SIfting for Clues

For a chance to win one of Daryl Wood Gerber's books or this one, click the link a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest ends at Midnight, Sunday, April 21. US and Canada

The Book Club Bonanza opens in Crystal Cove, California, with book club members attending from near and far. In Sifting for Clues by Daryl Wood Gerber, Jenna Hart has the Cookbook Nook stocked with all kinds of tempting cookbooks. (Sifting Through Clues will be released by Beyond the Page Publishing on April 23.)

She's most excited about participating with the Mystery Mavens book club in their movable feast dinner. The plan is to have one course at each house sample the food, discuss the mystery they are reading (The Diva Serves High Tea by Krista Davis) then move on to the next course.

When they arrive at Ivy Beale's home, they find her dead - stabbed in the chest with a rose quartz shard. Two gold colored quartz pieces are placed over her eyes and a bonsai tree pot is beside her head. Who would kill Ivy, the owner of Dreamcatcher, anew age healing stone and crystal shop?

Turns out there is not a shortage of suspects and first among them

is Pepper Pritchett, the police chief's mother. Pepper and Ivy have been known to go toe to toe and lately they seemed to be competing for Pepper's boyfriend Hank Hemmings. But Ivy also made lots of enemies because she knew secrets about people and wasn't afraid to use them.

Jenna knows her friend Chief Pritchett doesn't like her to be involved, but she feels she needs to investigate, especially as she discovered the body.  That doesn't sit well with the chief, but Jenna quietly begins to ask questions. What she finds surprises and worries her; there are more suspects than she expected.

Another delectable mystery with mouthwatering recipes included.

Wreath Between the Lines

It's nearly Christmas in Crystal Cove, California, and the residents and merchants alike are decorating like mad. That includes Jenna Hart's Cookbook Nook and Cafe. In Wreath Between the Lines by Daryl Wood Gerber, not only does Jenna have to decorate her shop she needs to unpack dozens of cookbooks for the display. (Wreath Between the Lines will be released on November 8.)

One evening her father's good friend Jake shows up at her door telling her his friend has been murdered, Jenna leaps into action. When she arrives on the scene, she discovers the victim resembles Jake so much they could be brothers. Was this murder a case of mistaken identity and who is the murdered man?

Jake and Jenna's father had been friends ever since Jake saved Cary's life when he was 12. In addition to this connection, Jake had an unusual knack for finance and made himself a millionaire. Jenna has always felt a connection to Jake.

At Christmas, Jake always decorated his house to extremes, driving his neighbor Atwater crazy. Could Atwater have thought he was killing Jake instead of his friend? Geoffrey was a long-time friend of Jake's who had drifted around the country for many years, but wanted to spend some time with Jake.

Complicating Jenna's life is her sister Whitney and her niece Lacy. Whitney believes her husband has been cheating on her and she wants Jenna to discover what is going on. Nothing like adding to Jenna's complicated life.

When Jake is poisoned, Jenna becomes more determined than ever to find the culprit, decorate her store and settle her sister's domestic issues.

Books by Daryl Wood Gerber are always an exciting and witty read. Jenna Hart is an exceptional character. Her recipes at the end of the book are so tasty, they nearly jump off the page.

Pre-order purchase link

Souffle of Suspicion

It's Crush Week in Nouvelle Via in the Napa Valley and tourists are flocking in to Maison Rousseau and the Bistro. In A Souffle of Suspicion by Daryl Wood Gerber, the week-long Sweet Treats Festival is about to begin and the kitchen is busy.

Chef Camille or Chef C as she likes to be called, is hard at work  in the kitchen and her sister Renee is heavily involved in the festival. Two altercations first, with Renee and the former festival planner Allie and second, with Renee's husband Rusty occur before the festival begins. Both are angry with Renee about the festival and the tension rise.

When Chef C returns home and finds her sister dead on the floor of the chef's house, Mimi swoops in the try to solve the murder. With her fledgling business growing slowly, an incident like a murder could have a damaging impact on business. Trying to return Chef C to Maison Rousseau's kitchen and find the killer are vitally important.

Although Renee left her husband Rusty Wells, a local chicken and egg farmer, he insists he is still in love with Renee, even though she left him.
The other person looking like a suspect is Allie O'Malley, the former festival coordinator. Renee had big plans for the festival and her social media interactions were encouraging many more people to attend. Allie was angry and claims she had been cheated out of the event.

While Mimi investigates, Rusty slips into the role of festival organizer and appears to be doing a great job. Against her better judgment, Mimi hires Allie to help in the kitchen, still unsure who killed Renee and why.

Another entertaining mystery with loads of terrific recipes from Maison Rousseau. I made the Poulet Dijonaise and it was so wonderful, we forgot to take a picture until after we had eaten the entire meal (as you can see by the photo).

A Souffle of Suspicion will be released on July 10.

Purchase link 

A Deadly Eclair

Weddings are supposed to be fun. They are not supposed to have a dead body with an eclair stuffed in his mouth at the event. In A Deadly Eclair: A French Bistro Mystery by Daryl Wood Gerber, that's only the beginning of the trouble.

After her disastrous marriage ended tragically, Chef Mimi Rousseau returned home to Nouvelle Vie, California, to open a bistro with an attached bed and breakfast inn. Thanks to her benefactor and friend Bryan Baker, she is able to work her way out of the tremendous debt she "inherited" when her husband died. Also with his help, she is back in business.

The opening splash for the Bistro and Inn was to be Bryan's niece and talk show host Angelica Barrington's wedding. At the special out-of-towners dinner the night before the wedding, everything seems to be going smoothly.

But there is tension among Angelica's fiance, his father and sister. There's also an undercurrent of

anger between Bryan and Angelica's father, especially after he arrives late and slightly drunk. When he produces a beautiful gold necklace with a stunning aquamarine pendant on it, there isn't a dry eye in the room. It had been Angelica's mother's and she had always said to wear it on her wedding day.

Mimi breathes a sign of relief when the dinner is over and looks forward to the lovely wedding the next day. At quarter to six the next morning, Angelica is pounding on Mimi's door and drags her to the Bistro's kitchen. There she finds Bryan dead with an eclair stuffed in his mouth. This was not the way a wedding day should begin.

There are many twists and turns to the plot and they form an interesting mystery. The characters are very believable and Mimi's Bistro makes me want to dine there, sans the corpse near the kitchen.

For other books by Daryl Wood Gerber, click here.