Childs Laura

In the latest from the New York Times bestselling author of Gossamer Ghost, scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand investigates a murder in New Orleans legendary Lafayette Cemetery Enjoying dinner at Commander s Palace with her beau, Detective Edgar Babcock, Carmela finds the food and the company equally divine with the exception of Isabelle Black stopping by to brag about her upcoming wedding. Leaving the restaurant, the couple is interrupted once again this time by a terrifying scream from inside the cemetery. Rushing to investigate, Carmela and Edgar find Isabelle lying across an aboveground tomb, strangled with a piece of vintage lace. Carmela would rather leave the case to Edgar, but she can t say no to Isabelle s sister, Ellie, the tarot card reader at Juju Voodoo. As she untangles the enemies of Isabelle s past, Carmela hopes she can draw out the killer before someone else gets cold feet. Scrapbook aficionados rejoice Ms. Childs creates a charming mystery series with lively, quirky characters, and plenty of how-to. Fresh Fiction SCRAPBOOKING TIPS INCLUDED "

The ladies of the Cackleberry Club caf serve up justice in the latest installment from the New York Times bestselling author of Eggs in a Casket. TIME TO EGGS-TINGUISH AN ARSONIST. Getting her hair colored at Root 66, Suzanne is stunned to witness the County Services office next door suddenly go up in flames. Sadly, the fire claims the life of longtime civil service worker--and friend to the Cackleberry Club--Hannah Venable. When it's discovered that an accelerant was used to fan the flames, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni vow to smoke out the culprit. When Suzanne finds a possible connection between the fire and the nearby Prairie Star Casino, she comes to realize that the arsonist wanted something very big and bad kept secret. And if the ladies aren't careful, they may be the ones gambling with their lives...

Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning heads to a winery where she is about to learn the true meaning of terroir... Steeped in Evil Theodosia has never considered herself a wine connoisseur--tea has always been...well, her cup of tea. But that doesn't mean she's going to pass up an invitation to a fancy wine-tasting party at the upscale Knighthall Winery, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Unfortunately, a sweet evening takes on a bitter aftertaste when a dead body is discovered in one of the wine barrels. The son of proprietor Jordan Knight has been murdered. Dissatisfied with the police investigation, Knight turns to Theo for help. She's heard through the grapevine that there are both family and business problems at Knighthall. They say in vino veritas, but everyone at the winery seems to be lying through their teeth. Sorting through the guest list as well as family and staff, Theo has her pick of suspects. It may look like the killer has her over a barrel, but cracking tough cases is vintage Theodosia Browning. INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS

A New Orleans businessman and white-collar criminal is celebrating his early release from prison. But his freedom will be short lived... Scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava, are off to a party. Prominent socialite Margo Leland is throwing an extravagant fete to welcome home her husband, Jerry Earl. There's a zydeco band, champagne ice luge, and waiters in ties and tails. But in the midst of the revelry, Jerry Earl is murdered--then stuffed inside a clothes dryer. When the grieving widow turns to her for help, Carmela can't say no. But Jerry Earl took a lot of people to the cleaners with his underhanded business tactics, so Carmela's going to be hard-pressed to identify which of his enemies was steamed enough to kill him. As she sorts through Jerry Earl's dirty laundry, she needs to collar the killer before another victim is set to tumble dry... Scrapbooking Tips and Recipes Included

In the latest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Agony of the Leaves, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning may always be a bridesmaid, never a bride, but this groom is never going to make it to the altar... Theodosia Browning's dear friend Delaine Dish has asked her to be a bridesmaid for her wedding. But when the big day arrives, everything seems to be going wrong. First, a massive storm is brewing over Charleston. A bad omen? Second, Delaine's sister is late for the ceremony. And finally, the groom not only has cold feet--his whole body is cold. A murderer has crashed the wedding. As Theodosia comforts a devastated Delaine, she needs to sort out the suspects on the groom's side from the suspects on the bride's side. One thing soon becomes apparent--revenge won't be the only dish served cold at this wedding. And if Theodosia doesn't watch her step, a cold-blooded killer may have a rude reception in store for her...

New Orleans is in the throes of another fantastic Mardi Gras celebration when the party gets crashed by a murderer... Kimber Breeze of KBEZ-TV is broadcasting live from a hotel balcony in the French Quarter, interviewing locals and capturing the spectacle in the streets. But as Carmela Bertrand, owner of Memory Mine scrapbooking shop, waits to be interviewed next, someone sneaks onto the balcony and strangles Kimber with a cord, leaving her body dangling above the parade. Soon after the murder, Carmela begins receiving strange postcards at her shop--signed by the late reporter. Now she and her friend Ava must risk their own necks to find out who's posing as a ghost and expose a killer... Scrapbooking Tips and Recipes Included

In the latest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Scones & Bones, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning finds herself in hot water when a body surfaces at the grand opening of Charleston’s Neptune Aquarium… The opening of the aquarium is a major Charleston event, and Theodosia has been hired to cater the private party to honor dignitaries and big-buck donors. Things are going swimmingly—until Theodosia discovers a body entangled in a net, drowned in one of the aquarium’s state-of-the-art tanks. To make matters worse, the victim is Theodosia’s former boyfriend, Parker Scully. The EMTs think Parker’s drowning was an accident, but when Theodosia notices what look like defense wounds on his hands, she realizes that someone wanted Parker dead. The police aren’t keen on her theory, so if she wants Parker’s killer brought to justice, Theodosia will have to jump into the deep end and start her own investigation…

