The Buzz...About Books

The craze for culinary mysteries continues.  Personally, I'd rather curl up with a delicious dish of Dexter, but these cozy, women-centred mysteries are witty, well-written and often loaded with great receipes.  Here are some of the best:

Goldy Bear Mysteries by Diane Mott Davidson. Goldy Schultz is divorced and living in Colarado as a caterer/investigator. Davidson's latest in this bestselling series is Crunch Time.  

Coffeehouse Mysteries by Cleo Coyle. Clare Cosi is the crime-solving manager of the Village Blend coffee house in New York City. Written by the husband-wife writing team, Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini, Roast Mortem is #9 in this series.  

Hannah Swenson Mysteries by Joanne Fluke.  The Apple Turnover Murder is the latest installment of Hannah's exploits as detective and owner of The Cookie Jar, a Minnesota bakery.  

The Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs. The Teaberry Strangler is #11.  Set in South Charleston, SouthCarolina, Theodosia Browning of the Indigo Tea Shop is steeped in mysteries.

Pennsylvania Dutch Mysteries by Tamar Myers.  Butter Safe Than Sorry is #18 in this series brimming with slapstick humour starring Magdalena Yoder of the Mennonite Inn.

Gourmet Girls Mysteries by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant.  Follows the exploits of Chloe Carter, a food connoisseur in Boston.  Cook the Books is hot out of the oven.

Chocoholics Mysteries by Joanna Carl.  Chocolate Cupid Killings is the next mystery with Lee McKinney, a chocolatier who works at her Aunt Nettie's luxury chocolate store TenHuis – and solves murders.

Faith Fairchild Series by Katherine Hall Page. In Body in the Sleigh, Faith Fairchild, a New England's minister's wife and manager of Have Faith Catering returns to crime fighting.

Catered Mysteries by Isis Crawford.  A Catered Thanksgiving is the latest with Bernie and Libby Simmons – sisters who solve mysteries in between running their catering firm, A Little Taste of Heaven in New York State.

Hemlock Falls Mysteries by Claudia Bishop (who also writes as Mary Stanton).  Death in Two Courses is the newest with Sarah and Meg Quilliam, detectives who work and cook at the Hemlock Falls Inn in upstate New York.

Pizza Lovers Mysteries by Chris Cavener.  Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder is the 2nd in the new series about Eleanor Swift, investigator & owner of A Slice of Delight pizzeria in Timber Ridge, North Carolina.

Enjoy!