< Back Available from these sellers Click on the icon below to purchase a copy today When the owner of the business next door is found dead in his office, Alene Baron’s first feeling is relief. She’s been suspicious of the food supplements her neighbor has been selling, not to mention the smoothies he’s been hawking, which are much inferior to the ones Alene sells in her cafe. Plus, Stanley Huff never cleaned up his garbage in the alley they shared. As a sexual harasser and shady businessman, Stanley had enemies. One of Alene’s favorite employees is a suspect. And now that employee is missing. Smothered A Whipped and Sipped Mystery: Book 2 Previous Next

< Back Frank Tallis Author of The Max Liebermann Mysteries June 13, 2019 Dr Frank Tallis is a British retired clinical psychologist who has published over thirty scientific papers in international journals, a textbook about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and four psychology books for lay people: Changing Minds (a history of psychotherapy), Hidden Minds (a history of the unconscious), Lovesick (an exploration of the relationship between romantic love and mental illness) and The Incurable Romantic, a fascinating account of a life investigating obsessive love. Talllis is also the Anthony and Edgar-nominated author of the brilliant Max Liebermann Mystery series, about a dashing early 20th century Viennese psychiatrist and disciple of Sigmund Freud, who uses his understanding of human psychology to help solve horrible crimes. While discussing these ongoing investigations, Max and his good friend, the chubby Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt, play chess and consume delicious and well-described Viennese pastries and specialty coffees. Frank Tallis’ novels are: KILLING TIME (Penguin), SENSING OTHERS (Penguin), MORTAL MISCHIEF (Arrow), VIENNA BLOOD (Arrow), FATAL LIES (Arrow), DARKNESS RISING (Arrow), DEADLY COMMUNION (Arrow), DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (Arrow), and MEPHISTO WALTZ (Pegasus). In 1999 he received a Writers’ Award from the Arts Council of Great Britain and in 2000 he won the New London Writers’ Award (London Arts Board). In 2005 MORTAL MISCHIEF was shortlisted for the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award and for the Quais du Polar Award in France, 2007. FATAL LIES was longlisted for the International Thriller Writers’ Best Paperback Award, 2010. DARKNESS RISING (VIENNA SECRETS in the USA) was runner up for the 2009 Medical Journalist’s Association fiction award and shortlisted for the Elle Prix de Letrice in 2010. It was also nominated for an Anthony and an Edgar in 2011. DEADLY COMMUNION (VIENNA TWILIGHT in the USA) was shortlisted for an Edgar in 2012. The Liebermann books have been translated into fourteen languages and optioned for TV adaptation. I contacted Dr. Tallis on Twitter to tell him how much I like his Liebermann series (and point out that Americans also read his books). He tweeted back to say thanks and that it’s being filmed! Wish I’d had the moxie to write back and ask who is playing the lead. I just adore the series and hope he’ll keep it going. Dr. Tallis deserves more attention on this side of the pond. Previous Next

< Back Julia Chapman Author of The Dales Detective Agency Series January 19, 2020 Julia Chapman is the pen name of Julia Stagg. She wrote the Fogas Chronicles , a series set in the French Pyrenees, and the Dales Detective Agency series featuring Samson O’Brien and Delilah Metcalfe. The author has lived around the world, teaching English and doing other jobs, but now lives in the very Yorkshire Dales in which her current mystery series is set. In setting up her scenes, she gives glimpses of stark hills and lush valleys that wind into each other. Volatile weather tosses constant challenges at whoever can eke out a living, and the residents like things the way they’ve always been. Characters who married into the area are still considered newcomers, and there are distinctions about the townsfolk that separate them from everyone else. When Samson returns to the Dales, his homecoming is marred by mistrust and anger. Nobody can forget his previous bad temper. He doesn’t tell the townspeople the true reason that he left, or why he returned. And Delilah, his landlady, doesn’t know that after paying her for office space, he has no money and no home to return to, so he’s going to have to sneak around her and sleep at the office. Delilah is twenty-nine, already divorced after her husband had an affair, with custody of a giant Weimaraner whose antics are fun, although sometimes gross. Chapman’s writing is crisp and well-organized, the setting alternatingly gorgeous and small-minded, the characters quirky and distinctive, and the mysteries fun to unravel. It doesn’t matter if you figure it out before the end, because you’ll still have fun watching Delilah muddle her way through family and business challenges while Samson awaits a reckoning of some kind, always checking around corners and worrying when his phone rings. The Dales Detective Series is absolutely charming! Previous Next

