New Orleans pastry chef Rita Lucero is out to bake her way to the top. But when she finds her almost-ex-husband killed with a chef's knife in his back, she becomes suspect number one. Now it's up to her to find the real killer before she winds up as the next victim served.

Pastry chef Rita Lucero's Mardi Gras party turns funereal when one of her guests is found dead after a public fight with her uncle-leaving Rita no choice but to find the real killer and clear her uncle's name...

In the fresh new Piece of Cake Mystery from the national bestselling author of Rebel Without a Cake, a pastry chef becomes embroiled in a suspicious death as a mysterious curse casts a pall over an annual New Orleans ball. Rita Lucero, co-owner of New Orleans’s Zydeco Cakes, is thrilled to be catering an annual ball held at the Monte Cristo Hotel. Designing the high-end desserts is her priority—until she stumbles upon a mystery long-buried at her shop. It’s an ornate ruby necklace, hidden underneath her staircase and rumored to be cursed. After the gem’s appraiser suddenly drops dead and Rita herself is targeted by a menacing stranger, she’s no longer laughing at local superstition. Now with five cakes on order and an investigation into the necklace’s past revealing layers of unsettling clues, Rita has reason to keep looking over her shoulder while she’s frosting. Because any way you slice it, the next victim of the legendary curse could be her.

Blind man’s bluff With business going stale at Zydeco Cakes, Rita Lucero has plenty to worry about. But when the blind trumpet player Old Dog Leg Magee asks for a favor, she can’t say no. His brother Monroe disappeared forty years ago, and now someone has shown up claiming to be him. Old Dog Leg needs Rita to be his eyes—and see if it’s really his brother. The Twisted Palms Bed and Breakfast is full of unsavory characters, Monroe included. Posing as newlyweds, Rita and her friend Gabriel check in, only to discover that Monroe’s true identity isn’t the only mystery they’ll have to solve. When another guest at the Twisted Palms turns up dead, it seems the mysterious man might also be a murderer...

Cassandra Calhoun isn't your average gardener. "Casey" Calhoun's passion for gardening has carried her to President's Park where the White House sits. But when she finds a dead body in a trash can, Casey has to root out a killer before she ends up planted herself. As she delves into the secrets hidden within the petals, you'll be immersed in a web of intrigue, where everyone becomes a suspect and even the most beautiful flowers can hide dark secrets. With its intriguing plot, relatable characters, and witty twists, this book is perfect for fans of mystery novels featuring amateur sleuths and women sleuths. Immerse yourself in a world of secrets and suspense, where Casey's passion for gardening may just hold the key to solving the mystery.

"You can't Schitt's Creek a town, Tank." "And you can't verb a noun, son." When a family of former pro football players buy a small Texas town, they didn't intend to start a war with its residents ... or to fall in love. Ever since his career-ending injury, Pat has bounced from job to job, idea to idea, short-lived relationship to short-lived relationship. But when his father purchases the town of Sheet Cake, Pat suddenly sees his life with clear purpose: get his brothers on board with his dad's wild idea and win back the one woman who got away. Lindy was supposed to be traveling the world, not stuck in a small town, caring for her niece. But she would do anything to keep custody of Jo--even if that looks like a marriage of convenience with the man who already broke her heart once. Now if she can only keep herself from falling back in love with her husband... This is a small town, marriage of convenience romantic comedy with plenty of sizzle while keeping the bedroom door closed. It's the first in a spinoff series following Harper's brothers (from Falling for Your Best Friend). You don't need to have read the Love Clichés series first to enjoy this book.

A Black mother bumps up against the limits of everything she thought she believed—about science and medicine, about motherhood, and about her faith—in search of the truth about her son. "The memoir dedicates important space to the numbing bureaucracy that often accompanies medical visits, particularly as seen through the eyes of a Black woman in the South. Having moved often within White neighborhoods and educational institutions around her home in Charlottesville, Harris is unflinching about her periodic unease in those quarters. . . Harris also brings humor to bear in moments of great adversity."—Karen Iris Tucker, Washington Post One morning, Tophs, Taylor Harris’s round-cheeked, lively twenty-two-month-old, wakes up listless, only lifting his head to gulp down water. She rushes Tophs to the doctor, ignoring the part of herself, trained by years of therapy for generalized anxiety disorder, that tries to whisper that she’s overreacting. But at the hospital, her maternal instincts are confirmed: something is wrong with her boy, and Taylor’s life will never be the same. With every question the doctors answer about Tophs’s increasingly troubling symptoms, more arise, and Taylor dives into the search for a diagnosis. She spends countless hours trying to navigate health and education systems that can be hostile to Black mothers and children; at night she googles, prays, and interrogates her every action. Some days, her sweet, charismatic boy seems just fine; others, he struggles to answer simple questions. A long-awaited appointment with a geneticist ultimately reveals nothing about what’s causing Tophs’s drops in blood sugar, his processing delays—but it does reveal something unexpected about Taylor’s own health. What if her son’s challenges have saved her life? This Boy We Made is a stirring and radiantly written examination of the bond between mother and child, full of hard-won insights about fighting for and finding meaning when nothing goes as expected.

Get out the sombrero for your Mexican fiesta! Chinese egg rolls! Corn pancakes from Venezuela! Fried plantains form Nigeria! All this and more is yours when you take your family on a whirlwind tour of over thirty countries in this unique international cookbook. Jam-packed with delicious dinners, divine drinks, and delectable desserts, this book is sure to please. The entire family will be fascinated with tidbits of culture provided for each country including: Etiquette hints Food Profiles Culture a la Carte For more zest, add an activity and viola, you will create a memorable learning experience that will last for years to come. Some activities include: Food Journal Passport World Travel Night Open your eyes and tastebuds and have great fun on this edible adventure."

Blind man’s bluff With business going stale at Zydeco Cakes, Rita Lucero has plenty to worry about. But when the blind trumpet player Old Dog Leg Magee asks for a favor, she can’t say no. His brother Monroe disappeared forty years ago, and now someone has shown up claiming to be him. Old Dog Leg needs Rita to be his eyes—and see if it’s really his brother. The Twisted Palms Bed and Breakfast is full of unsavory characters, Monroe included. Posing as newlyweds, Rita and her friend Gabriel check in, only to discover that Monroe’s true identity isn’t the only mystery they’ll have to solve. When another guest at the Twisted Palms turns up dead, it seems the mysterious man might also be a murderer...

Can a pastry chef be too sweet? Rita Lucero, owner of New Orleans cake shop Zydeco Cakes, can’t seem to stop saying “yes.” Even though things at the bakery are busy, Rita finds herself accepting a seat on the local small business alliance—a group full of colorful characters like Chopper Shop owner Moose Hazen and his wife, Destiny, whose personal life is messier than a cake someone left out in the rain. On the street following a heated alliance meeting, Moose pulls Rita out of the path of a speeding van. Shaken and bruised, Rita notices the next day that her prescribed pain killers are missing. When she discovers Destiny’s body in the couple’s shop, the stolen pill bottle in her lifeless hand only adds another layer to her mysterious death. But getting the frosty NOPD detective to stop focusing on Rita and look for Destiny’s real killer will be anything but a cakewalk… INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES!