Drape Expectations
Drape Expectations

Author: Karen Rose Smith

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Published: 2015-08-01

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1617737712

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A design expert is decorating the home of a rock star’s girlfriend—but murder clashes with everything—in this mystery by the USA Today–bestselling author. These days, home stager Caprice De Luca’s calendar is a full house. Her grandmother’s health is failing, her wayward uncle is stirring the pot, and she’s torn between two equally eligible suitors. With so much drama in her personal life, Caprice is grateful to have Ace Richland, a former ’80s rock star, ask her to stage his girlfriend’s house. But Alanna Goodwin is a tough customer who balks at Caprice’s ideas and all but commandeers the staging. Caprice almost isn’t surprised when the snappish Southern belle is strangled to death with a tieback from her tacky velvet drapes. But just as she draws back the curtains on the truth, Caprice realizes she may be next on a murderer’s set list . . .

S.E.W.
S.E.W.

Author: Diana Rupp

Publisher: Workman Publishing

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780761139737

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A how-to manual for sewing beginners covers how to choose and use equipment and materials, laying out fabrics and patterns, and tricks and advice for cutting and sewing.

Teddy Boys
Teddy Boys

Author: Max Décharné

Publisher: Serpent's Tail

Published: 2024-01-25

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1782830375

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'Enormously enjoyable' Sunday Times 'Genial and entertaining' Daily Telegraph 'A joyous celebration of the founding fathers of British youth culture' Alwyn Turner, author of All in it Together and Little Englanders With their draped suits, suede creepers and immaculately greased hair, the Teddy Boys defined a new era for a generation of teenagers raised on a diet of drab clothes, Blitz playgrounds and tinned dinners. From the Edwardian origins of their fashion to the tabloid fears of delinquency, drunkenness and disorder, the story of the Teds throws a fascinating light on a British society that was still reeling from the Second World War. In the 1950s, working-class teenagers found a way of asserting themselves in how they dressed, spoke and socialised on the street. When people saw Teds, they stepped aside. Musician and author Max Décharné traces the rise of the Teds and the shockwave they sent through post-war Britain, from the rise of rock 'n' roll to the Notting Hill race riots. Full of fascinating insight, deftly sketching the milieu of Elvis Presley and Derek Bentley, Billy Fury and Oswald Mosley, Teddy Boys is the story of Britain's first youth counterculture.

Gilt by Association
Gilt by Association

Author: Karen Rose Smith

Publisher: Kensington Books

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 0758284888

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Includes an excerpt from: Drape expectations (pages [295]-310).

Murder Marks the Page
Murder Marks the Page

Author: Karen Rose Smith

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Published: 2024-03-26

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1496747054

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The first in a new series spun off from the Daisy Tea Garden Mysteries, Daisy’s daughter Jazzi Swanson has opened her own book and tea shop, providing a variety of literature and flavored beverages for a rural New York community. But Jazzi has not only inherited her mother’s gift for brewing tasty drinks—she also has a nose for sniffing out murder. New York State’s Belltower Landing is a lakeside resort town where tourists spend their summer days boating, floating, and paddle-boarding on the water. It’s also the perfect place to cuddle up with a good book and enjoy a cup of tea, courtesy of Tomes & Tea. Owned and operated by Jazzi and her best friend Dawn Fernsby, the book bar is beloved by vacationers and locals alike, but browsers grabbing brews in the off season aren’t enough to help them make ends meet. Between brainstorming social media publicity ideas for the shop and fending off flirtatious men she has no interest in or time for, Jazzi befriends a woman named Brie who has recently made contact with her biological father. As an adopted child herself, Jazzi is more than happy to give Brie emotional support, especially as her wealthy father’s wife and children see her as a threat. But Brie is also looking to start a family of her own. Unfortunately, all the potential princes she’s met through a dating app turn out to be frogs. Then, when Brie is found murdered, Jazzi finds herself playing detective. With a list of suspects ranging from jealous half-siblings to less-than-suitable suitors, Jazzi may need to consult some of her shop’s bestselling mysteries to help her uncover a killer . . .

Murder with Cherry Tarts
Murder with Cherry Tarts

Author: Karen Rose Smith

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Published: 2019-11-26

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1496723937

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In Pennsylvania’s Amish country, Daisy Swanson has a tea shop to run, a daughter to marry off—and a murder to solve . . . Daisy’s worried one of her employees at Daisy’s Tea Garden may be in a spot of trouble. Lately Karina’s been loading up on soup and second-day baked goods at the end of her shift—and while the shop’s scrumptious treats may be hard to resist, Daisy suspects there’s more going on, especially since Karina has been seen hanging out in a rundown part of Willow Creek. Planning her own daughter’s wedding is enough to keep her busy, but Daisy can’t help feeling a protective maternal instinct—and an instinct to investigate. It turns out Karina has been helping a down-on-his luck single dad who’s been making ends meet—barely—by selling antiques at a place called Pirated Treasures. But when an employee at the antiques store is bludgeoned to death with a marble rolling pin, Karina’s new friend is suspect number one. Though the motives are muddy and steeped in intrigue, Daisy is more than determined to flush the real killer out. Includes delicious recipes!

