Summer Garden Murder

The star of public television's top garden show, Louise Eldridge is something of a celebrity. But when a dead body is planted in her backyard, she's in for notoriety of a different kind. . . Summer is the season for disquiet in Louise's Sylvan Valley cul de sac, and the tradition continues when an uninvited guest crashes a neighborhood soiree. Five years ago, Louise identified Peter Hoffman as the "mulch murderer." Now he's been released from a Virginia state mental institution. Leaving the party doesn't put enough distance between Louise and Hoffman, who has a thing or two to say to her—and actually has the nerve to follow her home to air his grievances. Shaken by the incident, Louise and family decide to take a little R&R at the beach in the hope that Hoffman will have moved on by the time they return. When they get back from vacation, Hoffman's moved on all right—but not in quite the way Louise had hoped. He's been missing for seven days, and Louise is the one who finds him. . .buried beneath her native azalea patch. Things go from bad to worse once the police learn that someone saw Louise planting one of the nights she was supposed to be out of town. With suspicion buzzing around her, she starts doing some snooping among her friendly—and not-so-friendly-neighbors, including high-powered attorney Mike Cunningham, who may have had a shady business deal going with Hoffman; Hilde, an apprentice gardener with something to hide; and Hoffman's own widow, whose relationship with her husband wasn't exactly a bed of roses. But before Louise can make any serious headway, another murder victim turns up—felled by a garden claw covered in Louise's fingerprints. Now, with more than just her television career in jeopardy, Louise will have to dig up some serious clues to bring a killer to light—before another person winds up as fertilizer. . .

In this memoir-turned-cookbook, Alice B. Toklas describes her life with partner Gertrude Stein and their famed Paris salon, which entertained the great avant-garde and literary figures of their day. With dry wit and characteristic understatement Toklas ponders the ethics of killing a carp in her kitchen before stuffing it with chestnuts; decorating a fish to amuse Picasso at lunch; and travelling across France during the First World War in an old delivery truck, gathering local recipes along the way. She includes a friend's playful recipe for 'Haschiche Fudge', which promises 'brilliant storms of laughter and ecstatic reveries', much like her book.

Chaos erupts at Andrea's baby shower, meanwhile Gloria's sister, Liz, becomes a murder suspect while housesitting for the summer. "If you like clean and humorous cozy mysteries that keep you guessing until the end, you'll love Hope Callaghan books!" "Murder on Summer Lane" is Book 22 in the Garden Girls Cozy Mysteries Series. BONUS - RECIPE INCLUDED! Read This Cozy Mystery FREE With Kindle Unlimited! --------------------------------- The Garden Girls have planned the perfect baby shower for Andrea and her husband, Brian. The decorations are in place, the delicious dishes lovingly prepared by the friends and nearly half the town of Belhaven has been invited to join in the joyous occasion, but there's trouble on the horizon. As if dealing with the unexpected wrench in their perfectly laid party plans isn't enough, Liz, Gloria's sister, has arrived for the summer, and invited the friends to stop by for a tour of her swanky new summer digs.The friends tour the beautiful home and grounds, and Gloria can't believe her sister's good fortune. It seems almost to be too good to be true.But all is not perfect in Liz's slice of paradise. She hasn't even unpacked her bags when the women make an unsettling discovery, setting Liz up as the prime suspect for a murder investigation. With a killer on the loose, will Gloria and the Garden Girls convince Liz to give up her dream summer home long enough to clear her name and keep her from becoming the next victim?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic of true crime, set in a most beguiling Southern city—now in a 30th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author “Elegant and wicked . . . might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.”—The New York Times Book Review Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. In this sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative, John Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman’s Card Club; the turbulent young gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the “soul of pampered self-absorption”; the uproariously funny drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young people dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience.

