Title Cranberries & Criminals
Author Lucinda Race
Genre Paranormal cozy mystery
Book Blurb
Whose half-baked idea was it for bookstore owner and witch Lily Michaels to enter an amateur baking contest in her small town of Pembroke Cove, Maine? Her pie plate’s already bubbling over learning about her witchy powers from her trusted companion and snarky familiar—a talking cat named Milo. Toss in solving a few murders while stirring in wedding planning, and Lily’s stretched thin as an overworked pie crust.
Lily doesn’t have the baking skills of her best friend, Nikki, who’s an accomplished kitchen witch. As Milo says, Lily can barely boil water and his dear witch should stay out of the kitchen except when opening a package of smoked salmon. But why shouldn’t she try baking? The crisp November air and approaching holiday season is the perfect inspiration for whipping up some seasonal goodies. It’s not like somebody can die from eating a muffin, can they?
With help from Nikki, and the support of Lily’s fiancé, police detective Gage Erikson—a.k.a. Detective Cutie—Lily preps for the Cranberry Bakeoff. But it’s a recipe for disaster when a judge collapses. Was it an allergic reaction, or is someone tired of losing and tart fruits turned into sour grapes. The air is thick with suspicion, and it’s up to puzzle-loving Lily to combine the right ingredients to catch a killer with their fingers in the cookie jar.
Cranberries & Criminals is the ninth novel in the A Book Store Cozy Mystery Series; although each book can be read as a standalone, it is best to read them in order. It is a witty, small town paranormal, cozy mystery that guarantees the culprit is caught. Happy reading!
Excerpt
I hurried through the town green taking the shortcut from my bookstore to my favorite bakery, the Sweet Spot. Well, the only one in my charming town of Pembroke Cove. The crisp air tingled my nose as I inhaled, pulling the cold November air deep into my lungs. Despite the sun climbing in the bright blue cloudless sky, I pulled the collar of my jacket closer to my chin. Waiting on the sidewalk outside the shop was my best friend and fellow witch, Nikki. I drew closer and she greeted me with a grin.
“Hey, Lily.” She gave me a quick hug. “Thanks for getting me out of my kitchen. I’ve been rushing to finish my frozen pies that are on pre-order for Thanksgiving. I can’t believe how many people want to bake off their pies so they’ll be freshly baked this year, but it makes it easier for me.”
Nikki was an amazing baker and supplied most of the restaurants up and down the coast with desserts as well as specialty products like wedding cakes and holiday pies. Me? On most days I had trouble boiling water. “I’m just glad you’re up for coffee, and William has the magic touch when it comes to the cinnamon pecan buns that I can’t get enough of.”
She laughed and pulled open the heavy glass door. “That’s the one thing I’ll never even think of trying to make. No one could ever bake them like William.”
I walked inside and, for a moment, closed my eyes, letting the smell of yeast, sugar, and cinnamon wrap around me like a cozy blanket while my mouth watered. The display case caught my eye. I audibly groaned and grabbed her arm. “Nikki, he has the buns but also chocolate croissants.” I patted my midsection and thought of my fiancé Gage Erikson. We were close to setting a date for our wedding. If I added to my curves, who knew if I’d be able to wear my mom’s dress.
She leaned over my shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking. You’ll look beautiful on that special day. I promise.”
Giving her a playful swat, I asked, “How do you do that?”
“For as long as we’ve been best friends, how could we not know what the other is thinking on most days.”
I flashed her a grin. “True.” A paper pinned to the corkboard above the coffee urns caught my attention. “What’s that?” Crossing the short distance, I read out loud, “Cranberry Bake-Off.”
Nikki came up behind me. “It’s for amateurs. You should enter. I can teach you how to make muffins or something easy before next Friday. It would be fun to see you stretching out of your comfort zone.”
I snorted. “This last year, I’ve been like a rubber band. Learning to be a witch from my snarky familiar has been a challenge. Toss in a few murders I helped solve, and I’ve been busy. Who’s had time to learn to bake?” I gave her a side-eye. “Too bad one of my witchy skills wasn’t in the kitchen.” She knew I was referring to her particular specialty.
With a huge smile that showed off her pearly whites, she said, “We can’t all be a kitchen witch. In fact, it’s more rare than you think. Besides, you have skills I don’t. The spell you cast with Dax to discover the secrets of the Heart of the Soul amulet, now that’s something I could never have done.”
With a shrug, “I guess that’s what makes our coven so special. We’re all different.”
“Ladies,” William came up behind us. “I see you’ve read the announcement. And forgive me, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. Nikki’s right, Lily. You should enter. I’d be happy to give you some tips, too. Cranberries are fairly easy to work with as long as you have enough sweetness to balance the tart.”
