Recommendations based on "Chow Down"

In this delightful Scumble River Mystery, a school psychologist has her hands full after a school board sourpuss meets a bitter end...  With her morning sickness finally abated, Skye Denison-Boyd is ready to pounce on the pertinent problems she faces as Scumble River Elementary School’s psychologist. After trying almost every trick in the book to aid a handful of socially awkward fourth grade boys, Skye opts for the innovative approach of pet therapy with the assistance of the local vet, a Siberian husky, and a Maine coon cat.   Unfortunately, the first session only breeds disaster and draws the ire of cantankerous school board member Palmer Lynch. But Skye’s worry over the episode changes to dread after Lynch is found dead in his home with the therapy cat hidden in his garage. With a clowder of questions unleashed, Skye finds herself dealing with a killer who isn’t pussyfooting around...

Melanie and Angie are determined to win the Challenge to the Chef to promote their Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Mel's mentor from culinary school, Vic Mazzotta, may be one of the judges, but Mel and Angie will have to win fair and square. But, when Vic's dead body is found inside a freezer truck, Mel and Angie will need to use their best judgment to find the cold-blooded killer or they may lose more than the contest- they may lose their lives.

Olivia Limoges and the Bayside Book Writers are excited about Oyster Bay's newest resident: bestselling novelist Nick Plumley, who's come to work on his next book. But when Olivia stops by Plumley's rental she finds that he's been strangled to death. Her instincts tell her that something from the past came back to haunt him, but she never expects that the investigation could spell doom for one of her dearest friends...

Feline P. I. Joe Grey and his friends pounce on three investigations that may connect to one larger mystery—including one case that is very personal—in this hair-raising installment in Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s beloved, award-winning series. Joe Grey and his partner, Dulcie, are frantic when Courtney, their pretty teen-kitten goes missing. Aided by their two- and four-legged friends, they hit the streets of Molina Point in search of their calico girl. Has Joe Grey and Dulcie’s only daughter been lured away by someone and stolen? Is she lying somewhere hurt, or worse? Courtney has no idea that everyone is desperately looking for her. Locked in an upstairs apartment above the local antiques shop, she’s enjoying her first solo adventure. When she first met Ulrich Seaver, the shop’s owner, Courtney was frightened. But the human has coddled and pampered her, winning her trust. Sheltered by her parents, her brothers, and her kind human companions, the innocent Courtney is unaware of how deceptive strangers can be. She doesn’t know that Ulrich is hiding a dangerous secret that could threaten her and everyone in this charming California coastal village. With his focus on finding Courtney, Joe Grey has neglected his detective work with the Molina Point Police Department. Before his daughter disappeared, Joe found a viciously beaten woman lying near the beach. Now the police investigation has stalled, and the clever feline worries his human colleagues may have missed a vital clue. Joe is also concerned about a family of newcomers whose domestic battles are disturbing the town’s tranquility. Loud and abrasive, the Luthers’ angry arguing, shouting, and swearing in the early hours of the night have neighbors on edge and the cops on alert. One of the couple’s late-night shouting matches masked the sounds of a burglary, and now a criminal is on the loose. Though the crimes are as crisscrossed as the strands of a ball of yarn, Joe Grey’s cat senses tell him they may somehow be linked. It’s up to the fleet-footed feline and his crime-solving coterie to untangle the mysteries before it’s too late.

Folks in Moraine, Wisconsin, are buzzing about the latest swarm of trouble humming around Story Fischer . . . It's a real buzz-kill when beekeeper Story Fischer gets a visit from her frantic sister, Holly, desperate for help hosting a combative trio of employees that Holly's husband, Max has brought home for a weekend of R and R. Good thing the well-stocked shelves of Story's grocery store, The Wild Clover, can provide assistance. During an afternoon tour of Story's hives, however, one of the guests drops dead. Just what Story needs only days after hunky boyfriend, Hunter Wallace, finally decided to move in. As if a dead body isn't enough to put a damper on romance, Story becomes a prime suspect when the carrot juice she brought with the breakfast fixings is found to contain poison. Now it's up to Story to comb through the evidence and find the real perpetrator before she ends up getting stung herself . . . Praise for the Queen Bee Mysteries'One honey of a tale.' Lorna Barrett, New York Timesbestselling author'Reed's story is first-rate, her characters appealing.' Richmond Times-Dispatch

