Champagne and ball gowns, fairy lights and music... Oxford summer balls are one of the highlights of the calendar and tearoom sleuth Gemma Rose is looking forward to taking a break and slipping into something gorgeous for the evening. But when the night ends with a celebrity chef murdered by his own whisk, Gemma finds herself plunged into a new mystery-and the nosy Old Biddies keen to help with the investigation!But trouble is also brewing at her quaint Cotswolds tearoom: between fighting claims that she's serving "fake" custard tarts and stopping her little tabby, Muesli, from being catnapped, Gemma has her hands full-and that's before she has to fend off an amorous Italian. To top it all, her boyfriend Devlin's mother is coming to visit and Gemma is anxious to make a good impression... although Mrs O'Connor isn't quite what she expected!With so much going on, it's a recipe for disaster-but with a bit of help from her bossy mother, Gemma might just solve the case... and live to bake another day.(** English custard tart recipe at the end of the story!)This book follows British English spelling and usage.Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.Genre: humorous culinary cozy mysteries, cat cozy mystery series / women amateur sleuth / British detective mysteryOXFORD TEAROOM MYSTERIESA Scone To Die For (Book 1)Tea with Milk and Murder (Book 2)Two Down, Bun To Go (Book 3)Till Death Do Us Tart (Book 4)Muffins and Mourning Tea (Book 5)Four Puddings and a Funeral (Book 6)Another One Bites the Crust (Book 7)

Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is a place of healing. Strangers flock here hoping the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. If none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked "comfort" scone from the Gingerbread House bakery, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book. That's Nora's special talent--prescribing the perfect novel to ease a person's deepest pain and lighten their heaviest burden. When a visiting businessman reaches out to Nora for guidance, she knows exactly which novels will help. But before he can keep their appointment at Miracle Books, he's found dead on the train tracks. Stunned, Nora forms the Secret, Book, and Scone Society, a group of damaged souls yearning to gain trust and earn redemption by helping others. To join the society, members must divulge their darkest secret--the terrible truth that brought each of them to Miracle Springs in the first place. Determined to uncover the truth behind the businessman's demise, the women meet in Nora's cramped and cozy bookstore to share stories and trade support. And as they untangle a web of corruption, they also discover their own courage, purpose, and a sisterhood that will carry them through every challenge--proving it's never too late to turn the page and start over...--Amazon.com.

Hidden Buddhas may well be Liza Dalby's best work yet; with its fascinating story of characters caught up in a world they themselves don't understand. Besides taking us on a journey through little-known corners of Japan, it offers us an engaging and believable portrait of people driven to do things they may not have imagined.'' - Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha According to Buddhist theology, the world is suffering through a final corrupt era called mapp. As mapp continues, chaos will increase until the center can no longer hold. Then the world will end. In Japan, many believe that Miroku, Buddha of the Future, will appear and bring about a new age of enlightenment. From this ancient notion of doom and rebirth comes a startling new novel by the acclaimed author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki. Hundreds of temples in Japan are known to keep mysterious ''hidden buddhas'' secreted away except on rare designated viewing days. These statues are not hidden because they are powerful - their power lies in their being hidden. Are they being protected, or are they protecting the world? In this novel, one Buddhist priest struggles with the dictates of his inherited orthodoxy, while another rebels. An American graduate student begins to suspect the mysterious purpose of the hidden buddhas, just as he falls in love with a beautiful Japanese artist who is haunted by an aborted child. The weaving of karma that brings these two together results in a tech-savvy half-Western, half-Japanese child who text-messages her way through the profane world to enlightenment. Tracing the lives of its characters through the late twentieth century to the present, from Paris to Kyoto to California, Hidden Buddhas turns a cosmopolitan eye on discipline and decadence in religion, fashion, politics, and modern life. Liza Dalby is an anthropologist and writer specializing in Japan. She lives in Berkeley, California.

Business is going well at Gemma Rose's quaint English teashop and she's delighted about her first big catering job at a local village funeral... until the day ends with a second body and one of the Old Biddies accused of murder! Now the resourceful tearoom sleuth must find out which delicious pudding contained the deadly arsenic--and who might have wanted the wealthy widow dead... But Gemma has other troubles to contend with, from her naughty cat, Muesli, running loose in her tearoom to an unexpected hedgehog guest in her home--and that's before the all-important "meet the parents" dinner with her handsome detective boyfriend turns into a total disaster! With so many things on her plate, can Gemma solve the mystery in time to catch the murderer or will she come to a sticky end? (* Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe at the end of the story!) This book follows British English spelling and usage. Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language. Genre: humorous culinary cozy mysteries, cat cozy mystery series / women amateur sleuth / British detective mystery OXFORD TEAROOM MYSTERIESA Scone To Die For (Book 1)Tea with Milk and Murder (Book 2)Two Down, Bun To Go (Book 3)Till Death Do Us Tart (Book 4)Muffins and Mourning Tea (Book 5)Four Puddings and a Funeral (Book 6)Another One Bites the Crust (Book 7)

Entertainment Weekly hails the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series by New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams as “a love letter to reading,” and in this fifth installment, bookshop owner, bibliotherapist, and occasional sleuth Nora Pennington must enlist the help of her brilliant, brassy librarian friend Bobbie to unravel the connection between The Scarlet Letter, an obscure 19th century writer, and a dead hiker… Bookstore owner Nora Pennington and the rest of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society must solve a murder as cold as the winter wind in a new mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams. While January snow falls outside in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, Nora Pennington is encouraging customers to cozy up indoors with a good book. Even though the shop and her bibliotherapy sessions keep Nora busy during the day, her nights are a little too quiet—until Deputy Andrews pulls Nora into the sci-fi section and asks her to help him plan a wedding proposal. His bride-to-be, Hester, loves Little Women, and Nora sets to work arranging a special screening at the town’s new movie theater. But right before the deputy pops the question, Nora makes an unsettling discovery—someone has mutilated all her store’s copies of The Scarlet Letter, slicing angrily into the pages wherever Hester Prynne’s name is mentioned. The coincidence disturbs Nora, who’s one of the few in Miracle Springs who knows that Hester gave up a baby for adoption many years ago. When a dead man is found on a hiking trail just outside town, carrying a rare book, the members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society unearth a connection to Hester’s past. Someone is intent on bringing the past to light, and it’s not just Hester’s relationship at stake, but her life . . .

In a futuristic Celtic fantasy, Aeron Aoibhell, Queen of Kelts, embarks on a sacred quest for the spaceship of King Arthur, seeking to utilize its power to claim victory over her ancient enemies