A fast-talking businessman is felled by a frying pan: “Soul food and sassy characters…a feast that will satisfy the appetites of readers.”—Library JournalWelcome to Mahalia’s Sweet Tea—the finest soul food restaurant in Prince George’s County, Maryland. In between preparing her famous cornbread and mashed potatoes so creamy “they’ll make you want to slap your Momma,” owner Halia Watkins is about to dip her spoon into a grisly mystery ....

As the owner of Mahalia’s Sweet Tea, Halia Watkins is famous in Maryland’s Prince George’s County for her down-home cuisine. But when she has the chance to showcase her talents on national TV, she becomes the star of a murder mystery that’s too hot to handle!When Halia is invited to serve as a guest judge on the popular cooking competition show Elite Chef, she’s delighted to add some extra flavor to the mix. But as filming ramps up in Washington D...

A Maryland soul food chef catches a bitter killer while catering her high school reunion in this “sweet-tart and wickedly wholesome” mystery (Publishers Weekly).Halia Watkins loves her life as proprietor of Mahalia’s Sweet Tea, serving the best soul food in Prince George’s County, Maryland. And what better way to celebrate than catering her own high school reunion? Soon she’s serving up her signature macaroni and cheese and famous chicken wings to a host o...

Mahalia’s Sweet Tea boasts the most flavorful soul food in all of Prince George’s County, Maryland. But as events at the beauty industry’s leading trade show turn ugly, owner Halia Watkins needs to bite into an unsavory new item on the menu—murder!When the chicest hair convention of the year gets cooking in town, so does business at Mahalia’s Sweet Tea. Halia can barely handle the influx of customers looking to satisfy their appetites after spending the day surrou...

Mahalia's Sweet Tea boasts the most flavorful soul food in all of Prince George's County, Maryland. But as events at the beauty industry's leading trade show turn ugly, owner Halia Watkins needs to bite into an unsavory new item on the menu—murder!When the chicest hair convention of the year gets cooking in town, so does business at Mahalia's Sweet Tea. Halia can barely handle the influx of customers looking to satisfy their appetites after spending the day surroun...

Now available in mass market! A high school reunion takes a deadly turn in the second in A. L. Herbert's fresh and inventive series set within the bustle of a top soul food restaurant—the first cozy mystery series with a predominantly African-American cast.When the organizing committee for her upcoming high school reunion desperately needs a caterer, Halia agrees to help out. Soon she's serving up her signature macaroni and cheese and famous chicken wings to a host...

Halia Watkins has her hands full cooking, hosting, and keeping her boisterous young cousin, Wavonne, from getting too sassy with customers. Having fast-talking entrepreneur Marcus Rand turn up in her kitchen is annoying enough when he's alive—but finding his dead body face-down on her ceramic tile after hours is much worse.Marcus had his enemies, and the cast iron frying pan beside his corpse suggests that at last, his shady business deals went too far. Halia is desperate to keep S...

As the owner of Mahalia’s Sweet Tea, Halia Watkins is famous in Maryland’s Prince George’s County for herdown-home cuisine. But when she has the chance to showcase her talents on national TV, she becomes the starof a murder mystery that’s too hot to handle!When Halia is invited to serve as a guest judge on the popular cooking competition show Elite Chef, she’s delightedto add some extra flavor to the mix. But as filming ramps up in Washington, D.C., there are t...

When Kenny Thorpe, a contestant on Expose TV’s Big Blubber – the hot new celebrity weight-loss show – is murdered on live television in front of three-million viewers, the case seems pretty watertight. After all, everyone saw Martin do it – didn’t they? Cherry Hinton knows there’s more to this than meets the eye. As an investigative reporter, she went undercover on dating show Caravan of Love … but after getting in too deep with one of the other contestants, she was caught knickerless in f...

Life has always been sweet on Georgia's Peach Cove Island, but a case of murder has Marygene Brown down in the pits . . .For generations, the women of the Brown family on Peach Cove Island have been known for their Southern sass and sweet homemade desserts at their beloved Peach Diner. Since their mother's passing two years ago, Marygene has been stuck in Atlanta while her sister Jena Lynn has been running the family business. Now Marygene has left her husband and ...

Val's crime-solving club digs into a piping hot new case!A poetry slam at a bakery? Why not! Even though Pie Town proprietor Val Harris would rather be spending time with her newfound half-brother, she knows her employee, Abril, is beyond excited to be hosting the event. Especially since it stars the apple pie of Abril's eye, poet and professor Michael Starke. But the evening ends on a sour note when Professor Starke is found murdered mere moments after being accus...

Stella Wright loves creating candles at her Nantucket store—and she also has a burning passion for justice. Now, after visiting a perfume conference, she must solve a vial crime . . .Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie, have come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It's a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tin...