Culinary Fiction

Montana, my favorite place. I didn't purposely find the building there, honest. But man, am I glad that I did. Billings is a great place to open an authentic Italian restaurant. My siblings will get used to the much smaller city, at least it's not a tiny town like a lot of the other places in Montana. We're opening a restaurant because it's been our dream since we were little kids. We all loved cooking with Nonna every afternoon. She taught us how to make all her authentic Italian recipes. We've been saving every penny since we were old enough to earn money and we're finally ready. I was ...

The country's hottest TV cooking show is coming to Cape Cod. Lily Roberts is entering America Bakes! with her charming tearoom, Tea by the Sea! Filming is already proving disruptive, closing the tearoom during Lily's busiest season. But tensions really bubble over when infamous bad-boy chef and celebrity judge, Tommy Greene, loses his temper with Lily's staff, resulting in an on-camera blowout with Cheryl Wainwright. Just as Lily thinks the competition can't get more bitter, Tommy is found dead in Tea by the Sea's kitchen . . . murdered with Cheryl's rolling pin.

When it comes to Eastwind's annual cook-off, witch Nora Ashcroft is in it to win it. It's the perfect opportunity to introduce her delectable queso recipe to the magical town of Eastwind, and she'll do whatever it takes to keep Donovan from beating her. But after someone tampers with her appetizer, causing a whole gaggle of ghosts to blow in on the breeze, the psychic finds herself with a big, cheesy mess on her hands. Can Nora find who sabotaged her entry, or will the restaurant owner's reputation be fried to a crisp?

Welcome to Spellbound, where paranormal is the new normal. Emma Hart has a lot on her paranormal plate - a wedding to plan, a trespasser to defend, and a longstanding curse to break. When a pixie dies under mysterious circumstances, her endless list of Things to Do grows even longer. Will she manage to uncover the truth behind the pixie's death before she becomes the next victim?

The producers of Witchflix TV favorite The Great Witchy Cake Off are searching for somewhere new to base the filming of their next series. Naturally, Alfhild Daemonne, a long time fan of all things cakey, invites them to Whittle Inn. But what seemed like a great opportunity for a little harmless Wonky Inn self-promotion backfires when, at dawn on the first day of filming, one of the contestants is found toes-up outside the famous marquee.

As a single mom, Hayley Powell already has a full plate - she's got deadlines to make and a teenage daughter with eyes for an aspiring singer-songwriter. But when country music superstar Wade Springer rolls into town, Hayley spies an irresistible side gig: personal chef to her all-American idol. After he tries her home cooking, Wade's so impressed that he hires her on the spot - and invites her to dine with him alone.

On New Year's Day, Fran takes her dog Latte on a walk. Luck of all luck, she finds a dead blonde on the sidewalk—right outside Ryan's house. Sammy, Fran's best friend, has been staying with Ryan, and she becomes the police's number one suspect. Fran can't just sit back and watch her best friend—and the cafe's best latte-maker—go to jail.

The island fishing village of Eastport has plenty of salty local character. It also has a sweet side, thanks to Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree, her best friend Ellie, and their waterfront bake shop. This summer, Eastport's favorite lovebirds, kindergarten teacher Sharon Sweetwater and Coast Guard Captain Andy Devine‚ are getting married. The gala reception is sure to be the fête of the season, especially with a wedding-cake-sized whoopie pie. But the celebratory air, and sweet smell of success‚ are ruined by foul murder.

As the owner of Pie Town, Val's been tapped to judge the pie-making contest at the annual pumpkin festival in the coastal California town of San Nicholas. Things could get sticky though - her boyfriend, cop Gordon Carmichael, is entering the competition with his "special" family pumpkin pie recipe. But Val's got bigger problems than a conflict of interest when she and her flaky piecrust-maker Charlene discover another contestant crushed under an enormous pumpkin.

For Julia Snowden, the Founder's Day summer celebration in Busman's Harbor, Maine, means helping her family's clambake company to prepare an authentic taste of New England seafood. Any Mainer will tell you that a real clambake needs wood for the fire...so why is there a foot sticking out of the oven?

