It’s a common cliché, and I’d heard it often enough. People die or move away. Investments go south. Affairs end. Loved ones betray us...Stuff happens.Daisy McCrae’s life is in tatters. She’s lost her job, broken up with her boyfriend, and has been reduced to living in the attic above her family’s store, The Union Street Bakery, while learning the business. Unfortunately, the bakery is in serious hardship. Making things worse is the constant feeling of not being a “real” McCrae since she was adopted as a child and has a less-than-perfect relationship with her two sisters. Then a long-standing elderly customer passes away, and for some reason bequeaths Daisy a journal dating back to the 1850s, written by a slave girl named Susie. As she reads, Daisy learns more about her family—and her own heritage—than she ever dreamed. Haunted by dreams of the young Susie, who beckons Daisy to “find her,” she is compelled to look further into the past of the town and her family.What she finds are the answers she has longed for her entire life, and a chance to begin again with the courage and desire she thought she lost for good.

    It’s just that kind of place. And things get a whole lot stickier for the residents when a businessman visiting the island ends up smothered at the local sugar bush. With maple syrup season in full swing, Ida Noe’s fudge shop is busier than a centipede at a toe counting contest – especially when she’s invited to showcase her world famous Maple Bacon Fudge at Sweeney’s Sugar Bush. All is sweet until some poor sap kicks the bucket in the sugarhouse and all fingers point to Ida’s best friend Maura Sweeney. With the help of her lumpy black Lab and origami loving friend, Ida is determined to “tap” the real killer and prove that maple can indeed be murder. Previously published as Maple Can Be Murder.

     Armed with her insider knowledge of the University and with the help of four nosy old ladies from the village (not to mention a cheeky little tabby cat named Muesli), Gemma sets out to solve the mystery—all while dealing with her matchmaking mother and the return of her old college love, Devlin O’Connor, now a dashing CID detective. But with the body count rising and her business going bust, can Gemma find the killer before things turn to custard? (**Traditional English scone recipe included)

    Often, she is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and things go downhill quickly. All of the books cross genres of chick lit, mystery, romance, humor, and action, bringing you a fast-paced, easy-breezy read.Working in a weight-loss center by day and a racquetball club by night, Susan Hunter enjoys her life, the sport, and her friends. ... Sunshine Hunter opens with Susan finding out her new boyfriend of three months is married. To escape the drama, she accepts an offer from her best friend to tag along for a week in Florida. Here the mystery begins, and Susan believes she and her friend are being stalked. She also learns of a murder back home in Ohio and soon finds out she's wanted for questioning. The story takes an adventurous turn when she ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. ... Humorous, sometimes ominous, Sunshine Hunter is quirky and fun! Approx. 52,000 words.

