PEACH COBBLER MURDER

Trouble brews along with decaf when the poisonous Quinn sisters open a bakery across the street from The Cookie Jar.

At first, Hannah Swenson (Sugar Cookie Murder, 2004, etc.) can’t believe her once-loyal customers are streaming through the front door of the Magnolia Blossom Bakery. Operated by seductive Shawna Lee Quinn and bankrolled by her rich-bitch sister Vanessa, who inherited piles of cash when her octogenarian husband expired last year, the upscale eatery offers rustic Lake Eden classy décor and an irresistible stream of free-lunch contests that have The Cookie Jar teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Although Hannah’s sometime boyfriend, dentist Norman Rhoades, assures her that Shawna Lee’s soggy confection can’t hold a candle to her Minnesota Peach Cobbler, Hannah’s not so sure, especially since she sees her other-time boyfriend Mike Kingston’s Hummer parked behind the Magnolia Blossom with suspicious frequency. So when Shawna Lee gets killed, it's a good thing that Hannah has an ironclad alibi: Along with most of Lake Eden, she’s at St. Peter’s Catholic Church watching her partner, Lisa Herman, marry sheriff Herb Beesman. In fact, one of the few Lake Edenites missing from the ceremony is Mike, whose conspicuous absence persuades Hannah that she’d better put her rhubarb custard cake on hold while she gets to the bottom of the mystery.

Although she ties up false leads a little too quickly, Hannah’s sixth—even without the 14 recipes—would be her tastiest yet.