Tish Tarragon’s preparations for Coleton Creek’s annual garden club awards luncheon are threatened when one of the prime contenders is murdered. Literary caterer Letitia ‘Tish’ Tarragon is preparing her English Secret Garden-themed luncheon for Coleton Creek’s annual garden club awards, but when she is taken on a tour of some of the top contenders with the garden club’s president, Jim Ainsley, Tish is surprised at how seriously the residents take the awards – and how desperate they are to win. Wealthy, retired businessman Sloane Shackleford has won the coveted best garden category five years in a row, but he and his Bichon Frise, Biscuit, are universally despised. When Sloane’s bludgeoned body is discovered in his pristine garden, Tish soon learns that he was disliked for reasons that go beyond his green fingers. Have the hotly contested awards brought out a competitive and murderous streak in one of the residents?

Things really go to seed in the newest novel in the New York Times bestselling Book Retreat mysteries... There is a hidden garden bordering the grounds of Jane Steward’s book-themed resort—a garden filled with beautiful but deadly plants such as mandrake and nightshade. Tucked away behind ivy-covered walls and accessible only through a single locked door, as described in the pages of Frances Hodges Burnett's classic novel, the garden is of special interest to Jane’s current group of guests, The Medieval Herbalists. But when one of them turns up dead, Jane must discover whether a member of the group has come to Storyton Hall to celebrate their passion for plant lore or to implement a particularly cruel means for murder. With thousands of books at her disposal, Jane believes she has the proper materials to solve this deadly problem. If she’s wrong, however, she may lose something far more precious than the contents of Storyton’s secret library...

She wants to spend her vacation soaking up the sun not swimming with sharks. Join Becky on her summer adventure as she attempts to solve two puzzling mysteries! A Hoax & a Hex Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the lie. What’s a girl to do when she’s swept up in a Hollywood courtroom drama with an over-the-hill lawyer and a defendant who claims innocence by hypnosis? Despite the implausible alibi, amateur sleuth Becky Robinson believes him. The career criminal and notorious jewel thief has already been convicted in the press and the trial is nothing but a forgone conclusion. OBJECTION! Calling Perry Mason, Matlock, even the fake lawyer from Suits. Send help. Innocent until proven guilty. Becky must uncover whodunit before the state calls their next witness. Or will the real thief snap their fingers and cast a spell on the judge, jury, and executioner? ----------------------------------- A Patsy & a Pastry Murder in a small town? That’s how the cookie crumbles. A rise in tourism is icing on the cake. After riding the coattails of her fellow detectives, Becky Robinson lands her first paying client. A bookstore owner believes her baker ex-husband is trying to kill her and hires Becky to prove it. Residents of the idyllic coastal town dismiss the claim as a work of fiction until a flour-covered skeleton sparks rumors of a conspiracy. The bakery can’t sugarcoat this murder - they’re caught bread-handed. Knead not worry, Becky is undercover. Cooking skills? Nah, but she’s an actress, she can fake it until she bakes it. Can Becky discover whodunit before it’s too late? Or will another victim meet their baker? ----------------------------------- Summer Vacation Murder is a bundle of two mysteries previously published in a summer spinoff series. If you are the type of reader who likes binging a series in chronological order, this is best read as book 9. If you love clumsy heroines, a Hollywood backdrop, quirky suspects, and an adorable rescue puppy this series is for you! Hollywood Whodunit Series Order Book 0: Lake Day Shenanigans Book 1: Prime Time Murder Book 2: Stand-In Murder Book 3: Music City Murder Book 4. Trap Door Murder Book 5: Fool's Gold Murder Book 6: Holly Jolly Murder Book 7: Blue Suede Murder Book 8: Family Reunion Murder Book 9: Summer Vacation Murder Book 10: Sunlight Swindler Murder Book 11: Castle Island Murder Book 12: Fixer-Upper Murder Book 13: Hometown Murder ---------------- Keywords: cozy mystery, cozy mystery series, murder mystery, animal mysteries, dog mysteries, female sleuth mysteries, amateur sleuth mysteries, clean mysteries, mysteries with humor, funny cozy mystery, whodunit cozy mysteries, murder, Los Angles, Hollywood, actress, pop culture references, witty dialog, quirky characters, friendship, Jack Russell terrier, chasing your dream, detective agency, resort, blackmail, murder, inheritance, flamingo, courtroom drama, law, lawyers, baking cozy mystery, small town, lighthouse