n the final story in the long running Whales and Tails series, a couple is wed, a baby is born, a prophecy is fulfilled, and Cait and Cody help Finn investigate the disappearance of three men during the storm of the century. (Amazon)
Review:
The characters are well rounded. Cait and her family and friends are really close and there is nothing that they would not do for each other. They will have to try and figure out what happened to three fishermen who are missing. Cait and Cody help Finn with his investigation while he is trying to take care of his wife and children.
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and it pulled me into the story from the very beginning. The writing style flows smoothly and the bllk is an easy read. I really enjoyed following the clues and trying to figure out what happened to the men as Cait and Cody did.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. This is the last book in the series and the author did a good job wrapping up loose ends and letting us know what happens to Cait and Cody and their families. This was a great series to read.
BOOK FIVE in the bestselling BARKS & BEANS CAFE cozy mystery series!!
Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit.
Convinced that the elderly lady in her care didn’t die of natural causes, Macy’s friend Della determines to look into the broken relationships surrounding the woman. She books a Halloween-themed getaway at a local inn and talks Macy into coming along with her to spy on her prime suspect.
As they join a ghost tour of the candlelit town, Macy and Della feel their guide is a little too fanatical as he shares his spooky tales. He tells the story of the Greenbrier ghost, a newlywed who supposedly came back from the grave to tell her family that her husband murdered her.
When a disturbing apparition makes its presence known, guests at the inn become apprehensive…and for good reason, because soon after, a young bride turns up dead. Although everything points to a copycat killer replicating the historical Greenbrier murder, Macy has her doubts. She’s discovered that the inn harbors secrets of its own, and when she pokes into one darkened corner too many, she might not stand a ghost of a chance.
Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown…with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.
The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series in order: Book 1: No Filter Book 2: Iced Over Book 3: Fair Trade Book 4: Spilled Milk Book 5: Trouble Brewing Book 6: Cold Drip (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback
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There is nothing like finding a dead body, clad only in a red satin thong, on your property to jolt you from a quiet routine. Jules Keene, owner of the posh Fern Valley Camping Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is thrust into the world of the Dark Web when one of her guests, Ira Perkins, is found murdered in the woods near her vintage trailers. Jules quickly discovers that the man who claimed to be on a writing retreat was not what he seemed, and someone will go to any length to find what he left at her resort. Jules, along with her Jack Russell Terrier sidekick Bijou, has to put the rest of the missing pieces of a blackmailing scheme together before her business is ruined.
Jules’s resort, set in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville in the quaint town of Fern Valley, offers guests a unique vacation in refurbished and upcycled vintage trailers. Hoping to expand her offerings, she partners with her maintenance/security guy to create a village of tiny houses, the latest home DIY craze, but a second murder of a reporter interrupts Jules’s expansion plans. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she steps up her sleuthing to find out what Ira Perkins was really up to and what he was really hiding at her resort. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle
Halloween is right around the corner when Lady Elsmere throws an elaborate Civil War costume ball. Wearing a nineteenth-century ball gown, Josiah ventures into the party’s corn maze to find her dog, Baby, and take him home, only to find Baby standing over a fallen scarecrow. But is it really a scarecrow?
Josiah doesn’t have time to find out because someone dressed as the Grim Reaper bolts out of the shadows, swinging a scythe and heading straight for her.
Our heroine picks up her skirts and flees, yelling, “Murder! Murder in the corn maze!” (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle
Deck the halls…with a personal chef, a snowed-in lodge, and a sprinkling of murder!
“Watch the knives!”
While acting as personal chef for a friend’s mountain retreat, Violet and her husband, Jake, must set aside their stress over infertility and create a magical and delicious holiday – until tragedy crashes the party.
Being snowed in and unreachable from town, Violet and Jake end up hired for a different kind of job – finding out which of the guests committed murder and why they’re trying to frame their hostess.
Violet must find a balance between following her gut and keeping it all under control until the police can reach them, while still managing the kitchen. But can she sniff out the killer before anyone else bites the big one?
A Caterer’s Guide to Holidays and Homicide will give you a culinary holiday you won’t forget! (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback
When Rose and the gang head to Graceland right before Christmas, they get all shook up: the motel is a seedy dump and an Elvis impersonator turns up dead. Rose discovers missing jewels tie into the death and her suspicious mind flips into overdrive, questioning her fellow guests, the staff, and even a cute impersonator who keeps popping up. Will Rose be able to find the murderer and get home by Christmas day? It’s now or never.
This novella was previously published in 2013 as part of an anthology. It has a new cover and has been lightly edited from the original.
Books in the Rose Strickland Humorous Mystery Series:
DINERS, DIVES & DEAD ENDS (#1)
LAST DINER STANDING (#2)
DINER IMPOSSIBLE (#3)
DINERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS (Novella, #4)
DINER KNOCK OUT (#5) (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle
A riveting work of dark suspense from acclaimed author Clea Simon
Gal, a middle-aged musician, is back in Boston to play a memorial for her late drummer/best friend, when she finds herself freezing on stage at the sight of a face in the crowd. The next day, she learns that the man she saw has been killed – beaten to death behind the venue – and her friend’s widower is being charged in connection with his death. When the friend refuses to defend himself, Gal wonders why and, as the memories of begin to flood back, she starts her own informal investigation. As she does so, she must reexamine her own wild life, her perception of the past, and an industry that monetizes dysfunction in a dark tale of love, music, and murder. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover
Spencer Quinn’s It’s a Wonderful Woof presents a holiday adventure for Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in crime fiction” (Boston Globe), and his human partner, PI Bernie Little.
