A bundle of books #1 (A KILLER CUPCAKE), #2 (A MURDEROUS MACARON), #3 (A PERILOUS CAKE POP), #4 (A DEADLY DANISH), #5 (A TREACHEROUS TART), and #6 (A CALAMITOUS COOKIE) in Fiona Grace's Beachfront Bakery cozy mystery series.
In A KILLER CUPCAKE (Book #1), Allison Sweet, 34, a sous chef in Los Angeles, has had it up to here with demeaning customers, her demanding boss, and her failed love life. After a shocking incident, she realizes the time has come to start life fresh and follow her lifelong dream of moving to a small town and opening a bakery of her own. When Allison spots a charming, vacant storefront on the boardwalk near Venice, she wonders if she could really start life anew. Feeling like it's a sign, and a time to take a chance in life, she goes for it. Yet Allison did not anticipate the wild ride ahead of her: the boardwalk, filled with fun and outrageous characters, is pulsing with life, from the Italian pizzeria owners on either side of her who vie for her affection, to the fortune tellers and scheming rival bakery owner nearby. Allison yearns to just focus on her delicious new pastry recipes and keep her struggling bakery afloat-but when a murder occurs right near her shop, everything changes. Will she find the killer? And can her struggling bakery survive?
In A MURDEROUS MACARON (Book #2), a rude tourist dies after eating his way up and down the boardwalk, and all eyes fall on Allison, as the police blame her new macarons. The macarons have a secret ingredient that is so delicious it has customers lining up and down the boardwalk-but they are not, she knows, the cause of death. Allison, forced to clear her name and salvage her customers, has no choice but to retrace the victim's foodie trek up and down the boardwalk, and to figure out what he ate-or who he insulted-that could have gotten him killed. With her beloved dog at her side, it is a race against time to crack the mystery and solve the crime before she loses her bakery-and her budding romance-for good.
In A PERILOUS CAKE POP (Book #3), after a popular food critic trashes Allison's bakery, he ends up dead-and suspicion falls on her. With business failing, Allison's only hope is to solve the crime and clear her name. But it's not so simple: the dead critic infuriated a long line of people, and any of them could have gladly killed him. Will Allison-and her beloved dog-be able to solve the seemingly impossible case in time?
In A DEADLY DANISH (Book #4), a local Councilman lobbies for new laws to tax and fine all the boardwalk stores, making life for everyone miserable-and he has Allison's booming business in his crosshairs. But when the Councilman turns up dead, Allison becomes the natural suspect. Panicked, Allison realizes that if she doesn't solve the crime quickly, everything she worked so hard for will be swept away. Will Allison-her beloved dog by her side-be able to crack the case before it's too late?
In A TREACHEROUS TART (Book #5), a hot-dog eating contest draws massive crowds and is the perfect boost for Allison's business-until the hot-dog eating champion ends up dead in her bakery. Worse: the cops determine he was poisoned. Allison, guilty by association, has no choice but to solve the murder. And the timing couldn't be worse: the shop next door is closing and, finally, Allison has her one shot to expand into the bakery of her dreams. But only if she can clear her name, and solve this murder. Will Allison and her beloved dog prevail?
In A CALAMITOUS COOKIE) (Book #6), a treasure hunter finds a priceless coin on the beach in front of Allison's bakery at sunrise, and she is stunned at the treasure. But she is more stunned to find him murdered. Allison, left standing at the scene of the crime, dog by her side, treasure in hand, couldn't have picked a worse place and a worse time. She hardly looks innocent. And if she doesn't solve this crime soon, things, she realize, are about to get a whole lot worse.
