Take a bite out of crime with these delicious mysteries. The titles can be found alphabetically by the author's last name in the Adult Mystery collection. If you need any assistance in locating a book please ask at the desk.

Location Codes:
MN - Main Library
DR - Dobson Ranch Branch
RM - Red Mountain Branch (East Mesa)

Albert, Susan Wittig. China Bayles Mystery Series.
The series is chocked full of herbal references and takes place Pecan Springs, Texas, hometown of successful female attorney, China Bayles. The first book in the series is Thyme of Death. (MN, DR, RM)

Bell, Nancy. Biggie and the Devil Diet. 2002. 202 p.
Biggie is delighted when her old friend Rex Barnwell and his wife return to Job's Crossing to convert the local ranch to a retreat for overweight teenage girls, but when Rex is found murdered, Biggie is forced to reveal a secret. (MN, DR, RM)

Bishop, Claudia. Hemlock Falls Series.
A Taste for Murder is the first book in the series featuring two sleuthing sisters who run Hemlock Falls Inn. Sarah owns the Inn and Meg is the chef, the two work well together, cooking up tasty dishes (recipes included) and catching crooks. (MN, DR, RM)

Cannell, Dorothy. Ellie Haskell Mystery Series.
The Thin Woman: An Epicurean Mystery is the first in a series staring an unmarried, overweight, interior designer who is part Miss Marple, part modern British mum. (MN, DR, RM)

Carl, JoAnna. The Chocolate Cat Caper. 2002. 231 p.
After accepting a job supplying chocolate from her aunt's luxury chocolate business to a party for unpopular defense attorney Clemintine Ripley, Lee McKinney takes on a new job as detective when someone adds cyanide to a chocolate confection eaten by the hostess. Part of the Chocoholic mystery series. (MN, DR, RM)

Craig, Philip R. Vineyard Enigma. 2002. 242 p.
Meeting the mysterious Mahsimba, who is searching for two priceless artworks missing from his African homeland, J.W. Jackson is alarmed when his wife becomes infatuated with the stranger, whose search pits him against dangerous forces in the local art world. Another in the Martha's Vineyard mystery series. Includes recipes. (MN, DR, RM)

Daheim, Mary. Murder, My Suite: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery. 1995. 261 p.
Hoping to recover from a visit by a gossip columnist, Hillside Manor hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn visits her cousin at a ski resort only to learn that the same columnist is scheduled to arrive there--unless a killer gets in the way. Just Desserts is the first book in this series. (MN, RM)

Davidson, Diane Mott. Goldy Bear Series.
Irresistibly tempting series spiced with mystery and mayhem starring Colorado caterer-turned-sleuth Goldy Bear. Recipes are included. (MN, DR, RM)

Fairbanks, Nancy. Death a l'Orange. 2002. 273 p.
A culinary tour of France is a dream come true for aspiring food writer Carolyn Blue, but as she and her family travel through Normandy and the Loire Valley with a group of academics, she suddenly finds murder on the menu in this Berkley Prime Crime mystery series title. (MN, DR, RM)

Farmer, Jerrilyn. Immaculate Reception: a Madeline Bean Catering Mystery. 1999. 242 p.
The Pope is coming to L.A., and Madeline Bean has been chosen to plan the welcoming extravaganza. But menu plans never included a young priest found dead in the bed of an uninhibited Hollywood star, or a yellowed page of Latin scrawl revealing a Jesuit brother's shocking past. With the Pope on his way, it's up to Madeline to sort out this unholy mess. (MN, DR, RM)

Fluke, Joanne. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder. 2003. 324 p.
Seven original cookie and dessert recipes are included in this newest title in the Hannah Swensen mystery series. While scouring her boyfriend's new house for antiques, sleuth and bake shop owner Hannah Swenson stumbles upon the dead body of Rhonda Scarf, the house's former owner. (MN, DR, RM)

