Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody
Author: Barbara Ross
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496719956

Jane Darrowfield is a year into her retirement, and she’s already traveled and planted a garden. She’s organized her photos, her recipes, and her spices. The statistics suggest she has at least a few more decades ahead of her, so she better find something to do . . . JANE DARROWFIELD, PROFESSIONAL BUSYBODY After Jane helps a friend with a sticky personal problem, word starts to spread around her bridge club—and then around all of West Cambridge, Massachusetts—that she’s the go-to girl for situations that need discreet fixing. Soon she has her first paid assignment—the director of a 55-and-over condo community needs her to de-escalate hostilities among the residents. As Jane discovers after moving in for her undercover assignment, the mature set can be as immature as any high schoolers, and war is breaking out between cliques. It seems she might make some progress—until one of the aging “popular kids” is bludgeoned to death with a golf club. And though the automatic sprinklers have washed away much of the evidence, Jane’s on course to find out whodunit . . .

Sealed Off

Sealed Off
Author: Barbara Ross
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2019-12-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496717988

Early October is “winding down” time in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, but there’s nothing relaxing about it for Julia Snowden. Between busloads of weekend leaf peepers at the Snowden Family Clambake and a gut renovation of the old mansion on Morrow Island, she’s keeping it all together with a potentially volatile skeleton crew—until one of them turns up dead under the firewood. When the Russian demo team clearing out the mansion discovers a room that’s been sealed off for decades, Julia’s baffled as to its purpose and what secrets it might have held. Tensions are already simmering with the crew, but when one of the workers is found murdered, things come to a boil. With the discovery of another body—and a mysterious diary with Cyrillic text in the hidden room—the pressure’s on Julia to dig up a real killer fast. But she’ll have to sort through a pile of suspects, including ex-spouses, a spurned lover, and a recently released prisoner, to fish out one clammed-up killer. Praise for Steamed Open “Sure to appeal to readers who treasure the Maine coast, Ross’s latest continues the lives and minor dramas of her fictionalized version of Boothbay Harbor with amiable characters.” —Kirkus Reviews

Getaway With Murder

Getaway With Murder
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2021-10-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250815983

Getaway With Murder is the first in a cozy series from Diane Kelly set in a lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where secrets hide behind every hill. As if hitting the half-century mark wasn’t enough, Misty Murphy celebrated her landmark birthday by amicably ending her marriage and investing her settlement in a dilapidated mountain lodge at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With the old inn teetering on both a bluff and bankruptcy, she must have lost her ever-loving mind. Luckily, handyman Rocky Crowder has a knack for rehabbing virtual ruins and for doing it on a dime, and to Misty’s delight, the lodge is fully booked on opening night, every room filled with flexible folks who’d slipped into spandex and ascended the peak for a yoga retreat with plans to namastay for a full week. Misty and her guests are feeling zen—at least until the yoga instructor is found dead. With a killer on the loose and the lodge’s reputation hanging in the balance, Misty must put her detective-skills to the test. Only one thing is as clear as a sunny mountain morning—she must solve the crime before the lodge ends up, once again, on the brink.

Steamed Open

Steamed Open
Author: Barbara Ross
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2018-12-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 149671797X

In this cozy mystery by the author of Stowed Away, a blocked-off beach throws a small town into chaos and brings a killer out of their shell. It’s summertime in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and the clamming is easy—or it was until a mysterious new neighbor blocks access to the beach, cutting off the Snowden Family Clambake’s supply. Julia Snowden is just one of many townspeople angered by Bartholomew Frick’s decision. But which one of them was angry enough to kill? Beachcombers, lighthouse buffs, and clammers are outraged after Frick puts up a gate in front of his newly inherited mansion. When Julia urges him to reconsider, she’s the last to see him alive—except the person who stabs him in the neck with a clam rake. As she pores through a long list of suspects, Julia meets disgruntled employees, rival heirs, and a pair of tourists determined to visit every lighthouse in America. They all have secrets, and Julia will have to work fast to expose the guilty party—or see this season’s clam harvest dry up for good. Praise for Steamed Open “Each one is even better than the previous. I loved it!”—Suspense Magazine

Hallowed Out

Hallowed Out
Author: Barbara Ross
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Total Pages: 99
Release: 2022-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496741463

For Julia Snowden of the Snowden Family Clambake, Halloween takes on a whole new meaning in the coastal town of Busman's Harbor, Maine, when a seasonal activity turns fatal . . . With its history of hauntings and ghost sightings, Busman’s Harbor is the perfect setting for Halloween festivities. Despite her busy schedule, Julia agrees to help out with a haunted house tour to protect her mother from overwhelming herself. But when a reenactment of a Prohibition-era gangster’s murder ends with a literal bang and a dead actor from New Jersey, Julia Snowden must identify a killer before she ends up sleeping with the fishes. Praise for Shucked Apart “An intelligent, well-plotted page-turner with likeable characters and a doozy of an ending. Highly recommended.” —Suspense Magazine

Clammed Up

Clammed Up
Author: Barbara Ross
Publisher: Kensington Books
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2013-09-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0758286856

