Bøker av Winnie Archer

"Photographer Ivy Culpepper is soon to make a home with her husband-to-be in the California beach town of Santa Sofia--but the Yeast of Eden bakery remains her second home. It's not just a place to work, but a community. And now one member of the community has been murdered . . . A regular who used Yeast of Eden as a workspace, Josh Prentiss always turned heads with his startlingly good looks and thousand-watt smile. But Ivy can't help noticing one morning that he seems distracted and off his game. Later, during a visit to the park where she and Miguel plan to hold their engagement party--with plenty of baked goods on the menu--her rescue pug, Agatha, sniffs out Josh lying in a bed of poppies . . . scone cold dead. There's no reason for Ivy to get involved. She's busy enough holding down the fort as the shop's owner, Olaya, cares for her recently orphaned niece, not to mention the stress when a new employee is fired and storms out in a rage. Then a band of rabble-rousers starts picketing the bakery, claiming that Olaya's sourdough roll is what killed Josh--and Ivy hears some salacious gossip about her beloved boss. She doesn't think there's a grain of truth to the seedy rumors--but to prove it, she'll have to start sleuthing . . ."--Publisher information.

Freelance photographer and Yeast of Eden bakery assistant Ivy Culpepper has just scored the job of a lifetime shooting the Dickensian dress-up X-mas party thrown by It Girl film actress Eliza Fox...until an unwanted guest appears. A holiday costume party in the sleepy coastal town of Santa Sofia could be just the boost Ivy needs for her fledgling photography business. At the party, Ivy enters a Victorian fantasy come to life, all courtesy of the fabulous Ms. Fox. Ivy gets to play shutterbug while hanging with Scrooge, Marley, the Cratchits, and more classic Dickens characters.  But what begins as the best of times turns out to be the very worst for one of the party guests—a tabloid journalist with more enemies than Ebenezer himself. When the man’s body is found sprawled across the jagged rocks below the house, the fingers begin pointing at Eliza. Meanwhile, Ivy gets roped into helping prove the starlet’s innocence. Her festive photos are now official evidence—and the Ghosts of Christmas Present could mean the party for Eliza is over, once and for all. 

In the Northern California seaside town of Santa Sofia, a killer is trying to get a rise out of baker''s apprentice Ivy Culpepper . . .Vincent van Dough focaccia is being touted on Instagram as the best thing since sliced bread. By strategically placing chives, olives, and yellow peppers to look like poppies and sunflowers, bakers create a mouthwatering masterpiece in the style of the great postimpressionist painter. At Yeast of Eden, where bread making has always been an art, they''re baking their own version for the school district''s Spring Fling. But one person won''t be tasting the Mexican bakery''s latest specialty. Ambitious school board president Nessa Renchrik has been murdered. Like the rest of this close-knit community, Ivy is shocked. But she''s just as surprised to discover her beau-restaurateur Miguel Baptista-had his own fling with Nessa back in the day and now the police have this half-baked notion he might have killed her. It''s up to Ivy, her boss Olaya Solis, and eighty-six-years-young Penelope Branford to separate the wheat from the chaff to determine who the real culprit is . . .INCLUDES RECIPES!

Known for its mouthwatering traditional breads, the Yeast of Eden bakery has gained fame across Northern California''s coast. Now the shop is bound for Reality TV--but a murder may kill its reputation...People come to the beach town of Santa Sofia as much for the healing properties of Yeast of Eden''s breads as for a vacation getaway. And now a cable food channel has selected the bakery as a featured culinary delight for a new show. Baking apprentice Ivy Culpepper is excited as the crew arrives, ready to capture all the ins and outs of the renowned bread shop. But instead they capture something much harder to stomach: the attempted murdered of the show''s cameraman just outside Yeast of Eden...With no motive and no clues, and the town craving answers, it will be up to Ivy to sift through the evidence to find the truth. But she''ll have to move quickly before someone else is targeted or the wrong person gets the heat--and the business collapses like a deflated soufflé, right before her eyes.

Ivy Culpepper keeps the ovens hot at Yeast of Eden, a Northern California bakery that specializes in traditional breads. But now she has to deal with a stone-cold killer . . . Just as Ivy's brother Billy is about to get engaged to his beloved, a tragedy interrupts the happy moment. The body of longtime Santa Sofia resident Marisol Ruiz washes up on the beach-and it's even more heartbreaking since Marisol's father also recently died. But Marisol was a strong competitive swimmer. It seems unlikely there's even a grain of truth to the theory that she accidentally drowned. As Ivy gets to work helping her mentor, Olaya Solis, with the catering for Marisol's funeral, she also teams up with her partners in detection-because if they want to prevent someone from getting away with murder, there's no time for loafing . . .

Everyone swears by Yeast of Eden, the Mexican bread shop in town. But tonight, the only thing on the menu is la muerte . . .Struggling photographer Ivy Culpepper has lots of soul-searching to do since returning to seaside Santa Sofia, California. That is, until the thirty-six-year-old enters a bread making class at Yeast of Eden. Whether it's the aroma of fresh conchas in the oven, or her instant connection with owner Olaya Solis, Ivy just knows the missing ingredients in her life are hidden among the secrets of Olaya's bakery . . .But Ivy's spirits crumble when a missing classmate is suddenly discovered dead in her car. Even more devastating, the prime suspect is Olaya Solis herself. Doubting the woman could commit such a crime, Ivy embarks on a murder investigation of her own to prove her innocence and seize the real killer. As she follows a deadly trail of crumbs around town, Ivy must trust her gut like never before-or someone else could be toast!