Showing results by author "Maisy Marple" in All Categories

When William's Cove's newest "wellness" bakery opens its doors, Fanny Fairchild is the last person anyone expects to come to its defense — especially after its owner spent months taking shots at The Sugared Spatula's butter-and-sugar approach to life. But when that rival baker dies under mysterious circumstances and the official verdict looks suspiciously tidy, Fanny can't shake the feeling that the wrong story is being told. Arguing that a death everyone wants to call an accident is actually murder — without a crime scene, without witnesses, and against the skepticism of nearly ...

When Sarah Stall lands the biggest catering job of her career—the prestigious Giving Hearts Charity Breakfast—she expects a morning of elegant bagels, wealthy donors, and maybe a little harmless gossip. What she doesn't expect is to find the foundation's most generous benefactor dead in a storage room, strangled with her own silk scarf. Now Sarah's serving coffee to a roomful of philanthropists, and one of them is a killer. The victim was a woman who collected enemies the way others collect fine art, and the suspects are as polished as their platinum credit cards. A retired surgeon with...

When antique dealer Taylor Grey's highly anticipated shipment arrives with clear signs of tampering, she discovers her prized purchase has been swapped for a worthless fake. But before she can confront the estate liquidator responsible, he turns up dead—killed with the very item stolen from her crate. Now Taylor finds herself connected to a murder weapon and drawn into a web of family secrets, hidden valuables, and decades-old grudges that someone is willing to kill to protect. As Taylor digs deeper into the victim's shady business practices, she uncovers a trail of stolen goods, bitter ...

The most feared food critic in the region has gone missing — and her car has turned up at the bottom of William's Cove's harbor. It would be easy enough to chalk it up to an accident, except that Fanny Fairchild knows what everyone else is starting to suspect: this particular critic was sitting on a story far more explosive than any restaurant review. Someone wanted her silenced before she could publish, and in a town full of people with secrets worth protecting, the list of suspects runs longer than the dessert menu at The Sugared Spatula. For readers who love peeling back a small town's...

When a rival book club sweeps into Franklin's Crossing with matching blazers and ambitious plans, retired schoolteacher Maryanne Silva isn't worried about competition. But when the newcomers set their sights on a prestigious literacy grant that Maryanne has spent months pursuing, the battle for the town's literary soul takes a deadly turn. A grant coordinator who knows too much winds up dead in the library, and suddenly the Bound & Determined Book Club finds themselves investigating their sixth murder—one that hits closer to home than any case before. As Maryanne and her best friend ...

When Taylor Grey's mischievous Siberian Husky digs up a tarnished Victorian locket near an old stone wall, she assumes it's just another forgotten treasure waiting to be reunited with its owner. But the delicate piece engraved with the initials "A.M." carries a weight far heavier than its sterling silver—and someone desperately wants it to stay buried. Within hours of posting about her find, Taylor receives an anonymous warning that sends chills down her spine. Then a body turns up in Millbrook Creek, and suddenly the antique dealer finds herself entangled in a mystery that stretches back...

When bestselling author Garrett Kingsley returns to Franklin's Crossing for his first hometown book signing, the whole town turns out to celebrate their famous son. But the evening takes a dark turn when old grudges surface, family tensions boil over, and by morning, Garrett is found dead in the bookshop stockroom. Now retired schoolteacher Maryanne Silva and her sharp-witted best friend Gretchen Roe find themselves drawn into another mystery—one that will test their friendship, their sleuthing skills, and everything they thought they knew about the boy Maryanne once taught to write. As ...

The Bound & Determined Book Club's holiday gift exchange should have been an evening of friendship, laughter, and carefully chosen books. But when a beautifully wrapped present reveals a devastating secret instead of a beloved novel, the festive gathering at the Crescent Moon Inn takes a dark turn. By morning, one guest is dead, and retired schoolteacher Maryanne Silva finds herself unwrapping a mystery far more dangerous than anyone expected. As Maryanne and her best friend Gretchen dig deeper into the victim's hidden life, they discover that secrets in Franklin's Crossing run deeper than ...

A year after the Preston Willoughby case nearly destroyed her café, Sarah Stall has finally found her rhythm again. Bagels & Beans is thriving, her regulars are loyal, and life in Clancy feels blissfully predictable. Then a sleek new sign appears in the vacant storefront across Main Street: Roasted Rivals Artisan Coffee. The owner, charming newcomer Derek Hollister, arrives with big-city credentials, a gleaming professional roaster, and one clear goal—to steal Sarah's customers and crush her business. Within weeks, he's poaching her employees, launching social media attacks, and turning ...

When legendary baker Genie Fairfax announces she's finally ready to pass down her family's treasured recipe notebook—four generations of culinary secrets that have made her cinnamon rolls the stuff of Clancy legend—Sarah Stall is honored to be among the candidates. But the intimate gathering at Genie's cottage turns tense when uninvited guests arrive with their own claims to the recipes, and by evening's end, the precious notebook has vanished. Two days later, the prime suspect is found dead in a walk-in cooler, clutching three torn pages in his frozen hand. Sarah finds herself ...

