Anna Celeste Burke - Kitchen Magic is featured in the HBS Author's Spotlight Book Showcase

The Showcase is a special feature of the Author's Spotlight. It is designed to highlight Spotlight author's NEW releases and their soon to be released novels.

The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES Anna Celeste Burke's New Book: Kitchen Magic.

Author Anna Celeste Burke is author of the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series, Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery series, The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery series, The Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery Series and the Calla Lily Mysteries.

Kitchen Magic

Witches Academy Series Book 5

Author: Anna Celeste Burke


AVAILABLE
Amazon


Muriel Bright, America’s latest foodie channel sweetheart, is a real charmer who’s always discovering new uses for her magic outside the kitchen.

Muriel has plenty of experience using her skills as a healer, cooking up comfort and well-being one delicious treat at a time. When there’s a murder behind the scenes at her top-rated cooking show, Muriel has no choice but to draw on her other extraordinary talents. As Muriel takes up sleuthing, she finds that her abilities are quickly put to the test.

Despite what the detective assigned to the case may believe, this is no ordinary murder. Powerful forces are at work, and Muriel is determined to oppose them. As a graduate of the Witches Academy, Muriel is a force to be reckoned with, and it's her calling to keep the darkness at bay. After getting to know the attractive detective better, Muriel would also like to keep him alive. In order to do that, Muriel gives a whole new meaning to the use of smoke and mirrors as she relies on them to deceive some and reveal the truth to others. Can she solve the murder and stop the killing without tipping her hand to the police?

A waitress attending night school at the academy discovers, along with the gift of magic, she has royal blood flowing through her veins. America’s latest foodie channel sweetheart is a real charmer, who discovers not all the magic happens in the kitchen. Clair struggles with taking control of her magical powers until she meets a guy who really needs her help. A beautiful witch, empowered with the gift of creating strong magic spells since childhood, now refuses to use them––until her friend’s murder changes everything. An investigative reporter’s strange visions force her to really use her powers. When a rival tries to mess with her magic a witch must find a way to rekindle her flame.

Excerpt from Kitchen Magic

A Stretch in Time

“If this isn’t one of the most enchanting appetizers you’ve ever tried, I’m not Muriel, your favorite kitchen magician!” I quipped and helped myself to a tiny bite of a pancetta-wrapped peach slice with fresh basil and balsamic vinegar.

What happened next was the first sign of trouble, although I didn’t realize it until later. I would have sworn the appetizer had cooled, but the bite I took was scorching hot. I grabbed a bottle of water that I always keep nearby. Usually, I take a few sips to cleanse my palate. In this case, I guzzled it, trying to put out the fire raging in my mouth. When I could speak again, I offered a piece of advice to the members of my audience—in the studio and those who would be watching at home when the show aired.

“Make sure they’re cool enough to eat before you serve them.”

Members of the audience chuckled. When a little water spurted from the corner of my mouth, I giggled as I wiped my shirt with a towel. I’ve always been a bit clumsy, so I’m rarely perfect in the kitchen, even when the cameras are rolling. My fans don’t seem to mind and email me about their cooking mishaps.

“Good grief. This dish was easier to prepare than it is to eat,” I added as they laughed again.

“That’s because you don’t get enough practice eating,” Ophelia, my long-time friend, and co-host said. She continued to chide me in her Southern Louisiana accent. “I don’t have that problem. I’m an excellent eater, which is why I’m so pleasingly plump, and you’re a waif.”

When Ophelia struck a pose, she evoked wild chortling. According to reviewers, the banter between us is one thing that keeps people tuning in. Ophelia cracks me up, and the sassy vamp expression that went along with her pose had me laughing. I lowered my eyes for a few seconds and cut the appetizers into pieces.

When the audience began cheering, I glanced up again. Ophelia was still at it, wiggling her backside, which was more than plump by most standards. Several audience members were standing at their seats, trying to outdo her. I wagged my knife at Ophelia.

“You need something to do before you get the censors on our case,” I quipped. “Share these with the audience, will you, please?”

“I sure will. I’ll give our guests a demo too, so they won’t do that nibbling thing you do with your pinky sticking out,” she added as she took the tray from me. Then she popped a chunk into her mouth, chewed it, and mm-mm’ed with delight. “Pure kitchen magic, Muriel!”

“And that’s how you should eat it, am I right?” she asked as she stopped in front of an audience member in the front row.