New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs presents the best way to start your day--with a hearty breakfast and a side of hard-boiled murder. Suzanne, Toni, and Petra found a second life after losing their husbands--opening their own successful business, the Cackleberry Club caf . But the three women never expected sleuthing to be the special of the day... A KILLER HAS THE TOWN WALKING ON EGG SHELLS When a snowmobile crashes into the woods behind the Cackleberry Club caf , Suzanne finds her town's most-hated banker beheaded by a wire staked in the snow. Now some of her best customers are prime suspects with a bushel of motives, and the murder investigation is snowballing. An elusive young runaway may be the Cackleberry Club's only way to crack the case...provided Suzanne can keep her head long enough to track down the cold-blooded killer.

When a fellow scrapbooker is bludgeoned with a religious statue in St. Tristan’s Church, a stolen relic may hold the key to catching the culprit... The last thing Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava expect to bear witness to in St. Tristan’s Church is a crime. But now a beloved member of their scrapbooking circle is lying lifeless next to a smashed statue of St. Sebastian—and a mysterious hooded figure has absconded with an antique crucifix. With so many tourists passing through the church, the police don’t have a prayer of finding the killer.But if anyone can get to the bottom of the crime, it’s Carmela’s main squeeze, Detective Edgar Babcock—with a little assistance from some scrappy sleuths. As Carmela and Ava are drawn deeper into New Orleans’ French Quarter in search of the missing crucifix, they discover that this is one killer they don’t want to cross…SCRAPBOOKING TIPS INCLUDED!

Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is attending the Heritage Society's Pirates and Plunder show when a histroy intern is murdered amidst the gold earrings and doubloons. Even with that on her plate, Theodosia still has to attend Charleston's Food and Wine Festival, where she's hosting a tea and cheese tasting. But as her thoughts keep drifting to the victim, Theodosia knows she'll have to whet her investigative skills to find the killer among a schooner of suspects.

With its history of spooky folklore, New Orleans offers the perfect atmosphere for Halloween. Scrappy sleuth Carmela Bertrand is getting into the spirit by building a giant puppet for the French Quarter's Halloween Monsters and Mayhem parade. But things get terrifying earlier than expected when she overhears an argument between Jekyll Hardy and Brett Fowler-and minutes later, finds Fowler's lifeless body.

The ladies at the Cackleberry Club café are busy preparing for Halloween. But someone's jumped the gun on the tricks. As mayoral candidate Chuck Peebler leaves the café, he gets struck with a crossbow arrow and is killed instantly. And when another murder occurs on the historical society's Quilt Trail, the Cackleberry Club needs to sniff out the bad egg-before he strikes again.

A New Orleans mansion is being converted into a haunted house for tourists and scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand has been enlisted to help. No sooner does the project begin than someone winds up dead.

The latest Tea Shop mystery from the author of The Silver Needle Murder While hosting a lavish luncheon to benefit the Charleston Opera, Theodosia Browning finds her arch nemesis, Abby Davis, dead. What's more, the victim's brother is Theodosia's old flame. Who'd have guessed they'd be reunited through cold-blooded murder?

When Cackleberry Clubber Suzanne delivers a pie to funeral director Ozzie Driesden, she discovers him not working "at" the embalming table but lying "on" the embalming table. She barely has time to recognize his corpse before she's drugged with chloroform. With more suspects than breakfast specials, the Cackleberry Club scrambles to crack the case before one of their own ends up six feet under.

Amid Zydeco rhythms and popping champagne corks, scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand is having a wild night at a Mardi Gras party?until she finds a float designer murdered on a balcony.

When the Charleston Film Festival opens with a bang?the real-life murder of a famous director?Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is pulled into an investigation as perilous as any big-screen thriller.

INTRODUCING THE CACKLEBERRY CLUB MYSTERY SERIES The New York Times bestselling author of the Scrapbooking Mysteries and the Tea Shop Mysteries cooks up a delicious series full of friendship, murder, and one spectacular breakfast after another.... Suzanne, Toni, and Petra lost their husbands but found independence--and in each other, a life raft of support, inspiration, fresh baked goods, and their own business. But when the Cackleberry Club cafe opened its doors in the town of Kindred, who'd have guessed that the cozy oasis would become the scene of a crime? Suzanne's lawyer is found in his car out back of the Cackleberry with egg on his face and blood on the dash. Suzanne's taking the crime personally. The murder not only reveals a scandal in her late husband's past, but a stranger fleeing a messianic sect is begging Suzanne for help. Now, discovering a link between a dead man with secrets and a runaway cultist may be putting Suzanne's own life on the line.

SCRAPBOOKING TIPS AND RECIPES INCLUDED. For Carmela Bertrand, a New Orleans shop owner who can turn any scrapbook into a treasure, this Halloween will feature more than the usual scares. On her way home from a ghoulish gathering, Carmela finds the dead body of a model?and is then attacked herself. Her leads are many, including animal tooth marks on the deceased?s neck. And as the witching hour draws closer, Carmela must find what?s lurking in the shadows?or get the fright of her life.