Holiday time in the Valley, and in the holiday spirit—despite the dismal shape of the finances at the Little Detective Agency—Bernie refers a potential client to Victor Klovsky, a fellow private eye. It’s also true that the case—promising lots of online research but little action—doesn’t appeal to Bernie, while it seems perfect for Victor, who is not cut out for rough stuff. But Victor disappears in a rough-stuff way, and when he doesn’t show up at his mom’s to light the Hanukkah candles, she hires Chet and Bernie to find him.
They soon discover that Victor’s client has also vanished. The trail leads to the ruins of a mission called Nuestra Señora de los Saguaros, dating back to the earliest Spanish explorers. Some very dangerous people are interested in the old mission. Does some dusty archive hold the secret of a previously unknown art treasure, possibly buried for centuries? What does the Flight into Egypt—when Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus fled Herod—have to do with saguaros, the Sonoran desert cactus?
No one is better than Chet at nosing out buried secrets, but before he can, he and Bernie are forced to take flight themselves, chased through a Christmas Eve blizzard by a murderous foe who loves art all too much.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
Simon Mountjoy is the local boy made good. Returning to Coombesford after making his fortune in London, he spends thirteen years renovating his family home. He brings employment and prosperity to the village; but he also has a talent for upsetting people. Lots of people have reason to hate Simon; but who hates him enough to leave him dead at the bottom of the waterfall?
Charlie Jones gives up chasing villains and moves her family to Coombesford in Devon. But there are villains in Devon too!(Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle
The Amazon Charts bestselling author of Unspeakable Things and Bloodline explores the darkness at the heart of the rural Midwest in a novel inspired by a chilling true crime.
In the summer of ’84, fourteen-year-old Frankie Jubilee is shuttled off to Litani, Minnesota, to live with her estranged mother, a county prosecutor she barely knows. From the start, Frankie senses something uneasy going on in the small town. The locals whisper about The Game, and her mother warns her to stay out of the woods and away from adults.
When a bullying gang of girls invites Frankie to The Game, she accepts, determined to find out what’s really going on in Litani. She’s not the only one becoming paranoid. Hysteria burns through the community. Dark secrets emerge. And Frankie fears that, even in the bright light of day, she might be living among monsters. {Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
When a man disappears, the police conclude he is simply fleeing an unhappy home and a mountain of debt. Then a body is discovered. Inspector Green’s daughter, a rookie patrol officer, fears that her actions precipitated the murder and starts to dig for answers. Her search leads her straight into the path of danger. And another body. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback
The cast of Donna Andrews’ New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series is back for an unforgettable holiday story in The Twelve Jays of Christmas.
Meg and Michael’s annual holiday celebration is well underway, with a throng of out-of-town relatives staying at their house. Hosting these festivities is a little harder than usual—they have to relocate all the events normally held in their library, currently occupied by Roderick Castlemayne, the irascible wildlife artist who’s creating twelve paintings of birds to illustrate Meg’s grandfather’s latest nature book.
Still, the celebrations continue—and the entire family rejoices to learn that Meg’s brother Rob and his longtime fiancée Delaney have finally decided to tie the knot. Unfortunately, they decide to do this in the middle of Meg and Michael’s annual New Year’s bash, dashing their mothers’ hopes of planning the wedding to end all weddings.
Delaney’s mother sneaks into town so she and Meg’s mother can secretly plot a way to talk the happy couple into having a big bash. Hiding her only adds to Meg’s holiday stress—it’s almost a full-time job fending all the visitors who want to confront Castlemayne—reporters, bill collectors, process servers, and several ex-wives in search of unpaid alimony.
Then someone murders Castlemayne in the middle of a blizzard and sets loose the birds he was painting. Can Meg help the police crack the case before the killer strikes again? Can she keep Christmas merry in spite of the body in the library? Can she negotiate a compromise between Rob and Delaney and their disappointed mothers? And can she recapture the twelve escaped jays before they begin nesting in the Christmas tree?
This intrigue-filled Christmas mystery takes readers home to Caerphilly to join in Meg’s family’s holiday celebration—including, of course, another baffling mystery. (Amazon)
Halloween is right around the corner when Lady Elsmere throws an elaborate Civil War costume ball. Wearing a nineteenth-century ball gown, Josiah ventures into the party’s corn maze to find her dog, Baby, and take him home, only to find Baby standing over a fallen scarecrow. But is it really a scarecrow?
Josiah doesn’t have time to find out because someone dressed as the Grim Reaper bolts out of the shadows, swinging a scythe and heading straight for her.
Our heroine picks up her skirts and flees, yelling, “Murder! Murder in the corn maze!”
This book will be released on October 18, 2021
About Abigail Keam
Award-winning author Abigail Keam writes the Mona Moon Mystery Series—a rags-to-riches 1930s mystery series which includes real people and events into the story line. The series is about a cartographer who is broke and counting her pennies when there is a knock at her door. A lawyer, representing her deceased uncle, announces Mona has inherited her uncle’s fortune and a horse farm in the Bluegrass. Mona can’t believe it. She is now one of the richest women in the country and in the middle of the Great Depression!
Abigail Keam is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author who writes the Josiah Reynolds Mystery Series about a Southern beekeeper turned amateur female sleuth. The Last Chance For Love Series tells of strangers who come from all walks of life to the magical Last Chance Motel in Key Largo and get a second chance at rebuilding their lives, and The Princess Maura Fantasy Series.
