Here are 13 new books on my list releasing this week for your reading enjoyment. Debut series from Mary Lee Ashford.

Game of Scones by Mary Lee Ashford ~ As co-owner of Sugar and Spice Cookbooks, Sugar Calloway has seen simple confections bring friends together and spark fiery feuds. Except this time, the recipe truly is to die for. After losing her job as food editor at a glossy magazine, Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway—aka “Sugar” to friends—isn’t sweet on accepting defeat and crawling back to her gossipy southern hometown. So when she has an opportunity to launch a community cookbook business with blue-ribbon baker Dixie Spicer in peaceful St. Ignatius, Iowa, she jumps at the chance to start over from scratch . . . *new series*

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau ~ In eighteenth century London, porcelain is the most seductive of commodities; fortunes are made and lost upon it. Kings do battle with knights and knaves for possession of the finest pieces and the secrets of their manufacture.

Eggs On Ice by Laua Childs ~ The Christmas season at the Cackleberry Club café is marred by murder in the latest book in the New York Times bestselling series. Some say that casting crusty attorney Allen Sharpe as Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of “A Christmas Carol” is just playing to type. He’s not the most beloved man in town. In fact, you’d have a dickens of a time finding someone who liked him. Still it’s a shock when the Ghost of Christmas Past stabs him during the first rehearsal. Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club café, Kindred’s favorite combination diner, craft store and bookshop, chases the murderer out of the building but loses him in the alley.

Catch Me If Yukon by Maddy Hunter ~ Emily and her traveling seniors must solve yeti nother mystery as they trek through the Alaskan wilderness. As tour escort Emily Andrew-Miceli leads her globetrotting band of Iowa seniors into the wilds of Alaska, she discovers that whales aren’t the only killers on the prowl. When a tour member turns up dead on a mountainous hiking trail, Emily blames herself for the mishap—until she learns that something far hairier might be the cause.

You’re Dead by Chris Knopf ~ Organizational psychologist Dr. Waters is a happily solitary guy with a few deep attachments, including to his boss Paresh Rajput, the owner of a thriving hi-tech aerospace company. Until something really bad happens to CEO Rajput, which throws Waters into a lunatic swirl of murderous stalkers, corporate intrigue, amorous female executives and crafty cops who see the inscrutable psychologist as murder suspect #1.

Sleighing It In Kinsey Falls by Gayle Leeson ~ Ho, ho, HOLD ON! Millie’s friends are trying to play matchmaker for her this holiday season, but this independent widow is doing fine on her own. She isn’t sure she’s ready–or willing–to risk her heart again. Meanwhile, Millie’s granddaughter Jade is torn when her boyfriend gets an internship in another state. She knows it’s the boost he needs to further his career. But will having a long-distance relationship ruin their chances of a future together?

Claws for Celebration by Linda Reilly ~ Feline deadly this Christmas. Whisker Jog, New Hampshire, celebrates all things Christmas, and few things are more beloved than the town’s annual holiday cookie competition. Lara Caphart, who runs the High Cliff Shelter for Cats with her Aunt Fran, is waiting for the green light for a brand-new category: pet-friendly cookies. But when the woman filling in as a last-minute judge dies after sampling someone’s Santa-themed treat, Lara’s recipe for healthy cat snacks will have to be put on the back burner.

NC-17 by Larissa Reinhart ~ #StillDetectiveing As an ex-star of a hit teen detective show, Maizie Albright gets the youth demographic. Or so she thought. Now that she’s adulting, today’s kids make Maizie feel out of date. At least the teen Youtube stars of Bigfoot Trackers who want to hire her to look into the disappearance and possible murder of their producer. A murder the police find as likely as Bigfoot.

Killer Classics by Kym Roberts ~ Small-town life in Hazel Rock becomes a Texas-size crime scene when murder takes a page from Charli Rae Warren’s book club’s latest mystery. Charli takes great pride in running one of the few independent, family-owned bookstores in small-town Texas. She vets everything carefully, with an eye to the eclectic tastes of the locals. That includes the Book Barn’s weekly book club selection. This time out it’s a mystery whose characters bear a striking resemblance to local citizens, including Charli’s friend Sugar . . . who’s the prime suspect when her real-life nemesis is found dead in a hotel’s water tank.

Murder at the Mill by M.B. Shaw ~ A picture hides a thousand lies. And only Iris Grey can uncover the truth. Iris Grey rents a quaint cottage in a picture-perfect Hampshire village, looking to escape from her crumbling marriage. She is drawn to the neighboring Wetherby family, and is commissioned to paint a portrait of Dominic Wetherby, a celebrated crime writer. *re-release*

The Second Goodbye by Patricia Smiley ~ Assume nothing―that’s the touchstone for every homicide investigation Detective Davie Richards undertakes. She approaches her latest case the same way, determined to learn as much about the victim as she does about the killer. But there’s nothing about thirty-four-year-old Sara Montaine or her death that makes sense.

Death by Dragonfly by Jane Tesh ~ Flamboyant actor Leo Pierson’s Art Nouveau treasures have been stolen, including a one-of-a-kind Lalique glass dragonfly he claims is cursed. David Randall, 302 Grace Street’s private eye, agrees to recover the valuables before he realizes murder has raised its ugly head in the Parkland art community. Samuel Gallant of the museum board is missing, until Randall and his landlord/consultant Camden find Gallant’s body stuffed in a museum closet. When another board member suffers a fatal accident and the art critic for the Parkland Herald is attacked, Randall suspects the stolen dragonfly is indeed cursed. He investigates Richard Mason, curator of the Little Gallery, whose artwork consists of ugly mechanical sculptures, and Nancy Piper, finance manager at the Parkland Art Museum.

Love, Hopes and Marriage Tropes by Abby L. Vandiver ~ A wedding and a murder…Star football player and NFL hopeful, Michael “Bumper” Hackett is getting married. Word’s going around that it’s a shotgun wedding, and there just might be some truth to it, seeing that the bride-to-be is showing a baby bump. But before the ceremony can even get started, the poor groom collapses from what appears to be an asthma attack. Unfortunately, things aren’t always what they seem.