Suspense Food Mystery

Hayley Powell, food and cocktails columnist for Bar Harbor's Island Times, is...well, kind of broke. So when she's selected for that extreme coupon-clipping reality game show coming to town...she's thrilled, especially when her competition is nasty nurse Candace Culpepper. But when Haley stumbles across a face-down-in-the-snow Candace - scissors gleaming between her shoulders - she knows the next thing she'll be selected for will probably be a police line-up.

Liddy Crawford, best friend of food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell, is getting married. The wedding is the talk of the town in Bar Harbor, Maine, including snide gossip about the age gap between the bride and her groom, local lawyer Sonny Lipton. But the cruelty of the comments is nothing compared to the nasty wedding-cake baker, Liddy's quarrelsome cousin Lisa. So when the belligerent baker is found facedown in a three-tier cake, the victim of a poisoned slice, there are more suspects in town than names on the guest list.

Enjoy the holiday season with three festive mysteries set in coastal Maine. This anthology includes "Yule Log Murder" by Leslie Meier, "Death by Yule Log" by Lee Hollis, and "Logged On" by Barbara Ross.

"Eggnog Murder": When a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinker's Cove local, all Lucy Stone wants for Christmas is to find the murdering mixologist who's stirring up trouble. "Death By Eggnog": Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell has never cared much for Bar Harbor's grouchy town librarian, Agatha Farnsworth. But after the Scroogy senior has a fatal - and suspicious - allergic reaction to supposedly non-dairy eggnog, it's up to Hayley to ladle out some justice.

Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell usually reserves judgement for local cuisine, not the people who serve it. But staying neutral isn't so easy when caught between the biggest seafood rivals in town—her BFF Mona Barnes and the successful Leighton clan. Adding to a bitter decades-old surf-turf war between family businesses, a modern Romeo and Juliet story unfolds as Mona's son gets engaged to the daughter of her sworn enemy.

Troubadour Turf Wars Escalate To Murder Summer in Pelican Cove brings a horde of tourists along with a couple of traveling musicians. The rivalry between the troubadours turns deadly when one of them is found strangled to death. When Jenny King puts on her sleuthing cap against the local sheriff's wishes, she is determined to prove that the police have the wrong man. She must dig deeper into the victim’s past to search for a motive and identify possible suspects to solve the mystery. Pelican Cove is electing a new mayor after fifty years and the overzealous candidates have opposite ...

Murder Suspected In Homecoming Queen's Fatal Accident Isabella Worthington, a teen millionaire heiress, is a popular figure in Pelican Cove. Her sudden death shocks the town and plunges Jenny and the Magnolias in grief. The open-and-shut case turns into a murder investigation when a witness comes forward and asks Jenny to investigate foul play. Determined to seek justice for her newest friend, Jenny sets on a mission to find out why someone would want to kill the generous and much loved girl. As secrets tumble out of the shadows, Jenny realizes that the victim was surrounded by sinners. Who...

On the eve of her high school reunion, Hayley Powell dreads seeing the trio of mean girls who used to torment her: Sabrina Merryweather, Nykki Temple, and former prom queen Ivy Foster. These days Ivy wears a different crown as the cupcake queen - and flaunting her success is just the icing on the cake.

A summer cruise. Horseplay and hijinks. And DEATH on the high seas! Starry eyed intern Meg Butler has embarked on her dream job, only to be thwarted at the first step. No, she didn't mean to poison the guests at the Sail Away party. Her boss thinks otherwise and is ready to send her back home. When a healthy young man is found dead in his cabin, Meg thinks its murder! But who will believe her? Flanked by a motley group of interns and crew members, Meg stumbles her way across Alaska, separating the clues from the red herrings, determined to find the guilty passenger. Meanwhile, things are ...

The temperature may be cooling down, but things in Sunny Shores are heating up. Business is booming for the Burger She Wrote food truck, but the summer season is winding down. After aiding in solving the mystery surrounding two murders already, she hoped things would get back to normal. No such luck. When a friend of Kara's is poisoned at a town fundraiser, it becomes personal. As Kara uncovers clues surrounding the case, a dark past is discovered. Blueberry Pie White Lie is book three in the Sunny Shores mystery series that is set in the fictional town of Sunny Shores, Florida. Each book ...