< Back Laurie R King Author of The Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes Mysteries September 28, 2021 Laurie R King is the New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels and other works, including the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes stories, beginning with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (named “One of the 20th Century’s Best Crime Novels” by the IMBA.) She has won the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, Lambda, Wolfe, Macavity, Creasey dagger, and Romantic Times Career Achievement awards, has an honorary doctorate in theology, and has been guest of honor at several mystery conventions. The author says she became a writer because she loves and has been nurtured by books. King never took a course in creative writing, took seven years to finish her undergrad degree, and didn’t start writing her own stories until she was in her thirties. Her language is crisp; she probes into period thought, manners, dress, and behavior but still manages to defy convention. I love that Mary Russell is a beautiful Jewish woman in whom an aging Sherlock Holmes has finally met his match. Previous Next

< Back Barbara Cleverly Author of The Detective Joe Sandilands Mystery Series March 13, 2022 Barbara Cleverly was born in Yorkshire, England (1940) and is known for the Detective Joe Sandilands Mysteries (13 of them – enjoyed Spider in the Cup and Diana’s Alter), Inspector Redfrye series (enjoyed Invitation to Die and Fall of Angels)) and the Laetitia Talbot mystery series. She received the E llis Peters Historical Dagger award in 2004 and her writing is British, clever (ly), fast-paced, and intelligent. She draws the reader into her world. While I’m reading Cleverly, I’m continuously reminded that educated Brits have a command of the language most of us lack. We generally wouldn’t use words like insouciance (we might use nonchalance) and we hardly ever toss in Latin. I love that her historical books are often loosely based on actual people or incidents. In Diana’s Alter, Joe Sandilands pretends to be an art connoisseur and holds his own with a Cambridge historian in order to find a killer – is it a cutting-edge researcher or someone in the aristocracy? And why does he have to rely on secretive female spies? I would make my way through all three of Cleverly’s complete series if I didn’t want to read so many other authors! Previous Next

Recipes to Die For All Recipes Baking Breakfast Cakes, Pies, & Icing Cookies & Brownies Dips & Sauces Entrees Gluten-Free Muffins & Breads Soup Vegan Vegetarian Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian Black Bean Mushroom Carrot Soup I love making "pantry" soups with what I've got on hand plus whichever vegetables I have in the fridge. I thought I was making my old Black Bean Edamame soup until I saw that I was out of the frozen edamame. Cooking, like jazz, is all about improvisation! Read Recipe Cookies and Brownies Chocolate Passover Cookies Only 4 ingredients and great for last minute cookies anytime of year, but I make these during Passover, when we don't use flour or leavening of any kind. Read Recipe Dips and Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free Spinach & Green Pea Dip/Sauce Gorgeous color, bright flavor, and filled with nutrients! Read Recipe Entrees, Vegetarian, Vegan Leek and Red Onion Rice Platter Sometimes I drizzle the tahini on top of this dish so that it looks like frosting. Read Recipe Entrees, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Soup Chilled Minty Cucumber-Melon Soup The perfect and refreshing snack for a hot day! Read Recipe Gluten Free, Vegan, Baking Chocolate Hamantaschen These are hamantaschen for grown-ups. Not too sweet; just right. Read Recipe Muffins and Breads, Gluten Free, Baking, Breakfast Gluten-Free Pancakes We were desperate for pancakes so I tweaked another recipe I was working on to make these. Read Recipe Gluten Free, Cookies and Brownies Pistachio Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies It's hard to resist snagging these from the cookie sheet while they cool! Read Recipe Dips and Sauces, Entrees, Vegetarian, Vegan Mashed Cauliflower and Acorn Squash I like to mash veggies from my Friday roasted veggie tray and try different combos. Read Recipe Entrees, Vegetarian Cold Sesame Noodles The perfect recipes for a picnic lunch! Read Recipe Dips and Sauces, Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegetarian Easy Hummus I make this version of hummus when I’m out of tahini. Read Recipe Soup, Vegetarian, Vegan, Entrees Spinach-Lentil Soup Need iron? This delicious soup will do the trick! Read Recipe Load More