One thing Miss Abigail loves to do as an author is to write real people and events into her stories. “I am a student of history and love to insert historical information into my mysteries. My goal is to entertain my readers, but if they learn a little something along the way—well, then we are both happy. I certainly learn a lot from my research, and I hope my readers come away with a new appreciation of beekeeping from my Josiah Reynolds Mysteries.”
PASSIONS
Besides loving history, Kentucky bourbon and chocolate, Abigail loves honeybees and for many years made her living by selling honey at a farmers’ market. She is an award-winning beekeeper who has won 16 honey awards at the Kentucky State Fair including the Barbara Horn Award, which is given to beekeepers who rate a perfect 100 in a honey competition.
A strong supporter of farmers’ markets and local food economy, Miss Abigail has taken her knowledge of beekeeping to create a fictional beekeeping protagonist, Josiah Reynolds, who solves mysteries in the Bluegrass. While Miss Abigail’s novels are for enjoyment, she discusses the importance of a local sustainable food economy and land management for honeybees and other creatures.
She currently lives on the Kentucky River in a metal house with her husband and various critters. She still has honeybees.
Miss Abigail would love to hear from you!
AWARDS
2010 Gold Medal Award from Readers’ Favorite for Death By A HoneyBee
2011 Gold Medal Award from Readers’ Favorite for Death By Drowning
2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By Drowning
2011 USA BOOK NEWS-Best Books List of 2011 as a Finalist for Death By A HoneyBee
2017 Finalist from Readers’ Favorite for Death By Design
2019 Honorable Mention from Readers’ Favorite for Death By Stalking
2019 Murder Under A Blue Moon voted top ten mystery reads by Kings River Life Magazine
2020 Finalist from Readers’ Favorite for Murder Under A Blue Moon
2020 Imadjinn Award for Best Mystery for Death By Stalking
Mistletoe Cake Murder (All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery) by Lena Gregory
The story moves at a good pace, with tension, twists, and turns. The characters are wonderful, with a few exceptions, and the mystery unfolds to a logical conclusion . . . ~Christa Reads and Writes
I’m so excited to be a stop on the blog tour for author Lena Gregory and her newbook Mistletoe Cake Murder. It is the sixth book in her All-Day Breakfast Cafe Cozy Murder Mystery. I enjoy reading about all the characters and the trouble they get into.
Tis the season for celebrating when Gia Morelli’s holidays include both a wedding and yuletide festivities. Until someone naughty delivers a most unwanted Christmas gift—murder. . .
For a native New Yorker, palm trees and warm temperatures don’t equal winter, much less Christmastime. Nevertheless, Gia Morelli’s friends have decked the halls and trimmed the trees to truly welcome her into their “family” with an old-fashioned Boggy Creek, Florida holiday season. Even more joyous, Savannah Mills is getting married on Christmas Eve—the greatest gift Gia could ever wish for her best friend.
But when Gia and Savannah stop by the caterer for a final tasting a week before the wedding, they overhear another bride arguing with her son about her husband-to-be. Moments later, the woman is sampling a piece of wedding cake—gorgeously decorated with mistletoe frosting—then suddenly dies.
Now Gia’s caterer friends are the prime suspects in what appears to be murder by poisoning. To clear their names and ensure Savannah has a merry matrimony will require Gia to conjure up a Christmas miracle . . .
Includes recipes from the All-Day Breakfast Café!
The characters are well developed and well rounded. Gia and Savanna are the best of friends, as close as sisters. I really enjoy spending time with them, they are so much fun. They are getting ready for Savannah’s wedding and all that entails. When they go by the caterer for a final tasting, another bride is killed. When Savannah’s caterer is considered a prime suspect, they decide they will have to find the killer themselves. And they better do it quickly, Savannah has a wedding.
The writing style flows smoothly and defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and it pulled me onto the story from the very beginning. The mystery was well plotted and not easily solved. There were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider and I was entirely sure who the culprit was until it was revealed at the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I am already looking forward to reading the next one in the series
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.
Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.
I’m so excited to be a stop on the blog tour for author Laura Childs and her newbook Twisted Tea Christmas. It is the twenty second book in her A Tea Shop Mystery.
An attack on the host of a fancy tea party sends Theodosia Browning looking for answers in the latest entry in the New York Times bestselling series.
Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, are catering a Victorian Christmas party at a swanky mansion in downtown Charleston. Drucilla Heyward, the hostess, is one of the wealthiest women in town.
As the champagne flows and the tea steeps, Drucilla is so pleased with the reception by her partygoers that she reveals her secret plan to Theodosia. The Grande Dame has brought the cream of Charleston society together to reveal that she is planning to give her wealth away to various charitable organizations. However, before she can make the announcement, Theodosia finds her crumpled unconscious in the hallway. It looks like the excitement has gotten to the elderly woman–except that there is a syringe sticking out of her neck.
INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.
