Sam set out to spend the summer resurrecting her career as a chef but instead, has to chaperone her half-brother to a robotics competition at the local library.

And naturally, because the universe hates her, the library's interim director, Ben, turns out to be the Hot Reader Guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry to the island.

Sam doesn't do reading. Ben doesn't do romantic relationships.

But when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about, they discover there might be more than just a creative spark between them. . .

Sugar and spice and murderous vice.
That's what pageants are made of...
Normally Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura wouldn't be caught dead at a beauty pageant, but when Mel's mom asks them to provide cupcakes for the seventy-fifth annual Sweet Tiara contest as a favor for her best friend, they can't say no. Plus, between cooking up a daily display for the three-day event and sponsoring a cupcake creation challenge for the participants, Fairy Tale Cupcakes will get great publicity.
But the world of pageants is even hotter than Mel's kitchen. A high-strung judge and a pushy stage mom target Lupe, a young friend of Mel and Angie's, at the competition and aim to take her out--by any means necessary. When the same judge shows up dead underneath Mel and Angie's cupcake display, Lupe is crowned the lead suspect. Now Mel and Angie will have to find the real killer quickly or Lupe may be strutting the catwalk in prison pinstripes...

A new Cupcake Bakery Mystery from "New York Times "bestselling author Jenn McKinlay is icing on the cupcake After a cupcake-flinging fiasco at a photo shoot for a local magazine, Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura agree to make amends by hosting a weeklong corporate boot camp at Fairy Tale Cupcakes. The idea is the brainchild of billionaire Ian Hannigan, new owner of "SWS" ("Southwest Style"), a lifestyle magazine that chronicles the lives of Scottsdale's rich and famous. He's assigned his staff to a team-building week of making cupcakes for charity.
It's clear that the staff would rather be doing just about anything other than frosting baked goods. But when the magazine's creative director is found murdered outside the bakery, Mel and Angie have a new team-building exercise--find the killer before their business goes AWOL.
INCLUDES SCRUMPTIOUS RECIPES

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are finally living out their dream as the proud owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. But their first big client is a nightmare. She's a bridezilla who wants 500 custom cupcakes for her wedding.
When Mel stumbles upon the bride-to-be dead-by-cupcake, she becomes the prime suspect. To save themselves and their business, the ladies need to find the real murderer, before the cupcake killer ices someone else.

Answering tricky reference questions is excitement enough for library director Lindsey Norris, until a murder is committed in her cozy hometown of Briar Creek, Connecticut. The question of who did it must be answered before someone else is checked out--for good. Original.

Lindsey is getting into her groove as the director of the Briar Creek Public Library when a New York editor visits town, creating quite a buzz. Lindsey's friend Beth wants to sell the editor her children's book, but Beth's boyfriend, a famous author, gets in the way. When they go to confront him, he's found murdered-and Beth is the prime suspect. Lindsey has to act fast before they throw the book at the wrong person.

"William Shakespeare is credited with inventing how many words?* "
Answering Shakespeare trivia comes with the job description for library director Lindsey Norris. But when the Briar Creek Community Theater mounts their newest production of the Bard, she has no intention of leaving the stacks for the stage. Unfortunately a villain is waiting in the wings...
Former Broadway actress Violet La Rue is holding auditions for "A Midsummer Night's Dream"--and everyone from the sour spinster librarian Ms. Cole to Lindsey's youthful library pages are trying out for parts. Brought in to play the mischievous Puck is the flirtatious professional actor Robbie Vine, who seems to have eyes for Lindsey. Before her blush has faded, the Bard's dream turns into a nightmare--when one of the cast is poisoned. Now Lindsey and her crafternooners must take center stage to unmask the culprit before the final curtain call...
"*Over 17,000 "

"THE "NEW YORK TIMES "BESTSELLING LIBRARY LOVER'S MYSTERY FROM THE AUTHOR OF "DUE OR DIE
""Avast" in pirate speak means what?*"
"Answering tricky reference questions like this one provides plenty of excitement for library director Lindsey Norris. "But when a shocking murder is committed in her cozy coastal town of Briar Creek, Connecticut, the question of who did it must be answered before an innocent man gets the book thrown at him..."" Lindsey is enjoying her second year in Briar Creek as the library director, meeting with the crafternoon club, and happily dating tour boat captain Mike Sullivan. But when a salvage company arrives in town to dig up treasure buried on Pirate Island over three hundred years ago, the locals are torn between protecting the island and welcoming the publicity. In spite of the squabbling, Charlie Peyton, Lindsey's downstairs neighbor, takes a job with the salvage company. But when Trudi Hargrave, the local tourism director who hired the company, is found murdered at the excavation site, Charlie becomes the chief suspect. To help him, Lindsey must do some digging of her own before the real killer buries the truth for good... *"stop"