New Release - Never Trifle with Murder by Livia J. Washburn

It’s early summer in Weatherford, Texas, and retired teacher/amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom and fellow retiree Carolyn Wilbarger are taking British cooking classes at the local senior center in this suspenseful Fresh-Baked mystery.

In the latest from Livia J. Washburn, the nationally bestselling author of the Fresh Baked Mystery Series, Phyllis Newsom learns to make a trifle that’s to die for…

While Sam Fletcher is playing dominoes with the guys, Eve Turner is busy flirting with the English chef since she has a fascination for English accents and handsome men who can cook. This puts her in competition with a couple of other ladies from the senior center, who also have their caps set for Chef Alfred Dorrington.

The third and final class features desserts, and more than the stove heats up when the trifle is poisoned! Once again Phyllis finds herself involved in a murder case filled with hidden motives and colorful characters.

Includes recipes!

Trade Paperback contains the short story, "The Coconut Bunny Butt Caper".

EXCERPT:

Phyllis Newsom watched as her friend Sam Fletcher intently studied the dominoes arrayed in front of him. He frowned in thought, put the tip of his index finger on one of them, then moved it to another. After a couple of seconds, he picked up that domino and placed it with the other two that had already been played in the center of the table.

The man to Sam’s left slid one of his dominoes out to join the others. Sam’s partner, seated across the table from him, sighed and turned all six of his dominoes face down, then began shoving them to the center. Sam and the other two players did likewise. The sound of the dominoes hitting the table and then clicking together was almost musical.

“That was the first play in that hand,” Phyllis said. “And it’s over?”

“Well, we were set,” Sam said.

His partner, former hardware store owner Ansel Hovey, shook his head and said, “I shouldn’t’a bid on sixes. I knew better.” He gave Sam a mock glare. “I figured you’d have somethin’ better than what you threw out there.”

The man to Sam’s left, who had played the decisive domino, grinned and said, “Now, don’t give Sam a hard time, Ansel. You can only play the dominoes you’re dealt.”

“Thanks, Patrick,” Sam said. He turned his head to look up at Phyllis, who stood behind his left shoulder. “You see, once Patrick took that trick, there was no way we could make what Ansel bid. There wasn’t enough count left.”

Carolyn Wilbarger, who stood behind Sam to the right, said, “You don’t have to mansplain the game of Forty-Two to us. We’re all from Texas, you know.”

“And I’ve been playing Forty-Two for as far back as I can remember,” Phyllis added. “I understand the concept of what you’re saying, Sam. My brain’s just never been able to work fast enough to see how the whole rest of the hand is going to play out based on the first one or two tricks.”

“Your brain works plenty fast,” Sam told her. “If it didn’t, you wouldn’t have been able to solve all those murders.”

     

New Release — Death Bakes a Pecan Pie (Fresh Baked Mystery Book 14) by Livia J. Washburn

It’s time for the Harvest Festival again, and Phyllis is determined to bake a killer pecan pie. 

Hollywood comes to Weatherford, Texas, as a movie company arrives to shoot scenes for a film based on the novel by Phyllis Newsom’s friend Eve. But movie fantasy turns to deadly reality as a murder recreated for film turns out to be the genuine article, and once more Phyllis has to track down a cunning killer to see that justice is done.

DEATH BAKES A PECAN PIE is the fourteenth novel in the critically acclaimed and best-selling Fresh Baked Mystery series. Phyllis and her friends tackle another complex case with all the humor, camaraderie, good-hearted warmth, and delicious recipes that have made readers around the world fall in love with this series.

Recipes included!

EXCERPT

     The second assistant director slated the shot. Everyone had fallen silent now, so the sharp noise of the clapper coming down on the slate could be heard throughout the park. Phyllis heard Thorpe call, “Action.”

     Melissa and Julie walked toward the bales. Phyllis could hear them saying their lines to each other, although she couldn’t make out all the words. Honestly, she didn’t remember what she and Carolyn had said on that day. They had been talking about the festival, she recalled, but Eve had made up their dialogue when writing the book and then that dialogue had been adapted further in the script by Jason and Deanne Wilkes, so it wasn’t exactly like it had been in real life.

     There were other differences as well, Phyllis realized. She frowned and said, “The scarecrow was standing up when it happened, with a pole through his clothes to keep him upright. That’s the way you wrote it in the book, Eve.”

     “Yes, but it’s easier to film with him sitting down,” Eve said. “That’s what Jason and Deanne told me. They change a lot of things in a movie because it’s easier.”

     “I suppose,” Phyllis said. She knew logically that it didn’t matter. The scene would still be very dramatic.

     Down in the dogtrot, Melissa and Julie turned to the scarecrow, and Melissa reached out to adjust the way the prop was sitting. Phyllis leaned forward, knowing this was when “Peggy Nelson” would discover the scarecrow was really a corpse.

     Suddenly, Melissa leaped backward. A scream ripped from her mouth.

     “Goodness!” Carolyn exclaimed. “She’s really putting a lot into it.”

     Phyllis caught her breath as Melissa continued to scream. She backpedaled away from the scarecrow so fast she stumbled, lost her balance, and sat down hard on the ground.

     And all the time she was still screaming . . .

      

New Release for Friday 13th -- BAKER'S DEADLY DOZEN (A Fresh Baked Mystery Book 13) by Livia J. Washburn

Going back to school can be a killer!

Phyllis Newsom and Sam Fletcher come out of retirement to take substitute teacher jobs as a favor for some friends, but they soon realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same. That means getting up early, dealing with students and other teachers, and helping out with extracurricular activities. The problem is, for Phyllis, stumbling over dead bodies is an extracurricular activity!

When murder strikes at the school’s Friday the Thirteenth dance, it’s unlucky not only for the victim but also for the student who’s the prime suspect. Sam’s granddaughter has a crush on the boy and can’t believe he’s a killer. Neither can Phyllis. The police are convinced, though, so the only way Phyllis can help him is to uncover the true identity of the killer stalking the halls of the high school before it’s too late!

EXCERPT:

     The light downstairs went out before they reached the stairwell. Phyllis frowned. If Mr. McCracken was down there cleaning he should have been moving around enough to keep the light on. Unless he was inside one of the classrooms, then the light might have gone off, she reasoned.

     Then it came on again.

      Something about the way things were happening made a chill run down her back. She was at the top of the stairs now, so she stopped and called, “Mr. McCracken?”

     A strange sound came from below. It might have been a human groan. Ronnie exclaimed, “What was that?”

     The lights went off again.

     “Ronnie,” Phyllis said, “I’m starting to get the feeling that something is wrong. Go back to the cafeteria and find your grandfather.”

     “What are you going to do?” Ronnie gestured toward the stairs. “Go down there and see what it is we heard? It might be a . . . a monster!”

     “You don’t believe in monsters.”

     “Right now, I don’t disbelieve in them.”