mystery

Chef Charlie Hunter's arrival in the beautiful Chilterns is the fulfillment of a long-held dream: to open her own restaurant in an idyllic countryside location. The Old Forge sits on the village green (complete with duck pond and flint-faced houses) and seems just the place for the high-quality cooking she wants to be known for. But instead of rural peace and a chance to lick her wounds, Charlie finds something ugly stirring under the chocolate box perfection. When a prominent local builder is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Charlie the outsider becomes a suspect.

Jules Capshaw is still chewing over her husband Carlos’s return to Ashland, Oregon. Could there be too many cooks in the kitchen? Whatever is stirring between those two will have to wait. Despite the Oregon Shakespeare Festival being dark for the winter, the bakeshop is bustling, the dough is rolling, and there’s no rest for the weary...especially when murder is thrown into the mix. When Mindy Nolan, the owner of a new restaurant in town, turns up dead, the batter at hand thickens.

Krissy's helping a friend clean out her late mother's house when she learns that although the deceased died peacefully at an advanced age, her brother did not. In fact, Wade was killed more than 30 years ago, and the case was never closed. What surprises Krissy even more is that she has a personal connection to the story - her friend Rita was seeing Wade at the time, scandalizing the town with the couple's large age difference.

Life is all sugar and spice for the Fairy Tale Cupcake bakers - Melanie Cooper is engaged to the delectable Joe DeLaura, Angie Harper and her husband Tate are savoring married life, and the bakery is bustling with happy customers...until one of their most valued cupcake connoisseurs ends up dead. Local glass artist and cupcake lover Rene Fischer-Klein has always suffered from a wide variety of health issues.

Joshua hires staff for the bustling bookshop café in charming Fair Haven. A reluctant and shy Maggie soon warms up to the new barista Babs and stock boy Casper. When Maggie notices some older boys taunting Casper after work, she helps him escape. But the next day, one of the bullies is found dead in the park with his throat slashed. Can quiet, secretive Casper really be a killer? Maggie butts into policeman Gary’s investigation to find out.

Ground Rules isn't the only newcomer set to open in Portland's grand new Button Building. Fortunately, most of the fellow micro-restaurant owners and patrons are great-with two exceptions. There's Rose, a true-crime podcaster and active TikToker who's pestering Sage for an interview about her estranged con-artist mother; and Bianca, the familiar and perpetually unpleasant owner of Breakfast Bandits. Bianca is abrasive to everyone, so Sage doesn't feel singled out . . . Until Bianca falls dead at the building's grand opening-a to-go cup of Ground Rules coffee in her hand.

A Scrooge steals presents right from under Sophie Winston's family Christmas tree. Then her sister-in-law's father shows up with a diva girlfriend just a month after his separation. More than one person is thinking of committing a merry murder - until it actually happens. With many under suspicion for the deadly deed, can Sophie find the murderer and restore the Christmas spirit before it's too late?

When the chef tipped to win this year’s annual Eton Mess competition falls to his death in mysterious circumstances, Albert races to investigate—surely this is the work of the Gastrothief again.

Winifred Page’s twin brothers-in-law are finally ready to open their invention shop right next to the Cozy Corgi Bookshop and Bakery. But the noise level is keeping customers away from the bookshop and driving Fred and her corgi sidekick, Watson, out of their minds. Adding to her stress, family and friends are gearing up to celebrate Fred’s fortieth birthday—not that she’s overly concerned about her age … Mere hours after entering her new decade of life, resentments reach an explosive level as downtown Estes Park is rocked by a fearsome calamity.

When a British tourist fails to turn up for a luxurious cooking vacation in Bruno's usually idyllic Dordogne village of St. Denis, the worried hostess is quick to call on Bruno for help. Monica Felder is nowhere to be found, and her husband, a retired British major, is unreachable. And not long after Bruno discovers that Monica was traveling with a mysterious Irishman (her lover?), the two turn up dead. The Irishman's background in intelligence and his connection to Monica's husband only raise more questions for Bruno.

With Old Town's DIY Home Decorating Festival in full swing, Sophie's swamped. Still, when her best friend, Nina, suddenly needs a ride from the airport, Sophie is happy to help...until she sees Nina disembarking in a state of disarray. It's obvious the trip to Portugal soured somewhere along the way. But after one of Nina's traveling companions turns up murdered the following day, Sophie knows something is truly rotten. Though the crime scene is staged to look like an accident, Sophie isn't fooled and peels off to conduct her own investigation.

After a long cold winter, spring is beginning to bloom in the alpine village of Leavenworth, Washington, where craft brewer Sloan Krause and her partner in crime Garrett Strong are putting the finishing touches on their bright and refreshing Lemon Kiss ale. They'll be debuting their new line at the Maifest celebration, which will bring visitors from near and far to dance around the Maipole and shop at the outdoor flower markets.

It's winter in the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington, which for local brewmaster Sloan Krause means lots of layers, pine and citrus-flavored craft beers, and getting the new guest rooms at Nitro into pristine condition before visitors flood in for IceFest - a local tradition filled with fireworks, ice carving, and winter games of all varieties. But Sloan and her boss Garrett quickly learn that being brewkeepers turned innkeepers may not be as idyllic as it sounded.

Amateur sleuth Sloan Krause returns in The Pint of No Return, another delightful cozy by Ellie Alexander - this time investigating a movie star who's murdered not long after arriving in Leavenworth, Wash., to film his latest project. No other festival compares to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington. The whole town is buzzing with excitement over this year’s activities and eagerly awaiting Nitro’s latest offering, Cherrywizen, made with locally sourced cherries. But local brewmaster Sloan Krause is tapped out.

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.

Melanie and Angie are taking a gamble by opening their first franchise of the bakery, and where better to hit the jackpot than Vegas? Holly Hartzmark is a former showgirl who's looking to bring Mel and Angie's sweet treats to Sin City, but Mel isn't so sure she's ready to hand her recipes over to a complete stranger - especially one as brash as Holly. But after the potential bakery location gets blown up, Mel begins seeing another side to Holly.

When the owner of their team, the Arizona Scorpions, is found dead on the floor of their new bakery following an argument with Keogh, Keogh and Tyler become prime suspects. As the investigation heats up, Mel and the rest of the cupcake bakery crew must step up and prove their franchise owners are innocent before it's game-over for the new bakers.

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.

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.

What's a kitchen witch to do when her almost-fiance leaves her suddenly single and unemployed? For Mia Malone, the answer's simple: move to her grandmother's quirky Idaho hometown, where magic is an open secret and witches and warlocks are (mostly) welcome. With a new gourmet dinner delivery business - and a touch of magic in her recipes - Mia's hopes are high. But her first catering job takes a distasteful turn when her client's body is found stabbed and stuffed under the head table.