Knot a Game, a new Yarn Retreat Mystery from Betty Hechtman, is available now!

In a new Yarn Retreat Mystery from national bestselling author Betty Hechtman, it’s knit one, kill two when Casey Feldstein hosts a murder mystery weekend that turns into the real thing . . .

At the urging of Vista Del Mar’s owner, Casey Feldstein takes on the job of combining a murder mystery game with her next weekend yarn retreat. Enlisting the help of the hotel’s staff to play the roles of victim and suspects, she lays out a plot and plants some red herrings. And as her intrigued guests watch the murder play out and the clues unfold, Casey is certain she’s pulled off the perfect make-believe murder—until a real murder intrudes and everyone at the hotel is named as a suspect.

As her retreat guests turn away from the fake murder to solve the real one, Casey has her hands full trying to keep them from meddling in police business. But even as they’re dead-set on unraveling the mystery in their midst, Casey has her eye on a few of them, some of whom don’t seem to be who or what they claim. With time ticking down on her weekend and her guests more interested in nabbing a killer than knitting, Casey will have to stitch together her own solution before the killer can stop her and declare game over . . .

Includes a fun, easy knitting project and delicious muffin and biscuit recipes!

Praise for the Yarn Retreat Mysteries:

“A cozy mystery that you won’t want to put down. It combines cooking, knitting and murder in one great book!” —Fresh Fiction on Yarn to Go

“If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly recommend giving it a go. The mystery will delight you, and afterward you’ll be itching to start a knitting or crochet project of your own.”  —Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

“The California seaside is the backdrop to this captivating cozy that will have readers heading for the yarn store in droves.” —Debbie’s Book Bag on Yarn to Go

About the Author:

Betty Hechtman is the national bestselling author of the Crochet Mysteries and the Yarn Retreat Mysteries. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago and has a degree in Fine Art. Since College, she has studied everything from improv comedy to magic, and has had an assortment of professions, including volunteer farm worker, nanny at a summer resort, waitress at a coffee house, and telephone operator. She lives with her family and stash of yarn in Southern California. You can learn more about Betty and find excerpts from all her books at BettyHechtman.com. She blogs on Fridays at Killerhobbies.blogspot.com, and you can join her on Facebook at BettyHechtmanAuthor.

Caught and Collared, a new Low Country Dog Walker Mystery by Jackie Layton, is available now!

When a scavenger hunt turns up a dead body, dog walker Andi Grace Scott will have to make a dogged effort to collar the culprit . . .

Setting out for a day of fun on her town’s first-ever scavenger hunt, Low Country dog walker Andi Grace Scott is dismayed to find an unattended dog wandering the streets—but that’s nothing compared to the shock she gets when she finds a dead man floating in the swimming pool of the dog’s owner. What’s more, she’d seen the very same man having a very public altercation with his wife just the night before. Despite being warned off the case by the local sheriff, Andi Grace can’t help nosing around to find out who’s behind the foul deed.

It turns out the victim was a well-known radio personality who focused on cold-case investigations and was rumored to be breaking a huge story on his next show. As Andi Grace digs deeper to learn who may have wanted him dead, she’s faced with a suspect list that includes a cold-hearted widow who stands to inherit a bundle, a local country star with family demons to hide, and any number of unknown criminals who may have been the focus of the victim’s big reveal. Whether the motive was love gone bad, a career under duress, or a killer’s deadly secret, Andi Grace knows she’ll have to act fast before she becomes the next cold case herself . . .

Praise for the Books of Jackie Layton

“Andi Grace is adorable, resilient, and has a doggedly curious need to solve a murder. A pleasure to read.” —C. Hope Clark, award-winning author of Edisto Tidings

“Completely charming—and exactly what a cozy mystery should be. Amateur sleuth (and dog whisperer) Andi Grace Scott is wonderfully endearing, and her devotion to her pooches—and to justice—will have you rooting for her from the absolutely irresistible page one.  Bow wow—What a terrific debut!”  —Hank Phillippi Ryan, nationally best-selling and award-winning author of  The Murder List

“I promptly fell head over heels for this cast of characters, and the dogs burrowed quickly into my heart. The plot of Bite the Dust was intriguing and complex, with plenty of surprising twists and turns. What impressed me the most, though, was the warm tone of the author’s writing voice . . . you just want to snuggle in and keep reading.” —MeezCarrie

About the Author:

Former Kentuckian Jackie Layton loves her new life in the Low Country. She enjoys time on the beach, despite one vacation that ended with cracked ribs from riding her boogie board with the kids and another trip that ended with a fish hook in her foot and a trip to the emergency room. There’s nothing like time at the beach, although she tends to be a bit more cautious these days. Jackie is the author of four Low Country Dog Walker Mysteries, including Bite the Dust, Dog-Gone Dead, Bag of Bones, and Caught and Collared.

Murder in the Christmas Tree Lot is available now!

