Pushing Up Daisies

New York Times bestseller M. C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin—now the star of a hit show on Acorn TV and public television—is back on the case and poking around where she doesn't belong. Agatha Raisin, private detective, resident in the Cotswold village of Carsely, should have been a contented and happy woman... But in M.C. Beaton's Pushing Up Daisies, things are about to get a little less cozy. Lord Bellington, a wealthy land developer, wants to turn the community garden into a housing estate. And when Agatha and her friend Sir Charles Fraith attempt to convince Lord Bellington to abandon his plans, he scoffs, “Do you think I give a damn about what a lot of pesky villagers want?” So it’s no surprise that some in the town are feeling celebratory when Agatha finds his obituary in the newspaper two weeks later. The villagers are relieved to learn that Bellington’s son and heir, Damian, has no interest in continuing his father’s development plans. Except the death was apparently murder, and the police see Damian as suspect number one--though Agatha finds plenty of others when he hires her to find the real killer. The good news is that a handsome retired detective named Gerald has recently moved to town. Too bad he was seen kissing another newcomer... Soon, another murder further entangles Gerald and Agatha in a growing web of intrigue as they work with her team of detectives work to uncover the killer’s identity.

Meet Paula Holliday, a transplanted media exec who trades her stilettos for garden clogs when she makes the move from the big city to the suburbs to start a gardening business. Paula can handle deer, slugs, and the occasional human pest---but she’s not prepared for the mummified body she finds while restoring the gardens at Halcyon, a local landmark. Casual snooping turns serious when a body is impaled on a garden tool and one of Paula’s friends is arrested for the crime. Aided by the still-hot aging rocker who owns the neighborhood greasy spoon, a wise-cracking former colleague, and a sexy Mexican laborer with a few secrets of his own, Paula digs for the truth and unearths more dirty business the town has kept buried for years.

After hitting it big with Momma's Baby, Daddy's Maybe, national bestselling author Jamise L. Dames is back with another hip, sensual, and compelling novel. A Tragic Past... Daisy Parker's boyfriend has strayed one too many times and she's no longer sitting pretty. Having sacrificed seven years of her life to being his faithful woman and raising his nine-year-old son, the only thing that will calm her now is to hurl his beloved wardrobe out their second-story window. Single life may scare Daisy, but her mind is made up -- when the good-for-nothing returns, she'll serve him his walking papers. Only he isn't up to his old tricks that night, and what goes down strips Daisy of the option to choose. She's on her own. ...A Hopeful Future Left penniless, homeless, and jobless, Daisy struggles to make a home for herself and her son. Just when she seems poised to take control and put the baggage of her past behind her, complications arise when the towering frame of Daisy's deliciously handsome college crush strolls into town. His unexpected attention makes her feel alive, yet she's been burned by love once and isn't sure she can take the heat. As undeniable passions rise, so do the stakes, and Daisy can't stand to lose another round.... A compelling tale of life, love, and hope.

A tale of love, lust, and mistrust, Momma's Baby, Daddy's Maybe reveals the secrets that break homes as well as hearts. The Jacobs's siblings have done a good job of masking their secrets behind finely wrought facades, hidden agendas, and questionable paternity...until the day it all starts to unravel. Faced at last with the truth, Kennedy, Simone, and Derrick Jacobs find themselves vulnerable and exposed, determined to salvage the lives they have made for themselves. Passions run high in this debut novel by Jamise L. Dames, and as the Jacobs try desperately to untangle themselves from a web of deceit, they learn how tragedy can move toward truth, and the strongest of all ties. Three women. Three men. One truth. Kennedy Jacobs has it all: beauty, brains, and the confidence to match. She also has the man that sister Simone has officially declared off-limits. With sass, class, and strength to spare, Kennedy takes the world by storm -- until tragedy jumps up and slaps her in the face. Simone Jacobs wants it all. She has the expensive home, the VP position at a top accounting firm, and a new man who tickles more than her fancy. But something is missing. Just when it seems that this something is within reach and her life is coming together, someone starts to tear it apart at the seams. Derrick Jacobs is a handsome Wall Street exec, a fully equipped ladies' man who can't be tied down by any woman. With charming good looks, a chiseled body, and a very healthy bank account, Derrick Jacobs can move mountains...but will his secrets cause them to crumble? A stunning novel of family ties and family lies.

Pushing Daisies was a unique network television show. This collection of 10 essays addresses the quirky, off-beat elements that made the show a popular success, as well as fodder for scholarly inquiry. Divided into three main sections, the essays address the themes of difference, the placement of the series within a larger philosophical context, and the role of gender on the show. A consideration of Pushing Daisies' unique style and aesthetics is a consistent source of interest across these international and interdisciplinary scholarly critiques.

This boxed set features all six current titles in the Tea Shop Cozy Mystery series Fifty-something widow Willow Foxglove's dream is to operate a herbal tea shop. If only she could stop tripping over dead bodies long enough to organize the business! When murder comes to peaceful Aniseed Valley, Willow Foxglove is on the case. Believing the local sheriff to be unequal to the challenge, she pursues leads in between building a new tea shop and looking after her Maine Coon kitten, Mavis. As each crime unfolds, she draws on the book-smarts of best friend Harmony and conspiracy-laden facts from second-best friend Reg to help untangle the evidence. And, of course, she can always rely on handy hints from her favorite TV show of all time - Miss Walsham Investigates! This boxed set contains the following titles to keep you guessing and keep the murderers on their toes! 1: Pushing Up Daisies 2: Berry Murderous 3: Deathbed of Roses 4: Orange Juiced 5: Keeping Mums 6: Hibiscus Homicide Tea Shop Cozy Mysteries are quick 1-2 hour reads perfect for filling in time waiting for appointments, commuting to work, or when your significant other insists on watching the show that makes you roll your eyes! They contain no swearing, no gore, no cliffhangers, and no graphic scenes.

Daisy Forest knows a ghost when she sees one. True, she has never actually seen a ghost before, but she swears their transparency is a dead giveaway. Daisy, a volunteer tour guide at the historic Holly Hill Mansion, knows that Sophia Meade Long, the woman who once owned the mansion, has been dead since 1814. So, when a very transparent Sophia steps in front of Daisy's little Prius one night and asks for her help, how could she refuse? Once again Daisy and her sister, Rose, find themselves up to their eyeballs in all sorts of shenanigans — chasing ghosts, holding sÉances, and searching for priceless Revere silver. The sudden reappearance of their reprobate father, Dickie Forest, with a new and unlikely interest in the occult has them puzzled to say the least, and their mother, Angela, behaving at her eccentric best. What seems to be harmless fun takes a deadly turn when Daisy stumbles on the body of the mansion's curator in the wine cellar and Daisy is later attacked after a Gothic evening in the mansion. When the police seemed to be stumped, it's up to Daisy and Rose, with the invaluable help of Angela, to calm the ghost and catch a killer.

How did die become kick the bucket, underwear become unmentionables, and having an affair become hiking the Appalachian trail? Originally used to avoid blasphemy, honor taboos, and make nice, euphemisms have become embedded in the fabric of our language. Euphemania traces the origins of euphemisms from a tool of the church to a form of gentility to today's instrument of commercial, political, and postmodern doublespeak. As much social commentary as a book for word lovers, Euphemania is a lively and thought-provoking look at the power of words and our power over them.