Clasping my hands in front of me, I chewed the inside of my lip. Why couldn’t I try my hand at baking? It wasn’t like anyone would die from eating a muffin at a baking competition. Who knows, maybe I could surprise Gage by cooking something so he wouldn’t have to be the primary chef after we tied the knot. I tapped my chin and scanned the poster again. “It says there are three rounds. I’m guessing that means the recipes will be more difficult with each round. I’d be thrilled if I made it through the first elimination.”
William squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Lily, I’ve known you a long time. You can do anything you set your mind to. But remember, for this competition, there’s no witchcraft. It has to be all non-magical. It’s the only way it would be fair.”
I patted his hand. “Even if you give me a few pointers, and Nikki too, I don’t think I have a chance, but I’m willing to try.”
“That’s the spirit,” he said. “Now I’ll give you the sign-up sheet, and you can fill it out before you leave the shop.” With a wiggle of his eyebrows, he said, “Plan on coming by tomorrow morning around eight. We’ll have our first lesson in reading a recipe and correctly measuring ingredients.”
Nikki draped her arm around my other shoulder. “I’ll swing by your place tonight, and we’ll practice by baking cookies.”
The smiles on their faces didn’t hide their excitement.
My mouth went dry, and my voice croaked. “Will they give me the recipes or a cookbook to follow?”
William frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that. Nikki, we should choose several easy recipes that Lily can print out. I suspect most of the competitors will be experienced and create something off the top of their heads.”
Her forehead wrinkled, and she paused before nodding. “Good idea.”
For the second time, a shiver of nerves raced up and then down my spine. “You’re making this sound more intimidating than facing down someone who’s trying to kill me.”
Nikki laughed. “Not at all. Between William and me, we’ll have you ready to measure and mix with the best bakers in the county.”
I knew she was being sweet. Nikki had seen some of my past baking disasters firsthand, but to William’s point, I had been doing all kinds of things I would never have dreamt possible. With a deep exhale, I said, “I’m going to do this with your help. Before we even start to contemplate what comes next, I’m going to need sustenance—at least one cinnamon pecan roll and maybe even cookies to go with an extra-large coffee.”
Being the best friend ever, Nikki said, “My treat, and let’s not forget two chocolate croissants.”
The sun was low in the sky, and it bathed my store in a golden light. I flopped into the wingback chair at the front of my shop. A whoosh escaped my lungs. “Nikki, how do you do this baking thing? Learning a spell is a snap compared to picking out recipes that I might be able to bake. And I use the word might with great reverence.”
She closed the cookbook in her lap. Since I had to bake as a non-magical, we decided to scour cookbooks for recipes instead of the way Nikki baked with the combination of magic and hands-on experience. With a wink she said, “The best way to do anything well is to read the book.”
I groaned. “Now you sound like Milo. Speaking of which, I wonder where the gray fur ball is snoozing.” I got up and wandered around the shop, checking all his favorite napping zones. Finally, I saw the tip of his gray bushy tail lazily sliding from left to right over the carpet in the children’s section. I knelt on the floor and peered under a little wooden chair. Reaching in, I ruffled the fur on his back.
In his typical kitty grumble, he said, “Go away. Can’t you see I’m sleeping?”
My face split into a wide grin. “You’re not, you’re talking to me. Besides you can’t sleep the entire day away. What if I needed your help?”
He rolled to his side and looked at me through slits in his deep green eyes. “Do you?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. Join me and Nikki out front. I have news.”
He lifted his head, and his eyes opened wider. “Another murder investigation? We’ve been in a nice groove lately; no one’s bit the dust since Petra Addington.”
“For once, I’m not trying to solve a murder.” Milo was right; things had finally returned to a normal, sleepy town after we had eight suspicious deaths in the span of eighteen months. Coincidentally, the spate of murders and deaths had started when I discovered I was a witch. Not that I thought the events were related to each other.
I got up from the floor, brushed my hands on my jeans, and said, “Milo, come on out. Please.”
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Author Biography
Award-winning and best-selling author Lucinda Race is a avid fan of fiction. As a young girl, she spent hours reading cozy mystery and romance novels and getting lost in the fun and hope they represent. While her friends dreamed of becoming doctors and engineers, her dream was to become an expert at crafting a captivating novel.
As life twisted and turned, she found herself writing nonfiction but longed to turn to her true passion. After developing the storyline for the McKenna Family Romance series and the Paranormal Cozy Nook Bookstore Series, it was time to start living her dream. Her fingers practically fly over computer keys. She weaves paranormal cozy mystery stories and romance with guaranteed happily ever afters.
Lucinda lives with her two little dogs, a miniature long hair dachshund and a shitzu mix rescue, in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts. When she's not at her day job, she’s immersed in her fictional worlds. And if she’s not writing mystery, suspense or romance novels, she’s reading everything she can get her hands on.
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