Twisted Tea Christmas (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs
It was fun to trail along with Theo as she did all she could to catch a killer. She did have a few different theories but letting down her guard she found out how easily she could have become the killer’s next victim. ~Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
Unraveling the mystery in the pockets of Theodosia was lots of fun and I welcomed the comfortable pace. I did my level best to solve the subtle clues, wade through the red herrings and concentrate on the murderer but repeatedly found myself sidetracked by other events, happenings, and comedic moments. ~Brianne’s Book Reviews
Twisted Tea Christmas was well-written with developed, relatable characters. The author captured the setting of Charleston. I enjoyed the local flavor. The mystery was well-plotted. There are multiple suspects in this whodunit. ~The Avid Reader
I have to give Miss Childs credit for introducing me to how lovely Tea Parties can be even though the ones she writes about tend to involve murder and a good mystery! ~My Reading Journeys
Liberally seasoned with great food, tea tips, and laugh-out-loud moments the book is the quintessential cozy mystery that strays into thriller territory. ~I Read What You Write!
. . . a delightful mystery full of clues hidden around lots of little tea tidbits that make you want to experiment with your own drinks. . . I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars. ~Books a Plenty Book Reviews
This Tea Shop Mystery is written with pacing, plot twists, and action reminiscent of a thriller and is liberally sprinkled with the magic of Christmas. ~The Book’s the Thing
The characters in these books are some of my favorites. I love Drayton with his knowledge of tea and subtle sense of humor. Haley is the genius behind the delicious foods served at the tea shop. Add Miss Dimple, Detective Tidwell, Riley, and the merchants on the tea shop’s block, and you’ve got delightful and diverse characters who bring a lot of color to the series. ~Christy’s Cozy Corners –
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Love meets murder in this new cozy mystery series set in a quirky romance bookstore, with a heroine to die for.
Lizzie Hale may be the lucky owner of a successful romance bookshop, Love Under the Covers, but she’s decidedly un-lucky in love. Though she’s read almost every famous romance novelist, from Jane Austen to Nora Roberts, none have helped her figure out how to get–and keep–a man.
But Lizzie has bigger problems to worry about. Like murder.
When Brody Pierce, swoon-worthy ranch owner and resident bachelor, is found stabbed through the chest, hearts were heard breaking all over idyllic Tinker’s Creek. But when Lizzie’s aunt is implicated in the murder, she’s determined to clear her name. Lizzie quickly realizes that Brody was a hunk with many hidden secrets, and she’s soon leafing through a stack of suspects longer than Brody’s list of lovers.
With the killer still on the loose, Lizzie will have to find the truth before this act of passion ignites a fire she can’t put out. (Goodreads)
Review:
The characters are well rounded and well developed. Lizzie and
her Aunt Charmaine run a bookstore called Love Under The Covers and life is pretty good. That is until someone is found murdered and that someone is a ranch owner and handsome bachelor. When Lizzie’s aunt is a person of interest Lizzie has to figure out who did the deed. She will have some help from her friends to find the culprit.
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and through much of the story I was right there watching all the action take place. The writing flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The mystery was well plotted and the book was an easy read. I was totally sure of the killer until it was revealed at the end.
This was the first book in the series and I thought it was good. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the
series.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Berkeley Publishing Company, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.
Tis the season for celebrating when Gia Morelli’s holidays include both a wedding and yuletide festivities. Until someone naughty delivers a most unwanted Christmas gift—murder. . .
For a native New Yorker, palm trees and warm temperatures don’t equal winter, much less Christmastime. Nevertheless, Gia Morelli’s friends have decked the halls and trimmed the trees to truly welcome her into their “family” with an old-fashioned Boggy Creek, Florida holiday season. Even more joyous, Savannah Mills is getting married on Christmas Eve—the greatest gift Gia could ever wish for her best friend.
But when Gia and Savannah stop by the caterer for a final tasting a week before the wedding, they overhear another bride arguing with her son about her husband-to-be. Moments later, the woman is sampling a piece of wedding cake—gorgeously decorated with mistletoe frosting—then suddenly dies.
Now Gia’s caterer friends are the prime suspects in what appears to be murder by poisoning. To clear their names and ensure Savannah has a merry matrimony will require Gia to conjure up a Christmas miracle . . . Includes recipes from the All-Day Breakfast Café!
Praise for Lena Gregory
“As breezy and salty as a gust of wind off the chilly bay waters.” —Juliet Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author of the Witchcraft Mysteries on Death at First Sight
“An intriguing opening to a fun new series.” —E. J. Copperman, national bestselling author of the Haunted Guesthouse Mysteries on Death at First Sight
“Hold on to your plates for this fast-paced mystery that will leave you hungering for more!” —J.C. Eaton, author of the Sophie Kimball Mysteries, on Scone Cold Killer
“It’s fast paced, [Gregory] never misses a beat. There’s mystery mixed with just a small hint of romance and paranormal activity. It’s the perfect blend for cozy mystery fans. I’m hoping to read more in this captivating series.” —Socrates Book Review on Occult and Battery (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback
In an idyllic Colorado town, a young girl goes missing—and the trail leads into the heart and mind of a remorseless killer.
The late summer heat in Echo Valley, Colorado turns lush greenery into a tinder dry landscape. When a young girl mysteriously disappears, long buried grudges rekindle. Of the two Flores girls, Marisa was the one people pegged for trouble. Her younger sister, Lena, was the quiet daughter, dutiful and diligent—right until the moment she vanished.
Detective Jo Wyatt is convinced the eleven-year-old girl didn’t run away and that a more sinister reason lurks behind her disappearance. For Jo, the case is personal, reaching far back into her past. But as she mines Lena’s fractured family life, she unearths a cache of secrets and half-lies that paints a darker picture.
