Haunted by the car accident that ended her career as a cookbook publicist, Val Deniston has traded in the chaos of New York City for a quieter life near the Chesapeake Bay. Living with her curmudgeonly grandfather in the tourist town of Bayport is hardly glamorous, but she enjoys working at the Cool Down Cafe at the local fitness club, and she finally has time to work on her long-planned cookbook. But when one of the club's patrons is found dead,...

"Portia Cuthcart and her two sisters find their way from Texas to Manhattan over the years, the heiresses to a dilapidated brownstone on the Upper West Side. Portia is running from a bad divorce and the knowledge that she has always been a little bit different, a little bit strange: the talented cook who knew exactly what to serve on what occasion, even to the point of predicting events that hadn't even happened yet. But she doesn't cook anymore....

"Sophie Winston's reclusive neighbor, Professor Mordecai Artemus, has died--and left his sprawling home to his Pomeranian. Sophie feels a tad guilty for not having befriended Mordecai. But at least she's not as heartless as her nemesis, Natasha, who's descended upon the house with a crew of interior designers and contractors to renovate the place for the statewide Spring Home and Garden Tour. Even Sophie's been assigned a room to decorate: the family...

Alexandra McKnight prefers a life of long workdays and short-term relationships, and she's found it in Hope's Crossing. A sous chef at the local ski resort, she's just been offered her dream job at an exclusive new restaurant being built in town. But when it comes to designing the kitchen, Alex finds herself getting up close and personal with construction foreman Sam Delgado. . . . At first glance, Sam seems perfect for Alex. He's big, tough, gorgeous...

"Lumi Santana is a chef with a gift: she can perceive a person's emotions by tasting their cooking. Despite being raised by a mother who taught her that dreams and true love were silly fairy tales, she puts her heart and savings into opening her own fusion restaurant in Upper Manhattan. The restaurant offers a mix of the Dominican cuisine she grew up with and other world cuisines she is inspired by. When her eclectic venture fails, she is forced to...

When a scrooge steals the holiday gifts and meals from Sophie Winston's family and neighbors, Sophie organizes a toy swap for the kids, restoring the spirit of the season. But not for long. When her sister-in-law's father shows up with a diva girlfriend just a month after his separation, more than one person is thinking of murder. And when the girlfriend becomes the victim of foul play, some of Sophie's relatives are prime suspects.

"Nell Valenti is settling into her role of transforming the Villa Orlandini into a superb farm-to-table cooking school, and the time has finally come for a full taste test run. But when Chef Orlandini prepares to reveal his top secret marinara recipe for the first time to a group of American gastro-tourists, Nell realizes she might have bitten off more than she can chew. Nell begins to suspect that one of the tourists is actually a private detective...

"It's a cold January in the Chesapeake Bay area, but Cool Down Café manager Val Deniston has plenty to sweat over -- like catering a book club event, testing recipes for her Granddad's cookbook, and catching the author of a deadly tale of murder. . .The last thing Val needs in her life is an unsolved murder, especially when the victim, an actor famed for impersonating Edgar Allan Poe, happens to be dressed exactly like her Granddad. To keep an eye...