When Tiffany and Ian go to Uncle Joe’s family reunion party, they don’t expect to run into a killer… A Cupcakes-and-Crime Caper But that’s exactly what happens when Uncle Joe’s ex-wife Beryl is found dead! Trapped inside Beryl’s creepy old house by an avalanche, Tiffany and Ian must work quickly to uncover who among the other houseguests is the killer. As Beryl’s unsavory past starts coming to light, Tiffany realizes that quite a few people staying in the house have secrets of their own, and good reason to want Beryl dead. From disgruntled family members to secret lovers, to ...

In her Food Lovers' Village Mysteries, Agatha Award-winning author Leslie Budewitz introduces us to Jewel Bay, a tight-knit Montana community that thrives on tourism and farm-to-table fare. Featuring Erin Murphy, beloved proprietor of the Merc—a century-old general store converted into a local foods market-each book brings us closer to the folks who call Jewel Bay home, and the cunning culprits in their midst.

Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell usually reserves judgement for local cuisine, not the people who serve it. But staying neutral isn't so easy when caught between the biggest seafood rivals in town—her BFF Mona Barnes and the successful Leighton clan. Adding to a bitter decades-old surf-turf war between family businesses, a modern Romeo and Juliet story unfolds as Mona's son gets engaged to the daughter of her sworn enemy.

Emma Laurent has always preferred helping others to asking for help. But now, she’s the one in need. Her stepmother is selling her late father’s candy shop, her grandmother’s assisted-living facility has become a financial burden, and the anniversary of her fiancé’s death is quickly approaching. Rather than face her problems, Emma does what she does best - finds someone else to help by offering a mother and son with nowhere to go somewhere to stay.

Tiffany, Stone and Rosie visit a "historic" small town - but the local historians' tales don't seem quite believable. But that's not the only secret this small town harbors; when a local landlord is killed, the trio must uncover the truth behind his death. Temperamental chefs, confused old ladies and a troublesome housekeeper add to Tiffany's difficulties. Could any of them have been involved in the murder?

Melanie Cooper has zero interest in catering her 15-year high school reunion, but Angie insists it’s only right that they bask in the success of Fairy Tale Cupcakes - and Mel’s engagement to the delicious Joe DeLaura is the cherry on top! Everything is going better than expected until Mel’s high school nemesis picks a fight. No longer willing to put up with Cassidy Havers’s bullying, Mel is ready to tell the former homecoming queen to shut her piehole and call it a night. But as Mel and Joe prepare to depart, Cassidy is found dead in the girls’ bathroom....

Montana, as far from the ocean as you can get. No lobster anywhere close, and my specialty is lobster risotto. Could this be any worse? I checked, Angelo was right. The building he found in Billings really was the only one that was in our budget and didn't need a ton of work. I would just have to make due with shrimp risotto. Frozen lobster just isn't good, it definitely isn't good enough to serve at our restaurant. Frozen shrimp isn't great either, but it was a whole lot better than frozen lobster. When you're in a land-locked state in the center of the country, there's not a lot you can ...

I wasn't too happy when Billings, Montana ended up being the only place that we were able to find a building. But I quickly realized how awesome it was here once all my siblings started finding their special someone. Nico and I are the only ones left. I made the mistake of getting my hopes up when my sisters kept telling me that it was my turn. I refuse to do that again, so when Tasha announced that her friend was moving here, I immediately talked myself out of getting excited. She's likely not mine. She has two kids, she'd better suited for someone in her same situation. Being a stepdad is...

A murder staged to look like a suicide fools everyone except Albert Smith. He knows better. In Lyme Regis with his faithful dog, the victim invited him to visit the seaside resort. Now he’s dead, and Albert wants to know why.

Excitement and anxiety envelop Winifred and Leo as they prepare for their first trip together—New Year's Eve in New York City. For Fred, figuring out what clothes to pack is a challenge, but nothing compared to the emotional knot and turmoil of leaving her cherished corgi sidekick, Watson. It is more than Fred's nerves, however, or Watson's grumpy mood, that threaten the trip. When Fred receives a text from Leo about a meeting at Madame Delilah's Old Tyme Photography, a quick errand leads to an unexpected mystery. And soon more than travel plans are in danger.