“Yes, Ophelia,” the bespectacled young woman responded. Wearing a Kitchen Magic tee-shirt, she took a sample and ate it the same way Ophelia had done—complete with the mm-mm once she swallowed. “That is so good, I bet apricots would work too, wouldn’t they?”

“They would! What’s your name, hon?” Ophelia asked as she moved to let the camera catch a closeup of our guest.

“Terry—Terry Price,” she responded.

“Look how happy you made Muriel, Terry. She’s grinning like a proud momma.”

“I’m smiling because that was such a great question. In fact, I planned to mention that apricots would also be terrific in this recipe,” I beamed at Terry and then stared directly into the camera.

“Terry’s already thinking about being creative and adapting the dishes we share with you on our show. A new dish is a culinary adventure, so I want you to try them. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting, though. Using the ingredients that you, your friends and family love best is part of being a creative home chef. Adapting a recipe to use what you have on hand is fine too. If you don’t know where to find pancetta that hasn’t been chopped into itty-bitty pieces, buy prosciutto instead, or use smokey bacon.”

“I do love bacon,” Ophelia responded, and set off a round of approving, “so do I’s.”

While the camera followed Ophelia as she handed out more samples, I examined the warming tray I’d used for the pancetta-wrapped peaches. It was plugged in and set on low, as I’d intended. There was nothing that I could see to explain why the bite I’d taken was so frigging hot. We were about to wrap up and say goodbye, so I decided to shut it off. When I did that, I got a zap, and the lights flickered.

“Eek!” I said.

“What did you do now?” Ophelia asked as she turned toward me. “I can’t turn my back on you for a minute, can I?”

“Here,” she said, handing a half-empty tray of appetizer samples to a woman in the next seat. “Will you please pass these along while I check on my co-host?”

“I know how to eat as well as you do.” The woman said who’d taken the tray from Ophelia. “I don’t see why I have to pass them on.”

With that, the woman tossed one into her mouth as audience members reacted with a round of chuckles that quickly switched to groans, “no’s,” and a “don’t you dare,” when she ate a second one. I don’t believe anyone thought she was serious until she helped herself to a third. The “don’t you dare” comment had come from a woman in the middle of a back row. She was up, out of her seat, and on the move, scooting past guests who remained seated.

“Ouch!” one of them yipped as she must have stepped on her foot, heading to the aisle. An usher rushed over as she left the row. He had to be telling her to take her seat, but she pushed past him.

Since the camera was on the impending confrontation, I motioned to Ophelia for her to go back. Then I waved at the cameraman, trying to get him to switch to me.

The cameraman pointed the camera at me, but he kept an eye on the audience and didn’t stay focused on me for long. Ophelia was trying to retrieve the tray of samples from the woman still holding it. She moved it out of Ophelia’s reach, and a person nearby grabbed an appetizer. That prompted the hoarder to pull the tray close again before anyone could snag another. Ophelia was able to get a hand on the tray, as the woman, still holding onto the other end, shoveled samples into her mouth. She looked like a chipmunk.

The woman from the back row was down in front now. With one hand, she reached for the tray, and raised the other one as if she intended to hit someone. I had to do something fast. A basket of little kitchen witches sat on a counter behind me. We usually hand out a few to audience members at the end of the show while we’re saying goodbye or after the cameras have quit rolling. That would be too late today.

With a surge of will, I acted. “One!” I said, focusing my mind on the moment in which I spoke the word. I held onto the moment and time became a tangible substance. I stretched the space between this second and the next, as I grabbed the basket of kitchen witches.

“Time is as soft as clay, molded by our minds. A second is as an hour, an hour as a second or a day—whatever we need it to be.”

Author: Anna Celeste Burke

Author Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Humor And Comedy

Website: Desert Cities Mystery
Author's Blog: Desert Cities Mystery
Twitter: @aburke59
E-Mail: aburkesocal@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

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Author Description: Anna Celeste Burke is an award-winning, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author!

Welcome! Join me to get a free eBook--just copy & paste the link: http://www.desertcitiesmystery.com

Life is an extravaganza! figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge.

