No sooner does former magician's assistant Margo Tamblyn return home to Proper City, Nevada, to run Disguise DeLimit, her family's costume shop, than she gets her first big order. Wealthy nuisance Blitz Manners needs forty costumes for a detective-themed birthday bash. As for Blitz himself, his Sherlock Holmes is to die for--literally--when, in the middle of the festivities, Margo's friend and party planner Ebony Welles is caught brandishing a carving...

"Mid-October in the charming Finger Lakes town of Gracious Grove means it's time for the annual Fall Fling Townwide Tea Party. The highlight of the festivities is a roaming tea-tasting, which includes a stop at Auntie Rose's Victorian Tea House. Sophie Taylor would like to share her enjoyment of the event with her sort-of boyfriend, English teacher Jason Murphy, but Jason's dean has accused him of falsifying grades to help an athlete at the local...

A beauty must solve a beastly murder. Variety hall actress Ophelia Flax knows how to win over an audience. That's why she's accepted the marriage proposal of the brutish Comte de Griffe to nettle her occasional investigative partner--and romantic sparring partner--the pompous if dashing Professor Penrose. But with his boorish table manners, wild mane of hair, and habit of prowling away the wee hours, the Comte has shredded Ophelia's last nerve. She...

After losing her job as a journalist at the age of forty-five, Lila Wilkins accepts an internship at A Novel Idea, a thriving literary agency in North Carolina. Being paid to read seems perfect to Lila, although it's difficult with the cast of quirky co-workers and piles of query letters. But when a penniless aspiring author drops dead in the agency's waiting room--and Lila discovers a series of threatening letters--she's determined to find out who...

Heavens to Betsy Devonshire! She never intended to get so caught up in this year's antique car race. But as sponsor of one of the entrants, she can't help but keep a close eye on the outcome-and it's not pretty. One of the drivers never makes it to the finish line. His car is found exploded in flames. Now Betsy and her crafty friends must determine if it was an accident or the work of a jealous competitor. The answer may be in a piece of needlework,...

At the Village Blend, Clare Cosi realizes her best baristas may refer to a decaffeinated espresso as a "why bother?" but knows that a good percentage of her customers prefer the neutered brew. So when an old friend of her ex-husband develops the world's first botanically decaffeinated coffee bean and smuggles it into the country, Clare believes it's a business opportunity she needs to investigate-at least until the first dead body shows up. With casualties...

Few can compete with the Natasha Smith when it comes to entertaining, but her childhood rival, Sophie Winston, certainly tries. While Natasha is known for her intricate centerpieces and painstakingly prepared gourmet meals, Sophie likes to keep things simple . . . real simple. Natasha may have stolen the spotlight-and Sophie's husband-but Sophie is determined to take home the prize at the Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown. She just needs the right ingredients...

While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster Bay, North Carolina? At every crime scene, the thieves set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché. And who better to decode the cliché clues than her Bayside...

After Olivia and Chief Rawlings enjoy a brief honeymoon on Palmetto Island, they're joined by the rest of the Bayside Book Writers for the Legends of the Coastal Carolina Festival. The festival's highlight is Silas Black, celebrity screenwriter and TV producer, who is currently working on a popular show in North Carolina. As the festival gets under way, a trickster seems to be bringing famous local ghost stories to life. But when the body of a woman...

"Determined not to be a garden-variety diva, Sophie Winston's neighbor, Natasha, cultivates a plan to shine on television-using Sophie's backyard. As the cast and crew of the makeover show Tear It Up With Troy bulldoze through her backyard-and vacation-Sophie retreats to her perennial boyfriend Wolf's to replace a dead rose bush. But her tender deed goes awry when she digs up a purse belonging to Wolf's missing wife. As speculations sprout, Wolf bolts,...