Cape Bay Cafe Mysteries

This set includes the first three novels in the Cape Bay Cafe Mysteries, starring amateur sleuth Francesca Amaro—barista, baker, and owner of Antonia’s Italian Café: Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse; Tea, Tiramisu, and Tough Guys; and Margaritas, Marzipan, and Murder.

Francesca Amaro moves back to her hometown of Cape Bay, Massachusetts, and takes over the family business, Antonia's Italian Cafe. She spends her days making delicious artisan cappuccinos - until she stumbles upon her neighbor's dead body. When the police discover Mr. Cardosi was poisoned, Francesca becomes a suspect. The victim's son, Matty, happens to be Francesca's old high school friend. Together they uncover the secrets of the locals in order to find the killer in their idyllic beach town.

When Francesca's old high school crush, Todd, is accused of murder, she is convinced he is innocent. The police don't believe Todd's story, and neither does Matty. During the busy summer tourist season at Cape Bay, Francesca sets out to prove Todd's innocence. Matty, however, investigates to prove Todd is guilty. Why does Matty detest Todd so much? But what if he's right - what if Todd is a murderer?

Summer tourist season is winding down, but the Cape Bay police find a dead body in the alley beside Mary Ellen's Souvenirs and Gifts. Police rule it a suicide, but Francesca Amaro knows it's murder. Who would buy a bag of souvenirs, including a box of delicious marzipan, only to commit suicide moments later? Even though the police tell her to stay out of the case, Fran is too curious not to investigate, even though she's running a busy and popular cafe.

Fran is anticipating her trip to Italy with Matty...until a precious diamond ring is stolen from the town's jewelry store and an employee is murdered. Fran suspects the store owner of insurance fraud, but what if she's wrong? Would her life be at stake again if she butts in on another police investigation?

It's almost Thanksgiving, and Fran is baking her family's famous apple pies for the cafe. While pie fever spreads through Cape Bay, a world-famous artist holds a special art show in the town's modest museum in honor of his late mother, who grew up there....

It's almost Christmastime in Cape Bay, and another murder has everyone in town talking. A despised new drama teacher at the local high school is killed in the school's parking lot. The police arrest a beloved teacher, Mrs. Crowsdale, but everyone else thinks she is too nice to murder anyone. Mike, however, says they have solid evidence that proves she did it. Sammy is particularly devastated. Mrs. Crowsdale was her favorite teacher and still her hero. Sammy begs Fran to find the real culprit.

On New Year's Day, Fran takes her dog Latte on a walk. Luck of all luck, she finds a dead blonde on the sidewalk - right outside Ryan's house. Sammy, Fran's best friend, has been staying with Ryan, and she becomes the police's number-one suspect. The victim was Ryan's ex-girlfriend, an out-of-towner who has been secretly terrorizing and stalking Sammy. Sammy's DNA has been found on her body, so the police think she has motive for killing the ex.

When Fran moves back to her idyllic beach town to take over the family cafe, she also develops a knack for solving bizarre murders.... In the middle of Fran's date night with Matt, at Cape Bay's best Mexican restaurant, Fran's favorite waiter drops dead. Everyone else thinks Pablo had a stroke, but Fran believes he was murdered because he had been getting strange, threatening notes in his apron at work. As Fran digs deeper into another murder case she shouldn't be involved in, she learns her beloved waiter had some secrets stewing in his personal life.

When Matt whisks Fran away on a romantic spa weekend at the Alford Inn, she's excited to try French macarons from Jacques de Gaulle, the inn's famous in-house baker. But when an off-duty employee is murdered in the spa - during a mud wrap treatment no less - Fran must use the time she could've been relaxing to solve another murder case. A friend's crumbling marriage depends on it!

Fran throws Matt a birthday party at the cafe and invites all of Cape Bay to attend. Halfway into the party, many of the guests become sick, and some end up in the ER. Fran fears the cause was food poisoning, but Detective Mike Stanton informs her that it was actual poison - someone at the party intentionally poisoned the pastries or punch.

Fran's dream of winning the top prize of ten thousand dollars as a contestant on a new TV baking show is quickly shattered when one of the famous judges, Jeremy Johnson, is brutally stabbed in the middle of filming. As Fran investigates, she uncovers a web of deceit, jealousy, and betrayal among the contestants and judges. With tensions high and suspicions swirling, Fran realizes that the murderer could be someone she knows all too well.