Croquet is a genteel game, usually played on a summer afternoon on a tranquil green lawn. Extreme Croquet is a whole other story. That's what Meg Langslow and her new friends (whether she wants to call them friends or not) are playing on the several-acre farm of her new neighbor. It's a countryside studded with rocks, steep hills, and placid, seemingly immovable cows. Extreme Croquet is the current rage in Caerphilly, where Meg and her fiancé, Michael, have bought a house. While this society game can get quite warm, it hasn't reached the stage of actual homicide---at least not until Meg knocks her ball down a small cliff and encounters the body of a dead woman. Her head has been bashed in, illustrating, perhaps, one of the many uses of a croquet mallet. It turns out that Michael knew the woman from years before. Meg finds herself further drawn in when it's discovered that the woman was seeking to expose the bad dealings of a certain local society lady's ancestors. In the meantime, the old house needs many basic improvements and swarms with an entire family of working men, including countless second cousins, sawing and pounding away. Meg's father is the overseer but is easily distracted since he has a tendency to become wrapped up in his current animal charges---this time it's ducks. One of the beauties of fiction is that you can enjoy reading about someone who has been knocked on the head and killed. The particular joy that Donna Andrews offers mystery lovers everywhere is the wonderful gift of laughter. Her novels, filled with crazy relatives, puzzling murders, and the hilarious conquests of Meg, make for a combination found nowhere else. Fine-feathered friends are only one of the treats in this award-winning series from Donna Andrews, an author whose name has become synonymous with lighthearted, knee-slapping fun.

Meg Langslow was actually looking forward to renovating the old Victorian mansion she and her boyfriend Michael bought. But she wasn't thrilled by the lifetime of junk accumulated by the house's eccentric previous owner, Edwina Sprocket. The easiest solution: hold the end-all and be-all of gigantic yard sales. But when the event attracts the late Miss Sprocket's money-hungry heirs, the over-enthusiastic supporters of some endangered barn owls, and customers willing to go to any lengths to uncover a hidden treasure, Meg suspects things have gotten a little out of hand... Then an antiques dealer is found stuffed in a trunk with his head bashed in—and the yard sale turns into a day's-long media circus. Even worse, the suspect arrested for the crime is the person Michael needs to secure academic tenure. Now, Meg is juggling an ever-growing list of suspects. And she's going to have to outthink and outwit one clever murderer who lives by "everything must go..."

In Middlebury’s Amish Artisan Village, murder is the last thing anyone expects. Can Amber and Hannah find these killers before fear unravels the community . . . or they strike again? Murder Simply Brewed Amber Wright is optimistic about the growing profit from her collection of Amish shops in Middlebury, Indiana—until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a solitary hole in the front window and the store manager lying next to the espresso machine, dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register. When Amber hires a young Amish woman, Hannah Troyer, to take over the shop’s duties, the two women become fast friends—as well as amateur sleuths. The police believe Gray’s death is a by-product of vandalism, but Amber and Hannah aren't convinced. Murder Tightly Knit Even before she heard of Owen Esch’s death, Hannah Troyer knew something was amiss at The Cat’s Meow yarn shop. The store has been closing at odd times, the ever-dependable Mary isn’t always at her post . . . and an Englisch man has been seen loitering around back. Now, as leaves of brown, gold, and orange blanket Middlebury, Indiana, Owen lies dead on the Pumpkinvine Trail. The only clues to the murderer’s identity point in two very different directions—one of them leading right to The Cat’s Meow. Murder Freshly Baked Amber Bowman is thrilled to see the turnout for the Race for a Cure—and relieved to have something to distract her from the “Poison Poet”—an individual who has been sending notes containing bad poetry to warn of poisoned baked goods. Then Ryan Duvall crosses the finish line of the race—and falls down dead, murdered in broad daylight. But who did it? And why? The police suspect Preston Johnston, but Amber refuses to believe her employee could do such a thing. Amber once again looks to her young Amish friend Hannah Troyer to help her find the killer—and to determine if it’s the same person leaving the cryptic poems and pies.

The New York Times bestselling author of the Manor House Mysteries and the White House Chef Mysteries returns with a mix of murder and mayhem for curator Grace Wheaton. Now that Grace Wheaton has officially been named heir to Bennett Marshfield’s fortune, her usually busy schedule has become a juggling act. In addition to her duties at Marshfield Manor, she’s bankrolling her roommates’ refurbished wine shop, Amethyst Cellars. Grace is excited to check out the rustic space with Bruce and Scott. But that excitement turns to dismay when they stumble upon the body of the banker involved with the sale. Grace wants to get to the bottom of this mystery quickly so that her friends’ new venture isn’t overshadowed by an unsolved murder, but she’s got even more to balance when her troubled sister, Liza, is released from prison early. Liza’s first stop is Marshfield Manor and her first priority is grabbing a bite of Bennett’s fortune for herself. Grace has to keep her greedy sister at bay and catch a killer before her new life comes crashing down around her.

After a year of hard work in her Texas hometown, Harlow Jane Cassidy's dreams are finally within reach--if she can just get it all done in time...Harlow's designs will be featured in a big magazine spread, but she only has a few days to finalize her collection. Plus she's busy helping to plan her mother's upcoming wedding, playing host to her old friend Orphie, and avoiding a competitive Dallas designer set on stealing Harlow's ideas. Harlow's making it all work--until someone breaks into Buttons & Bows and the rival designer is found dead.But when a near miss makes it clear that Orphie could be the next victim, Harlow will have to untangle the threads of evidence if she wants to save her friend, her mother's wedding, and her business from becoming fashion road kill...