On my way to Oahu to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had met in San Diego and married in Tijuana, I was nabbed by the police as a runaway. When the police let me go and the rock band broke up, my husband and I had to find another way to survive. Our next stop: Disney World where we trained to be chefs, courtesy of the Walt Disney World University. A GED for my husband and many more years of education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. Retired now from my role as a professor in social work and behavioral science, I have picked up a long-time interest in writing fiction. I'm still married to the same sweet guy and live with him in the Palm Springs area. In addition to reading and writing fiction, I enjoy painting, hiking, hanging out with my handsome husband and tending to my Siamese kitties.

An award-winning and bestselling author I enjoy snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, & food--California style! I write books in five series: The Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery series set on California's Central Coast, The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery series set in Orange County, California, The Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery Series set on the American Riviera, just north of Santa Barbara, and The Calla Lily Mystery series set in Northern California's wine country.




Author's Book List

A Canary in the Canal - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #8
Life is humming along nicely for Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler until Georgie’s discovery of a dead singer strikes a discordant note. They have a killer to find if they want to stop “Mad” Max Marley’s caterwauling and restore harmony.

Kay Garland, a renowned jazz singer is staging a comeback in Max Marley Studios’ animated feature film JAZZ! Georgie Shaw’s boss, Max, regards the party he’s throwing for Kay as “the social event of the season.” Kay’s a hit, but the party in the Venice Historic Canal District is barely over when Georgie finds a woman’s body in the canal.

The identity of the victim and the fact that she was brutally murdered soon have Max singing the same old tune. Whenever there’s big trouble, he insists that Georgie and her husband Jack investigate. In a Canary in the Canal, it’s Georgie and Jack to the rescue once again—with a little help from their Siamese cats!


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A Dead Nephew - Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery #6
Screenwriter Harry Essex claims there are “A thousand ways the desert can kill.” According to Auntie Agnes, a local tribal elder, an elusive killer is working hard to make it a thousand and one.

Louie Jacobs, a minor tried as an adult, was convicted of murdering Sacramento Lugo—his best friend and Auntie Agnes’ nephew. There’s plenty of evidence that points to Louie, and Louie supposedly confessed. Sacramento’s aunt is adamant that Louis didn’t do it.

After reviewing Louie Jacob’s case, Jessica agrees to try to get it reopened. She and her “Cat Pack” friends are soon caught up in another tricky whodunnit when they discover the main suspect is an illusory figure—the Cleaner Man. Does such a man even exist, or is he a creature of spirit and imagination? Who else has a reason to want Louie behind bars or dead?


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Fall's Killer Vintage - Calla Lily Mystery #3
In wine country, a federal judge is murdered and Aunt Lettie’s old friend, Judge Colin Brinkley, quickly becomes a suspect.

Lily, Austin, and her friends are excited about the Calla Lily Winery vintages entered in this year’s Taste of Napa Challenge. The event turns out to be more challenging than anyone imagined when a fire ends the awards ceremony. The plot thickens when one of the wines entered in the competition turns out to be a killer vintage. The U.S. Marshals Service is on the job, but when Aunt Lettie’s old friend becomes a suspect, Lily and her friends are soon caught up in the mystery too. Is the murder of a federal judge about a rivalry among vintners, one of the judge’s cases, or something more personal? Join Lily and Austin as they try to discover who’s responsible for fall’s killer vintage.


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Radical Regatta! - Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #4
The Fourth of July Regatta is going to be a blast, but will it be Kim and Brien’s last?

Rescuing a dog swimming for its life draws newlyweds, Kim, and Brien into troubled waters. The dog is safe, but the owners’ are missing. As a crime wave hits Corsario Cove, the area is packed with visitors for a Fourth of July Regatta. With the murder of a shadowy figure, the game afoot turns deadly. It won’t be smooth sailing for anyone until these twenty-something sleuths solve the mystery behind the murder and mayhem.


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A Tangle in the Vines - Calla Lily Mystery #2
The curtain may fall on the Calla Lily Players' first season unless Lily and Austin can find a killer on the loose in California's wine country.

Torrential rains threaten to put a damper on The Calla Lily Players’ first outdoor theater production. When the ground suddenly shifts, buried secrets revealed amid the tangled vines put the spotlight on murder. As Lily and Austin dig deeper into the mystery, drama unfolds onstage and off. The race is on to find a killer before opening night.


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Lily's Homecoming Under Fire - Calla Lily Mystery #1
Someone in California’s wine country wants Lily dead.

When Lily Callahan returns home to California’s wine country, sparks fly amid a hail of bullets as she and U.S. Marshall Austin Jennings take cover.