As the evidence mounts, so do the suspects, and when a witness steps forward with a shocking new revelation, Jo is forced to confront her doubts, and her worst fears. Now, it’s just a matter of time before the truth is revealed—or the killer makes another deadly move. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
Maine innkeeper Holly White returns to sleuth another seasonal slaying in the third Christmas Tree Farm mystery from bestselling author Jacqueline Frost.
Reindeer Games Christmas Tree Farm is going into the B&B business, and Holly White is looking forward to her new role as innkeeper. Even better, Mistletoe, Maine’s sheriff, Evan Gray, has deputized his little sister Libby to help Holly wrap presents for Mistletoe’s toy drive. But a cold wind ruffles the cheery holiday decorations when a new guest checks in: Cleo, a vicious B&B critic, who could make or break the new inn. And the short December days turn even darker when Evan and Libby find Cleo’s dead body in the gift-wrapped toy donation box.
The suspect list is longer than Santa’s naughty list, and local resident Cookie is on it, since her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon, a metal nutcracker that she gave to Holly. So is Libby, who recently moved to town from Boston in less-than-savory circumstances. But cranky Cleo was an oh-holy-nightmare to lots of the townsfolk, such as Evan’s reporter friend Ray; Christopher, the inn’s former contractor; and confectioner Bonnie, whose Gum Drop Shop was a direct target of Cleo’s scathing prose.
To figure out the killer’s identity and clear Cookie’s name, Holly and her friends brainstorm at The Hearth, the farm’s café, while her mother keeps them fueled with Christmas goodies fresh from the oven. But if they can’t put the culprit on ice, Holly may never see another Christmas. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover Audiobook
Steph Cha, a rising star who brings a fresh perspective as series editor, takes the helm of the new The Best American Mystery and Suspense, with best-selling crime novelist Alafair Burke joining her as the first guest editor.
“Crime writers, forgive the pun, are killing it right now creatively,” writes guest editor Alafair Burke in her introduction. “It was difficult—painful even—to narrow this year’s Best American Mystery and Suspense to only twenty stories.” Spanning from a mediocre spa in Florida, to New York’s gritty East Village, to death row in Alabama, this collection reveals boundless suspense in small, quiet moments, offering startling twists in the least likely of places. From a powerful response to hateful bullying, to a fight for health care, to a gripping desperation to vote, these stories are equal parts shocking, devastating, and enthralling, revealing the tension pulsing through our everyday lives and affirming that mystery and suspense writing is better than ever before.
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021includes JENNY BHATT• GAR ANTHONY HAYWOOD• GABINO IGLESIAS• AYA DE LEÓN• LAURA LIPPMAN DELIA C. PITTS• ALEX SEGURA• FAYE SNOWDEN• LISA UNGER and others (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
“Irresistible… a Golden Age homage, an elegantly constructed mystery that on every page reinforces the message that everyone counts.” –New York Times Book Review
From the award-winning author of The Day I Died and The Lucky One, a captivating suspense novel about nurses during World War II who come to Agatha Christie’s holiday estate to care for evacuated children, but when a body is discovered nearby, the idyllic setting becomes host to a deadly mystery.
Bridey Kelly has come to Greenway House—the beloved holiday home of Agatha Christie—in disgrace. A terrible mistake at St. Prisca’s Hospital in London has led to her dismissal as a nurse trainee, and her only chance for redemption is a position in the countryside caring for children evacuated to safety from the Blitz.
Greenway is a beautiful home full of riddles: wondrous curios not to be touched, restrictions on rooms not to be entered, and a generous library, filled with books about murder. The biggest mystery might be the other nurse, Gigi, who is like no one Bridey has ever met. Chasing ten young children through the winding paths of the estate grounds might have soothed Bridey’s anxieties and grief—if Greenway were not situated so near the English Channel and the rising aggressions of the war.
When a body washes ashore near the estate, Bridey is horrified to realize this is not a victim of war, but of a brutal killing. As the local villagers look among themselves, Bridey and Gigi discover they each harbor dangerous secrets about what has led them to Greenway. With a mystery writer’s home as their unsettling backdrop, the young women must unravel the truth before their safe haven becomes a place of death . . . (Amazon)
Daphne Jones loves nothing more than travelling with her husband, John, in Bluebell, their cute restored caravan. Instead of retiring, she started a new career as a celebrant, officiating at weddings, funerals, and all manner of ceremonies. And even a spot of sleuthing…
The forest town of Shady Bend is known for its crafts, preserves, and local produce. It is not known for disappearing bodies let alone a mysterious spate of crimes!
Daphne came to officiate a funeral for Edwina Drinkwater but in a shocking twist, the deceased vanishes before making it to the grave. The sudden death of a mourner who kept records of other people’s indiscretions evokes Daphne’s inner sleuth. Was the murder payback?
Who has hidden Edwina’s remains? Was it the neighbour who wants her land, the disgraced local doctor, or her fiercest competitor in the world of preserves and jams?
With judging underway at the local country show, the suspects come together all determined to obtain Edwina’s famous secret sauce recipe. But as the body count rises, Daphne is the only person standing between the killer and the truth.
The Shadow of Daph is book two in this new cozy series by the author of The Stationmaster’s Cottage, where Daphne first appeared as a supporting character. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Joanne Fluke, a bitter discovery is made in a sweet-as-candy town, in Kitt Crowe’s Sweet Fiction Bookshop series debut.
