After her best friend Claire and her new husband, the Reverend Bob Knudson, leave for their long-awaited honeymoon, Hannah Swensen stumbles upon the body of Bob's substitute, Matthew Walters, a Lutheran minister with a sweet tooth and a penchant for robbery, in the rectory.

On a hot, muggy evening, the last thing Hannah Swensen wants to do is squeeze into pantyhose for the Grand Opening of the refurbished Albion Hotel. But with her famous Red Velvet cupcakes being served in the hotel's new Red Velvet lounge, she can't back out. The party starts off with a bang with the unexpected arrival of Doctor Bev on the arm of a wealthy investor - and comes to a screeching halt when a partygoer takes a dive off the rooftop garden....

Rumour has it that Lunatic Larry Jaeger is in the red--an idea that takes a sinister turn when Hannah discovers the man himself dead as a doornail in his own office. It seems quite a few people would have liked to fill Larry's stocking with coal and then bash him with it. With so many suspects to investigate and the twelve days of Christmas ticking away, Hannah's running out of time to nab a murderous Scrooge who doesn't want her to see the New Year....

The story of how baker Hannah Swensen got her start as a sleuth: "A lovely, frothy treat."—Mystery Scene

It's Christmas many years ago, and topping young Hannah Swensen's wish list is becoming the go-to baker in Lake Eden, Minnesota. But as Hannah finds out, revisiting holiday memories can be murder...

With her dream of opening The Cookie Jar taking shape, Hannah's life matches the hectic

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USA Today Bestseller: A Minnesota baker is pulled into the mix when a man from her past is murdered: "Charming...scrumptious recipes."—Publishers Weekly

Early summer brings plenty of work for baker Hannah Swensen, even before Mayor Bascomb's wife drops by The Cookie Jar to place an order for her charity event...for eleven hundred cookies! And Hannah almost flips when her business partner, Lisa, suggests setting

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Needlework shop owner Betsy Devonshire investigates the murder of a customer who was also an avid and talented yarn hand-dyer.

There's a witch running loose in the town of Excelsior, Minnesota, and her brew is ... beer. Actually, Leona Cunningham, co-owner of the Barleywine, is a practitioner of Wicca, the nature-based religion that many mistakenly believe to be sorcery or black magic. But that doesn't bother the thirsty crowds—or the Halloween Committee members who have fallen under the spell of Leona's tasty ales.

Then, after one too many pints, local alcohol

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Even though running Crewel World keeps Betsy plenty busy, a little extra cash on the side doesn't hurt. So when the local senior complex, Watered Silk, asks her to teach a class on the tricky punchneedle technique, Betsy jumps at the opportunity to win over some new customers. Unfortunately, the business that Betsy drums up is not of the needlework variety. A young woman is found floating in Watered Silk's therapy pool, and Betsy's sleuthing skills...

Renowned theater director Cordelia Thorn is working to restore a historic theater in downtown Minneapolis that she and her actress sister, Octavia, recently bought. Cordelia has a vision for the playhouse's future, but the more she learns about the building, the more fascinated she becomes by its past. Nicknamed The Old Deep and Dark because of the Prohibition-era double murder that occurred in the basement--then a speakeasy--there are a wealth of...

"Beloved heroine Jane Lawless finds that some secrets don't stay buried forever in Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Ellen Hart's In a Midnight Wood, the 27th mystery in this cultishly popular series. Minnesota private investigator Jane Lawless is headed to the small town of Castle Rock for a little getaway. She and Cordelia plan to visit an old friend, participate in an arts festival, and look into a cold case that has recently come on Jane's...