Landscape architect Tory Benning returns in a holiday mystery tied up with a bow!

Still struggling with the death of her husband, Tory Benning is doing her best to get into the festive spirit of the holiday season, but when her landscaping company’s email is hacked and there’s a break-in at the office, it’s enough to make her see red. And then the unthinkable happens, when the owner of a specialty food truck is brutally slain at the company’s Christmas tree lot, and Tory finds herself mired in murder once again.

With a long list of suspects—including an untold number of revelers disguised in Santa suits, seasonal employees handling tree sales, and even a vengeful jilted suitor—the police investigation grinds along slowly and methodically. But as Tory begins piecing together clues on her own, she finds she’s the target of a menacing stalker who may be out to do more than just scare her. Refusing to be intimidated, Tory vows to nab the culprit, even if it means that catching a Christmas killer has become her lot in life . . .

About the Author:

Judith Gonda is a mystery writer and Ph.D. psychologist with a penchant for Pomeranians and puns, so it’s not surprising that psychology, Poms, and puns pop up in her amateur sleuth mysteries featuring landscape architect Tory Benning.

Shredding the Evidence, a new Cookbook Nook Mystery, is available now!

The Agatha Award–winning author of Sifting Through Clues returns to the Cookbook Nook, where a combative food reporter gets her just deserts . . .

The denizens of Crystal Cove are salivating over the upcoming Food Bowl Week, when local chefs offer some of their best and most imaginative creations in bite-size portions all over town. Bookstore proprietor Jenna Hart is hungry to sample as many of the delicacies as she can, but when she stumbles onto the dead body of a local food reporter and learns that her best friend’s husband is the primary suspect, she’ll have to summon the appetite for a side dish of sleuthing to prove his innocence.

Jenna knows the ambitious and aggressive reporter, who was strangled at a fitness center with her shredded restaurant reviews scattered around her, left behind a long list of potential suspects. As she begins piecing together the scant clues, she uncovers illicit ties between the victim and a local newspaper owner, a spurned would-be lover, and a host of disgruntled restaurant owners not a bit torn up by the critical reporter’s demise. And with a solution so close she can almost taste it, Jenna turns up the heat on the culprit, realizing too late that she’s the next course on the murderer’s menu . . .

Includes tasty recipes!

Praise for Daryl Wood Gerber and the Cookbook Nook Mysteries:

“There’s a feisty new amateur sleuth in town and her name is Jenna Hart. With a bodacious cast of characters, a wrenching murder, and a collection of cookbooks to die for, Daryl Wood Gerber’s Final Sentence is a page-turning puzzler of a mystery that I could not put down.” —Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author of the Cupcake Mysteries and Library Lovers Mysteries

“In Final Sentence, the author smartly blends crime, recipes, and an array of cookbooks that all should covet in a witty, well-plotted whodunit.” —Kate Carlisle, New York Times bestselling author of the Bibliophile Mysteries

“Readers will relish the extensive cookbook suggestions, the cooking primer, and the whole foodie phenomenon. Gerber’s perky tone with a multigenerational cast makes this series a good match for Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Mystery series . . .” —Library Journal

“So pull out your cowboy boots and settle in for a delightful read.  Grilling the Subject is a delicious new mystery that will leave you hungry for more.”  —Carstairs Considers Blog

About the Author: Agatha Award–winning and nationally bestselling author Daryl Wood Gerber is the author of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, the French Bistro Mysteries, the Cheese Shop Mysteries (as Avery Aames), the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense, and two other stand-alone suspense thrillers. Little known facts about Daryl are that she’s jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, has hitchhiked around Ireland by herself, and has appeared on an episode of Murder, She Wrote.She loves to read, cook, and golf, and has a frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky who keeps her in line!

Murder in the Secret Maze, the first book in a brand-new cozy mystery series by Judith Gonda, is available now!

Landscape architect Tory Benning knows the lay of the land, but she’ll have to dig through the clues to unearth a killer . . .

After a whirlwind romance and a glorious wedding at the luxurious Hotel Santa Sofia, Tory Benning is ready to let down her hair, slip into her dancing shoes, and celebrate—until she discovers that her newly minted husband has vanished. The police suspect cold feet and second thoughts are behind Milo’s disappearance, but Tory’s certain he’s met with foul play. And since she designed the plush resort, she knows every nook and cranny of the grounds and adjoining secret maze, and wastes no time delving into her search.

As clues begin to emerge that Milo may have taken his last breath in the maze, Tory steps up her sleuthing, even as she learns she’s the prime suspect of a cop with a chip on his shoulder and is squarely in the sights of a menacing stalker. And when a second body is found on the grounds, Tory fears she’s up against a killer determined to silence any and all who get in the way.

Not to be deterred, Tory forges ahead, navigating a case with more twists and turns than the maze itself, until the labyrinth of clues leads her to shocking revelations about her husband, her family, and the identity of a killer who’s dead set on making her the next victim . . .