L. J Washburn

When Things Go Really South No one is surprised when feisty Delilah Dickinson opens her own literary travel agency in Atlanta after her divorce. But during her first group's tour of an old plantation modeled after Tara from Gone with the Wind-complete with a full cast of actors-things go south really fast. The actor playing Clark Gable playing Rhett Butler is found dead, apparently the victim of a fatal dose of Southern in-hospitality. Before anyone...

"It's time for the State Fair of Texas--and cooking contests galore! Fryers are heating up and stomachs are growling. But Phyllis Newsom had better watch out. Someone's brought an appetite for murder.... Phyllis and her friends Carolyn and Sam are ready to whip up their best dishes and win some ribbons in Dallas. And they're excited to learn that one of their favorite celebrity chefs--Joye Jameson of The Joye of Cooking--is broadcasting her TV show...

Phyllis loves to spend quality time with her grandson. She'll be taking him to a festival with hopes of winning the baking contest-now that her friendly competitor, Carolyn, is judging and not competing. But when a decorative scarecrow is actually a dead body in disguise, it's Phyllis's sleuthing skills that are needed. The dead body is that of the festival's organizer- and his wife, Carolyn's friend, falls under suspicion. Carolyn turns to Phyllis...

"It's Halloween in Weatherford, Texas -- which means Phyllis Newsom is baking up a storm of yummy seasonal treats... but she's about to get even busier unmasking a killer... While Phyllis and her friend Carolyn are preparing for a baking contest, her housemate Sam adopts Buck, an adorable Dalmatian who was hit by a car. To thank local veterinarian Hank Baxter for helping the dog, Phyllis and Carolyn bake a batch of doggie treats for his other four-legged...

The chili in Texas is red-hot ... and so is murder! Phyllis, Sam, Carolyn, and Eve head for West Texas to compete in a Fourth of July chili cookoff. Thousands of people have descended on a sleepy little ghost town, turning it into a boomtown for chili mavens, gamblers, musicians, and media. Raucous excitement fills the air, but so does chili when a sabotaged propane cooker explodes, killing the much-hated current champion. The victim leaves behind...

At the annual Tennessee Williams Literary Festival in New Orleans, one of the professors claims he can prove Williams didn't write "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." When the supposed real author turns up dead, Delilah becomes immersed in a murder investigation.

"Going back to school can be a killer! Phyllis Newsom and Sam Fletcher come out of retirement to take substitute teacher jobs as a favor for some friends, but they soon realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same. That means getting up early, dealing with students and other teachers, and helping out with extracurricular activities. The problem is, for Phyllis, stumbling over dead bodies is an extracurricular activity! When murder...

"Set in the 1920s, this intriguing mystery marks the return of likable Lucas Hallam (Wild Night ). A stuntman and former Texas Ranger, Hallam is hired by Hollywood producer Carl McGinley to find out who is trying to sabotage his current film, set during World War I. The prime suspects are Ku Klux Klansmen who have threatened Carl for hiring 'foreign' flying ace Count von Ottenhausen. But Lucas also finds that the Count's sister, Lorraine, who was...

"It's early summer in Weatherford, Texas, and retired teacher/amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom and fellow retiree Carolyn Wilbarger are taking British cooking classes at the local senior center in this suspenseful Fresh-Baked mystery. In the latest from Livia J. Washburn, the nationally bestselling author of the Fresh Baked Mystery Series, Phyllis Newsom learns to make a trifle that's to die for... While Sam Fletcher is playing dominoes with the guys,...