Who wants Lily dead? Why?

Money, fame, and love may all come into play when Lily and Marshal Jennings try to find out who’s behind the attempt on Lily’s life. The trouble begins soon after beloved Aunt Lettie dies and leaves her estate to Lily—maybe it’s about the money.

Or, is life imitating art? Lily’s trouble-making character in a long-running TV soap was recently killed by a paid hitman. Is a crazed fan trying to end Lily’s life as well as her acting career? Did her agent borrow a page from the script after Lily dismissed him?

Lily’s surprised to find an old flame waiting for her when she returns home. Has he reached the point that if he can’t have her, nobody can? If it’s about an old love that’s become dangerous, the new one that propels Lily and Austin into each other’s arms won’t help.

Life in small town California wine country is a tangled vine of mystery, suspense, and intrigue.


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Grave Expectations on Dickens' Dune - Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery #3
Miriam, the Grand Old Lady Detectives, & Charly's Angels take on a cold case that will have you wondering what the dickens is going on until the very end!

A cold case doesn't stay cold for long when Miriam and her Grand Old Lady Detective [G.O.L.D.] pals take on a new mystery to solve. Charly's old friend, Judith Rogow, asks for her help in locating her ex-husband's grave.

A Vietnam War veteran, Allen Rogow survived the war and returned home only to disappear several years later. Although evidence pointed to foul play, the police never found his body and Allen Rogow's disappearance remained an unsolved mystery. That all changes when an ex-convict makes a deathbed confession claiming someone murdered Allen Rogow and buried his body on Dickens' Dune.

As the cold case warms up, it becomes clear that Allen Rogow had lots of secrets. Was he killed to make sure he'd take them to his grave? What Miriam soon discovers is that it's the secrets you don't know you're keeping that can sometimes be the most dangerous.


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The Murder of Shakespeare's Ghost - Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery #2
Miriam Webster and the Grand Old Lady Detectives [G.O.L.D.] take on their first case when the tenant in Shakespeare's Cottage swears the Bard of Avon's ghost is on the prowl.

Miriam’s not a believer in ghosts, but when she and her companions catch a glimpse of a hazy figure that bears Shakespeare’s unmistakable likeness, she’s no longer sure what to think. When the ghostly apparition suddenly disappears, it leaves them mystified.

Their investigation soon takes an even more bizarre twist when the ghost, to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, "shuffles off this mortal coil." A murdered ghost means the G.O.L.D. team have no choice but to involve homicide detective Henry "Hank" Miller who complicates matters, especially for Miriam.

A dead ghost is just one of many surprises for Miriam Webster and her sleuthing pals. Poking into the past, they soon discover the cottage's previous occupants had a few skeletons in their closets. Do those old bones hold the key to uncovering the motive for a new murder?

As Shakespeare's Cottage gives up its secrets, can they figure out who murdered Shakespeare's ghost before there's another victim?


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A Body on Fitzgerald's Bluff - Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery #1
When Miriam Webster moves into the Hemingway Cottage in the Seaview Cottages active adult community, she brings a few secrets with her.

Can she keep them after she and her spirited Dalmatian, Domino, discover the body of a beautiful young woman on Fitzgerald’s Bluff?

The mystery takes a quick detour when Miriam and her friends return to Fitzgerald’s Bluff with Deputy Sheriff Darnell Devers in tow. The dead woman’s gone, but not for long. Where the body turns up is only one of the surprising twists the mystery takes for Miriam and her new friends.

Convinced that the local Deputy Sheriff isn’t up to the task of finding a killer on the loose, Miriam and her gang of Grand Old Lady Detectives [G.O.L.D.] set out to discover the truth about A Body on Fitzgerald’s Bluff. Can they solve the case without becoming the killer’s next victim?


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A Tango Before Dying - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #7
When trouble waltzes in, it's not long before Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler step in to solve another mystery!

The renowned dancer, Madame Charlotte Carol Chantel, is visiting LA to participate in the World Ballroom Dance Championship. Lunch and a photo op in Arcadia Park with "Mad" Max Marley suddenly go terribly wrong. An angry woman hurls a glass of wine at Madame Chantel along with accusations and threats. Before she can be caught, she runs away and disappears into the crowded theme park.

