Food Fiction Stories

Margo Everson sees the call out for the cookbook club and knows she’s found her people. Recently dumped by her self-absorbed husband, who frankly isn’t much of a loss, she has little to show for her marriage but his "parting gift"—a dilapidated old farm house—and a collection of well-loved cookbooks. Aja Alexander just hopes her newfound friends won’t notice that that every time she looks at food, she gets queasy. It’s hard hiding a pregnancy, especially one she can’t bring herself to share with her wealthy boyfriend and his snooty mother.

In her Food Lovers' Village Mysteries, Agatha Award-winning author Leslie Budewitz introduces us to Jewel Bay, a tight-knit Montana community that thrives on tourism and farm-to-table fare. Featuring Erin Murphy, beloved proprietor of the Merc—a century-old general store converted into a local foods market-each book brings us closer to the folks who call Jewel Bay home, and the cunning culprits in their midst.

Elisabeth Luard, one of the food world's most entertaining and evocative writers, has travelled extensively throughout her life, meeting fascinating people, observing different cultures and uncovering extraordinary ingredients in unusual places. In this enchanting food memoir, she shares tales and dishes gathered from her global ramblings.

Newcomers to Tinker's Cove, Ty and Heather Moon have moved into a dilapidated house reputed to be a haven for ghosts. Now strange noises and flickering lights erupt from the house at all hours and neighborly relations are on edge. And when a local boy goes missing near the house, it's up to Lucy Stone to unravel the mystery of the eccentric couple and their increasingly frightful behavior.

A sleuth who sees spirits, a chef who reads tea leaves, and a cat who knows all the games. Murder doesn’t have a ghost of a chance. For Staley Stoneybrook, life has been turned upside down. As the beneficiary of her long lost uncle’s will, she finds herself the owner of the historic Paradise Bay Station & Inn. But in a strange twist, the beautiful oceanfront property will only be hers when she posts a profit at the end of a year—something she’s determined to do. But as she’s about to make her first report to her uncle’s lawyer, he’s killed in front of his office. It’s only ...

When Kayla discovers that something is eating Daisy's cat food, she immediately calls the Pet Club to action. They grab their pets and start to gather clues. Will they solve the case of the cat food thief?

Nationally acclaimed storyteller J.J. Reneaux grew up Cajun for true, surrounded by the stories, music, food, and culture of rural communities in southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana. A traditional storyteller who collects by word-of-mouth, Reneaux has developed her repertoire over years of collecting: on front porches, school playgrounds, and her beloved fishing trips, as well as at nursing homes, airports, and at neighborhood fais-dodos.

A family at odds, a business on the line, and a body at the wharf. It’s a busy time in Paradise Bay with spring break in full swing. Although the sun is glorious and the water is inviting, Staley Stoneybrook is busy with her job. As the owner of the Paradise Bay Station & Inn, she not only manages her own business but also forges ties with others. In the early morning hours, she’s enjoying a tour of the world-class local seafood market until a body is discovered upstairs. She’ll have to bring all her paranormal allies onto the case when she decides that something about the death is ...

After his father leaves him an unexpected inheritance, Trey has one goal: to see and seduce his way through all fifty states. Who says hook up culture is dead? ...He never counted on breaking down before he even reached his first destination. Willow’s End, Missouri has precisely one good thing going for it: Charlie Baxter. With his strong arms and delicious, full lips, Trey’s starting to think that maybe taking an unexpected pit stop won’t be so bad. If Charlie would stop playing hard to get, that is. Gamble is the fourth book in the completed Virtue & Vice series, but it can also be ...

Do you know the stories behind delectable dishes—like the fun connection between scallion pancakes and pizza? Or how dumplings cured a village’s frostbitten ears? Or how wonton soup tells about the creation of the world? Separated into courses like a Chinese menu, these tales—based in real history and folklore—are filled with squabbling dragons, magical fruits, and hungry monks. This book will bring you to far-off times and marvelous places, all while making your mouth water.