< Back Elizabeth George Author of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries July 20, 2023 The length of each Elizabeth Inspector Lynley novel might be daunting to some, but as someone who used to expressly buy only the thickest books (always wanted to get my money’s worth), I’ve set aside entire weekends to delve into many of her well-plotted, twisty and fascinating novels. I started reading Elizabeth George long before I began keeping a record, but every now and then I dive into another novel, and just completed The Punishment She Deserves (2021). I love that this American woman delves into the language and customs of another country, describing various locations in Great Britain with what strikes me as passion. I’m drawn in by finely described interactions between characters, and the slowly simmering arguments and feelings of various characters, each with their own motivations and struggles. I come away knowing them better than most of the people I meet – why they went into their professions, what their upbringings were like, how they fight with their spouses or ex-spouses, how they view themselves. George has been translated into a bunch of languages and has been both nominated and recipient of many mystery awards, plus she still teaches writing (I’m interested in her Hedgebrook Women’s Writers’ Retreat on Whidbey Island, where she lives). In addition to the 21 (as of 2022) Inspector Lynley novels, she also has a young adult series set there, in Washington state. I’m also interested in her newish book, a masterclass in the form of a guide for writing. I'll probably continue to pick up occasional Elizabeth George novels, and hope to one day go through the entire televised series. Meanwhile, she's one of the great authors who has been missing from this list (yes, I know I've neglected to mention many of them - promise I'll get to it at some point). Elizabeth George definitely belongs here - Previous Next

< Back Jennifer Ashley Author of The Kat Holloway Mysteries February 20, 2020 Jennifer Ashley is one of those writers with limitless energy and a treasure trove of untold stories in her head. She writes historical, paranormal and contemporary romance as Jennifer Ashley; mysteries as Ashley Gardner; and paranormal romance/urban fantasy as Allyson James. Her over 100 books have been translated into over ten languages, and she is a N.Y.T and U.S.A. Today bestselling author. Her website informs us that although she loves reading and writing above all else, she also has a bunch of hobbies including cooking, hiking, playing flute and guitar, painting, and building miniature rooms and dollhouses. One can only assume she is another one of those people who requires no more than four hours of sleep at night (or she is the most organized woman in the world). I love reading Kat Holloway mysteries, each of which is carefully researched so that the young cook’s preparations and meals are what might have been served in Victorian England. I was so enamored of her seed-cakes that I’ve spent the past two weeks trying to recreate a healthy version without butter or eggs. I love her evening preparation of yeast dough that rises all night so that she can do the second rising in the morning before baking it – exactly how I do it! It’s delightful to hear how Mrs. Holloway plans and executes the meals she’ll serve ‘above stairs,’ in addition to how she puts together her own and the other servants’ meals. There’s usually something in the oven that needs tending, or a complete meal that needs serving when Mrs. Holloway leaves to help a friend solve a problem. Ancillary characters like vivacious, cross-dressing Lady Cynthia, mysterious, renaissance man Daniel Macadam, and snooty butler Mr. Davis are well-drawn and interesting. Mrs. Holloway is always putting on her apron and getting to work in the kitchen or removing her apron and donning her coat, hat and gloves to venture into the bustling city. She treasures her days off with her little daughter, tries to convey proper behavior to her staff, and strives to make the lives of poor beggars a little easier with coins and extra food that she brings outside after the evening meal. Solid Mrs. Holloway is indeed a most charming and dependable hero. Previous Next