>>>A Godmother’s Mysterious Death

Carol Ripley, Georgie's Executive Assistant, is distraught when she finds her godmother and namesake dead a few hours later. There's no apparent sign of foul play, but Madame Chantel's death comes as a surprise since the sixty-something dance teacher and performer was in excellent health. It's even more shocking when the investigators soon discover reasons to treat her death as suspicious, and an autopsy reveals someone murdered Madame Chantel.

>>>In the immortal words of Voltaire, "Letus read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world."

Reading maybe, but not dance, apparently. Dressed as she was when Carol found her, with music still playing in the background, was a tango before dying Madame Chantel's final act?

Was Madame Chantel murdered by a jealous romantic partner, an obsessed fan, a rival in the competitive world of Ballroom Dancing or someone else? Is MadameChantel the only target or are other dancers in danger as well?


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Murder of the Maestro - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #6
E-Book Available Now. Release Date 3/2/18.

Marvelous Marley World’s legendary maestro is murdered.

In good spirits at a gala marking his retirement, Dave Rollins disappears later that night. His beautiful home overlooking the Pacific Ocean is trashed—not just searched, but vandalized, too. The maestro’s old friend and boss, Max Marley, wants answers!

At the crack of dawn, Max calls Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler distraught, demanding that they help solve the mystery of the missing maestro. When Dave Rollins’ body is found on the rocks below his Malibu cliffside estate, Georgie and Jack are pulled into another whodunit.

Who killed Dave Rollins? Did a secret from the maestro's youth catch up with him decades later? Or did a scorned woman, a jealous rival, a disturbed fan or someone else murder the maestro?


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Murder at Sea of Passenger X - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #5
Welcome aboard! Georgie Shaw and her handsome new husband, Detective Jack Wheeler, are living it up on Marvelous Marley World’s luxurious cruise ship when trouble strikes. "The screaming came in bursts followed by shouts of man overboard, just like in a movie." Who is passenger X? Did he fall or was he pushed? Does it have anything to do with the rash of jewelry thefts or the murdered man found near the spot where Passenger X went overboard?

With a killer on the loose, Georgie and Jack are soon enlisted to help solve the case. It's a non-stop scramble to unravel the mystery before Georgie's eccentric boss, "Mad" Max Marley, arrives in Tahiti demanding answers. That won't be easy since Passenger X isn't the only one with a dubious identity as the list of suspects grows.

That list includes Georgie's old friend Chef Gerard and his striking blond, blue-eyed Sous Chef, Paolo. Masters of five-star cuisine and wizards with chocolate, are they cooking up more than sumptuous feasts and banquets of desserts? How about the guy in the Perroquet suit or "Monster Marston," a standout in the fitness center?

It's all hands on deck to figure out whodunit. Even Georgie's cats get involved in the action on board this cruise that comes with a boatload of mystery!


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A Merry Christmas Wedding Mystery - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #4
The star of Marvelous Marley World's latest live-action feature film goes missing! What in the World is going on?

There’s less than a month to go before Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler’s Christmas wedding. With Georgie’s boss “Mad Max” Marley involved, the whole affair becomes much more complicated. Determined to keep the wedding plans from being derailed, Georgie pays Max a visit on the set of Marvelous Marley World’s newest feature film, The Lonely Swan Prince. The sudden disappearance of the movie’s leading lady plunges Georgie and Jack into the middle of a mystery. Where’s the missing diva? If she didn’t vanish on her own accord whodunit and why?


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All Hallows' Eve Heist - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #3
An art heist on Halloween goes wrong.

When thieves break into Marvelous Marley World Headquarters on All Hallows' Eve, they steal Max Marley's valuable animation cels and shoot a Gallery guard.

It's the end of date night for Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler when they're both summoned to the scene. Gunshots fired in the tunnels beneath Marvelous Marley World signal more trouble as trigger-happy thieves head for the theme park. With the Halloween Hullabaloo-Boo in full swing, the pressure's on to catch the culprits before they can get away with their cache of stolen treats or unleash dirty tricks on unsuspecting park guests.

A message from the grave has everyone stumped. That's not all. Figuring out whodunit could take a little extra work. The park is packed, and everyone's in costume, including the bad guys. Will Jack and Georgie nab the faux-furred fiends before they can wreak more havoc or escape?


