Culinary Mystery

If there was one piece of advice Olive Crisp always followed, it was that "one should never attempt to solve a crime on an empty stomach..." 1970s. Cambridge, England. A LIZARD, A MONKEY & A MURDER: When a tyrannical businessman is murdered Olive discovers that half the citizens of Cambridge wanted him dead. And finding which one actually killed him is like trying to find a poisonous needle in a murderous haystack. A COSY COMMUNITY: Events take a turn for the bizarre when the victim’s son begs Olive to rescue his kidnapped lizard. Are the two crimes connected? As Olive delves deeper into ...

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson is back with a fun and funny romp in Holiday Hills! Competition is one thing, but murder is another. When Page Turners, a new bookstore in Holiday Hills, opens its doors, it’s not just books flying off the shelves—accusations are too. Constantine Fairbanks, the tech-savvy owner of the shop, claims Bessie, the heart of The Enchanted Bookstore and Cafe, and Holiday Hills itself, is trying to sabotage her competition, his business. With glitchy e-readers and talk of other crazy events, the town is buzzing with gossip. Things heat up when...

June's annual Brown County Bluegrass Festival is always a hit for Robbie's country store and cafe, Pans 'N Pancakes. This year, Robbie is even more excited because she's launching a new bed-and-breakfast above her shop. But the celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he can conduct an encore performance....

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson is back with another hit from Holiday Hills! Good witch Abby's got an ear worm and for good reason. It’s opening day at the Holiday Hills Magical Market, where magical treasures and trinkets are up for grabs, and I’m supposed to be slinging coffee and treats at The Enchanted’s booth. But, as usual, trouble has other plans for me. While wandering through the market, my snark-filled cat familiar stumbled upon Edgar Holloway—Holiday Hills’ crankiest magical—turned to stone at his own booth. Holloway wasn’t exactly beloved, so ...

While Maggie waits for her Witchy Hour, she works at the family diner with her mom, aunt Meme and Lilith, her sister - all witches. Soon Maggie gets entangled with a mysterious handsome stranger, Mick Jasper, and his secret U.S. organization, SKUL. Has she found her calling?

IF YOU LOVE WITCHES AND FAMILIARS, YOU'LL LOVE ESME AJAX AND HER FAMILIAR, HAROLD! Stardust Springs, where even the birds sing in riddles and the cats... well, let's just say they're the gossip queens. Who would've thought I'd end up here taking care of ailing Great Aunt Ezzie? She's older than the town's oldest oak tree, and has just as many stories, though she can’t remember most of them. But alas, here I am, a transplant from my hometown, Holiday Hills, where I lived with magicals and humans. That’s not Stardust Springs, however. Here, we’re all magicals, and aside from a few of us...

City Developer Murdered at Historic Castle Anna's Cafe is flourishing. But the town of Dolphin Bay is in uproar as a city developer proposes new construction on the scenic Coastal Walk. Locals flock to the town meeting to protest. Hours later, the man is dead, stabbed to death in a room full of people. The police face a big challenge since everyone present had a motive to kill. When Anna’s friend and local resort owner Charlie Robinson becomes the top suspect, she reluctantly steps in to help. Can she ignore his sordid reputation and trust he is innocent? New secrets are revealed and ...

Welcome to the Mad Egg Diner, Where the Eggs are Over Easy and the Murder is Hard Boiled Having successfully cracked her first case, single mom and diner owner Melody Bristol finds herself with an insatiable appetite for unmasking killers. It's fortuitous, then, that the picturesque Colorado forests cannot hide yet another victim. Cowboy cop Gabe Mitchell dives into the investigation, but fate has it that he requires Melody's assistance. Although initially irked by her involvement, Gabe soon comes to appreciate Melody's unique insights. As they join forces, the duo uncovers a disgruntled ...

Paris—the city of love, lights … and murder? Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she escorts five couples on an unforgettable Valentine-themed vacation to France! Unfortunately it will be the last trip for one passenger… Lana Hansen’s future is looking bright. She has money in her bank account, a babysitter for her cat, and even a boyfriend. Regrettably she won’t get to celebrate Valentine’s Day with her new beau, Chad. Instead, she will be leading a lovers-only tour in France. Luckily for Lana, her best friend, Willow, and her partner, Jane, will be joining her. Things go downhill ...

Ever since meeting the wary owners of an antique shop opening across the street, Robbie has been scrambling to manage weird incidences plaguing her cafe and country store. Pricey items vanish from shelves without explanation, a fully equipped breakfast food truck starts lingering around the area each morning, and loyal diners mysteriously fall ill. When an elderly man dies after devouring an omelet packed with poisonous mushrooms, Robbie must temporarily close down Pans 'N Pancakes and search for the killer with a real zest for running her out of business - or else.