Join best-selling authors Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Peggy Ehrhart for a collection of the coziest Christmas capers! Everyone dreams of a picture-perfect small-town Christmas, but when murder is in the cards, some holiday greetings are addressed to kill....

"Eggnog Murder": When a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinker's Cove local, all Lucy Stone wants for Christmas is to find the murdering mixologist who's stirring up trouble. "Death By Eggnog": Food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell has never cared much for Bar Harbor's grouchy town librarian, Agatha Farnsworth. But after the Scroogy senior has a fatal - and suspicious - allergic reaction to supposedly non-dairy eggnog, it's up to Hayley to ladle out some justice.

If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal. If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.

The saga of the Chili Queens of San Antonio, NASCAR kitchens tucked away in the crew pits at race tracks, the story of an unexpected kitchen—the George Foreman Grill—these stories and more from Hidden Kitchens, the popular and highly acclaimed radio series on NPR's morning edition, is now being released on a 3 CD set based on the new book Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes & More from NPR's The Kitchen Sisters.

A gaming convention, a gaggle of geeks, and an accident waiting to happen. Staley Stoneybrook has settled nicely into the Paradise Bay Station & Inn. As spring gives way to summer, her routine pleasantly starts with making the inn’s coffee and finishes with the evening bonfire. But her first real challenge arrives when an errant roof tile tumbles into the vegetable garden. At the invitation of some young guests at the station, Staley is also trying to broaden her horizons while staying close to home. She visits her first Paradise Bay gaming convention. Game nerds compete with each other ...

A fun filled festival, a trip through time, and the curse of a mummy. Paradise Bay is abuzz with the annual Roaring 20s festival. A lecture on Egyptomania with authentic artifacts kicks it off, and Staley Stoneybrook is delighted to be in attendance. But when a famous archaeologist drops dead in the middle of his lecture, Staley and her paranormal crew spring into action. As she tries to find a killer while also running the station, an even more pressing mystery presents itself: What can she can possibly wear to the 20s Gala?

A classic steam train, an old mining town, and danger around the bend. It’s the dog days of summer in Paradise Bay. The beach is sizzling, the tourists are swarming, and the inn is full. At someone’s suggestion, Staley Stoneybrook decides to see one of the area’s other attractions—the old mining town of Ravenston. Although the Gold Rush era saloon, candy store, and even a staged bank robbery are charming, the gaping mine in the hills above the town looms over it. The lawless days of the Wild West may be far behind the former ghost town, but Staley discovers that finding gold can ...

A chill in the air, a cemetery at the station, and a body in the clocktower. Halloween sneaks up on Staley Stoneybrook. As the preparations for the station’s annual Ghoul’s Night Out get underway, everyone pitches in to do their part. It promises to be a fun and spooky time for the trick-or-treaters of Paradise Bay. But before they can hang a single cobweb, a real body turns up. Although Staley uses all of her paranormal allies to solve the murder, she has two mysteries on her hands. It seems that a poltergeist has decided to visit the station for Halloween.

Since its earliest days, The New Yorker has been a tastemaker: literally. As the home of A. J. Liebling, Joseph Wechsberg, and M. F. K. Fisher, who practically invented American food writing, the magazine established a tradition that is carried forward today by irrepressible literary gastronomes, including Calvin Trillin, Bill Buford, Adam Gopnik, Jane Kramer, and Anthony Bourdain. Now, in this indispensable collection, The New Yorker dishes up a feast of delicious writing on food and drink.

Gray is already bigger than all the other sharks in his clan, or shiver. He can’t stop growing, and when his hunger gets him into trouble, he’s banished from the reef. Luckily his best friend Barkley comes with him…but their hunt for food forces them to journey deep into the dangerous Big Blue. Then Gray and Barkley accidentally swim into Goblin Shiver territory. They have no choice but to join the shiver. They’ll help fight against the rival sharks of Razor Shiver in return for training, protection, and food. But who can Gray and Barkley trust?