One Dead Cookie
Authors: Virginia Lowell
Tags: #Cozy-mystery, #Culinary, #Fiction, #Food, #Romance
Praise for the national bestselling
Cookie Cutter Shop Mysteries
When the Cookie Crumbles
“Cozy fans will enjoy the third delicious Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“An enjoyable book with believable characters and situations. Fans of Laura Childs,
Joanne Fluke, or Jenn McKinlay will savor this delightful mystery.”
—The Season
A Cookie Before Dying
“An entertaining investigative thriller…Fans of cozies will enjoy this Maryland small-town
whodunit.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
“A great combination of wit and mystery.”
Fresh Fiction
“What a great read. This well-layered, page-turning mystery kept me on my toes…I can’t
wait to read the next book in this enjoyable series.”
—Dru’s Book Musings
“Virginia Lowell does it again…This excellent offering will satisfy your sleuth tooth
(and make you hungry for an iced sugar cookie). Well done, Ms. Lowell! Long may you
bake up delectable books with toothsome plot twists and tasty characters.”
—
Sherry Ladig,
Irish Music and Dance Association
magazine
Cookie Dough or Die
“It’s always a joy to find a new series that…contains such promise.”
—CA Reviews
“Virginia Lowell made me a cookie cutter convert with her cleverly crafted
Cookie Dough or Die
. In fact, I unearthed my mother’s collection and looked at it in a whole new way
after finishing this yummy tale…The writing is strong, the story line engaging, the
characters ones you’d like to be your friends. This is what makes a good cozy mystery
a special read. I look forward to more cookie adventures—with sprinkles and chocolate
icing on top.”
—
AnnArbor.com
“Readers will find the sleuthing of the main character hard to resist…This is a good
cozy mystery.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Four stars! Here’s a dough-licious debut for the new Cookie Cutter Shop Mysteries…Olivia
is a charming lead, and Chatterley Heights will entice cozy readers who like the drama
and close-knit relationships in small towns. A great start to a new series.”
—RT Book Reviews
“This was a great read. With a wonderful cast of characters and a great setting, this
story will have you craving for one more cookie. The tone was very comfortable, and
the witty and entertaining dialogue kept me engaged as I quickly turned the pages…[A]
welcome addition to the cozy genre.”
—Dru’s Book Musings
“The author does a great job of setting up this new series. She includes such vivid
descriptions of Olivia’s store that you can visualize the store and nearly smell the
scent of baking cookies. Realistic, humorous dialogue supports the plot and keeps
the story moving forward…Fans of Joanne Fluke or of Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery
Mysteries will enjoy this new culinary mystery series.”
—The Season
“Practically jumps off the page with an endearing heroine (and her little dog, too);
smart, wisecracking dialogue; an ingenious plot; and a thoroughly satisfying, melt-in-your-mouth
ending. And the cookie references were tempting enough to send me to the kitchen to
whomp up a batch of my mother’s favorite decorated butter-sugar cookies (no kidding,
I did). If you love mysteries set in a small town and treats fresh from the oven,
follow this author! You will not be disappointed.”
—
Sherry Ladig,
Irish Music and Dance Association
magazine
Berkley Prime Crime titles by Virginia Lowell
COOKIE DOUGH OR DIE
A COOKIE BEFORE DYING
WHEN THE COOKIE CRUMBLES
ONE DEAD COOKIE
One Dead
Cookie
VIRGINIA LOWELL
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com.
ONE DEAD COOKIE
A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author
Copyright © 2013 by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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) Inc.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-62443-2
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / July 2013
Cover illustration by Mary Ann Lasher.
Cover design by George Long.
Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.
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.
In memory of my mother and
her bookcases filled with mysteries
Writing this series has brought so many extraordinary people into my life. I am grateful
to the members of the National Cookie Cutter Collectors Club for their tireless enthusiasm
and the depth of their cookie-cutter knowledge, which they share generously. Many,
many thanks to the wonderful and creative writers at www.killercharacters.com. As
always, I want to thank my editor, Michelle Vega, who is a joy to work with, and the
talented folks at Berkley Prime Crime. I am indebted to Jean Wohlers, whose luscious
cutout cookie recipe, slightly altered, appears in this book—although I must admit
that her cookies taste better than mine. And to Sherry Ladig, a special thanks for
her discerning eye and for teaching me, just in time, that “combining lemon extract
and rosewater in one cookie is like putting two divas on stage at the same time.”
Chapter One
Olivia Greyson could feel his eyes watching her. She knew what was going on, and she
refused to be duped. Olivia concentrated on the cardboard box next to her on the sofa.
The contents glowed in the soft light from the lamp on the side table. Olivia lifted
one of the objects, a shiny aluminum butterfly shape, possibly the last cookie cutter
her friend Clarisse Chamberlain had purchased. A few weeks later, she’d been murdered.