Between a parade, carnival games, rides, the Pecan Princess pageant, and several pecan bake-offs, Tara wants quality time with her fiancé Nick before their upcoming nuptials. But when a mysterious woman in a hat shows some suspicious behavior and the bake-off winners don’t look that surprised when they win…could the competitions be rigged? Despite the lack of evidence, Tara is determined to dethrone the cheaters and make sure the actual winners can have their pie and eat it too. A lead-in to the series finale, Death, Taxes, and Pecan Pie is a sweet treat!

    But the sweet scene turns sour when someone puts murder on the menu… Trixie is in need of a fresh start away from her cheating ex-husband, but she may be biting off more than she can chew when she moves to upstate New York to run her family’s famed Silver Bullet Diner. Not only is she caught off guard by the small town’s resident heartthrob, Deputy Ty Brisco, but her first health inspection turns into a nightmare…when the inspector keels over in his Blue Plate Special. It seems someone made a deadly addition to an old family recipe, and Trixie is determined to find out whodunit. But between serving up orders and sniffing out clues, she’d better watch her back—or her next meal might be her last. Includes recipes!

    Artisans Alley takes center stage in those books, but the merchants--and their businesses--are just as intriguing. They all have stories to tell ... and that's what the Life on Victoria Square companion series is all about.       So settle back and really get to know the merchants. Learn about their lives, and how life on Victoria Square affects them. It might just make a profound impression on you, too! SPOILER ALERT:  These stories take place AFTER the 4th novel, DEAD, BATH and BEYOND.)CARVING OUT A PATH:  A young shoplifter not only swipes a couple of hand-carved figurines from Ray Davenport, owner of Victoria Square's Wood U gift shop, but barrels into and injures Katie Bonner, manager of Artisans Alley. Upon his escape, the police are called, but before the ink is dry on the report, the boy's grandmother drags the would-be thief back to return the purloined items. She's got an agenda and great expectations. Can Ray come through in a pinch?

    Then Deborah Warren shows up to distract her—but is Deborah a ghost, or just the product of Meg's feverish imagination?Choosing to believe that Deborah really is a ghost, Meg sets out to discover the truth of why she's been around for 200 years when all she wants is to go home.About the Author:After collecting too many degrees and exploring careers ranging from art historian to investment banker to professional genealogist, Sheila Connolly began writing mysteries in 2001, and is now a full-time writer. She wrote her first mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime under the name Sarah Atwell, and the first book, Through a Glass, Deadly (March 2008), was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel; Pane of Death followed in November 2008, and Snake in the Glass in September 2009. Under her own name, her Orchard Mystery Series (Berkley Prime Crime) debuted in 2008 with One Bad Apple, followed by Rotten to the Core in July 2009, Red Delicious Death in March 2010, A Killer Crop in December 2010, and Bitter Harvest in August 2011.Her new series, the Museum Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), set in the Philadelphia museum community, opened with Fundraising the Dead in October 2010, followed by Let's Play Dead in July 2011.She is currently planning a new series set in Ireland, which will debut in 2012/13.Her first short story, "Size Matters," was published by Level Best Books in 2011, and was nominated for an Agatha Award.Sheila is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of American and Romance Writers of America. She is currently President of Sisters in Crime New England, and cochair for the 2011 New England Crime Bake conference.

    Returning to her hometown of Moosetookalook, Maine, she decides to help her aunt run her Scottish emporium. But when murder rears its ugly head in the idyllic, quiet village, Liss will have to add sleuthing to her repertoire...Liss hasn’t been in Moosetookalook in over ten years, but the quaint little town, nestled in the hilly terrain of western Maine, looks exactly as she remembers it. Only home a day before her aunt takes off on a tour of Scotland, Liss mans the emporium’s booth at the annual Western Maine Highland Games. There she gets reacquainted with some old friends and new local characters, including an obnoxious real estate agent and his spoiled girlfriend who insists on ordering a custom-made kilt sewn from a plaid called the Flower of Scotland.Liss knows a sale is a sale and returns to the emporium that night exhausted yet happy. But her bliss soon turns to dread when she finds the dead body of her aunt’s nosy neighbor, Amanda Norris, under a bolt of the Flower of Scotland fabric in the stock room. And if things weren’t bad enough, the state police hone in on Liss as the prime suspect.With the help of Dan Ruskin, a neighbor and former high school classmate, Liss begins her own investigation that uncovers secrets about the residents of Moosetookalook–secrets she wished had stayed buried. Now Liss will have to do some fancy footwork to prove she’s innocent while avoiding becoming the killer’s next victim...

     They're blondes with style, money, and men falling at their feet. But now these perfect women are perfect victims. In Drop-Dead Blonde, four of today's top mystery authors-Nancy Martin, Denise Swanson, Elaine Viets, and Victoria Laurie-spin four all-new tales of fair-haired sirens, secrets, and seduction.

    But when one of her clandestine concoctions is used to poison a local woman, Lilah finds herself in a pot-load of trouble…After dreaming for years of owning her own catering company, Lilah has made a start into the food world through her Covered Dish business, covertly cooking for her neighbors who don’t have the time or skill to do so themselves, and allowing them to claim her culinary creations as their own. While her clientele is strong, their continued happiness depends on no one finding out who’s really behind the apron.So when someone drops dead at a church Bingo night moments after eating chili that Lilah made for a client, the anonymous chef finds herself getting stirred into a cauldron of secrets, lies, and murder—and going toe to toe with a very determined and very attractive detective. To keep her clients coming back and her business under wraps, Lilah will have to chop down the list of suspects fast, because this spicy killer has acquired a taste for homicide…

    Is Blake being targeted unfairly or has Nikki gotten herself involved with a real life lady-killer?The days are long and humid, the clues are leading in all directions, and the responsibilities are piling up as Independence Day quickly approaches. Abby can't turn down a friend in need, but can she solve Nikki's dilemma and handle all her other concerns before the fireworks?