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Love Notes in the Key of Sea - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #2
Georgie Shaw and Detective Jack Wheeler have a second chance at love—despite the fact they met during the investigation of a Murder at Catmmando Mountain. Decades earlier, Georgie lost the love of her life in an attack on the beach that left one man dead and two others missing including her fiancé, Danny Farrell. When Georgie returns to Corsario Cove, more than memories haunt her as a song Danny wrote just for her echoes in the air: Love Notes in the Key of Sea. Who else, other than she and Danny could know that song? A new mystery brought Georgie and Jack together, will an old one drive them apart?


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Murder at Catmmando Mountain - Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #1
USA Today Bestselling author, Anna Celeste Burke, brings you murder, mayhem, and a second chance at love! Mystery, food, and a Siamese cat named after Miles Davis, too.

It's not easy doing Public Relations for Catmmando Tom, a famous cartoon cat. When they find a dead body at the foot of Catmmando Mountain in Marvelous Marley World's Arcadia theme park it's a PR nightmare! Still, Georgie Shaw loves working at the "Cat Factory," but when someone frames her for murder more than her job is at stake. Who's out to get Georgie? Can she and the handsome detective, Jack Wheeler, figure it out before there's more trouble at Marvelous Marley World? Whodunit? Get your copy of this fun fast-paced novella to find out!

RECIPES INCLUDED AND ALWAYS FREE TO READ ON KINDLE UNLIMITED


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Heinous Habits - Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #3
An intriguing package arrives with a mysterious message from a monk at the Benedictine Monastery perched high above Corsario Cove. That package and an all-expense paid second honeymoon lure newlyweds Kim & Brien back to the luxurious Sanctuary Resort & Spa. Troubled monks seem to be everywhere--at the resort, the surfer village near the beach, and in the nearby town of San Albinus. "God is not pleased," cries a hooded figure from a "cavern of forgotten dreams." Arson, kidnapping, and murder soon shove Kim and Brien in over their heads. What's going on? Are the mad monks in Corsario Cove crazy or crazy like a fox? Come, join Kim and Brien, Detective Mitchum, and the enigmatic new resident of Sanctuary Grove, Bede Greco, as they try to make sense of it all.


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Gnarly New Year - Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #2
The honeymoon isn't over yet!...
…but Kim and Brien are pulled into another mystery when an unwelcome visitor drops in on New Year’s Eve.

Their visitor is in bad shape and a local pub owner is missing. Has an elusive marine GPS device--found and then lost again--unleashed another wave of kidnapping, murder, and mayhem in Corsario Cove? What is it about that thing? Is it the key to solving another mystery or a worthless object like the infamous Maltese Falcon, as Detective Mitchum believes?

>>>A Trail of Murders
When the bodies start turning up, Kim and Brien decide it's time to figure out whodunit and why! Stooges, Krugerrands, bats, rats, and caves—oh my! Are they hunting down the bad guys or being hunted? Will it be a Gnarly New Year for Kim and Brien?


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Cowabunga Christmas - Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #1
"Are you telling me we have a dead Santa on our hands?"

It’s a Cowabunga Christmas in Corsario Cove for newlyweds, Kim and Brien. Surf’s up at the exclusive resort they’ve chosen as their honeymoon destination. The Sanctuary Resort and Spa at Corsario Cove has everything: a spectacular location with scenic views of the Pacific Ocean, luxurious accommodations, 5-star cuisine, spa services, and a staff that aims to anticipate and meet your every need.

A romantic midnight swim in the Club Level terrace pool changes everything when an unexpected guest drops in wearing a Santa Suit with a couple bullet holes in it! Who killed Santa? Kim and Brien are soon swept up in murder and mayhem trying to unravel the mystery.


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A Dead Cousin - Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery #5
A frantic call for help has Jessica on the run.

Taken from his home while his daughter hides upstairs, Detective Frank Fontana is gone. Jessica’s out to save him, but what if he doesn’t want to be found? Has he been abducted or is he on the run?

Even a message from Frank isn't all that clear-cut: Trust no one. Even the devil was once an angel. Is it a warning to Jessica or a confession as Frank’s partner, Detective Rikki Havens, suggests?

When a body turns up, the identity of the victim only fuels the controversy. Good cops. Bad cops. Missing money. Undercover operations that may or may not have ended. Jessica and her friends soon become entangled in a web of secrets and lies that make it hard to know who’s on which side of the law.

Is Frank a good cop gone bad or in the worst mess of his life?


