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A Sprinkling of Murder
A Fairy Garden Mystery Book 1
by Daryl Wood Gerber
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Featured on Buzzfeed Books!
Fairy garden store owner Courtney Kelly believes in inviting magic into your life. But when uninvited trouble enters her shop, she’ll need more than a sprinkling of her imagination to solve a murder . . .
Since childhood, Courtney has loved fairies. After her mother died when Courtney was ten, she lost touch with that feeling of magic. A year ago, at age twenty-nine, she rediscovered it when she left her father’s landscaping business to spread her wings and start a fairy garden business and teashop in beautiful Carmel, California. At Open Your Imagination, she teaches garden design and sells everything from fairy figurines to tinkling wind chimes. Now she’s starting a book club tea.
But the light of the magical world she’s created inside her shop is darkened one night when she discovers neighboring dog-grooming business owner Mick Watkins dead beside her patio fountain. To make matters worse, the police suspect Courtney of the crime. To clear her name and find the real killer, Courtney will have to wing it. But she’s about to get a little help from an unexpected source . . .
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A Glimmer of a Clue
A Fairy Garden Mystery Book 2
Courtney Kelly has a shop full of delights, a cat named Pixie, a green thumb—and a magical touch when it comes to garden design. But in Carmel-by-the-Sea, things aren’t all sweetness and fairy lights . . .
When Courtney’s friend Wanda gets into a ponytail-pulling wrestling match in public with a nasty local art critic, Courtney stops the fight with the help of a garden hose. But Lana Lamar has a talent for escalating things and creating tension, which she succeeds in doing by threatening a lawsuit, getting into yet another scuffle—in the midst of an elegant fundraiser, no less—and lobbing insults around like pickleballs.
Next thing Courtney knows, Lana is on the floor, stabbed with a decorative letter opener from one of Courtney’s fairy gardens, and Wanda is standing by asking “What have I done?” But the answer may not be as obvious as it seems, since Wanda is prone to sleepwalking and appears to be in a daze. Could she have risen from her nap and committed murder while unconscious? Or is the guilty party someone else Lana’s ticked off, like her long-suffering husband? To find out, Courtney will have to dig up some dirt . . .
Praise for Daryl Wood Gerber’s A Sprinkling of Murder
“Enchanting series launch from Agatha Award winner Gerber . . . Cozy fans will wish upon a star for more.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A winner. . . . Fans of Laura Childs’ work will enjoy.”
—Booklist
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A Hint of Mischief
A Fairy Garden Mystery Book 3
The proprietor of a fairy garden and tea shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Courtney Kelly has an occasional side gig as a sleuth—with a sprinkling of magical assistance. . . .
Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.
Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day—which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder . . .
Praise for Daryl Wood Gerber’s A Sprinkling of Murder
“Enchanting series launch from Agatha Award winner Gerber. . . . Cozy fans will wish upon a star for more.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A winner. . . . Fans of Laura Childs’ work will enjoy.”
—Booklist
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A Flicker of a Doubt
A Fairy Garden Mystery Book 4
From Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber, the fourth in an enchantingly whimsical series featuring Courtney Kelly, the owner of a fairy-gardening and tea shop in Carmel, California. It’s a special place brimming with good vibes and the kind of magical assistance its proprietor will need to investigate a shocking murder at a prestigious art show!
Making fairy gardens, and teaching crafters how to do the same, keeps Carmel-by-the-Sea shop owner Courtney Kelly busy—but sometimes she has to make time for a wee bit of detective work . . .
With a theater foundation tea and an art show planned at Violet Vickers’s estate, Courtney is hired to create charming fairy gardens for the event. It’s not so charming, however, when her best friend Meaghan’s ex-boyfriend turns out to be Violet’s latest artistic protégé. Even worse, not long after Meaghan locks horns with him, his body is found in her yard, bludgeoned with an objet d’murder.
There’s a gallery of suspects, from an unstable former flame to an arts and crafts teacher with a sketchy past. But when the cops focus on Meaghan’s business partner, who’s like a protective older brother to her, and discover he also has a secret financial motive, Courtney decides to draw her own conclusions. Fearing they’re missing the forest for the trees, and with some help from Fiona the sleuthing fairy, she hopes to make them see the light . . .
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**Coming Soon on March 28, 2023 – PreOrder Now!**
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What’s a Brookie?
The Fairy Garden Mysteries feature Courtney Kelly, the owner of Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden shop in the Cypress and Ivy Courtyard, one of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California’s many courtyards. They also feature Courtney’s sidekick Fiona, a fairy sleuth. Actually, Fiona is a righteous fairy (there are a few other types). She was kicked out of the fairy kingdom for being a bit of an imp, and now, in order to earn her adult wings and return to the kingdom and because she is a righteous fairy, she has to help humans—in particular, Courtney—solve problems.
Open Your Imagination serves tea on the weekends on the patio and often hosts a book club tea. I love drumming up recipes for the teas. Courtney doesn’t make them all. She can cook, but her friend Yvanna, who works at Sweet Treats, another shop in the courtyard, is a baker. She has dreamed up some deliciousness like lemon cupcakes with lavender icing, cinnamon swirl scones, and now brookies, a delicious brownie cookie that has won the hearts of all of Courtney’s customers. Actually, Courtney’s best friend Meaghan came up with the recipe and shared it with Yvanna, but Yvanna has tweaked it to perfection.
I’d like to share it with you.
BROOKIE
(Yield 20-24)
For the cookie layer:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
For the brownie layer:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, if desired
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
To make the cookie layer:
In a large bowl, beat softened butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and egg.
Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until combined. Stir chocolate chips into the dough. Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the 9 x 13 dish.
To make the brownie layer:
In a large bowl, stir sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Add in eggs and beat well. Mix in cocoa powder and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the cocoa mixture. Mix well. If desired, stir in the extra chocolate chips. Pour brownie mixture over cookie dough and spread to cover completely.
Bake the brookie in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, at least 30 minutes, before cutting into bars.
If you want the gluten-free version of this recipe, write me at daryl@darylwoodgerber.com to request it.
Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Fairy Garden Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read. She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. And she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and hitch-hike around Ireland alone. You can learn more on her website: https://darylwoodgerber.com
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I love all of the covers.
The books sound great.
Love this series! Looking forward to reading “A Flicker Of A Doubt”.