But now she's starting a new life in the one place she swore she'd never come back to.When Molly's only Washington job prospect falls through, her politico niece, Karen, sets her up with a position in the office of a freshman senator. As the former wife of a congressman, Molly is alarmed to hear that Karen is having an affair with her boss, congressional chief of staff Jed Molinoff. Just days later, Molly finds Karen shot to death. Discovering that Molinoff has ransacked Karen's apartment, Molly investigates further . . . and finds herself in the crosshairs of a shadowy political group that's killing anyone who gets in its way.Praise: Sefton entertains while providing an unnerving behind-the-scenes view of D.C. politics, where power and politics can make a lethal combination.--The Free Lance-StarMaggie Sefton's foray into political intrigue is a marvelous look at the shady underbelly of insider Washington...A tightly plotted tale of treachery.--Mystery Scene MagazineSefton has a sharp ear for dialog and knack for writing strong female characters that serve her well as she ventures into suspense.--Library JournalWelcome to Molly Malone's Washington...where parties and power go hand in hand with mystery and murder.--Brian Freeman, author of Spilled Blood

    In fact, it's all tofu fish sticks, stuffed squash blossoms, and enough wheat grass shots to scream bloody murder - especially when Dana discovers the body of Maxwell Mendelsohn, Hollywood producer and opening weekend guest, deader than a yoga corpse pose. While Dana pens the Spa's blog and balances the attentions of the local police and reporter Jason Forrester, her escalating job duties now include finding clues, motives and suspects. One thing's for certain, she better act fast before all this healthy living kills her.

    Not only has she got a meddling mother, a wacky staff, and a dying business, but now she’s got a dead client who was strangled while awaiting her facial.With business the way it is, combing through this mystery may be the only way to save her salon. Until a second murder, an explosion, a kidnapping, death threats, and the hard-nosed Detective Romero complicate things. But Valentine will do anything to untangle the crime. That’s if she can keep her tools of the trade in her bag, keep herself alive, and avoid falling for the tough detective.In the end, how hard can that be?

    But unpacking with a newborn daughter, record-breaking heat wave, and the realization that their dream neighborhood is known as Base Housing East is enough to make her turn to chocolate for comfort. She and her husband, Mitch, moved off-base for privacy. Now half of their neighbors are with the 52nd Air Refueling Squadron. Driving home from her first squadron barbecue, Ellie finds neighborhood environment activist Cass Vincent dead on the side of the road. The police call it an accident--"but Ellie's not so sure. She saw Cass argue violently at the barbecue with Mitch's buddy Jeff...and it just so happens Jeff knows a lot about bee-keeping. Hoping to clear Jeff' name before the police suspect him, Ellie starts snooping in earnest. What she finds shocks her. But what's the connection to Cass? When suspicious accidents start happening in her own backyard, Ellie realizes she's getting closer to the killer...may be too close!

    Now she’s further up the coast in sleepy Etonville, managing a restaurant that dishes dinners themed around the community theater’s latest productions. But Dodie just never imagined she’d land the starring role in a case of bloody homicide . . .   Intrigued by rumors of vanishing box office money, Dodie has agreed to help oversee the casting of Romeo and Juliet at the modest Etonville Little Theater. If nothing else, it’s a welcome escape from the thirty-something’s usual going-to-bed-with-a-mystery-novel routine. But when Jerome Angleton, a well-respected member of the theater company, is inexplicably found murdered on the loading dock, deadly drama transcends the stage—and the page. As a crime wave crashes over the small town, the spotlight is on Dodie to orchestrate her own investigation behind the scenes . . . before someone has a chance at a killer encore.

    . . Victoria heads back to the Jersey shore to explore her family’s roots and the specialty Italian cuisine their restaurant, the Casa Lido, is famous for. But she barely hits town before she finds that Oceanside Park is abuzz about a reality show slated to film on its beach. Not everyone in the cozy seaside town is happy with the news, and Victoria’s family is leading the protest. But when the show’s brash producer winds up face down in the tomato garden after eating at the restaurant, things look bleak for the Rienzi clan—and Victoria finds herself in some hot pasta water. She served the dead man his last meal, her ex-boyfriend prepared it, and now the Casa Lido is on the verge of closing. Adding to her troubles is a nosy journalist, a determined prosecutor, and a plateful of suspects, all spelling a recipe for disaster. That’s when her formidable nonna gives her a new job: solve the murder before the summer season starts and save the Casa Lido. With her deadline only days away, this saucy sleuth jumps into action—but can Victoria serve up the culprit before it’s too late?Recipes Included![This is a new edition of a book previously published by Penguin Random House under the same title. Its contents have been slightly updated, but the story, characters, and setting remain the same.]

