Scottish Bakehouse Mysteries

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This month I have a new book out in Annie’s Ficton’s Scottish Bakehouse Mysteries. 

I’m having so much fun writing these stories, infusing a flavour of Scotland in dialogue, food and activities, set in the rugged beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. 

My latest book is Yule Be Sorry, #9 (of 24) in the series. 

#9 in Scottish Bakehouse Mysteries by Sandra Orchard

On the first day of Christmas, Molly Ferris’s true love gave to her . . . one of many anonymous pranks leading up to Loch Mallaig’s upcoming Yule Festival, an annual tradition celebrating the Michigan town’s Scottish heritage. Initially, Molly and her best friends, Laura Donovan and Carol MacCallan, are charmed by the silly “Twelve Days of Christmas” gifts showing up at their Scottish bakehouse, Bread on Arrival. However, the fifth day presents ghastly tidings—the murder of local real estate agent Eric Wright, who’s found dead with five golden rings on his fingers.

Discovered by the bakehouse’s new delivery boy, whose girlfriend’s family was facing the loss of their home for the holidays, Wright’s homicide soon engulfs the entire village in suspicion and conjecture. With a history of shady deals, the murdered Scrooge had a seemingly endless naughty list of people who could have killed him—and perhaps it was someone Molly and her friends know and trust.

With their business’s wellbeing threatened by their ties to the murder, the Bakehouse Three resolve to solve the mystery of who silenced Wright’s night. Soon, the three Scottish hens realize that not only is their livelihood at stake but their lives as well. They must uncover the murderer before the killer gets to them—otherwise, they might be three bakers-a-dying.

I had great fun dreaming up little pranks for each of the 12 days of Christmas.  

Altogether, I’m writing 4 books in this multi-author series available through mail subscription from Annie’s Fiction. 

My first book was #4 in the series – Lass & Found 

Lass and Found Book Cover
#4 in Scottish Bakehouse Mysteries by Sandra Orchard

The series follows the adventures of former college roommates Molly Ferris, Laura Donovan, and Carol MacCallan as they reunite to open a bakery in bonny Loch Mallaig, Michigan, a place where the iconic sounds of Great Highland bagpipes fill the air, kilts never go out of fashion, and mysteries surface with curious regularity. Undaunted when they discover that the only retail space available in the charming Gaelic town is a former funeral parlor, party planner Molly, NYC chef Laura, and retired math teacher Carol bravely fire up the Scottish bakehouse of their dreams, Bread on Arrival, in the old Victorian mansion.

Powered by friendship, moxie, and plenty of tasty Scottish treats, the Bakehouse Three tackle every challenge that arises—including unsolved murder. From rekindling auld alliances and sparking new ones to chasing cryptic clues wherever they lead, the fiftysomething women prove that it’s never too late to embark on a fresh adventure. Pour a cup of tea, nibble on some shortbread, and get caught up in the mysteries of Loch Mallaig!

Click to learn more about the Scottish Bakehouse Mysteries Bookclub from Annie’s Fiction. 

For those who prefer to “listen” to their books, Annie’s Fiction now has a couple of their series available as audio books. You can learn more at Annie’s Fiction Audiobooks

New Release ~ Weeds of Doubt

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Weeds of Doubt, my fourth cozy mystery with Annie’s Fiction ships in January to subscribers of the Victorian Mansion Flower Shop Mysteries. (Click the links for more information on how to get these books). 

As you might guess from the title, I researched a lot of “weeds” in preparing to write this book. And I discovered that I should eat a lot of the ones I’d been pulling from in and around my vegetable gardens every summer, because in some cases, they’re even more nutritious than the plants I’m nurturing.

Best of all, weeds thrive on being ignored!

So this summer I added purslane, young dandelion leaves, lambs’ quarters and chickweed to my salads and I dug up the roots of the dandelion and burdock and infused their goodness into vinegar, which I’ve been using to make my salad dressings. I also dried and roasted some of the dandelion roots for quite a tasty tea that does a humdinger job of cleaning me out.  😉 

Of course, I knew better than to go anywhere near hogweed–a highly noxious plant that may or may not be a clue to this mystery’s killer.  😆 

 

The Victorian Mansion Flower Shop series is about mysteries encountered by a former forensics botanist professor who takes over her her grandmother’s flower shop on Orcas Island in Washington State. 

In Weeds of Doubt (#14 in the series), Summer is winding down and florist Kaylee Blue and the other residents of Orcas Island are planting fall flowers and preparing for another bustling autumn tourist season. But Kaylee has a full course load. Turtle Cove High School’s most beloved teacher has retired and is about to move off island, and mild-mannered school librarian Wilma has begged Kaylee and the other members of the Petal Pushers garden club to help her assemble a last-minute class reunion so that everyone can say goodbye before he leaves town.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing gym-dandy about the social when someone is killed on the beach. It’s not a former-student body that Kaylee nearly stumbles over while walking Bear. It’s the photography buff brought along as a date by one of the alumni, and other than Arnold, the poor sap, no one knows her. So who else would have a motive to kill her? Unless Wilma, who’s harboured a secret crush on the dentist for more than a decade, got jealous enough to pick a peck of poison and ring the final bell on her rival . . . 

Kaylee will have to do some old-school detective work is she’s to mow down a murderer–before someone else becomes dead of the class. 

For those who don’t subscribe to the series, these hardcover books can sometimes be found in libraries (thanks to patron donations), flea markets, and at used book stores (including online retailers, such as those distributed by Amazon marketplace). 

