All year round, retired schoolteacher Phyllis Newsom is as sweet as peach pie-except during the Peach Festival, whose blue ribbon has slipped through Phyllis' fingers more than once... Everyone's a little shook up when the corpse of a no-good local turns up underneath a car in a local garage. But even as Phyllis engages in some amateur sleuthing, she won't let it distract her from out-baking her rivals and winning the upcoming Peach Festival contest. She and all the other contestants guard their secret, original recipes with their lives-and talk a whole lot of trash. With her unusual Spicy Peach Cobbler, Phyllis hopes to knock 'em dead. But that's just an expression-never in her wildest dreams did she think her cobbler would actually kill a judge. Now, she's suspected of murder-and she's got to bake this case wide open.

At this year's school carnival fund-raiser, the obnoxious president of the Parent Teacher Organization is found stabbed through the heart with Phyllis Newsom's own knife, with traces of incriminating frosting. Clearing her name will be no piece of cake...

It's Christmastime in Weatherford, Texas, and retired teacher-cum-amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom is looking forward to finishing up what has been one unlucky year. But she won't be hanging up her apron quite yet, because this year's Christmas bake-off is going to be cutthroat. Phyllis would like to think she's just entering the Christmas cookie contest for fun. But that's not exactly true. She's can't imagine anyone beating her delicate, snowflake-shaped lime sugar cookies—although her friend Carolyn's pecan shortbread, along with her neighbor Mrs. Simmons' gingerdoodles, might give her a run for her money. Then, after her annual Christmas cookie exchange, Phyllis heads over to elderly Mrs. Simmons' home and finds the poor thing in a pile of lime sugar cookies, strangled by the belt of her own bathrobe. With a number of names on Santa's naughty list, this case is a cookie Phyllis means to crumble...

In this bake-off, people get knocked off. The irresistible new entry in the national bestselling series. When Phyllis?s cousin asks her to look after her Oak Knoll bed-and-breakfast for a few weeks, Phyllis jumps at the chance?mostly because the inn is located close to the annual Rockport, Texas, Just Desserts competition. Determined to beat her friendly rival and enjoy some peaceful downtime with her boyfriend Sam, Phyllis concocts the ultimate sweet treat. But Phyllis?s holiday turns bitter when she and Sam discover a dead body?and all signs point to murder. Dismayed that bad luck seems to pop up wherever she goes, Phyllis wants to stay out of this one. But as the list of suspects gets too close for comfort, she decides to throw herself into the mix. Because when it comes to solving murders, Phyllis is one smart cookie.

The fifth in a delectable series fans can't wait to sink their teeth into. Includes fifteen recipes! Phyllis loves to spend quality time with her grandson. She'll be taking him to a festival with hopes of winning the baking contest-now that her friendly competitor, Carolyn, is judging and not competing. But when a decorative scarecrow is actually a dead body in disguise, it's Phyllis' sleuthing skills that are needed. The dead body is that of the festival's organizer- and his wife, Carolyn's friend, falls under suspicion. Carolyn turns to Phyllis for help, because who's better at dishing out some justice than a baker extraordinaire who can handle the heat...

A Christmas killer has been icing Phylis Newsom's friends in the sixth Fresh-Baked mystery. Not only will Phyllis Newsom's house be featured in the annual Christmas Jingle Bell Tour of Homes, she also has a Christmas Eve bridal shower and a New Year's Eve wedding to bake goodies for. But like her tasty treats, she rises to the occasion. Before the tour gets under way, Phyllis makes a gruesome discovery on her someone has tried to kill her friend. As Santa's naughty list gets longer, Phyllis tries to catch a half-baked killer.

Wedding bells will be ringing in Weatherford, Texas, this Christmas when Phyllis Newsom opens up her home for her best friend’s wedding. And although the bride is wearing white, no one suspects that she’ll soon be wearing black… After all the planning—and the cake tasting—the big day has arrived. Eve Turner, one of Phyllis’s boarders—and her best friend—is moving out and getting married to the affable Roy Porter. While she’s sad to see Eve go, Phyllis is more than happy to host the event in her house and to bake the bride and groom a delicious three-tiered coconut wedding cake. Even though a snowstorm in the forecast seems like a recipe for disaster, the day runs as smoothly as butter cream. But the marriage doesn’t last long past the honeymoon. When Roy’s found dead at a Weatherford bed-and-breakfast, Eve’s the top suspect. Now Phyllis must find out who iced Roy before her friend finds herself behind bars… Includes recipes!

