As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Banana Bread and Betrayal (Peridale Cafe Book 27) (affiliate link)
Step back into the quaint village of Peridale, where café-owner, Julia South-Brown, finds herself entangled in a gripping new mystery. When the owner of the local food bank, Hilda, seeks her help after a break-in by a dear friend, Ronnie, Julia is drawn into a tangled web of secrets and deceit.
Determined to protect the community from scandal, Hilda entrusts Julia with the case, urging her to uncover the truth behind Ronnie’s inexplicable actions. But as Julia volunteers at the food bank, the situation takes a sinister turn when Ronnie is murdered, just days after being hailed as the saviour of the struggling food bank in The Peridale Post.
With her daughter, Jessie, by her side, Julia delves deeper into Fern Moore’s food bank, uncovering shocking revelations about Ronnie’s past. A web of suspects emerges, including a jealous fellow volunteer, a resentful brother, an angry neighbour, a cunning businessman, and an old school acquaintance.
The Mechanic (John Tyler Book 1) (affiliate link)
John Tyler finally built the life he wanted.
But his past casts a long shadow.
Eight years retired from the army, Tyler manages his PTSD and begins a job as a classic car mechanic. He’s a single dad to Lexi, who’s about to enter college. Life is looking up.
Then, everything comes crashing down.
Tyler’s former commanding officer is out of prison and hellbent on revenge. Their mutual hatred has been simmering for years. When it finally boils over, everyone and everything in Tyler’s life is threatened.
He wanted to be a father and a mechanic. To save himself and his daughter, he’ll need to use the deadly skills he thought he left behind.
Can Tyler stop a monster without becoming one himself?
Dishwasher Safe (affiliate link)
Once you’ve seen this side of “As Seen On TV”, you’ll never see it the same.
The prototype of the world’s most miraculous kitchen chopper in history is missing, and Dick Lance, the smarmiest TV pitchman to ever utter, “But wait, there’s more!” is the prime suspect. In the highly competitive (and sometimes dangerous) world of Direct Response Advertising, Lance is at the top of his game, but when he disappears into an alligator-filled canal, the search for the missing device takes on life or death importance.
His wife, Kristen, is filled with grief, but not quite certain she wants her offensive hubby found. What Kristen doesn’t know is that she is being stalked by a sinister duo of wannabe ninja thugs who are willing to stop at nothing to get the missing miracle product back to Hong Kong.
The twisted trail leads from a TV studio in Ohio to the dank swamps of Florida to the glitz of Palm Beach, and beyond. Alligators, TV hucksters, tourist traps, kidnappers, speech-challenged TV starlets, and erotic art all combine in this comedy/thriller recipe that would challenge the best non-stick cookware.
Girl Trap (Madeline Dawkins Book 3) (affiliate link)
Appearances can be deceiving. And in Southern California, where the sun shines almost every day and make-believe has its own industry, it’s hard to tell what is real and what is merely illusion.
Two inquiries come to MDPI on the same day that seem like fairly straight-forward missing person cases. But it doesn’t take long to discover there’s nothing ordinary about the disappearance of two beautiful sisters from Minnesota and an estranged heiress who has never touched her eight-figure fortune.
While Madeline’s partner, Mike Delaney, heads down to Los Angeles to search for his cousin’s vanished girlfriend and her sister, Madeline heads to San Luis Obispo in hopes of picking up a twelve-year-old trail at a Catholic boarding school.
The Advice Columnist (affiliate link)
You’re your own best friend. Nobody knows you better than you. Talk to yourself like you would talk to someone you love.
These are all cliches advice columnist Joannie Simmons shied away from—until a ghost of her younger self confronts her via email.
__ __ __
Joannie always thought that advice was timeless. The devices and the lingo may change, but the problems remain the same. But Joannie’s in for a rude shock when she’s unceremoniously dumped from The Valley News where she worked for over 30 years as an advice columnist.
Joannie doesn’t know what to do with herself anymore. What advice would she give herself? Move on, go with the flow, reconnect with the things you love. But is her advice as obsolete as she seems to have become?
Joannie’s family certainly thinks so. Her older daughter is planning a major life change and doesn’t bother consulting her; her younger daughter only calls her for babysitting; and Joannie is sure her husband is hiding something huge.
The Paid Bridesmaid: A Novel (affiliate link)
Rachel Vinson is a bridesmaid for hire: part confidante, part wedding planner, and one hundred percent pretend BFF. Discretion guaranteed. Her next gig is a destination wedding—livestreamed and sponsored—for an Instagram influencer. That means a paradise of new contacts, which could be a boon to her already booming business. If Rachel can keep the very handsome and slightly too interested best man at bay, that is.
High-tech entrepreneur Camden Lewis must know: Who is this gorgeous, intelligent, and mysterious woman? Too good to be real. Convinced she’s a corporate spy out to tank his company, Camden’s not letting her out of his sight. But the constant surveillance is also opening his eyes to things about Rachel that he likes. If she’s a spy, she’s certainly the cutest one he’s ever seen.
As the week’s worth of wedding events march along, Rachel and Camden are learning almost everything there is to know about each other. Rachel’s made a career out of always a bridesmaid…but perhaps there’s a chance for her own trip down the aisle?
Down in New Orleans (affiliate link)
Drawing for the Absoute Beginner (affiliate link)
If you have ever wanted to learn to draw but lacked the confidence to start, then this is the book for you.
An accomplished artist with many years of experience in teaching, author Carole Massey will have even the most hesitant of beginners picking up the skills and techniques needed to start drawing. The book is a complete drawing course, designed to help you progress from simple techniques such as lines, circles, squares, and ellipses, through to capturing landscapes, figures, and buildings.
Drawing for the Absolute Beginner offers numerous simple step-by-step demonstrations as well as larger projects. Outline tracings are provided of the more complex drawings that you can transfer straight onto your paper. Most of the artworks in the book are created using pencil, but the author also uses ink, ballpoint pen, pastel pencil, and water-soluble pencils to encourage you to experiment with other media too. By the end of the book, you will have learned all you need to take your drawing skills further and become an accomplished artist in your own right.
The Return of the Dancing Master (affiliate link)
December 12, 1945. The Third Reich lies in ruins as a British warplane lands in Bückeburg, Germany. A man carrying a small black bag quickly disembarks and travels to Hamelin, where he disappears behind the prison gates. Early the next day, England’s most experienced hangman executes twelve war criminals.
Fifty-four years later, retired policeman Herbert Molin is found brutally slaughtered on his remote farm in Härjedalen, Sweden. The police discover strange tracks in the blood on the floor . . . as if someone had been practicing the tango.
Stefan Lindman is a young police officer who has just been diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. When he reads about the murder of his former colleague, he decides to travel north and find out what happened. Soon he is enmeshed in a puzzling investigation with no witnesses and no discernible motives.
The Dominican Kitchen: Homestyle Recipes That Celebrate the Flavors, Traditions, and Culture (affiliate link)
Arepitas
Chulitos
Chimi burgers
Plátanos fritos
Sancocho
Pollo guisado
Empaguetadas
Flan de coco
Morir soñando
and more
Josephine’s Guest House Quilt (East Perry County Series) (affiliate link)
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2