Fresh-Baked Mysteries Books in Order

Phyllis Newsom and her circle of retired teacher friends get tangled in a string of killings linked to Weatherford’s annual Peach Festival. It is a warm, witty small-town mystery with recipes, gossip, and plenty of suspects.

A school carnival and baking contest bring Phyllis Newsom and her retired teacher friends together for a little local fun. Of course, the event soon serves up murder, and Phyllis cannot resist following the clues.

Phyllis Newsom is looking forward to the holiday cookie exchange and a chance to show off her best recipe. Instead she finds an elderly neighbor dead in a heap of lime sugar cookies and has to figure out who made the season lethal.

A stay at a cousin’s bed-and-breakfast near Rockport’s Just Desserts competition sounds like a welcome break for Phyllis. Then she and Sam discover a body, and her quiet getaway turns into another case full of prickly suspects.

While caring for her grandson, Phyllis gets drawn into a local harvest festival built around charity, contests, and community fun. It would almost be wholesome, if one of the attractions did not turn out to be murder.

Phyllis Newsom is juggling a holiday home tour, a bridal shower, and New Year’s wedding treats when someone attacks one of her friends. With Christmas cheer wearing thin, she has to catch a killer before the season gets uglier.

Phyllis opens her home for her best friend Eve’s Christmas wedding and bakes the perfect coconut cake for the big day. Soon after the vows, the groom turns up dead, and Eve lands at the top of the suspect list.

At the State Fair of Texas, Phyllis Newsom’s funnel cake earns her a spot in the spotlight beside a celebrity TV chef. Then the chef dies after one bite, and Phyllis goes from prize contestant to prime suspect.

Halloween brings baking contests, a newly adopted Dalmatian, and a shocking arrest when a local veterinarian is accused of murdering his wife. Phyllis Newsom is not convinced the police got it right, and that makes her a target too.

Weatherford’s Christmas festivities take a dark turn when a local rancher collapses after eating one of Phyllis Newsom’s cupcakes. He was actually shot, but that does not stop suspicion from swirling around family, money, and Phyllis herself.

Back in the classroom as substitute teachers, Phyllis Newsom and Sam Fletcher expect a little chaos, not murder. A killing tied to a Friday the Thirteenth school event proves that even retirement cannot keep Phyllis away from trouble.

When Mike Newsom asks his mother to help an old friend convicted of killing his wife, Phyllis cannot say no. Her search for the truth leads through salon gossip, lies, and a murder case that looks far messier than the verdict suggests.

A movie company comes to Weatherford to film a story based on Phyllis Newsom’s friend Eve and her sleuthing adventures. When a scene turns into a real murder, Phyllis has to sort through actors, egos, and a deadly pecan pie.

Phyllis and her friends head to West Texas for a Fourth of July chili cookoff in a ghost town packed with gamblers, cooks, and trouble. After an explosion kills the hated reigning champion, Sam may be closer to the case than Phyllis likes.

An Easter celebration in Weatherford starts with games, food, and an egg hunt for the whole county. Then the prize egg disappears, and Phyllis Newsom has to untangle the mischief before the holiday fun turns fully sour.

Phyllis Newsom and Carolyn sign up for British cooking classes at the senior center, where rivalries simmer almost as hot as the stoves. When a trifle is poisoned, Phyllis is pulled into another lively small-town murder case.