detective fiction

Abbey Chandler is worried about the small shops in Hideaway Grove that are struggling financially, especially her aunt Sarah's bakery. When the wife of a rich businessman opens a competing bakery--and is murdered--Aunt Sarah is the prime suspect. Now a big women's conference might be cancelled because of the crime and the businesspeople are worried. Abbey sets out to prove her aunt's innocence and find the killer before the whole town goes under.

Librarian Kathleen Paulson is shocked to hear the story of a dead body found in the walls of her friend Maggie's artist co-op during a repair project. When her fianc?e Detective Marcus Gordon thinks it may be tied to the disappearance of a local woman thirty years ago, Kathleen and her sleuth-smart cats work to uncover who is keeping secrets in her small town.

Cousins Yale and Celine Yee, the owners of a successful food stall business, are invited to an exclusive dinner with the local restaurant owners association. However, the hot pot dinner ends in the murder of Jeffery Vue, president of the group. The police focus on a family friend and on Yale's dad. Yale and Celine investigate the others at the dinner to find the culprit.

Three Christmas themed novellas feature Hayley Powell, Mia Malone, and Cece Barton all trying to solve suspicious deaths in unexpected circumstances.

In March of 1817, Jane Austen's health is in slow decline which puts her latest manuscript in jeopardy, but when she learns about a death at her nephew Edward's former school, Winchester College, she's pulled into solving the mystery. Arthur Prendergast is found dead and in the pocket of his drenched waistcoat is an incriminating note penned by the young William Heathcote, the son of Jane's dear friend Elizabeth. It's up to Jane to uncover the truth and clear William's name.

Shay Myers, the descendant of an Irish witch and the owner of Crystals & CuriosiTeas in California, practices the art of blending herbs at her shop. She meets the grandmother of pub owner and ex-detective Liam Madigan, and the woman encourages Shay to have a tea reading. Everything is going fine until a customer dies from sipping a poisoned substance. When Shay's assistant is accused of intentionally serving the tea, Shay and Liam must clear her name and save the shop.

Miriam Qui?ones goes to visit her parents in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, but things soon take a dangerous turn when someone starts damaging the vacation rentals her parents manage and Miriam receives a package from a stalker.

When she was in middle school, Charlotte Illes' uncanny detective abilities actually made her a minor celebrity in her town, but that was before she graduated high school and no longer accepted calls on her little blue phone in her garage-office. Now twenty-five, she feels stuck, having no romantic or professional prospects to speak of--and her old blue phone has started ringing again. Solving a case as an adult, though, is far different than her cases as a kid: for one, there were no dead bodies or missing persons back then. Also, the villains now see her as a threat, and could set their sights on her next.

Jaime and Henry run one of the most successful construction and interior design companies in all of Charlotte, North Carolina, but their marriage falls apart when Jamie discovers Henry is having an affair. Thanks to an ironclad prenuptial agreement, Jaime receives only one thing: a historical house in disrepair, and things go from bad to worse when Jamie begins the costly repairs on the house and finds a dead body behind one of the recently renovated walls. Her house suddenly becomes a crime scene, and when the body turns out to be someone Jaime knew in her past, the investigation becomes personal. Soon, Jamie is determined to solve the murder herself with the help of Mike, her new neighbor and local hardware store owner, and a cat she found on-site she names Demo.

Identical twin sisters Alex and Hanna are the owners of the Murder and Mayhem bookshop that sells their famous poison-themed Killer Chocolates. As Alex is preparing for Christmas, her elderly friend Jane tells her that a real murderer from a true-crime show is in town. Then Alex arrives at Jane's house and discovers her dead body near a box of Killer Chocolates. Now Alex is a suspect because she is a beneficiary in Jane's will. Alex sets out to find the real killer and prove her innocence. Includes recipes.