Halloween Cupcake Murder

A trio of sweet-toothed Halloween cozy mystery tales by nationally bestselling authors. HALLOWEEN CUPCAKE MURDER by CARLENE O'CONNOR With Galway’s Halloween Mystery Tour only a few days away, Tara Meehan is scouring the town’s curiosity shops for spooky decorations to draw tourists into her architectural salvage store. But when a stranger appears in her shop bearing a cryptic cupcake and an ominous message, Tara suddenly finds herself tangled in a mystery with ancient Gaelic roots, but very modern—and very deadly—consequences . . . MRS. CLAUS AND THE CANDY CORN CAPER by LIZ IRELAND Christmastown is pulling out all the stops for their Halloween celebration, planning a huge carnival with rides, games, and a candy corn-themed bake-off! But the sweet theme stokes the bitterest of rivalries amongst the elves, until tragedy strikes at Santaland’s newest bakery. The only clue is a cupcake, leaving Mrs. Claus to sort through tricks and treats as she races to unmask a Halloween fiend . . . A TRIPLE LAYER HALLOWEEN MURDER by CAROL J. PERRY Every October, Salem plunges into a month-long celebration of Halloween and WICH-TV’s Lee Barrett can’t wait to cover the festivities. But rumors swirl after a wealthy bakery owner goes missing—and his beloved cat, Cupcake, is found—under mysterious circumstances. Now, amid Salem’s wicked revelry, Lee must conjure clues to reveal the missing millionaire . . . or the truth about his disappearance . . .

Humor with a side of homicide. A baker who sees the dead. One too many suitors. And a killer. Living in Honey Hollow can be murder. Murder in the Mix is a USA TODAY Bestselling Series! Humor with a side of homicide. From New York Times, USA TODAY, & Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Addison Moore. Cosmopolitan Magazine calls Addison's books, "...easy, frothy fun!" This book can be enjoyed on its own without reading the other books in the series so dive on in! My name is Lottie Lemon, and I see dead people. Okay, so I rarely see dead people, mostly I see furry creatures of the dearly departed variety, who have come back from the other side to warn me of their previous owner's impending doom. It's October and the entire town has come out to celebrate the Haunted Honey Hollow Festival. In between doling out cupcakes and partaking in the festivities myself, I happen to stumble upon a body-not just any body-one that has far too many skeletons in the closet for me to ever sift through. Add to it my already complicated love life, the ghost of a black cat named Thirteen, a surprise that I never see coming and you'll have the most frightening Halloween Honey Hollow has ever seen. Lottie Lemon has a brand new bakery to tend to, a budding romance with perhaps one too many suitors, and she has the supernatural ability to see the dead-which are always harbingers for ominous things to come. Throw in the occasional ghost of the human variety, a string of murders, and her insatiable thirst for justice, and you'll have more chaos than you know what to do with. Living in the small town of Honey Hollow can be murder.

Bakery owner Hannah Swensen just can’t keep her hands out of the batter when murder stirs things up in Lake Eden, Minnesota, leaving the sheriff dead, a deputy accused, and a killer on the loose . . . For Hannah, life seems to be lacking a certain flavor lately. Maybe it’s the local sheriff’s election that’s got her down. For years, Sheriff Grant’s been the iron hand in town. But now, Hannah’s brother-in-law, Bill, is giving the old blowhard the fight of his long, dubious career—and Grant’s not taking it well, especially once the polls show Bill pulling ahead. But before anyone can taste victory, Hannah makes a very unappetizing discovery: Sheriff Grant’s body in the dumpster behind the high school where she’s teaching her cooking class. Worse, the poor man still has fudge frosting on his shirt from one of her cupcakes. The number one—and only—suspect is Bill, but Hannah’s not swallowing it. Plenty of people had reason to hate Sheriff Grant. Soon, Hannah’s dishing up scandalous secrets, steaming hot betrayals, and enough intrigue to keep the gossip mill at The Cookie Jar going through several pots of decaf. And the closer Hannah gets to the truth, the closer she gets to smoking out a murderer with a very nasty recipe for silencing people . . . INCLUDES TEN ORIGINAL DESSERT RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY! “For fans of culinary mysteries.”—Library Journal “Scrumptious.”—Publishers Weekly

An Irish holiday anthology of cozy mysteries featuring a trio of today’s top cozy mystery authors that will make other cozy anthologies green with envy. IRISH MILKSHAKE MURDER by CARLENE O’CONNOR In advance of their St. Patrick’s Day wedding, Tara Meehan and Danny O’Donnell are off to the Aran Islands with their bridesmaids and groomsmen for a joint hen and stag party. The weekend kicks off with the ferry trip to Inis Mór, as the passengers enjoy boozy milkshakes on board and entertainment from a pair of famous Irish-dancing twin brothers. But faster than Tara can say “Oh, Danny Boy,” a murder shamrocks the boat as someone’s spiked shake turns out to be their final round. Stuck in a rural island cottage, while a storm rages outside, Tara must find the Celtic killer before her luck runs out . . . MURDER MOST IRISH by PEGGY EHRHART St. Patrick’s Day is drawing near in Arborville, New Jersey and the folks at Hyler's Luncheonette are getting into the holiday spirit with a new, limited-time, Irish-themed menu item--a festive green milkshake appropriately named, “The Leprechaun.” It’s a hit, until a patron is felled by one of the frothy concoctions during a sheep parade through the town. Now, it’s up to Pamela Paterson and her Knit & Nibble knitting club pal, Bettina Fraser, to catch a murderer and put a stop to the shear madness . . . MRS. CLAUS AND THE LUCKLESS LEPRECHAUN by LIZ IRELAND Spring in Santaland means two things: the elves have more leisure time and iceball season is in full swing! To celebrate, April Claus’s friend, Claire, whips up some minty milkshakes for her bustling ice cream shop, Santaland Scoop. But when the St. Paddy’s promotion makes one elf the target of a decidedly unlucky strike, Mrs. Claus and her friends must figure out if the attack was a failed hit job, a crime of passion, or an extremely unfortunate accident . . .

