Culinary Mystery

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.

Der erste Fall für Emma Ferrari! Aromatische Öle, feinste Weine, bunte Pasta und cremiger Mozzarella: Der kleine Feinkostladen Alimentari del Sole ist ein sinnliches Fleckchen Italien im gemütlichen Himmelsricht an der Donau. Hier schaltet und waltet die Italienerin Emma Ferrari, die ihr Lädchen heiß und innig liebt. Bald wird sie sich ihren Traum erfüllen und das blaue Haus, in dem sie ihr Geschäft hat, endlich kaufen. Doch dann macht ihr Vermieter Roland Seelig einen Rückzieher: Emma soll ihr Kaufangebot verdoppeln, sonst ist das Alimentari Geschichte und ihr Traum zerplatzt.

The country's hottest TV cooking show is coming to Cape Cod. Lily Roberts is entering America Bakes! with her charming tearoom, Tea by the Sea! Filming is already proving disruptive, closing the tearoom during Lily's busiest season. But tensions really bubble over when infamous bad-boy chef and celebrity judge, Tommy Greene, loses his temper with Lily's staff, resulting in an on-camera blowout with Cheryl Wainwright. Just as Lily thinks the competition can't get more bitter, Tommy is found dead in Tea by the Sea's kitchen . . . murdered with Cheryl's rolling pin.

In the frigid aftermath of a Boxing Day tragedy, ageing DCI Charles Cook faces a sinister conundrum—the lifeless body of eight-year-old Harry Dickens is found lying in a quiet country road, while his Aunt Janice, fourth in line to inherit the family business, is reported missing. The crimes become the catalyst for an investigation poised to shatter the rural Lincolnshire community.

Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell doesn't know what to believe when Lydia Partridge, the put-together owner of gourmet Bar Harbor Ice Cream, suddenly reveals fears that her husband may be having an affair. There's no other way to explain why Jamie, a respected professor, was spotted in a remote part of town with a much younger woman. But instead of learning the truth about the secret meeting, Lydia opens her freezer truck to find another surprise—the dead body of a summer employee . . .

Bronwyn Crewse is delighted that Crewse Creamery, the ice cream shop her family has owned for decades, is restored to its former glory and serving sweet frozen treats to happy customers in the picturesque small town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. But when a big city developer comes to town intent on building a mall, a killer with a frozen heart takes him out. After literally stumbling across the body, one of Win's closest friends becomes the prime suspect, and to make things worse, Win's aunt has come to town with the intention of taking command of Crewse Creamery.

When Albert realises he’s stumbled across something much bigger than a random mugging, he decides, for once, to leave the crime-solving to the locals. Fate, however, laughs at his plans, thrusting him and faithful canine companion, Rex Harrison, into the thick of things just as the first body is found. Is the coveted prize for the best Yorkshire pudding driving the competitors to the most extreme lengths? One thing is for sure - one body always leads to another.

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.

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.

Shiloh Bellamy has saved her family's farm from financial ruin - but now what? She's barely scraping by on the farm's new organic business model, and the fall festival she organized to drum up business comes to a screeching halt when the body of a prominent townswoman is discovered underneath a scarecrow in a nearby field. Worst of all, the evidence points to Shiloh's childhood best friend, Kristy, as the prime suspect.

Everyone adores Miss May, except the guilty. In a small town where neighbors know each other, lawn chairs come out in the spring; if you sit around chatting long enough, someone brings you pie; and there are still skeletons in every closet. Luckily for Pine Grove, Miss May has a nose for crime. The body was found face-down in the orchard.

It really is murder on the dance floor.... A new dance school opens in Whitstable run by celebrity tango champions – Tony and Tanya Ballard. Pearl Nolan knows herself to be an ace cook and a sharp private eye but has always left the dancing to her mother, Dolly, a former member of the town's infamous Fish Slappers dance troupe. But Pearl becomes intrigued by the Ballards when they visit The Whitstable Pearl restaurant, and she realises that dance classes could provide the perfect cover for her clandestine relationship with DCI Mike McGuire....

The faculty of Willow Creek High School are having a get-together after the spring concert with refreshments provided, courtesy of Daisy's Tea Garden. Oolong tea and chocolate biscuits are just what the staff needs to help them unwind from Althea Higgins's demanding curriculum. Her lessons on such controversial subjects as school uniforms and under qualified substitute teachers are earning her an F from her colleagues. But a failing grade was preferable to Althea falling victim to foul play.

As local merchants unite to attract tourists for a much anticipated weekend quilting event, business is sure to spill over into eateries like Daisy's Tea Garden. Reese Masemer had been dating one of Daisy's employees, Tessa, an artist, though their last interaction was as strained as a cup of loose leaf tea. Now Reese has been found dead near a covered bridge where Tessa's been practicing her sketches.

As the food and cocktails columnist for the Island Times, it's Hayley Powell's job to stay on top of the latest eateries in town. Just in time for the summer tourist season, Chef Romeo, a successful restaurateur from New York City, has opened an establishment called - naturally - Romeo's. But between his over-the-top temperament and his no-holds-barred diet, Chef Romeo may not live through the grand opening.

Imogen thought escaping the king's wrath would give her everything she wanted. But her relationship with Prince Hank is tougher than an overcooked flan, and the welcome they get on Badlands Island is far less than friendly. Accused of kidnapping, Imogen proposes they prove their worth by traveling through a deadly forest to retrieve a magical herb at the top of a mountain. Forced to take her baking skills on the road, Imogen and her friends must navigate monsters, secrets, and a possible traitor.

Prudence Bulstrode has fond memories of St Marianne's School for Girls, the beautiful Cornish school where she boarded as a girl. So when she's invited back to the school, to lead an Easter holidays course in the fundamentals of cookery, Prudence couldn't be more delighted. What's more, it's a chance to show her grand-daughter Suki the way school used to be in the good old days. But no sooner has Prudence arrived at St Marianne's, a gruesome discovery is made. The builders excavating the old hockey pitch to construct the new dormitories have unearthed human bones.

Emily Cherry may be retired, but she’s not about to roll over and die! Defying the doubts of her three adult children this plucky computer-shy grandma embarks on a unique path by launching her very own food blog. The only problem is that during her inaugural restaurant review, she stumbles upon a lifeless body.

Summer has come to Elkview, Alaska, bringing 20 hours of sunlight every day, not to mention a surge of tourists and seasonal workers. Chef Charlie Cooke is eager for a busy yet relaxing season, but when a young man working a summer job at the local fish processing plant dies moments after walking into the Bear Claw Diner, she is quickly swept into the investigation. Soon, through her best friend Annie Jensen, Charlie learns that another student worker at J and M Processing has disappeared, leaving more questions and fewer answers.

Zora Wick is at the end of her tether. After a lifetime of bad luck, it seems she’s ended up at rock bottom, saddled with debt from her cheating ex, a dead-end job with no prospects, and a studio apartment that’s not even fit for a dog. It all seems a little hopeless until there’s a knock at the door. It turns out Zora has long-lost family on the other side of the country. After uprooting herself, Zora arrives in town to find that not only has she inherited an estranged family, she’s also the sole heir of the town’s local bakery—and apparently she’s a witch.