Life is sweet when you live in Confection, Oregon. Or, at least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. But on a summer day, when tourists and locals alike gawk at the majestic mountains, quaint Craftsman houses, and lovely flowers–particularly the renowned Confection Rose–the last thing anyone has come to see is a dead body, unearthed from a shallow grave by a curious dog.
A bathrobe-clad Lexi rushes next door to her neighbor’s backyard to find her pooch, Cookie, stalwartly sitting watch over a body in the vegetable garden. Cookie, encrusted in dirt, grips a copper pipe between her teeth. Was this the murder weapon? And was Lexi the murderer? It sure looks that way, seeing as she was spotted squabbling with the victim just the day before. The case becomes all the more perplexing when the real murder weapon turns out to be a garden stake. Then where does the copper pipe fit in? And might a more likely suspect let Lexi off the hook?
All the volumes in the Sweet Fiction Bookshop, and all the specials at Eats n’ Treats, prove of little help in jogging Lexi’s brain to find a solution. Fortunately, Cookie is not finished digging up clues. As the fur flies, can this trusty border collie mix save sweet Lexi from a bitter end? (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
Named one of the most anticipated novels of the season by People, Associated Press, Time, Los Angeles Times, Parade, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more.
From the#1 bestselling authors Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny comes a novel of unsurpassed thrills and incomparable insider expertise—State of Terror.
After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone’s surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state.
There is no love lost between the president of the United States and Ellen Adams, his new secretary of state. But it’s a canny move on the part of the president. With this appointment, he silences one of his harshest critics, since taking the job means Adams must step down as head of her multinational media conglomerate.
As the new president addresses Congress for the first time, with Secretary Adams in attendance, Anahita Dahir, a young foreign service officer (FSO) on the Pakistan desk at the State Department, receives a baffling text from an anonymous source.
Too late, she realizes the message was a hastily coded warning.
What begins as a series of apparent terrorist attacks is revealed to be the beginning of an international chess game involving the volatile and Byzantine politics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; the race to develop nuclear weapons in the region; the Russian mob; a burgeoning rogue terrorist organization; and an American government set back on its heels in the international arena.
As the horrifying scale of the threat becomes clear, Secretary Adams and her team realize it has been carefully planned to take advantage of four years of an American government out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of powerin the places where it counts the most.
To defeat such an intricate, carefully constructed conspiracy, it will take the skills of a unique team: a passionate young FSO; a dedicated journalist; and a smart, determined, but as yet untested new secretary of state.
State of Terror is a unique and utterly compelling international thriller cowritten by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th secretary of state, and Louise Penny, a multiple award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling novelist. (Amazon)
A quiet lakeside town in western New York state is the new home of Manhattan artist Chloe Abbington and the backdrop for murder in this series debut by Bailee Abbott.
For Chloe Abbington, the transition from fine art painter in New York City to painting-event business owner in charming Whisper Cove is more than a little jarring. But when poison-pen journalist Fiona Gimble writes a viciously negative review of the newly opened Paint with a View, Chloe learns that critics are the same everywhere. And when she finds Fiona’s body behind her shop with a painting knife in her neck, Chloe realizes that this picture-perfect town offers anything but peace and quiet.
Suddenly, bustling Artisan Alley is a crime scene, and Chloe is the prime suspect. Her sister and business partner, Izzie, isn’t much help–she’s busy running the shop, and besides, she has secrets of her own. As shrewd Detective Barrett tries to paint her into a corner, Chloe soon finds that Fiona had plenty of enemies. The Whisper Cove Gazette columnist wielded her pen like a sword, slicing and dicing just about every shop owner in the lakeside town.
Chloe sets out to prove that she’s been framed for Fiona’s murder. But she’d better learn the fine art of detection quickly, before the real killer paints the town red again. Otherwise, she may end up trading in her paint smock for an orange jumpsuit…or a green burial plot. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
Bonnie & Clyde are at it again!
When the death of a local baker threatens to shred the fabric of their lovely town, this dynamic sleuthing duo bolts into action. The results will leave you in stitches.
It’s summertime in beautiful Bliss, Georgia, and while second chance dress shop owner, Bonnie Balfour, would prefer to spend her time redesigning gowns for the upcoming Founder’s Day parade, her grandma, Gigi, is too hot under the collar to concentrate. It seems Gigi’s former friend is using her recipe to sell cobbler at the local festivities, and she’s claiming Gigi’s treat as her own!
Things go from uncomfortable to downright ugly when Gigi confronts her friend publicly about the unseamly pattern of behavior, only to later find the woman dead! With Gigi’s prints on the murder weapon, and dozens of material witnesses to their earlier scrap, Gigi cuts straight to the top of Sheriff Wright’s suspect list.
Now, Bonnie and her kitty companion, Clyde, must don their sleuthing hats once more.
To mend Gigi’s reputation and deliver justice for the victim, Bonnie must lace together a string of clues about what really happened that night. Will she wind up on the killer’s cutting board in the process? (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle
Home bakery owner and Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) Kayla Jeffries has been hired for the Gourmet and Stay Valentine’s Weekend at the historic Countryside Inn in Los Robles, CA. When one of her fellow cooks is murdered during dinner service, she becomes a person of interest-and a possible suspect. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback
Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith becomes a seasoned sleuth in Raquel V. Reyes’s Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, a savory treat for fans of Joanne Fluke and Jenn McKinlay.