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A Dead Mother - Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery Book 4
Jessica’s Ex-Husband, James Harper, And Her Mother, Alexis, Are In Big Trouble

Family dysfunction, infidelity, murder, and mayhem—what else can you expect from members of the rich and famous who move in Jessica Huntington’s circles?

>>>A Man Fighting To Stay Alive, And Jessica’s Love Life Gets Complicated
An arraignment in court goes off the rails after Jim Harper’s Bel Air mansion is trashed and a man is left fighting for his life. Jessica’s love life almost veers off track, too, as she struggles to balance job, family, sleuthing, and her attraction to Attorney Paul Worthington and Detective Frank Fontana.

>>>A Body Turns Up
When the body of a prominent member of the Palm Desert community is found dead on the side of the road, Jessica gives up hope that this year will be better than the last. It’s a three-ring-circus of calamities as Jessica and her friends get pulled into another whirlwind whodunit. There are plenty of well-heeled heels to choose from among the suspects with murderous motives: love, lust, lucre, and loathing.


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A Dead Daughter - Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery Book 3
Murder and mayhem take Jessica Huntington to new heights when Libby Van Der Woert wants to meet at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The disturbed daughter of Jessica’s wealthy clients, Libby says she has information about her friend, Shannon Donnelly. Another mixed-up daughter of the rich and famous, no one has heard from Shannon Donnelly in over a week. Trouble begins the moment Jessica greets Libby in the Mt. San Jacinto Wilderness. Wild, manic, and sure she’s being followed, Libby’s got a gun. All hell breaks loose when Libby’s Beverly Hills shrink shows up with a gun of his own.

What’s up with the missing and misguided daughters of wealth and privilege in Dr. Carr’s care? Jessica and her friends go toe-to-toe with more well-heeled heels in A DEAD DAUGHTER. Getting to the bottom of things Jessica-Huntington-style, sets off a whirlwind tour of fashionable enclaves, upscale rehab clinics, shops, restaurants and other haute hangouts. Behind all the glitz and glam: secrets, lies, corporate wheeling and dealing. How can Jessica and her friends outwit and outlive ‘la crème de la crud’ wreaking havoc from Palm Springs to Beverly Hills?


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A Dead Sister - Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery #2
“The worst kind of truth is better than the best lie, Jessica.” Jessica Huntington hopes Bernadette is right as she races headlong into trouble to discover the truth about the death of a high school friend, Kelly Fontana. Found in a Palm Springs hotel parking lot, the auburn-haired beauty with the voice of an angel and a streak of wild, died in a hit-and-run. Ruled an accident, the case soon grew cold.

Now, fourteen years later, Kelly’s handsome cousin, Detective Frank Fontana, has disturbing news. A lowlife meth addict has come forward as an eyewitness and swears, “It weren’t no accident! It was on purpose!” Things soon heat up. Not just the cold case, but the relationship between Jessica and Frank. Sleuthing Jessica Huntington style brings her face-to-face with the rich and famous as she seeks justice for Kelly. High living has its absurd moments as Jessica’s search takes her from Palm Springs to Beverly Hills, Hollywood, haute shops, spas, eateries and a Vault Top 100 LA law firm.

Who killed Kelly Fontana? The answer is buried beneath lies, drugs, sex and secrets that reveal a seamier side of wealth and celebrity. What will it cost Jessica and her friends to confront the worst kind of truth? "


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A Dead Husband - Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery Book 1
"My first day as a sleuth was more Stephanie Plum than Miss Marple." Jessica Huntington, amateur sleuth with a shopping jones and a black AMEX card, finds out money can’t buy happiness, or save your neck. Her well-planned life in shambles, she’s hiding out near Palm Springs. When her best friend’s husband is murdered, Jessica and her friends are soon stalked by scoundrels in pantyhose, stilettos, Bruno Maglis, and Armani suits. Roger Stone had something that got him killed. What was it and what will they do to get it back?

Even in a desert paradise life is full of surprises, like A DEAD HUSBAND.


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Love a Foot Above the Ground
We should all have a Bernadette in our lives... Set in California and Mexico in the 1960s this tale evokes a simpler, more innocent time and place. A story of love, loss, and resilience in the face of a haunting mystery.


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Post Created by: James Moushon
Mystery Author, Industry blogger and Author Advocate
James is the author of the following blogs:
HBS Author’s Spotlight
Indie Author's Corner
HBS Virtual Bookshelf
Mystery Reader’s Circle