It’s time for the State Fair of Texas—and cooking contests galore! Fryers are heating up and stomachs are growling. But Phyllis Newsom had better watch out. Someone’s brought an appetite for murder.... Phyllis and her friends Carolyn and Sam are ready to whip up their best dishes and win some ribbons in Dallas. And they’re excited to learn that one of their favorite celebrity chefs—Joye Jameson of The Joye of Cooking—is broadcasting her TV show from the fair. When Phyllis’s funnel cake is picked as one of the best of that category, Joye invites her and the other finalists to prepare their delicious recipes live on the air. But Phyllis’s moment in the spotlight is spoiled after Joye suffers a deadly allergic reaction from one bite of her funnel cake. Now she’s gone from top entry to top suspect. So in order to clear her name, Phyllis will have to turn up the heat on this investigation before the real killer slips through her fingers.... INCLUDES RECIPES!

It’s Halloween in Weatherford, Texas—which means Phyllis Newsom is baking up a storm of yummy seasonal treats...but she’s about to get even busier unmasking a killer. While Phyllis and her friend Carolyn are preparing for a baking contest, her housemate Sam adopts Buck, an adorable Dalmatian who was hit by a car. To thank local veterinarian Hank Baxter for helping the dog, Phyllis and Carolyn bake a batch of doggie treats for his other four-legged patients. But when they arrive at the clinic, the vet is in the process of being arrested—for the murder of his wife! Convinced that the police are barking up the wrong tree and that someone’s been burying evidence, Sam begs Phyllis to help find the real killer. Joined by Buck, the friends engage in a dogged pursuit of the murderer, who will stop at nothing to muzzle them…permanently. Includes Recipes

In this delectable Fresh Baked mystery, Phyllis Newsom returns with a festive Christmas recipe that’s to die for… ‘Tis the season in Weatherford, Texas, and everyone in town is gearing up for the annual holiday parade and tree-lighting ceremony in the town square, where Phyllis Newsom will be serving her much-anticipated candy cane cupcakes. Local rancher Barney McCrory manages to charm one away from her before the ceremony begins. But unfortunately, when the minty confection is finished, so is he. This isn’t the first time someone has dropped dead after eating one of Phyllis’s treats. But when the paramedics determine the rancher was shot, suspicion swiftly falls on McCrory’s daughter and her husband—who both stand to reap some sweet rewards from his death. Though Phyllis doesn’t want to get mixed up in another murder investigation, something about this case doesn’t sit right with her. With a little help from a tabloid TV news crew, Phyllis must unwrap the truth and restore good cheer to Weatherford before it’s too late... Includes recipes!

In the latest from the nationally bestselling author of The Candy Cane Cupcake Killer, Phyllis Newsom returns with a blackberry and blueberry pie recipe that’s to die for…It’s late summer in Weatherford, Texas and Mike Newsom’s childhood friend is sweltering in prison for a crime he claims he didn’t commit, murdering his wife. So instead of asking his mother to please stop investigating a murder, as he usually does, he asks her and Sam to please help his friend.Danny Jackson, found guilty of beating his wife Roxanne to death at the ritzy hair salon where she works, was sentenced to prison for 30 years. His pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears, so it’s up to Phyllis to find what actually happened. She finds there are a lot of secrets and lies being told, and Roxanne was in the middle of them all.Though Phyllis doesn’t want to get mixed up in another murder investigation, her son rarely asks for favors, and certainly not favors like this. She has to untangle the lies and comb out the facts to find what happened that dark night. Includes recipes!

The chili in Texas is red-hot . . . and so is murder! Phyllis, Sam, Carolyn, and Eve head for West Texas to compete in a Fourth of July chili cookoff. Thousands of people have descended on a sleepy little ghost town, turning it into a boomtown for chili mavens, gamblers, musicians, and media. Raucous excitement fills the air, but so does chili when a sabotaged propane cooker explodes, killing the much-hated current champion. The victim leaves behind a tangled trail of sleeping with other men’s wives, cheating at cards – and maybe at chili cooking – and deadly anger. With Sam a possible suspect in the murder, emotions run hot as a bowl of Texas red as Phyllis has to untangle these threads in order to put her finger on the killer! Livia J. Washburn's beloved Fresh Baked Mystery series is back with another novel full of tasty recipes, dastardly doings, and brilliant sleuthing by Phyllis Newsom and her friends. THE GREAT CHILI KILL-OFF is a delicious dish of murder and detection.

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!

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!

Rancher Zachary “Buck” Williams asks Phyllis Newsom to help him throw a big Easter shindig with games and food and an egg hunt, inviting everybody from the whole county to join in the fun. It’s a beautiful spring day in Weatherford, Texas, as kids are running and playing and parents are chatting and sampling wonderful home-cooked foods. It’s all fun and games . . . until someone plays a dangerous game of hide and seek with the prize egg, leaving Phyllis to find the culprit. The Coconut Bunny Butt Caper is a short story that follows DEATH BAKES A PECAN PIE, the fourteenth novel in the critically acclaimed and best-selling Fresh Baked Mystery series. Phyllis and her friends tackle another intriguing 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!

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!