When a renowned wine critic is poisoned at the annual Riley’s Harbour Wine Festival, Anya, the talented chef at La Cucina, suddenly finds herself embroiled in a chilling mystery. Anya is no stranger to pairing wine with gourmet Italian dishes. But when a notorious critic drops dead in front of her tasting booth, she’s haunted by the dizzying tale of secrets and murder. She’s a chef, not a sleuth, but when the charming detective, Ethan, asks her to use her wine expertise to assist in this chilling case, Anya can’t help but dive in deep. Afterall, murder spoils their idyllic Italian ...

Catching a killer is a piece of cake... Or is it? When Mindy Macbay moves back to her hometown of Santa Verona, she soon finds herself on the receiving end of anonymous threats, and even worse, unpleasant encounters with her high school nemesis and former paramours. "Winters will have you giggling into your book!" Will Mindy unmask the killer before it’s too late? And will her annoying high-school nemesis manage to make Mindy's life sufficiently miserable? Praise for A.R. Winters: "The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - Jaycie D, Amazon.com...

Old Bones, a Mangy Mongrel, and a Fortune Teller What do a mangy mutt, a fortune teller/masseuse, and old bones have in common? More than you think in this next installment of the Old School Diner Series. There's odd goings on in the city of Paint Creek as a dead body is unearthed, incriminating evidence lost for over 100 years is discovered, and to top it all off, Mercy might lose her beloved diner. Find out how all the pieces fall into place.

The plan was to start over here with the picture-perfect Genova’s pastry elite; not to catch the culprit who iced the last chef. When Paolo’s death goes from natural causes to murder, my trip to the beautiful Italian harbour town turns into a case of spine-chilling whodunit. I whip up confections, not conspiracies. But my scruffy clue-sniffing beagle has different plans for us in this sun-kissed town; to remove the stench of murder. Motives linger as the sous chef, Enzo, craves the spotlight, while Luca, the supplier, has a sour taste left behind after a heated argument. Even Giulia, ...

Welcome to Holiday Hills Georgia where the coffee’s hot, and magic is on the menu! Join good witch Abby Odell, her talking Burmese cat familiar, and her quirky cast of friends and foes in the magical town of Holiday Hills, where books, coffee, pastries, and magic are what matters most. Something strange is brewing in Holiday Hills, and it’s not just the potions. Magic is totally out of control. Witches are losing their grip—literally. Bessie accidentally turned a customer into a baby, and several witches have lost their powers altogether. Werewolves have traded their fearsome forms ...

Estes Park bustles with tourists and locals for its Halloween celebration, and Winifred Page and her corgi sidekick, Watson, are enjoying their favorite pastries as they greet trick-or-treaters outside the Cozy Corgi Bookstore and Bakery. But a chilling after-hours break-in at the charming bookshop leaves Fred and Watson shaken, especially with its connection to a recent poaching incident in the national park. By daybreak, on a cool morning walk through town, Fred discovers the body of one of the poachers....

In the charming coastal town of Seabreeze Shores, nothing stirs up trouble quite like a murder at the local ice cream shop. When Tessa Callahan, owner of the popular Sundae Funday ice cream parlor, finds a dead body in her walk-in freezer, her small-town dreams turn into a frozen nightmare. What was once the go-to spot for homemade ice cream, local desserts, and family-friendly fun becomes the center of a chilling murder mystery after a notorious food critic ends up face-first in a tub of rocky road. As her business melts under media scrutiny and police tape, Tessa dives into the ...

A film shoot in Paris… What could possible go wrong? For Ava Sext, an amateur sleuth and transplanted Londoner who sells books from an outdoor stand overlooking the Seine, an early morning knock on her door leads to a job on a film shoot. Her film career gets off to a roaring start with murder on her first day on the job. With the help of her fellow bookseller, Henri DeAth, a former notary in a country where notaries are a powerful caste, Ava investigates the strange goings-on in the production while rekindling a relationship with the film's producer, an old flame who may or may not be ...

Booklover Sadie Coleman knows that in life, as in fiction, the right setting can make a world of difference. The small town of Shady Creek, Vermont, seems like the perfect place to start over after losing her Boston job to a merger and her relationship to her ex's gambling addiction. She's bought and redecorated the old grist mill pub, transforming the Inkwell into a cozy spot where tourists and regulars alike can enjoy a pint or a literary-themed cocktail, or join one of several book clubs.

When family recipes come with a side of danger... Isabella Rossi has spent her life perfecting her craft as an Italian fusion chef, pouring her passion and heritage into her newly opened restaurant, Semolina. But when her lifelong rival, Giuseppe Bellano, collapses at her restaurant’s wine dinner—poisoned, no less—Isabella’s culinary dreams quickly spiral into a nightmare. Accused of murder and faced with a family feud dating back generations, Isabella teams up with her quick-witted best friend, Vee, to uncover the truth. The key lies in an ancient recipe—guarded for centuries—...