    That's odd, thinks Jane. The pretty blonde, daughter of an old friend of Jane’s, had always been reliable before and a great nanny to boot. Jane feels a sense of obligation to her old friend and calls Ivy. Truth be told, Ivy was the reason she hired Marlene in the first place. But Ivy has no idea where Marlene is. Jane wonders. If something’s happened to Marlene, she should notify the police. But when she does, the police figure Marlene has run away. No one else cares. What happened to Marlene? Never one to settle, Jane starts to snoop. SLEUTH FOR THE TRUTH Juggling book deals, rival agents, and a rocky romance with an author too handsome for his own good, Jane uncovers that Marlene had a secret life—including some erotic videos, a boyfriend with violent tendencies (as well as a police record), and an off-again, on-again flirtation with a mystery man. Jane finds out nothing about him, which makes her want to track him even more. But it’s Jane’s trusted tortie Winky who uncovers the critical clue. It is the last key which makes all the puzzle pieces fit. As Jane and Winky get to the bottom of who the real killer is, they try desperately to get the police to make their move before the killer strikes again—this time, with Jane as the next victim. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from HANGING HANNAH by Evan Marshall. REVIEWS OF MISSING MARLENE 3.46 average rating, 123 ratings, 8 reviews, added by 239 people, 73 to-reads, 86% of people like it—Goodreads 3.9 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)—Amazon ***** Five Stars “The nanny is missing and hardly no one cares. Starting reading this last night and couldn't put it down. It is one of the best mystery books that I have ever read. The book started out nice, put picked up steam. This story has everything. A missing nanny, murder, sex, friends, lovers and family. It is hard to tell too much about the story without giving away the twist of the ending that I never saw coming.”—T Toms, Amazon customer “A very fast and fun read.” Lennie Alickman “The Jane and Winky series is as cozy as a kitten – with tiny sharp claws.”—Jill Churchill "MISSING MARLENE is fast-paced fun. The characters are engaging and the twist at the end took me by surprise."—Laurien Berenson "Jane Stuart, the heroine, is a Miss Marple for the millennium!"—Kensington Publishing ”Miss Marple Lite!”--Kirkus Reviews ABOUT THE AUTHOR Evan Marshall is owner of The Evan Marshall Agency an independent literary agency specializing in fiction and author of The Marshall Plan® For Novel Writing, the international bestseller on novel writing technique now in its 20th anniversary edition. He is the author of 10 commercially published mysteries including the series Manhattan Mysteries and Jane and Winky Suburban Sleuths, named “Miss Marple Lite” by Kirkus Reviews. His books appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich, Lilian Jackson Braun, Agatha Christie and Alexander McCall Smith. You can reach him at evan@evanmarshallagency.com.

    English teacher Emily Taylor is determined to prove that her missing friend is not a murderer. But if she’s not, then who is? And where could her friend be? Against the advice of fellow math teacher and former crush Tad, Emily and her best friend Gabby dig into the dead coach's pasts. But someone doesn’t want Emily unearthing their secrets and is determined to see that she gets a failing grade in the sleuthing department. Soon, Emily finds herself scrambling for a new lesson plan to solve the murder...before the killer sets his own deadline! "Fun, fast paced, and completely engaging! Tracy D. Comstock's new Schooled in Murder series will leave you dying for more!" ~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times bestselling mystery author

    A New Orleans adventure. A Mardi Gras murder... Roxy believed that life never gives you more than you can handle. But when she's fired from her wage-slave job, bullied by her co-workers, and her boyfriend abandons her, she decides she’s handled quite enough. Eager for a change of scene, Roxy with her white Persian cat Nefertiti head off to New Orleans. The exotic sights, smells, and food of Mardi Gras coax the shy young woman out of her shell. Booking a room at a rundown guesthouse, Roxy is surrounded by a colorful cast of local characters. From tattooed waitresses to mystical tarot card readers, she quickly makes new friends and leaves her old life behind. But she soon discovers that the Big Easy isn’t all beignets and jambalaya. A wealthy developer is eager to buy the guesthouse where Roxy lives and tear it down… until he turns up dead as a doornail! Before she can say ‘Mon Dieu!’, Roxy is caught up in a diabolical murder mystery… and her new friends are the prime suspects! Roxy is determined to protect her pals, and save her new home. But is this anxious adventurer up to the challenge of solving a murder? Or will she become the killer’s next victim… Cozy mystery fans will love this delicious new series from author Alison Golden. No foul language, no sex, and no gore…Just quirky characters, Cajun food, and a puzzling mystery that will keep readers guessing. Mardi Gras Madness is the first book in the Roxy Reinhardt series. Grab your copy today!

     Samantha Hodges is ready to get as far away from crime reporting as possible — especially after what happened in Chicago. Writing for the paper in her pets-obsessed hometown will be easy. Except that she’s not really into animals. And her first interviewee turns up dead. Sam must solve the murder to clear her name — all while attending Dog Zumba class with a new four-legged sidekick like it’s no big deal. If Sam’s going to uncover the dark side of her hometown, she’ll have to embrace the lighter side of life to do it. “Greyhound at the Gravesite” is a new cozy mystery. This novel is lighthearted, fast-paced, and full of quirky characters you can’t wait to meet again. ☆ Free novella — “Catnip & Culprits” — included in purchase! ☆ Scroll up and click Buy Now!