Fans of M.C. Beaton and Rhys Bowen, prepare for a delectable page-turner that mixes the charm of the Emerald Isle with the irresistible allure of a classic cozy whodunit. Siobhán and Macdara Flannery's plans for a romantic honeymoon by the sea crumble like battered cod when they discover a dead body in the local fish and chip shop. This charming village harbors secrets beneath its culinary delights, but even a crafty killer is no match for these cunning sleuths. Siobhán’s brother Eoin’s new family restaurant, The O’Sullivan Six, is so close to opening—but waiting on the necessary permits plus the heat of July in the village of Kilbane in County Cork is driving everyone a bit mad. Macdara Flannery comes to the rescue with a plan—take a holiday by the sea and stuff themselves with fish and chips to support the struggling business of the aptly named Mrs. Chipper. But when they arrive, a crowd is gathered in front of the closed shop: a local fisherman with a fresh cod delivery, a food critic, Mrs. Chipper’s ex-husband who’s opening a competing fish and chips shop directly across the street, and a repairman to fix the vent for the deep fryer. With Siobhán and Macdara as witnesses, a local handyman gets the locked door open, only to find the proprietor lying dead and covered in flour at the base of a ladder, its rungs coated in slippery fat. Clearly this was not an accidental tragedy . . . Even as the local garda take over the murder investigation, Siobhán and Macdara can’t help themselves from placing their long-delayed honeymoon on hold—at least until they can help apprehend an elusive killer.

In the powerful tradition of Ann Cleeves and Louise Penny, USA Today bestselling author Carlene O'Connor’s new Ireland-set series continues, bringing together complex characters with a focus on a female vet who returns home to the village where she grew up and must reckon with her past while untangling mysteries in the present. In Dimpna Wilde’s veterinary practice, an imminent meteor shower has elevated the usual gossip to include talk of shooting stars and the watch parties that are planned all over Dingle. But there are also matters nearer at hand to discuss—including the ragtag caravan of young people selling wares by the roadside, and the shocking death of Chris Henderson, an elderly local, in a hit-and-run. Just hours before his death, Henderson had stormed into the Garda Station, complaining loudly about the caravan’s occupants causing noise and disruption. One of their members is a beautiful young woman named Brigid Sweeney, and Dimpna is shocked when Brigid later turns up at her practice, her clothing splattered in blood and an injured hare tucked into her shirt. Brigid claims that a mysterious stranger has been trying to obtain a lucky rabbit’s foot. Dimpna is incensed at the thought of anyone mutilating animals, but there is far worse in store. On the night of the meteor shower, Dimpna finds Brigid’s body tied to a tree, her left hand severed. She has bled to death. Wrapped around her wrist is a rabbit’s foot. Brigid had amassed plenty of admirers, and there were tangled relationships within the group. But perhaps there is something more complex than jealousy at play. The rabbit’s foot, the severed hand, the coinciding meteor shower—the deeper Dimpna and Detective Sargeant Cormac O’Brien investigate, the more ominous the signs seem to be, laced with a warning that Dimpna fears it will prove fatal to overlook.

When one of her famous Red Velvet cupcakes is thought to have caused the death of her rival--a scandalous Lake Eden legend who was trying to steal her boyfriend--Hannah Swensen becomes the unlikely suspect in a murder investigation and must whip up the real killer before someone else gets iced.

The latest novel in this exciting supernatural cozy series from the author of the Witch City Mysteries features a New Englander transplanted to a Florida town along the scenic Gulf of Mexico when she inherits a charming, century-old—and very haunted—inn from a mysterious benefactor. Fans of Amanda Flower and Heather Blake will delight in murder, ghosts, and the heroine’s golden retriever, Finn. It’s June in Haven, Florida, a “between seasons” time in the tourism business, and Maureen’s Haven House Inn is feeling the pinch. There are plenty of ghosts in residence, but Maureen needs living guests to pay the bills. Inspired by an old brochure she finds in a trunk she inherited along with the inn from her mysterious benefactor Penelope Josephine Gray, she gets the brilliant idea to revive a June fishing tournament from twenty years ago, hoping to reel in anglers who’d love to catch the Gulf Coast’s popular kingfish and take home a trophy. But one fisherman won’t make it to the tournament. While walking on the beach with her golden retriever Finn, Maureen discovers a body. When Officer Frank Hubbard arrives, he recognizes local charter boat fisherman Eddie Manuel. Now it’s up to Maureen and her spirited sleuths to sort through the red herrings and bait a hook for a killer before someone else ends up sleeping with the fishes . . . Praise for Be My Ghost “Maureen is a breath of fresh air in the cozy world. . . . The ghosts, in a refreshing departure from most paranormal cozies, don’t take center stage, and entertaining subplots . . . keep the pages turning. Readers will look forward to Maureen’s further adventures.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review