Food anthropologist Miriam Quiñones-Smith’s move from New York to Coral Shores, Miami, puts her academic career on hold to stay at home with her young son. Adding to her funk is an opinionated mother-in-law and a husband rekindling a friendship with his ex. Gracias to her best friend, Alma, she gets a short-term job as a Caribbean cooking expert on a Spanish-language morning TV show. But when the newly minted star attends a Women’s Club luncheon, a socialite sitting at her table suddenly falls face-first into the chicken salad, never to nibble again.
When a second woman dies soon after, suspicions coalesce around a controversial Cuban herbalist, Dr. Fuentes–especially after the morning show’s host collapses while interviewing him. Detective Pullman is not happy to find Miriam at every turn. After he catches her breaking into the doctor’s apothecary, he enlists her help as eyes and ears to the places he can’t access, namely the Spanish-speaking community and the tawny Coral Shores social scene.
As the ingredients to the deadly scheme begin blending together, Miriam is on the verge of learning how and why the women died. But her snooping may turn out to be a recipe for her own murder. (Amazon)
Editions Available Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
As the holidays approach, bookstore owner Summer Merriwether learns a dark secret in this second volume of Maggie Blackburn’s Beach Reads mystery series.
There’s no place like home for the holidays, even if home is sleepy, beachside Brigid’s Island, NC. During this season for giving, the town wakes up to a welcome throng of shoppers–and Beach Reads is no exception. But bookseller Summer Merriwether’s Christmas cheer turns to cringing fear when she uncovers a deadly secret about her late mother–a secret someone will kill to keep.
When the local library hosts a cozy mystery panel discussion, Summer learns that one of the authors on the panel based her book on an actual murder that shook Brigid’s Island thirty-five years before. Worse, she soon learns that her dearly missed mother, Hildy, took a disturbingly deep interest in the case, going so far as to collect clippings and keep a journal of the dark doings. This doesn’t jibe with Summer’s memories of her usually cheery mother at all.
Tidings get worse when Summer learns of her long-lost biological family’s involvement in the crime…and still worse when the life of the book’s author is threatened. With the help of Hildy’s plucky book club, Summer puts her scholarly smarts to work on protecting the cozy author and solving the decades-old murder.
But this ghost from Christmas past may still be deadly in the present, and if she can’t find the killer, Summer’s future will be brief. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
“If the women of Big Little Lies were the moms of East Coast high schoolers, they’d be right at home in The Mother Next Door—a witty, wicked thriller packed with hidden agendas, juicy secrets, and pitch-perfect satire of the suburban dream.” —Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here
GOOD MOTHERS… Never show their feelings. Never spill their secrets. Never admit to murder.
The annual Halloween block party is the pinnacle of the year on idyllic suburban cul-de-sac Ivy Woods Drive. An influential group of neighborhood moms—known as the Ivy Five—plans the event for months.
Except the Ivy Five has been four for a long time.
When a new mother moves to town, eager to fit in, the moms see it as an opportunity to make the group whole again. This year’s block party should be the best yet… until the women start receiving anonymous messages threatening to expose the quiet neighborhood’s dark past—and the lengths they’ve gone to hide it.
As secrets seep out and the threats intensify, the Ivy Five must sort the loyal from the disloyal, the good from the bad. They’ll do anything to protect their families. But when a twisted plot is revealed, with dangerous consequences, their steady foundation begins to crumble, leaving only one certainty: after this year’s block party, Ivy Woods Drive will never be the same.
From award-winning author Tara Laskowski, The Mother Next Door is an atmospheric novel of domestic suspense in which the strive for perfection ends in murder…
“Trust no one, absolutely no one while reading The Mother Next Door because everyone has secrets, all of them are liars, and everybody has at least one thing to lose. Tara Laskowski’s brilliantly paced tale of perfect-suburbia-until-you-scratch-the-surface is as compelling as it is twisted.” —Hannah Mary McKinnon, bestselling author of You Will Remember Me (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback Audiobook
When a young journalist goes missing in sunny San Diego , P.I. Madison Kelly learns the true price of knowing too much.
It’s a perfect San Diego fall–cool and crisp with bright blue skies. But not everything is right in the sunny idyll dubbed “America’s Finest City.” Young journalist Barrett Brown has been missing for a week, and her boyfriend hires private investigator Madison Kelly to find her. Right away, Barrett reminds Madison of a younger version of herself: smart, ambitious, and a loner.
As she launches her investigation, Madison realizes that Barrett’s disappearance is connected to a big story she was chasing–and she sets out to walk in Barrett’s footsteps to trace her whereabouts. As the trail grows colder, things begin to heat up between Madison and Barrett’s boyfriend. But he doesn’t seem to be telling everything he knows, and Madison gets the feeling that her every move is being watched. What dirty secrets lie at the heart of Barrett’s big lead?
If Madison can’t get to the bottom of the case in time, she could be in line to become the next victim. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
In bestselling author Kate Kingsbury’s Misty Bay Tea Room series debut, the proprietress of a British-style tea shop must draw on her love for mystery novels to sleuth a murder.
Vivian Wainwright is living her dream. The middle-aged widow owns the Misty Bay Tearoom, a quaint, English-accented shop on the Oregon coast. But on the eve of the tearoom’s second anniversary, the dream turns nightmarish when a man falls to his death from a hotel balcony.
The body belongs to Dean Ramsey, ex-husband of Vivian’s assistant, Jenna. Detective Tony Messina quickly zeroes in on Jenna as prime suspect, since she was seen leaving the hotel shortly before the body was found.
