Light pink, robin’s egg blue, daffodil yellow, mint green—Easter eggs hiding sweet treats come in every pastel color. But in a few small towns this year, cracking them could be more fatal than fun…
EASTER EGG MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
In Provence to visit her daughter, part-time reporter Lucy Stone is soaking up the atmosphere, even if it includes one Carole Capobianco, the empty-nester she encountered on the flight over. Not exactly two peas in a pod, they’re both amused by the tale of a neighbor’s chickens refusing to lay eggs. The decoy eggs he’s set out to encourage the egg-centric hens are not only gorgeously Faberge-style, they’re being stolen! That’s confusing enough, but what’s happened to the cook is deadly serious.
DEATH BY ANOTHER EASTER EGG by LEE HOLLIS
When an ambitious young reporter dies mid-meal at Hayley Powell’s Bar Harbor restaurant, Hayley is horrified. Determined to save her eatery’s reputation, Hayley scrambles to crack the case wide open like an egg, discovering that the victim was about to break a juicy story—one that a number of people (er, suspects) did not order off the menu. Which makes finding the killer more than devilishly hard . . .
AN EGGY WAY TO DIE by PEGGY EHRHART
Cleaning up after the Easter egg hunt in the Arborville park, friends Pamela and Bettina are startled to find something else hidden—the dead body of a local cookbook author, surrounded by broken shells and slippery yolks. The pair are far from hard-boiled detectives, but as they search for clues, they find that the whole case smells distinctly like rotten eggs . . .
“Ehrhart’s “An Eggy Way to Die” provides the best blend of engaging characters and a genuine puzzle.”–Kirkus
“What a fun seasonal read for fans of these three series, and also a great way to be introduced to the series for new readers. “Eggcellent” reading!”–Kings River Life
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Here’s the cover for the audio version, from Tantor Media:
And here’s the cover for the large-print version, from Thorndike Press:
KNIT
Easter Bunny Hand Puppet
Nell Bascomb hasn’t yet made knitted hand puppets for the children at the Haversack women’s shelter, but this project is certainly one that she would approve of. It comes together in just a few hours and makes a fun Easter gift for a child or grandchild.
Directions for Easter Bunny Hand Puppet appear in Easter Egg Murder at the end of my novella, An Eggy Way to Die.
Here’s a good view of the head, showing placement of the eyes, nose, and whiskers. You can also see the ears in position and anchored securely.
And here’s a back view of the puppet.
NIBBLE
Festive Easter Cookies
In An Eggy Way to Die Pamela bakes a batch of cookies when it’s her turn to host the Knit and Nibble group. Inspired by Easter egg colors, she turns an ordinary sugar-cookie recipe into a festive treat appropriate to the season.
The recipe for Festive Easter Cookies appears in Easter Egg Murder at the end of my novella, An Eggy Way to Die.
Here are some photos of various steps:
After you’ve mixed the dough, divide it into four small bowls.
Tint each batch a different Easter-egg color.
Turn the contents of each bowl out onto a piece of plastic wrap and use the plastic wrap to help shape it into a long roll. Here’s an in-progress example using the green dough. It needs a bit more shaping and squeezing.
Continue until you’ve shaped all your dough into long rolls.
Unwrap the rolls and cut each into lengthwise quarters. Here’s an example using the green roll.
Use one quarter of each color to form new four-color rolls.
Here they are completed.
Cut each roll into half-inch slices and arrange the slices on a greased cookie sheet.
One batch finished! (They spread out as they bake.)
YUM!
