Praise for the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries
A Deadly Grind
“Has all the right ingredients: small-town setting, kitchen antiques, vintage cookery, and a bowlful of mystery. A perfect recipe for a cozy.”
—Susan Wittig Albert, national bestselling author of
The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star
“Victoria Hamilton’s charming new series is a delightful find.”
—Sheila Connolly, New York Times bestselling author
“Hamilton’s Jaymie Leighton completely captivated me . . . I’ll be awaiting [her] return . . . in the next Vintage Kitchen mystery.”
—Lesa’s Book Critiques
“A great new series for cozy fans.”
—Debbie’s Book Bag
“Smartly written and successfully plotted, the debut of this new cozy series . . . exudes authenticity.”
—Library Journal
“Fans of vintage kitchenware and those who fondly remember grandma or mother’s Pyrex dishes will find a lot to enjoy in this mystery . . . There are several good suspects for the murderer, cleverly hinted at early on, and searching for the identity of the murder victim adds to the well-plotted investigation.”
—The Mystery Reader
Berkley Prime Crime titles by Victoria Hamilton
Vintage Kitchen Mysteries
A DEADLY GRIND
BOWLED OVER
Merry Muffin Mysteries
BRAN NEW DEATH
Bran New Death
VICTORIA HAMILTON
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
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For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com.
BRAN NEW DEATH
A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author
Copyright © 2013 by Donna Lea Simpson.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.
BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA).
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA).
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-10162506-4
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / September 2013
Cover illustration by Ben Perini.
Cover design by Lesley Worrell.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.
Contents
Praise for the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries
Also by Victoria Hamilton
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Recipes
Golden Acres Banana Bran Muffins
Bacon Cheddar Muffins
Gouda and Harvest Vegetable Chowder
To Jessica and Michelle . . .
how do you thank those who have given you your lifelong dream? Words are inadequate to express my gratitude.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the publishing world there are so many unsung heroes, those who do work readers understandably take for granted, and make us, as authors, look so professional. When you get on the inside, you see what a difference those folks make to the author’s work and publishing life. I’d like to take a moment here to give my deepest appreciation to: Erica Horisk, copyeditor of Bran New Death, who went above and beyond in editing the book, and Ben Perini, the cover artist, who brought to life a vision for Wynter Castle that I didn’t even know was possible. I hope they know how much I appreciate their work and dedication!
Chapter One
AS A METAPHOR for my life, the crossroads rocked. I sat in my rented Chevy, glaring at the GPS screen, then got out of the vehicle and looked around. On one side of me was an evergreen forest, into which one road descended, and on the other was a rocky prominence, the highway cutting through it like a kebab skewer through shish.
I was not reflecting on my metaphorical lostness, however, but my literal situation. The GPS told me I was in front of a Denny’s on I-90 as it cut through upstate New York. Looking around at the gloomy walls of evergreen and granite, I reflected that a Denny’s breakfast would be welcome right about then, but no shiny, happy hostess came melting out of the woods with a coffeepot and a smile.