Vivian and her other assistant, Gracie, set out to help clear Jenna’s name, using their wit and a bit of criminology know-how Vivian picked up from her late attorney husband. Detective Messina is on board, but he’s starting to develop feelings for his number one suspect. Puzzling questions persist–chief among them, whose clothes was Dean wearing when he landed on the rocky shore?
To complicate matters, Vivian’s friend, pet shop owner Hal Douglass, seems to know some secrets about the hotel that could add a long list of names to the suspect list…including Hal’s own. Vivian must work quickly because if she can’t, Jenna faces a murder rap…or worse. (Amazon)
Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook
Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen gets a little help from her veterinarian husband to solve the murder of a young equine vet whose death may be linked to his new clinic in this tantalizing mystery from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown.
Pharamond “Fair” Haristeen is known throughout Crozet, Virginia, as a good horse vet and a better man. So when Benjamin Wagner, a new vet in town, is found dead in his unopened clinic, local police turn to Fair for help getting to the bottom of things. Fair quickly realizes Ben’s clinic has been robbed of ketamine, used by doctors as a horse tranquilizer but also a popular recreational drug. Then Fair’s own ketamine goes missing from the back of his truck. Was Ben killed for his supply? Or was he mixed up in something bigger?
Meanwhile, Candida Perez, one of Crozet’s oldest and most beloved citizens, is found dead at her desk. Not so alarming, given her ninety years of life. But the bickering of her children, Ballard and Constance, over her will and the family’s valuable collection of historical letters threatens to drive the rest of the town to madness. Harry tries to play peacemaker, but the bad blood between the two siblings runs deep. Just how far will they take their family squabble?
With a little aid from hungry helpers Tee Tucker the corgi and sweet puppy Pirate, as well as feline sleuths Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, Harry and Fair team up to restore justice—and maybe a little peace and quiet—to Crozet. (Amazon)
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series Setting — San Francisco Publisher : Wild Rose Press (October 4, 2021) Paperback : 328 pages ISBN-10 : 1509237984 ISBN-13 : 978-1509237982 Digital Print Length : 230 pages ASIN : B09C91H76Z
I’m so excited to be a stop on the blog tour for author Susan McCormick and her newbookThe Fog Ladies: In The Soup. It is the third book in her A San Francisco Cozy Murder Mystery.
The Fog Ladies are back, in the third installment of this endearing cozy murder mystery series.
“There was a man in the soup.” When the Fog Ladies volunteer at a San Francisco soup kitchen, these spunky elderly friends plus one overworked young doctor-in-training envision washing and chopping and serving. Not murder. Now the soup kitchen is doomed, and the mysteries have just begun. Was the death rooted in a long-ago grudge? Can they save the soup kitchen? Will they find the killer? Could the Fog Ladies, too, end up “in the soup”?
Susan McCormick is a writer and doctor who lives in Seattle. She graduated from Smith College and George Washington University School of Medicine, with additional medical training in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, where she lived in an elegant apartment building much like the one in the book. Susan served as a doctor in the U.S. Army for nine years before moving to the Pacific Northwest and civilian practice as a gastroenterologist. In addition to the Fog Ladies series, she also wrote Granny Can’t Remember Me, a lighthearted picture book about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and The Antidote, a timely middle grade medical fantasy released May 2021. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two sons. She loves giant dogs and has loved an English Mastiff, Earl, and two Newfoundlands, Edward and Albert.
Maine innkeeper Holly White returns to sleuth another seasonal slaying in the third Christmas Tree Farm mystery from bestselling author Jacqueline Frost.
Reindeer Games Christmas Tree Farm is going into the B&B business, and Holly White is looking forward to her new role as innkeeper. Even better, Mistletoe, Maine’s sheriff, Evan Gray, has deputized his little sister Libby to help Holly wrap presents for Mistletoe’s toy drive. But a cold wind ruffles the cheery holiday decorations when a new guest checks in: Cleo, a vicious B&B critic, who could make or break the new inn. And the short December days turn even darker when Evan and Libby find Cleo’s dead body in the gift-wrapped toy donation box.
The suspect list is longer than Santa’s naughty list, and local resident Cookie is on it, since her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon, a metal nutcracker that she gave to Holly. So is Libby, who recently moved to town from Boston in less-than-savory circumstances. But cranky Cleo was an oh-holy-nightmare to lots of the townsfolk, such as Evan’s reporter friend Ray; Christopher, the inn’s former contractor; and confectioner Bonnie, whose Gum Drop Shop was a direct target of Cleo’s scathing prose.
To figure out the killer’s identity and clear Cookie’s name, Holly and her friends brainstorm at The Hearth, the farm’s café, while her mother keeps them fueled with Christmas goodies fresh from the oven. But if they can’t put the culprit on ice, Holly may never see another Christmas. (Amazon)
Review:
The characters are well developed and well rounded. Holly and her gang have a new mystery to solve. Someone is killed and stuffed into a toy donation box. When her friends is blamed for the murder, Holly has to figure out who the real killer is before Cookie’s Christmas is ruined. Her friends and family will have to help her.
The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and it pulled me into the story from the very beginning. The mystery was well plotted and it was not easily solved.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted
cozy mystery. I was very excited when I saw this book was coming out. I wanted to find out how Holly and her friends and family were doing.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.
We’re just inviting you to take a timeout into the rhythmic ambiance of our breakfast, brunch and/or coffee selections. We are happy whenever you stop by.
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, 
, and 
. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
– set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
– a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
– set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.
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