Here are some options for my previous Annie’s titles:

The Hound and the Fury ~ Through Amazon.com  

On Pens and Needles ~ Through Amazon.com

Digging Up Secrets ~ Through Amazon.com

Click on the “more buying choices” option for each book on Amazon to see the vendors selling used copies and the associated shipping cost if any. 

On Pens and Needles

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

My third cozy mystery with Annie’s Fiction shipped this month to subscribers of the Secrets of the Castleton Manor Library series. I love this series set at a luxurious mansion on Cape Cod that serves as a place for book lovers and writers retreats. 

On Pens and Needles is the thirteenth book in the multi-author series, set in October, so I had fun playing off various superstitions.

I love the title the publisher chose. It’s reminiscent of all those fun Serena Jones Mysteries titles. 🙂

Sadly for those hoping to pick up my book without subscribing to the whole series, it isn’t available through regular retail outlets. However, sometimes you can find used copies for sale online or at flea markets or donated to your local library. 

For those in Niagara, Ontario, I plan to donate a copy of this and my other Annie’s Fiction titles to my local library, which once it’s catalogued means it will be available throughout Niagara via interlibrary loan. I’ll keep you posted. 

Here’s the back cover blurb:

The spine-tingling scene is set at Castleton Manor in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, when the grand mansion plays host to a retreat for horror writers and fans. Librarian Faith Newberry feels unusually ill at ease about the event celebrating frightening stories, and all the talk of superstitions and bad omens makes her apprehensive. Her sense of foreboding only grows when the retreat organizer devises a series of hair-raising stunts to keep the guests constantly on edge.

But then something happens that no one could have predicted. One of the stunts turns deadly.

As Faith and her friends in the Candle House Book Club investigate the suspicious death, another mystery develops. Horror novelist Pierce Baltimore becomes the victim of pranks inspired by his latest book. The writer made many enemies during his climb to the top of the best-seller list, so is someone seeking revenge? Or are the pranks just part of the retreat’s entertainment?

Join Faith and her friends—including her dedicated cat, Watson—as they roll the dice on these two mysteries. Will they be able to solve them both before Pierce’s luck runs out?

If you get a chance to read this book, I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun with these characters. 

This is my 16th published novel. Check out the complete list here: https://sandraorchard.com/my-books/ 

 

Digging Up Secrets

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

“Where do you get your story ideas?” is the most common question I get asked.

For Digging Up Secrets, my upcoming cozy mystery from Annie’s Attic, the answer is . . . my life!

I was staying at the hospital with my grandson Jed when I was invited to write this story for a new multi-author Victorian Mansion Flower Shop cozy mystery series, but I knew instantly that I’d have no trouble finding fodder for it.

First of all, the heroine, Kaylee Bleu, has just taken over her grandmother’s flower shop housed in an old Victorian Mansion and I live in a similar old house—very old. In fact, two days before the editor contacted me I’d been home for the weekend and our well’s foot pump went kaput, so we had to dig down to the well head. Trouble was . . . we didn’t know where it was!

We had a general idea, based on where the pipes entered the basement, and began digging. But by the time we unearthed the well head, we had a grave-size hole, five feet deep beside our house. So . . .

Of course, I knew the same trouble needed to befall Kaylee. And although being without water for several days is troublesome enough for a flower shop with countless thirsty flowers inside, how much better to find unknown human remains in the hole?

Thankfully, that part came from my imagination, not personal experience!

Then again . . . when my kids were younger, they did set up an “archaeological dig” next to our house and came across some bones.

But I’m pretty sure they were old beef bones a dog had buried.

I hope.

But I digress.

As if we didn’t have enough crazy things to deal with that summer, once we had the new pump installed, the awesome improved water pressure blew our hot water tank and flooded the basement. So . . .

Guess what other trouble Kaylee will face, besides trying to figure out who’s buried in her backyard? 🙂  To make matters worse, the police are slow to release the crime scene and allow the plumber to get her well back in operation, which not only puts her plants’ health in jeopardy, but her entire business.

It also helps that I have tons of “plant research” under my belt from my Port Aster Secrets series. 

Translation: I know lots of plants that can kill hurt people, as well as many ways forensic botanists can glean clues from crime scenes.  😉 

myrtle spurge

Did I mention Kaylee has a PhD in plant taxonomy, and had been a university professor who also did forensic botany consulting for law enforcement, before her position was suddenly eliminated?

Kaylee also tends to refer to plants by their taxonomical name, rather than their common name, a phenomenon I also have ample experience with, since my eldest daughter studied horticulture for three years.

Sadly, I didn’t actually get to visit the story’s locale, the picturesque Orcas Island of the San Juan archipelago off the west coast of Washington State, but I did a lot of “island life” research for Over Maya Dead Body, which helped.

So aside from interviewing a few florists for anecdotal details and reading up on Orcas Island, this was one book I could dive right into writing. Or should I say dig?

 

About Digging Up Secrets:

Nothing is coming up roses for Kaylee Bleu. Not only are all of the plants in her flower shop going thirsty because of a busted well pump, but a competing florist on Orcas Island is stealing customers from The Flower Patch. As if that wasn’t enough to turn her into Florist Grump, a new client who could be Kaylee’s golden ticket to the lucrative country club set is also her most persnickety yet—and continuously threatens to take her business elsewhere.

But all of that seems like no big deal when Kaylee’s plumber discovers a fractured skull in her shop’s yard. The remains belong to Danny Lane, a troubled teen accused of killing a high school girl in a boating accident thirty-five years ago. The consensus around Turtle Cove was that the boy fled town shortly after the accident, but Kaylee thinks the holes in that story are as big as the grave-size pit dug up around her well head.

Unfortunately, somebody on Orcas Island wants Kaylee to leave the past buried.

 

Image courtesy of stockdevil at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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