A Bad Éclair Day


Book Description

Life in post-apocalyptic France has finally begun to settle down. The cafés all have candles, the bakery ovens are all coal-fired and reliance on electricity and electronics are now a thing of the past. So when the Provençal village of Chabanel decides to go ahead with its annual pastry contest, it’s a shock to everyone when one of the celebrity judges down from Paris dies a gruesome—and very public—death. When a plate of poisoned chocolate éclairs turns out to be the murder weapon, it’s up to expat and amateur sleuth Jules Hooker to prove that the little old ladies who made them aren’t the murderers. Because much in the same way that Jules can’t stop after one profiterole, it soon becomes clear that this murderer doesn’t intend to stop with one dead chef.




Zoë Bakes Cakes


Book Description

IACP AWARD FINALIST • The expert baker and bestselling author behind the Magnolia Network original series Zoë Bakes explores her favorite dessert—cakes!—with more than 85 recipes to create flavorful and beautiful layers, loafs, Bundts, and more. “Zoë’s relentless curiosity has made her an artist in the truest sense of the word.”—Joanna Gaines, co-founder of Magnolia NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY TIME OUT Cake is the ultimate symbol of celebration, used to mark birthdays, weddings, or even just a Tuesday night. In Zoë Bakes Cakes, bestselling author and expert baker Zoë François demystifies the craft of cakes through more than eighty-five simple and straightforward recipes. Discover treats such as Coconut–Candy Bar Cake, Apple Cake with Honey-Bourbon Glaze, and decadent Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake. With step-by-step photo guides that break down baking fundamentals—like creaming butter and sugar—and Zoë’s expert knowledge to guide you, anyone can make these delightful creations. Featuring everything from Bundt cakes and loaves to a beautifully layered wedding confection, Zoë shows you how to celebrate any occasion, big or small, with delicious homemade cake.




The Erotic Éclair and Other Unseemly Stories


Book Description

A delectable medly of stories filled with glorious food, smatterings of sex and Mennonite angst. Along the way we meet a bootlegging herbalist, a benevolent drug-lord, a runaway shotgun bride, women in pursuit of their dreams and men vainly trying to understand those self-same women. Sweet Carmen is too young to meet her untimely and bizarre death, and Fixer Frank, can fix almost everything - except, perhaps, a relationship. We learn about love potions through the ages, and how Parisioan chocolate can change your life. And, to top it all off, there's a recipe for making orgasmic chocolate eclairs!




Murder in the Abbey


Book Description




Murder, Voila!


Book Description

Murder, Voila! shows just how far Jules has come in the three years since the EMP stranded her in Provence. Limited electricity has come back to the area and phone lines are back up—at least for the sick and elderly. Jules continues to make her living as a private investigator although she still struggles with the language and life is full of rose wines, amazing food and the scent of lavender everywhere. On top of all that, she’s getting married! Just when life seems perfect with her pending nuptials to the Chabanel Chief of Police, his contentious mother comes to town to stop the wedding—and ends up dead. Will Luc be able to see past his mother’s murder and the fact that it appears as if one of Jules’ elderly roommates did the honors?




Murder in the Vineyard


Book Description

Life in Provence was just settling down for American ex-pat Maggie Newberry when a dead body shows up in her vineyard…with a knife in its back. Curious to learn about who the victim is, Maggie’s motivation skyrockets when her husband Laurent is arrested for the murder. With the evidence piling up against Laurent and witness after witness coming forward to swear he is the killer, can Maggie find the real murderer and will she find the cabal behind the campaign to send Laurent to prison for life? And can she do it before her life and those of her dear ones come crashing down around her?




Stolen Away


Book Description

From the relative civilization of 1925 Cairo to the plundering recklessness of pirates scouring the Florida Keys in 1825 for shipwreck treasure, Ella and Rowan find themselves fighting to keep the one treasure they value over all else. Stolen Away brings you adventure on the high seas and thrilling revelations you never saw coming—not to mention one pirate in particular whom Ella is destined never to forget.




Deadly Faux Pas


Book Description

A pleasant evening dinner boat ride on the Seine is destroyed by a shocking murder—and a kidnapping. This time, there is no question who the perpetrator is. Even his master plan is revealed in stunning clarity to anybody paying attention—which Claire Baskerville certainly is. But for Claire—expat American and private investigator living in Paris—and her daughter, that knowledge may come too late. As Claire desperately searches for her daughter in a Paris whose borders have been briefly sealed due to a threatening viral pandemic, she knows the clock is ticking. The lockdown is only meant to give the hospitals a head start and protect the rest of the country. Will she find Catherine before the lockdown lifts? And her daughter is lost forever into the endless, mysterious mist of the Middle East—where Claire has no doubt her only child is bound for.




Murder in Montmartre


Book Description

Reunions are great. Especially if everyone makes it home alive. After twenty years living in France, Maggie’s proud of her language skills and her ability to adapt to a foreign culture, so when four women from her Atlanta high school invite her to get together for a mini reunion in Paris, Maggie can’t wait to show them how she’s changed. Unfortunately, after two awkward days and a miserable Seine River tour Maggie realizes what she should have remembered—three of the four girls were never really nice to her in high school—and the fourth one didn’t know she existed. Everything changes dramatically however, when, on the morning that Maggie decides to leave early, one of her friends is found brutally murdered in her hotel room. The police suspect the killer is one of the four surviving friends with Maggie’s name topping the list. Determined to prove her innocence, Maggie plunged into the secret pockets and hidden quarters of Montmartre and the nontouristy parts around the Sacre Coeur to find out the truth. In the process she discovers that each of her friends had reasons for wanting Christy dead. As suspicions deepen and tensions rise, what started as a fun reunion in the City of Light, becomes an intense game of life-and-death as Maggie races to unmask the killer and the decades-old secret that drives her—before she kills again. Murder in Montmartre is a riveting international whodunit about the snarled perceptions of old friendships, and the treasures - and tragedies - that can arise when a terrible past that won’t die collides with the lies of the present.




Murder in Paris


Book Description

Murder in Paris takes Maggie back to Paris for a very personal sojourn. This time it's all on the line for our intrepid ex-pat—with a murder that happens close to her—and for a reason that not even the deceased's nearest and dearest would ever suspect. For a woman who loves fashion, there is no place on earth more exciting than Paris where the clothes are to die for and everyone you meet is dressed to kill. Maggie’s visit to the City of Light in the midst of Paris Fashion Week turns into a nightmare when she witnesses a murder within her own family. Determined to find out who the killer is—before her husband’s patience and her marriage expires—Maggie steps into the glittering world of fashion as cutthroat and vicious as any drug cartel. It could be Maggie’s grandest hour–if she can survive it.