“I can’t get a pulse. Cookie, call for an ambulance.” Definitely not the words you want to hear when a man has just collapsed in the middle of your bakery. A few minutes is all it took for Karen 'Cookie' Williams to be thrust into the center of a nightmare. A customer was dead and she was considered a suspect. Her beloved shop was a crime scene. Things weren't looking so great for her. If you add in the strange figure that was lurking around at night, the prominent businessman who was harassing her to sell up and an unhappy granddaughter who was spending the summer with her you had a recipe for disaster. Can Cookie work out who killed her customer and save her bakery from ruin before she becomes a victim herself?

Tucked away inside an old lighthouse in Beacon Harbor, Michigan, bakeshop café owner Lindsey Bakewellis ready to make her first Christmas in town shine bright. But her merry plans crumble fast when murder appears under the mistletoe . . . With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas ever—winning the town-wide cookie bake-off. Unfortunately, striving for a picture-perfect December in Beacon Harbor is a lot like biting into stale shortbread. Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition . . . Self-appointed Christmas know-it-all Felicity Stewart is determined to take the top spot in the bake‐off, and she’s not afraid to dump a little coal in everyone’s stocking to do it. Just as the competition heats up, everything falls apart when the judge is found dead—and covered in crumbs from Lindsey’s signature cookie! Solving a murder was never on Lindsey’s wish list. But with her reputation on the line during the happiest time of the year, she’ll need to bring her best talents to the table in order to sift out the true Christmas Cookie culprit. Includes Delicious Recipes!

Maya and Sandra are friends, fellow moms, and private-detective partners in the picturesque waterfront city of Portland—where sometimes their cases can get as rocky as the Maine coast . . . While private investigator Maya Kendrick is still mentoring her new partner, PTA president Sandra Wallage, in the detective game, the two women don’t need incredible powers of deduction to know their marriages are on the rocks. With Maya’s ex-cop husband in prison and Sandra’s senator spouse separated from her, both find themselves investigating the dating scene. Until Diego Sanchez turns up dead. The flirtatious high school Spanish teacher who had eyes for Maya was poisoned by cookies from a bake sale fundraiser for a Portland High school class trip to Spain. Hired by the students to find out who killed their popular and beloved teacher—including their own children—Maya and Sandra get a real education in parenting, relationships, and murder as their search for whodunit leads them deep into the unpleasant realities found in the small town politics and gossip of their Maine community . . .

In this exhilarating new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Kate White, one young woman searches for clues to the murder of her family, only to discover a shocking secret about herself that holds the key to everything. Jillian Lowe seemed to have it all. Both beautiful and accomplished, she lit up any room that she walked into. All of that dramatically changed when her parents and two siblings were brutally murdered at her childhood home her second year in college. The crime shattered what was once a picture-perfect family and nearly derailed Jillian’s hopes for her future. Now, sixteen years later, Jillian is shocked to learn that the man imprisoned for murdering her family didn't do it. With the real killer walking free and the cops dragging their heels, Jillian once again feels her life unraveling, and desperately seeks help from an old friend from college, true crime writer Bailey Weggins. As the two women return to Jillian’s childhood town to investigate, it doesn’t take long for their sleuthing to cause shock waves. Someone starts watching their every move. As they uncover deeply-guarded secrets, so shocking that they make Jillian rethink her entire relationship to her family, Bailey and Jillian find themselves in fear of their own lives. The truth has consequences and they must decide if they’re ready to face them.

Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men. But Daisy finds herself on the receiving end in Misha Popp’s cozy series debut, a sweet-as-buttercream treat for fans of Ellery Adams and Mary Maxwell. The first time Daisy Ellery killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. Now, it’s her calling. Daisy bakes sweet vengeance into her pastries, which she and her dog Zoe deliver to the men who’ve done dirty deeds to the town’s women. But if she can’t solve the one crime that’s not of her own baking, she’ll be out of the pie pan and into the oven. Parking her Pies Before Guys mobile bakery van outside the local diner, Daisy is informed by Frank, the crusty diner owner, that someone’s been prowling around the van—and not just to inhale the delectable aroma. Already on thin icing with Frank, she finds a letter on her door, threatening to reveal her unsavory secret sideline of pie a la murder. Blackmail? But who whipped up this half-baked plot to cut a slice out of Daisy’s business? Purple-haired campus do-gooder Melly? Noel, the tender—if flaky—farm boy? Or one of the abusive men who prefer their pie without a deadly scoop of payback? The upcoming statewide pie contest could be Daisy’s big chance to help wronged women everywhere…if she doesn’t meet a sticky end first. Because Daisy knows the blackmailer won’t stop until her business is in crumbles.

Since its 1990 publication, Rose's Christmas Cookies has been a phenomenal success. Who can resist Chocolate-Dipped Melting Moments Cookies or moist Mini-Cheesecakes with Lemon Curd . . . or David Shamah's Jumbles, a fabulous cross between a chocolate-chip cookie and a chunky candy bar bursting with raisins, chocolate chips, and pecans. Whether you need a cookie to decorate your tree or grace your mantelpiece (cookies like Stained Glass or Christmas Wreaths), a sweet to send (Mahogany Butter Crunch Toffee, Maple Macadamia Bars), or a special holiday treat for your dinner party (Praline Truffle Cups, Chocolate-Pistachio Marzipan Spirals), you'll find that perfect something here. Complete with 60 cookie recipes and a color photograph of each cookie for handy reference, this easy-to-use and fun-to-read book will result in scrumptious, festive, and splendid-looking cookies every time.

"A Hannah Swensen holiday mystery with recipes"--Jacket.

After a scathing food review and a messy breakup, a formally trained pastry chef returns home to California to launch a cannabis bakery with her quirky Aunt Dawn.

Suburban squabbles reveal darker secrets in this mystery from the New York Times-bestselling author who “writes with sparkle and warmth” (Chicago Sun Times). Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone’s farmhouse, life hasn’t been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy’s lawn to another neighbor’s lovable dog, quaint Tinker's Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn't show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery: Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor—with a knife in her back. While the police start their investigation, reporter Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for the Pennysaver—and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn’t like Mimi, but they certainly didn't want her dead…did they? “I like Lucy Stone a lot, and so will readers.”—Carolyn Hart “Mothers everywhere will identify with Lucy Stone and the domestic problems she encounters.”—Publishers Weekly Includes recipes!

Thomas Harris created the iconic fictional murderer and sociopath, Hannibal Lecter. This book explores and analyzes the characters, artistry, and cultural impact of Harris's novels—four of which are centered on the terrifying villain of the iconic film, The Silence of the Lambs. Making Murder takes readers deep into the work of Thomas Harris and his iconic creation, Hannibal Lecter—one of modern fiction's most unforgettable characters. A former crime reporter, Harris's exhaustive research techniques have included extensive time with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit studying actual serial killers. Like no other available volume, the book explores the dark heart within Harris's novels—the unflinching look at evil that makes them so much more than just "good reads." Making Murder looks at all five of Harris's novels, starting with the suspenseful terrorist thriller, Black Sunday, then moving through the quartet of books in which Hannibal Lecter gradually moves from malevolent presiding spirit to unsettling, recognizably human protagonist. Author Philip Simpson looks at the critical response each book received and explores the works themselves in terms of story, characters, writing style, allusions and symbols, and themes. An introductory chapter provides insights into the author's life, publishing history, and significant cultural impact.