Summer has come to Busman's Harbor, Maine, and tourists are lining up for a taste of authentic New England seafood, courtesy of the Snowden Family Clambake Company. But there's something sinister on the boil this season. A killer has crashed a wedding party, adding mystery to the menu at the worst possible moment. . . Julia Snowden returned to her hometown to rescue her family's struggling clambake business--not to solve crimes. But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder. When the best man's corpse is found hanging from the grand staircase in the Snowden family mansion, Julia must put the chowder pot on the back burner and join the search for the killer. And with suspicion falling on her old crush, Chris Durand, the recipe for saving her business and salvaging her love life might be one and the same. . . Includes Traditional Maine Clambake Recipes! "A tasty whodunnit with a real Maine twist." --Sarah Graves, author of A Bat in the Belfry More Advance Praise For Clammed Up! "If you like seafood and salty air, you'll love Clammed Up. A tasty tale that will have readers clamoring for second helpings." --Leslie Meier, author of Easter Bunny Murder "Take lobster, clams, and an ear of corn. Add one murder. Fold in a complex heroine, an assortment of colorful suspects, and a plot with lots of twists and turns. Heat up on an island off the coast of Maine. The result? Clammed Up contains just the right amounts of all the best ingredients to provide mystery readers with a tasty treat." --Kaitlyn Dunnett, author of Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones

Dead-End Detective

Dead-End Detective
Author: Amanda Flower
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2020-08-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1947892800

Starred Review on Library Journal! USA Today bestselling author and Agatha Award winner Amanda Flower brings charm and intrigue to her first cozy mystery for Hallmark. Darby Piper is in shock. A seasoned female detective, she worked with Samantha Porter at the Two Girls Detective Agency. Now, Samantha is dead, and it doesn’t look like an accident. In fact, evidence is pointing toward Darby. Darby had expected to inherit Samantha’s half of the agency, but Samantha had recently changed the will to leave it to Tate Porter, her nephew, who returns to town. Tate is no private eye. He’s a world traveler and a veteran whose military past is also something of a mystery. But as he helps Darby delve into secret histories and real estate development plans, he proves to be a talented amateur sleuth. Will the agency have a future…even if Darby can solve this murder mystery in time? This first in series cozy mystery includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Berry Trifle.

Nogged Off

Nogged Off
Author: Barbara Ross
Publisher: Kensington Books
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2019-10-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496726707

Previously published in the collection Egg Nog Murder. ‘Twas the week before Christmas, and Julia Snowden’s escape from New York has just hit a snag. Fresh off accidentally poisoning half her colleagues with her “Killer Eggnog,” Julia’s would-be subletter, Imogen Geinkes, is now jobless and homeless—leading Julia to invite the young woman home for the holidays in Maine. But when they unload the rental truck in Busman’s Harbor, they find something that wasn’t on anyone’s packing list: the body of Imogen’s former boyfriend. Suddenly, the wordplay in Imogen’s name—“I’m a jinx”—isn’t so adorable. But for all the calamities that follow in Imogen’s wake, Julia’s certain she’s no killer. As Julia digs into the case, the appearance of the ex’s brother—his identical twin—doubles the confusion. Has Imogene been double-crossed by an evil twin? Was the eggnog “accident” no accident at all? If Julia doesn’t unwrap the murderer’s true identity soon, one of the twelve days of Christmas could be her last . . . Praise for Steamed Open “Sure to appeal to readers who treasure the Maine coast, Ross’s latest continues the lives and minor dramas of her fictionalized version of Boothbay Harbor with amiable characters.” —Kirkus Reviews

What Not to Wear to a Graveyard

What Not to Wear to a Graveyard
Author: Debra Sennefelder
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Total Pages: 105
Release: 2020-09-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1516110854

After trading her Manhattan digs for her upstate hometown, fashionista Kelly Quinn has big plans for her grandmother’s consignment shop. But this All Hallow’s Eve someone is already dressed to kill . . . A socialite’s missing dog has made front page news in Lucky Cove—complete with a hefty reward. But between renovating the consignment shop, planning her costume for a 1970s themed Halloween party, and scouting a location for a fashion shoot, Kelly doesn’t have time to search. Yet a visit to the local colonial-era cemetery—ideal for the moody atmosphere she’s after—soon turns up the precious pooch. Kelly’s looking forward to collecting the check—until she makes a gruesome discovery in an abandoned farmhouse: The dog’s owner, stabbed through the heart. Kelly can’t help wondering why Constance Lane was traipsing around the farmhouse in stilettos. But as Kelly gets decked out in a vintage disco caftan, that isn’t the only fashion misstatement spooking her. Hidden in the dead woman’s past is a secret that could be the motive for the murder. And as the Halloween party gets started, even a menacing clown and a threatening bearded lady can’t keep Kelly from trick or treating for the truth—even if it means her last dance . . .

5-Ingredient Cooking for Two

5-Ingredient Cooking for Two
Author: Robin Donovan
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2020-06-09
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1646110994

Simple and flavorful 5-ingredient meals—tailor-made for your table of two Small-batch cooking is a great way to save time and reduce waste—and with just a few ingredients, you can truly let the natural flavors of your dishes shine. This cookbook simplifies cooking for two, highlighting wholesome, healthy recipes requiring only five everyday ingredients. You'll find 100 delicious two-person meals, from Breakfast Quesadillas to Blueberry Clafoutis, as well as budget-savvy shopping lists, tips on meal planning, and easy cooking techniques to elevate each flavorful dish. Enjoy wholesome meals made for two with: Tasty variations—Make your dishes special with elegant garnishes and pairing tips. Quick and easy recipes—Spend less time in the kitchen with 30-minute meals that can be made in one pan or one pot, or make-ahead freezer-friendly options. Tips and tricks—Reduce cook times and cost with advice on making your own spice blends, buying in bulk, and minimizing food waste. Scale down your recipe yields without sacrificing taste with this delicious couple's cookbook.