Fanny Fairchild poured everything into the wedding cake — three tiers, flawless ganache, a week of careful work — and it was, by every measure, a masterpiece. Which makes it all the more alarming when the groom drops dead before the reception is over and the phrase "death by chocolate" stops being a joke. With the wedding party stranded at the venue and everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, Fanny finds herself investigating a crime scene that happens to be decorated with her very best work, surrounded by a bridal party whose picture-perfect smiles are hiding some very ugly secrets...

Six months after solving the mystery that nearly destroyed her café, Sarah Stall has finally gotten her life back to normal. Bagels & Beans is thriving, her loyal customers are happy, and there are absolutely no dead bodies on the premises. Then a certified letter arrives with devastating news: her landlord is selling the entire block to a developer, and Sarah has sixty days to pack up everything she's built. When she confronts Dwight Pemberton at a chaotic town meeting, she barely recognizes the man who once championed Main Street's small businesses. Something has changed him—something ...

Crawford County is in the grip of its worst drought in decades, and Clarkson Crowder is fighting to keep her farm alive. Between mandatory water restrictions and wilting crops, she has enough to worry about—until wells start failing across the county. At first it seems like bad luck, but when the damage proves deliberate and a wealthy agricultural businessman turns up dead in his own well, Clarkson realizes someone is systematically destroying the small farms of Meadow Creek. As tensions rise and neighbors turn on each other, Clarkson digs into a web of land deals, bitter grudges, and ...

When Clarkson Crowder attends a seed savers meeting with her grandmother Bea, she expects an evening of heirloom tomato talk and friendly gardening advice. Instead, she witnesses a legendary collector announce a bequest worth a small fortune—and watches the room erupt with barely concealed jealousy, corporate hunger, and family fury. Days later, when the collector turns up dead before he can share evidence of a scheme that's been poisoning the preservation community from within, Clarkson finds herself drawn into her most personal investigation yet. Someone in the tight-knit world of seed ...

Blair Whitcome has poured everything into transforming the neglected rooftop above Blair's Bistro into a lush container garden and intimate dining terrace — and tonight is the grand unveiling. Fairy lights, fig tartlets, and the golden glow of a Gulf Coast sunset. Thirty guests. One celebrated food blogger with half a million followers, live-streaming the whole thing. Everything is perfect. Then the scream comes from the alley three stories below, and Blair's most beautiful evening becomes her worst. Maren Solberg didn't come to Pelican Harbor just for the food. The fearless blogger was ...

Three years after opening Bagels & Beans, Sarah Stall has built more than a successful café—she's built a family. As Clancy transforms into a winter wonderland for its Holiday Market, Sarah is ready for nothing more complicated than peppermint mochas, cinnamon sugar bagels, and whatever surprise her boyfriend Adam has been hinting at all week. But when the market's charming organizer is found dead behind her booth, tangled in electrical cords with burn marks on his hands, Sarah finds herself caught up in her sixth murder investigation—and this one feels personal. Victor Crane made ...

Clarkson Crowder's heirloom potato harvest is shaping up to be spectacular—until her irrigation repairs unearth something far more troubling than rusty pipes. When a contractor's backhoe reveals human remains buried in her south field, Clarkson finds herself at the center of yet another murder investigation. The skeleton belongs to Russ Pemberton, a farmhand who vanished four years ago without a trace. Everyone assumed he'd simply drifted on to the next town, but someone in Meadow Creek knew the truth all along. As Clarkson digs into Russ's final weeks, she discovers he was a man who ...

Summer has come to Meadow Creek, Kansas, and Clarkson Crowder is finally settling into life at Crowder Family Farm. When her grandmother suggests entering the Crawford County Fair's apple competition, Clarkson figures it's the perfect chance to enjoy some small-town fun—complete with blue ribbons, prize cattle, and her loyal dog Diddly's attempts to herd everything in sight. But when a beloved livestock judge collapses moments after announcing the winners, Clarkson suspects there's something far more sinister than summer heat behind his sudden death. The world of competitive livestock ...

When celebrity chef Preston Langley visits Crowder Family Farm scouting for suppliers, Clarkson Crowder thinks her dreams of commercial success are finally within reach. His enthusiasm for her asparagus is matched only by his promises of a lucrative partnership with his soon-to-open restaurant. But those dreams turn to disaster when Preston collapses in her driveway—and suddenly everyone in Crawford County is wondering if Clarkson's vegetables are safe to eat. With her reputation wilting faster than lettuce in a heat wave, Clarkson has no choice but to dig into Preston's past. What she ...

When the Tri-County Antique Collectors Convention comes to Peaceful Falls, Taylor Grey couldn't be more excited. Three days of rare finds, fascinating vendors, and the chance to watch legendary appraiser Miles Fairbanks conduct his famous live authentications. But Miles's brutal honesty has a way of making enemies, and when he's found dead in the authentication room with a Victorian letter opener in his back, Taylor realizes someone at the convention came prepared to silence him permanently. The suspect list reads like a roster of the wronged. A grieving widow whose husband's prized Tiffany...