    To promote her new business, Dream Weavers, Della is offering weaving workshops for all levels of ability. In her first class, she meets half a dozen of the town’s colorful characters, who seem as eager to gossip as to learn how to work a loom. But when a shady local businessman is found murdered, Briar Hollow suddenly appears a lot less idyllic. And when one of her weaving students is suspected of the crime, Della can’t help getting entangled in the investigation—with some help from her criminologist friend, Matthew. But can she weave together clues as well as she weaves together yarn—and stop a killer from striking again?FEATURES WEAVING TIPS!

    But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins…   Miss Marple Knits is one of the few businesses still open in the dreary downtown. Josie can’t imagine how it stayed open for so long, yet something about the cozy, resilient little shop appeals to her. But when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…   INCLUDES ORIGINAL KNITTING PATTERNS!

    Warren, Felicity’s boyfriend, plans to lure his lovely lady into a private jet, propose, and whisk her away on a romantic vacation. He just needs Pepper to handle all the fine details in order to make it the perfect proposal—and it is. Everything goes so well when Warren pops the question that he suggests Pepper do this sort of thing professionally. But before she can get her new business off the ground, there are some disturbing questions. Like who’s the dead guy Pepper finds in the ladies’ room of the jet hangar? Is it possible Felicity’s high-flying fiancé has been hiding more than the engagement ring? Pepper’s not married to the idea of having a criminal in the family, so in order to protect her sister, she takes off in pursuit of a killer…

    So when her real estate developer boyfriend offers her a sweet catering gig, she jumps at the chance to cook for his gala and rub elbows with the town’s elite. The problem? That fancy gala is only happening because her best friend’s home was burned down by an arsonist. And the more Bethany learns about her boyfriend’s planned development, the more she suspects that he might have had something to do with it.Determined to uncover the arsonist’s identity, Bethany cooks her way through the gala, listening to the secrets, lies, and gossip swirling around Hosanna Street. But when someone close to her is killed during the party—and the murder weapon is found in her pot of clam chowder—Bethany finds herself in more than a little hot water.---------------------------------------If you like smart culinary mysteries with quirky characters and quaint seaside towns, you’ll love the Death du Jour series that follows Bethany Bradstreet as she builds her career and solves crimes with the help of her friends. Crime Chowder is the first book in the Death du Jour series. This book has clean language and mild suspense with no cliffhangers. It contains depictions of an LGBT relationship.P.S. – There’s a dog in it.

    With so many enchanting items on sale, Peggy can’t resist buying a beautiful old tartan shawl. But once she wraps it around her shoulders, she discovers that her purchase comes with a hidden fee: the specter of a fourteenth-century Scotsman.Unsure if her Highland fling was real or a product of an overactive imagination, Peggy returns home to Vermont—only to find the dead body of her ex-boyfriend on the floor of her shop. When the police chief arrests Peggy’s cousin based on some incriminating evidence, Peggy decides to ask her haunting Scottish companion to help figure out who really committed the crime—before anyone else gets kilt…

    . . Daisy, a widowed mom of two teenagers, is used to feeling protective—so when Iris started dating the wealthy and not-quite-divorced Harvey Fitz, she worried . . . especially after his bitter ex stormed in and caused a scene at the party Daisy’s Tea Garden was catering. Then there was the gossip she overheard about Harvey’s grown children being cut out of his will. Daisy didn’t want her aunt to wind up with a broken heart—but she never expected Iris to wind up a suspect in Harvey’s murder. Now the apple bread and orange pekoe is on the back burner while the cops treat the shop like a crime scene—and Daisy hopes that Jonas Groft, a former detective from Philadelphia, can help her clear her aunt’s name and bag the real killer before things boil over . . . Includes delicious recipes for Iris’s Lemon Tea Cakes and more!

    Based on the note she finds in a black clutch purse, she decides to find out what happened to the purse'