    In it, Wanda’s sister professes her love for Wanda’s husband…and soon, other pieces of correspondence are discovered between the covers, hinting at sordid secrets—and, perhaps, murder.…

    With its rustic interior and syrupy scent, the Flip Side Pancake House is just as she pictured it--and the surly chef is a wizard with crêpes. Marley expects to spend a leisurely week or two in Wildwood Cove, the quaint, coastal community where she used to spend her summers, but then Cousin Jimmy is found murdered, sprawled on the rocks beneath a nearby cliff. After she stumbles across evidence of stolen goods in Jimmy's workshop, Marley is determined to find out what's really going on in the not-so-quiet town of Wildwood Cove. With help from her childhood crush and her adopted cat, Flapjack, Marley sinks her teeth into the investigation. But if she's not careful, she's going to get burned by a killer who's only interested in serving up trouble.

    When her brother-in-law's body falls out of the confessional at church, everything she holds dear is threatened, especially when the police arrest her husband for the murder. Plagued by hot flashes, a thickening waistline, a mother addicted to the home shopping channel and tempted by a sexy old flame come back to town, Lucille really has her hands full. But while Lucille may not know much about solving crimes, she does know her patron saints. With some prayers, fast thinking and even faster talk, Lucille manages to nail the killer and restore order to her life.Lucille's number one favorite patron saint: St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes. Because Bernadette is pregnant and unmarried, her boyfriend is in jail, Lucille's husband might be playing around, her best friend could be a murderer, and Lucille has gained ten pounds thanks to her latest diet.

    He still has the old Airstream trailer he once used for his own restaurant many years before, and Zoe is sure she can convince him to let her make a food truck out of it.After making the perilous journey from Mobile, Alabama into the backcountry, Zoe finds her uncle embroiled in a cook-off with his neighbor—with the life of Saul’s albino alligator, Alabaster, in the balance. Once again, the gator has eaten chickens that didn’t belong to her. So Saul and his neighbor will each prepare a meal for a church social, and if Saul wins, the gator lives.Now it’s up to Zoe to prove herself in the kitchen and come up with something no one has seen before—the biscuit bowl!

    But as new food writer Hayley Powell is about to find out, the occasional murder can take a bite out of seaside bliss. . .Single mom Hayley Powell is barely keeping her leaking roof over her head when her boss at the Island Times gives her a new assignment--taking over the paper's food column. Hayley's not sure she has the chops--she's an office manager, not a writer, even if her friends clamor for her mouth-watering potluck dishes. But the extra income is tempting, and Hayley's chatty first column is suddenly on everyone's menu--with one exception.When rival food writer Karen Appelbaum is found face-down dead in a bowl of Hayley's creamy clam chowder, all signs point to Hayley. To clear her name, she'll have to enlist some help, including her BFFs, a perpetually pregnant lobster woman, and a glamorous real estate agent. As she whips up a list of suspects, Hayley discovers a juicy secret about the victim--and finds herself in a dangerous mix with a cold-blooded killer.Includes seven delectable recipes from Hayley's kitchen!"What a delicious debut mystery!" -Laura Levine"A delicious read that I ate up in one sitting." -Isis CrawfordMore Mouth-Watering Praise For Lee Hollis And Hayley Powell!"Sleuth Hayley Powell slides down as easily as one of her Lemon Drop Martinis (recipe included) and readers will be calling for a second round from author Lee Hollis." --Leslie Meier, author of Chocolate Covered Murder"Delicious and satisfying. Another course, please." -Carolyn HartMore Mouth-Watering Praise For Lee Hollis And Hayley Powell!"Sleuth Hayley Powell slides down as easily as one of her Lemon Drop Martinis (recipe included) and readers will be calling for a second round from author Lee Hollis." --Leslie Meier, author of Chocolate Covered Murder

    In the run-up to Christmas Eve, organizer of book-themed tea parties Callie Aspen and her lovable Boston terrier will have to conquer threefold trouble—a mysterious will, a missing heirloom and a dead body—to restore the festive spirit to their small town.This Christmas, Callie Aspen returns to her childhood hideout Heart's Harbor, Maine where her great aunt runs Book Tea, a vintage tearoom where every sweet treat contains a bookish clue. Upon arrival in the fairy-tale snowy town, Callie is drawn into the preparations for a special tea party at Haywood Hall, the rambling house of Heart's Harbor's oldest resident, rich but lonely widow Dorothea Finster, who invited her estranged relatives, old friends and the elite of the town to make a mysterious announcement about her will. Believing they can touch a part of her fortune, everybody is determined to come, despite not liking each other or even their hostess. And Callie's old friend Sheila complicates things by using the tea party to announce her daughter's engagement, even though her daughter isn't sure she's in love with the young lawyer her mother thinks so perfect for her. Catering to people who each have their own agenda isn't easy for the Book Tea crew, especially once the valuable engagement ring goes missing and a dead body turns up in the conservatory. Can Callie and her great aunt use their love of clues to dig into the crimes and show their unhappy hostess and squabbling guests the true Christmas spirit?

    It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail. As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her?