Whiskers, Witchcraft, and Whodunit: Join BMC on a Psychic Purr-suit to Unravel a Tail of Mystery! When BMC, a psychic talking Maine Coon cat, loses his beloved human, Gertrude, he vows to protect her daughter, Amelda. But when Amelda mysteriously disappears after a fight with her villainous boyfriend, BMC's life is thrown into chaos. Trapped in a small town with only a quirky pug named Bugsy to count on, BMC must use his newfound light-witch abilities to navigate a web of lies and danger. As BMC and Bugsy team up to unravel the truth, they encounter meddling ghosts, psychic frauds, and ...

Jackpot Winner Dead on Cruise Ship The Grand Voyager is in Europe and Meg Butler and friends are making the most of it. Meg is looking forward to visiting Monte Carlo and trying her luck at the casino. She learns of a secret pact made by a group of passengers who pool their money and agree to split the winnings. None of them win but back on the ship, the rumor mill is in full swing. Apparently, someone has won the jackpot and speculation is high around which passenger won and how much. The frenzy around the jackpot reaches a crescendo when a passenger is found dead in his cabin. Meg has no ...

Man Found Dead On Park Bench The Butler women are thriving. Anna's Cafe is a big success and her friendship with ex police chief Gino Mancini is progressing slowly but steadily. Now she wants to focus on finding her husband John's killer. When a man is found dead in the botanical garden, Anna feels obliged to help Gino investigate. The police suspect the old man's son, a hostile young man with a clear motive. For the first time, Anna is inclined to agree with them. As details of the crime emerge, Anna realizes the dead man was hated by many. False alibis, feuding neighbors and estranged ...

Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny's beloved 25-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it's struggling. That's why they're trying to drum up business with the "First Annual Christmas at the Orchard", a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike - until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny's long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press.

It may be Christmastime, but thoughts of peace on earth, goodwill toward men don’t seem to extend to the restaurant biz. Hayley has been assigned to interview Edel Waugh, chef/owner of Key West’s hottest new restaurant. But off the record, Edel reveals someone’s sabotaging her kitchen and asks Hayley to investigate.

Amateur sleuth Isabelle "Izzy" James proudly serves her famous boozy pies at the hundredth birthday party of Sunshine Springs' oldest citizen. But the celebration ends with a bang when the guest of honor himself is shot dead. At first, everyone thinks it's obvious who killed him. But what if everyone is wrong? Izzy has a hunch that there's more to this murder than meets the eye, and she's determined to get to the bottom of things. With her trusty Dalmatian Sprinkles at her side, she chases down clues.

Hoping for some good publicity, Hayley’s boss at Key Zest magazine signs her up to help judge the Key West Topped Chef contest. Stakes are high as the winner could be the next cooking-show superstar. Hayley shows up for the filming nervous but excited, until she sees who’s on the judging panel with her: Sam Rizzoli, big shot businessman—and owner of the restaurant she just panned in her first negative review. When Rizzoli turns up dead, the police assume his killer is one of his business rivals.

Newcomers to Tinker's Cove, Ty and Heather Moon have moved into a dilapidated house reputed to be a haven for ghosts. Now strange noises and flickering lights erupt from the house at all hours and neighborly relations are on edge. And when a local boy goes missing near the house, it's up to Lucy Stone to unravel the mystery of the eccentric couple and their increasingly frightful behavior.

Skeleton Discovered In Beach House Garden When an unexpected guest turns up at Jenny King's housewarming party, the turbulent history of Seaview is finally revealed. As more and more truths about the house surface, everyone except Jenny believes her house is jinxed. Jenny’s ownership of Seaview is questioned when the prodigal heir comes knocking. Jenny is a suspect in murder! Meanwhile, the town of Pelican Cove comes together to save the ailing library. Jenny’s friends are embroiled in unexpected rivalry. As death past and present rears its head, will Jenny be able to overcome the chaos...

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 . . .