Hager, Jean. Bride and Doom : An Iris House B&B Mystery. 2000. 209 p.
Bed-and-breakfast proprietor Tess Darcy's wedding to her longtime love, Luke Fredrik, is put in jeopardy when dictatorial chef Julian Walker is found stabbed to death during her bridal shower and Iris House cook Gertie Bogart becomes the prime suspect. (MN, DR, RM)

King, Peter. Roux the Day: a Gourmet Detective Mystery. 2002. 231 p.
It begins as a reasonably simple mission, go to New Orleans and authenticate an old book of recipes via its most famous dish, oysters Belvedere. But, things quickly become complicated by murder, forgery and a posse of lady chefs who kidnap the epicurean hero. (MN, DR, RM)

Lyons, Nan. Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of America. 1993. 216 p.
Just after Switzerland's Enstein Clinic releases formerly obese murderer Achille van Golk, culinary sleuths Natasha O'Brien and Millie Ogden once again set out on the trail of a serial chef killer--this time stalking American cooking experts. (MN, RM)

McKevett, G. A. Savannah Reid Mystery Series.
The latest in this series is Just Desserts where, finding herself in over her head with a case involving a politician's infidelities, chubby Detective Sergeant Savannah Reid is told that she must turn in her badge because she is overweight. (MN, DR, RM)

Myers, Tamar. Gruel and Unusual Punishment: a Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery. 2002. 224 p.
In the tenth book in the series, imprisoned conman and predator of wealthy women, Clarence Webber, has been poisoned with arsenic in one of Magdalena Yoder's most famous dishes-and lands Magdalena in the middle of a grueling mystery. Includes recipes. (MN, DR, RM)

Page, Katherine Hall. The Body in the Bonfire: a Faith Fairchild Mystery. 2002. 241 p.
At Mansfield Academy, a boys' boarding school in a small town outside Boston, someone is harassing black student Daryl Martin, a top athlete and scholar. Under the cover of teaching a cooking class during winter project term, amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild searches for clues to find out who's responsible for the hate-filled e-mail, offensive newspaper clippings and finally a noose left on Daryl's pillow. (MN, DR, RM)

Pence, Joanne. To Catch a Cook. 2000. 309 p.
In the latest entry in the Angie Amalfi mystery series, culinary expert, gourmet chef, and amateur sleuth Angie Amalfi comes to the aid of her boyfriend, Homicide Detective Paavo Smith, when an antique brooch that belonged to his mother vanishes, the jeweler repairing it is murdered, and his surrogate father is wounded by a would-be thief. (MN, RM)

Pickard, Nancy. Blue Corn Murders: a Eugenia Potter Mystery. 1998. 257 p.
Eugenia Potter is visiting an archaeological camp by the cliff dwellings of Colorado's Mesa Verde when strange things start to happen. First is the director's increasing mental confusion then a visitor's grisly death. But when a busload of teenagers on a hiking trip disappears without a trace, Mrs. Potter begins some digging... to unearth a cruel scheme, a long-buried secret, and the deadly fruits of a killer's dark hungers. (MN, DR, RM)

Richman, Phyllis C. Who's Afraid of Virginia Ham? 2001. 243 p.
This is the newest title in the Chas Wheatley mystery series in which Chas, a food critic for a Washington, DC newspaper, reels with shock after the paper's new hire, a charming but dangerously ambitious and deceitful young man, tries to put one of her favorite restaurants out of business. When he's found murdered, Chase must turn into an amateur sleuth to save her friend. (MN, DR, RM)

Temple, Lou Jane. Heaven Lee Mystery Series.
Kansas City is the setting for this series, featuring caterer Heaven Lee who owns the Cafe Heaven but often has to turn into an amateur sleuth to save her business. Death by Rhubarb is the first book in the series, which has tempting original recipes scattered throughout. (MN, DR, RM)'

Compiled 3/03; Updated 8/05, JB; Holdings checked 7/06 KRL