< Back Victoria Thompson Author of The Gaslight Mystery Series June 6, 2019 Even though I like reading lesser known authors and mystery series, I couldn’t help spending a few bitter Chicago winter evenings this year devouring several in the Gaslight Mystery Series by Victoria Thompson. Winner of the Career Achievement Award for Mystery from RT Book Reviews in 2011, Thompson currently teaches in the master’s degree program for writing popular fiction at Seton Hill University, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. Victoria is a founding member and past president of Novelists, Inc., a national organization of published writers of popular fiction. She is also co-founder and past president of PENNWRITERS, a statewide writer’s organization in Pennsylvania. Victoria has served on the board of directors of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and was co-founder and the first President of New Jersey Romance Writers. She is also a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Victoria lives in a suburb of Chicago with her husband and a very spoiled little dog. I wonder if our children went to the same high school. Chicago is pretty spread out though, with many suburbs. Hint: the one we lived in had a mall. I emailed her because she said: Please send me an email at victoria@victoriathompson.com to let me know what you think of the books and to get on my mailing list so I can send you a reminder each time a new book comes out. Because of the large volume of email I receive, I may not be able to personally reply to each one, but I do read them. You may also visit me on Facebook at Victoria.Thompson.Author and Twitter @gaslightvt. I’ll keep you posted on upcoming releases and appearances. Haven’t heard back yet , but I’ll keep you posted. I’m apparently not the only one who is charmed by Frank Malloy, an NYC detective sergeant until he married wealthy, wise, midwife and champion of women’s health, Sarah Brandt. How fun to wander the streets of late 19th century New York City from Battery Park to Washington Heights, watching as Malloy hops on curbs to avoid horse-drawn carriages or those new-fangled automobiles in a city struggling with corruption and ineptitude. And although he has no need to work, he still finds himself ferreting out con men, thieves and murderers. All in good fun and well done! Previous Next

Cookie & Brownie Recipes to Die For Cookies and Brownies Chocolate Passover Cookies Only 4 ingredients and great for last minute cookies anytime of year, but I make these during Passover, when we don't use flour or leavening of any kind. Read Recipe Gluten Free, Cookies and Brownies Pistachio Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies It's hard to resist snagging these from the cookie sheet while they cool! Read Recipe Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Baking, Cookies and Brownies, Vegan Ginger-Molasses Cookies G.F. V. "Would you like a pot of chamomile tea?" Read Recipe Gluten Free, Vegan, Cookies and Brownies Peanut or Almond-Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Who doesn't love freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? Read Recipe All Recipes Baking Breakfast Cakes, Pies, & Icing Cookies & Brownies Dips & Sauces Entrees Gluten-Free Muffins & Breads Soup Vegan Vegetarian Load More

< Back Deanna Raybourne Author of The Veronica Speedwell Mysteries and Lady Gray Mysteries July 7, 2021 Deanna Raybourne (Veronica Speedwell Mysteries and Lady Gray Mysteries) combines romance and mystery in the Victorian era, with charming details about food, dress, and manners of the time. Although there must have been free-thinking young women in the 1900’s, it was probably rare, but I set aside any concern about the appropriation of modern thinking and just enjoyed Veronica’s adventures (A Treacherous Curse, A Perilous Undertaking, A Murderous Relation) as a butterfly collector and amateur sleuth (along with her handsome sidekick, the aristocratic Stoker, who helps solve mysteries when he isn’t stuffing and mounting animal specimens). I read three of these in a row during a vacation and enjoyed every minute, no matter how improbable the situations. Previous Next

Breakfast Recipes to Die For Muffins and Breads, Gluten Free, Baking, Breakfast Gluten-Free Pancakes We were desperate for pancakes so I tweaked another recipe I was working on to make these. Read Recipe Breakfast, Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Cakes & Pies & Icing Almond Berry Breakfast Cake (gluten-free/vegan) Now Alene began measuring ingredients for Ruthie’s strawberry breakfast cake. Read Recipe Vegetarian, Baking, Breakfast, Muffins and Breads, Cakes & Pies & Icing Chocolate Zucchini-Pear Cake GF Healthy enough for breakfast! Read Recipe Muffins and Breads, Vegan, Breakfast Vegan Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Muffins "There are only six sweet potato muffins left," said Alene. Read Recipe Muffins and Breads, Baking, Vegetarian, Breakfast, Cakes & Pies & Icing Chocolate Zucchini – Apple Cake Yes, we eat this for breakfast! Read Recipe All Recipes Baking Breakfast Cakes, Pies, & Icing Cookies & Brownies Dips & Sauces Entrees Gluten-Free Muffins & Breads Soup Vegan Vegetarian Load More