    It’s sponsored by the Sap Bucket Brigade, aka the firefighters auxiliary, and the Greene family farm provides the syrup. But when obnoxious outsider Alanza Speedwell flops face first into a stack of flapjacks during the contest, Greener Pastures’ syrup falls under suspicion. Dani knows the police—including her ex-boyfriend—are barking up the wrong tree, and she’s determined to pull her loved ones out of a very sticky situation. The odds may be stacked against her, but she’s got to tap the real killer before some poor sap in her own family ends up trading the sugar house for the Big House…

    That was before she found the body of a woman with whom she had traded heated words the previous night, left her fingerprints on the murder weapon, and came under attack for trying to clear her name. When her cheating ex-fiance shows up, intent on convincing her to come back to work for him, Tess—armed with an extra batch of éclairs—decides to take control and solve the mystery herself, with the help of friends and frenemies alike. But will that be enough to save her when she gets too close and the killer decides it’s safer to get her out of the way?

    As the co-owners of Bread and Batter Bakery in Destiny, New York, Molly Tyler and Olivia Williams have plenty on their plates. Molly is recently divorced and looking for a place to live, but they’re also both preparing for Destiny’s annual Apple Harvest Fair. The bakery has a booth where they’ll be selling not only delicious cupcakes and cider doughnuts, but also tote bags and t-shirts emblazoned with the bakery’s logo. Tensions rise at the fair when local orchard owner Calista Danforth discovers organizers have assigned her usual booth to Bread and Batter. Although a heated argument ensues between her and Molly, the bakery manages to rake in lots of dough. But when Calista is found strangled to death with one of their t-shirts, Molly is named the prime suspect. Now these two friends must whip up some answers quickly before the future of their business crumbles...

    Dae O'Donnell is the mayor of Duck, North Carolina-and the person everyone turns to when they've lost something. One touch and Dae can find it, and missing pieces seem to find their way to her, whether she wants them to or not. When Miss Mildred asks Dae to find her missing watch, Dae finds herself looking for more than mislaid jewelry-she must prove the town matriarch isn't a cold-blooded killer.

     Welcome to Calendar where life is sweet, but death is murder. Sara Cutler loves her job as head librarian of the public library, an integral part of the historic heart of the picturesque mountain town, Calendar. The combination of old books, quirky clientele, and endless reading is nothing less than perfection for Sara. So when she discovers a body in the rare books section that threatens to destroy her quiet existence, along with the imminent demise of the library, Sara vows to find the killer. She never expects to receive any help from Jason Rees, the handsome, big city developer whose only objective is to get rid of the library. Sara assumes he is counting on the murder to serve as the final death knell his firm needs to demolish the library. However, that doesn’t prevent him from falling head over heels for the very woman with whom he’s clashing. When news arrives that the dead woman was nothing that she appeared to be, the whole town is instantly enthralled by the concept of having an actual jewel thief in their midst. Even more puzzling is: where did she hide her stolen treasure? All Sara must do to save the library is simply solve the murder, find the hidden jewels, and convince herself not to succumb to the one man she would rather see run out town. It doesn’t take long before she realizes that amateur sleuthing isn’t as easy in real life as it is in the stories she loves to read. Twelve cozy mysteries... one deadly town!

     Not long after Isabel, Izzy, Chambers opens up a knitting shop in the sleepy fishing town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, a diverse group of women begins congregating each week to form the Seaside Knitters. Izzy raises some eyebrows when she rents the apartment above her shop to Angie Archer, whose reputation for loose behavior and a quick temper has made her unpopular with many locals. But could any of them have wanted her dead? Angie's body is discovered drowned in the harbor, her long red hair tangled like seaweed in a lobster trap. An official investigation rules the death an accident. There are speculations of too many whiskey sours, a slippery wharf, a dark night? But Izzy and the Seaside Knitters smell something fishy. When several strange incidents occur above the shop, the women decide to take matters into their own hands. But before long, their small-town sense of security is frayed, and the threat of more violence hangs over this tightly knit community.

    From the slow southern dialect to the crazy drivers, Willow finds herself at odds with what most call “southern charm.” She becomes obsessed with cook-offs and bake-offs, wanting those trophies for her mantle. With the chili cook-off just around the corner, Willow manages to provoke one of the judges to a fit of road rage. When that judge ends up face down, dead, in a bowl of Willow’s chili, police chief Grice looks to the newest town resident as his number one suspect. Willow must find out who wanted Ms. Delonda Posey dead before the good citizens of Turtle, OK run her Yankee bottom out of town.

    Annabelle knows that even her trusted wedding emergency kit won't be able to salvage their careers if she and Richard can't find the real culprit.It's no easy task since the slain matron was perhaps the most hated socialite in DC, but Annabelle navigates through the city's colorful wedding industry and powerful social scene on the deadly trail of a killer. Always the bridal consultant and never the bride, she's seen her fair share of bouquet tosses. But there's no telling what surprises a ruthless killer will throw her way if she gets too close.

    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.