Cut to the Chaise
Cut to the Chaise

Author: Karen Rose Smith

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Published: 2018-11-27

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1496709802

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Before she ties the knot, she’ll have to uncover a plot . . . “An irresistible sleuth.” —Leslie Meier, New York Times–bestselling author of Irish Parade Murder With her wedding day mere weeks away, home stager Caprice De Luca is busy arranging every last detail for the reception at Rambling Vines Winery—a stylish venue she redecorated two years earlier. But the closer the bride-to-be gets to saying “I do,” the more a celebration at Rambling Vines seems like a terrible mistake. As financial mishaps and unhappy customers put the winery in the red, an unidentified criminal plots to sour the business’s already ailing reputation. Worst of all, a romance from co-owner Michelle Dodd’s past could leave a permanent stain on Caprice’s best friend’s current love life. When Michelle’s aloof husband is found stabbed to death on a chaise lounge in the tasting room, Caprice vows to name the calculating culprit and set things right before her dream nuptials dissolve into a deadly nightmare . . . “[A] talented author.” —RT Book Reviews

Slay Bells Ring
Slay Bells Ring

Author: Karen Rose Smith

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Published: 2017-10-31

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1496709780

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In this Pennsylvania town, crime lurks behind the Christmas decorations . . . “A great storyline that will keep you guessing to the very end.” —Suspense Magazine It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, especially now that Caprice De Luca has wrapped up her holiday-themed staging gig at a stunning historic home in downtown Kismet, Pennsylvania. Behind all the red ribbon and glowing string lights, homeowners Chris and Sara Merriweather have it all. But Chris, a Vietnam vet who plays Santa every year at the community park, has been displaying strange behavior after a recent trip to Washington, DC The joy of the season vanishes entirely when Chris is found murdered on Santa Lane, leaving behind his loyal malamute and lots of unfinished business. As Caprice uncovers hidden secrets in Santa's workshop, the pressure is on to catch the candy cane-wielding culprit—before she’s next on a killer’s deadly wish list . . . “An irresistible sleuth.” —Leslie Meier, New York Times–bestselling author of Irish Parade Murder

Murder with Cinnamon Scones
Murder with Cinnamon Scones

Author: Karen Rose Smith

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Published: 2018-05-29

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1617739634

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A tea shop owner in Pennsylvania’s Amish country is steeped in a murder case in this mystery in the USA Today-bestselling series—includes recipes! As local merchants unite to attract tourists for a much anticipated weekend quilting event in Pennsylvania’s Amish country, business is sure to spill over into eateries like Daisy’s Tea Garden. Gorgeous craftwork is hanging everywhere—but among the quilts, potholders, and placemats, one gallery owner is wrapped up in some dangerous affairs. Reese Masemer had been dating one of Daisy’s employees, Tessa, an artist, though their last interaction was as strained as a cup of loose leaf tea. Now Reese has been found dead near a covered bridge where Tessa’s been practicing her sketches. She’s the obvious suspect, but Daisy’s learning that there were some major secrets in Reese’s background, and several of his relationships were infused with resentment. To save Tessa, she’ll have to find out who’s tainted this quaint little town with murder… “Readers are immediately drawn to main character Daisy Swanson and her beloved Aunt Iris.”—Suspense Magazine

Beryl Bainbridge
Beryl Bainbridge

Author: Brendan King

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2016-09-08

Total Pages: 577

ISBN-13: 1472908546

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Dame Beryl Bainbridge was one of the most popular and recognisable English novelists of her generation. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, and her critically acclaimed novels The Dressmaker (1973), The Bottle Factory Outing (1974), An Awfully Big Adventure (1990), Every Man For Himself (1996) and Master Georgie (1998), confirmed her status as one of the major literary figures of the past fifty years. A unique voice in fiction, and unforgettable in person, Beryl Bainbridge was famous for her gregarious drinking habits and her unconventional lifestyle. Yet underneath the public image of a quirky eccentric lay a complex and sometimes traumatic private life that she rarely talked about and which was often only hinted at in her novels. In this first full-length biography, Brendan King draws on a mass of unpublished letters and diaries to reveal the real woman behind the popular image. He explores Bainbridge's difficult childhood in Formby, her career as a young actress at the Liverpool Playhouse, and her life as a single mother and writer in Camden Town. Along the way he tackles her complex private life: her failed marriage to the painter Austin Davies, her affairs, and her longstanding relationship with her publisher, Colin Haycraft. This frank portrait of Beryl Bainbridge tells the story of a life that is every bit as dramatic and compelling as one of her own perfectly-crafted novels.