Vintage Kitchen Mysteries

                           

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About The Series:   Jaymie Leighton is just your typical small town girl, except that she keeps tripping over dead bodies! And unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to stop any time soon.   Jaymie lives in the century-plus Queensville, Michigan house she grew up in, deeded to her and her sister, Becca, when their parents moved to Boca Raton, Florida. A collector of vintage kitchenware, Jaymie is passionately fond of cookbooks, and is compiling a collection of vintage recipes updated for the modern cook.   She also juggles several jobs: helping out a couple days a week at the Queensville Emporium, where her best friend Valetta is the village pharmacist; running her own vintage picnic basket rental service, and working for a couple of vintage dealers in town in their shops. And now she writes a cooking column for the Wolverhampton Howler.   As a member of the local heritage society, she is also helping redo the kitchen of the former Dumpe House, now the Queensville Historic Manor. And as for her personal life... well, she really needs to figure that out. Her love life is just as complicated as the historical romance novels she loves to read! In fact, dating has been a bumpy ride ever since Joel Anderson dumped her, though she feels that she is recovering nicely and moving on.   All this adds up to a busy life, even if it weren't for that nasty habit of finding the recently murdered. Jaymie has a unique way of solving things, though, with an inquisitive nature and determination. The local police chief has called her "a natural investigator, with a nose for trouble", but when she's on the hunt for a killer, she's got her trusty friend, Valetta, at her side, and her sweet three-legged Yorkie-Poo, Hoppy, to help her out!

Cupboard with beautiful vintage dishes. Photo Courtesy: Ruxandra Moldoveanu - FreeImages

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Praise for Vintage Kitchen Mysteries:

“... All the right ingredients... Small town setting, kitchen antiques... and a bowlful of mystery.
A perfect recipe! ” – Susan Wittig Albert, New York Times Bestselling Author
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“... A chilling whodunit.” – Richmond Times-Dispatch
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“... Well-plotted with several unexpected twists and more developed charaters.” – The Mystery Reader
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“... Jaymie is a great character... She is inquisitive and full of surprises!” – Debbie's Book Bag
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“ I've found a new favorite cozy character... Jaymie Leighton. I can't wait for the next book in the series...
this (A Deadly Grind) is without question one of my favourite "first in a series" ever!!  ”
                                                            – Melissa, from Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries and Meows.

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Sieve and Let Die Vintage Kitchen Mystery #11 *Vintage Recipe included. Vintage cookware collector Jaymie Muller is stunned when an irate woman accuses her pharmacist friend Val of tampering with her prescription. When more unfounded accusations follow, it seems clear the woman has a personal grudge against Val. But before they can figure out why, Jaymie and Val stumble upon the woman's dead body on the steps of Val's pharmacy. Given her altercations with the woman and the location of the body, the police naturally suspect Val. Jaymie has heard rumors that the victim had become forgetful and erratic, but could that explain her death? And why was Val being framed as her murderer? Determined to find the clues that connect the woman's strange behaviour to her death, Jaymie begins questioning the people in her life, and soon suspects that the culprit is among them. But she'll have to be careful about who she confronts, because while solving murders is hard work, there's a killer on the loose who finds committing them all too easy . . .  Buy eBook Here: Buy Paperback Here:   Order Audio Book Here!

Beyond The Page  October 2023

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A Calculated Whisk Vintage Kitchen Mystery #10 *Vintage Recipe included. When a woman living under a cloud of suspicion comes to vintage collector Jaymie Leighton with a mysterious request, she's not sure whether--or how much-- to get involved. But before she can resolve her dilemma, the woman is found murdered in the woods near Jaymie's home. As she digs deeper into the woman's past and her murder, it becomes clear that danger is still lurking far too close for comfort, and with her family in danger, Jaymie must outwit the culprit before she loses all she holds dear, including her own life . . Buy eBook Here:         Buy Paperback Here:   Audio Books Here:

Beyond The Page  September 2021

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Cast Iron Alibi Vintage Kitchen Mystery #9 *Vintage Recipe included. In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of Breaking the Mould, when an over-amorous handyman is found murdered, Jaymie will have to use every tool at her disposal to nab the culprit . . . Looking forward to her girls-only college reunion vacation, Jaymie's on cloud nine at the idea of lazy trips to the beach, dinner cruises on the nearby river, and snug sleeping in the vintage trailer she's renovated. But no sooner does the group reconnect than her hopes turn to tension as petty squabbles and old acrimonies surface, along with tagalong friends, unexpected guests, and stalkerish ex-husbands. And when a local toolbelt Romeo with an eye for one of the women is found murdered, his home ablaze, the simmering hostility in the group suddenly shifts to secrecy. Local law enforcement is zeroing in on the victim's best friend and girlfriend as the most likely suspects, but Jaymie's inquisitive instincts are telling her one of her former classmates may have been involved in the foul deed. Forced to navigate her fraught relationship with a local police detective and determined to uncover the myriad secrets her college friends are hiding, Jaymie knows she'll have to dig deep to figure out whose alibi is cast iron, and whose is flimsy as tin . . . Buy eBook Here:       Buy Paperback Here:

Beyond The Page  November 2019

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Breaking The Mould Vintage Kitchen Mystery #8 *Vintage Recipe included. In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of 'No Grater Danger', when the town's resident Scrooge is found dead, Jaymie says Bah humbug! to murder... "I have loved this series from the first book... it's like returning to a favorite nook for a cup of tea. It will delight, entice, and drive a reader to want to solve the murder."   – Goodreads on No Grater Danger Now that Thanksgiving's behind her, vintage cookware enthusiast Jaymie Leighton Muller is excitedly making plans for the upcoming Dickens Days fesival-- the town's month-long celebration leading up to Christmas. With a hot cider booth on the village green to warm the hearts and bodies of the townsfolk, and a diorama featuring a scene from 'A Christmas Carol', things are shaping up for a festive season-- until the town's local Scrooge is found murdered, a vintage pudding mould covering his cracked skull. Nearly everyone had a reason to dislike Evan Nezer-- either for his bullying ways or his obnoxious arrogance-- but with his body being found in Jaymie's diorama, she'll have to figure out who hated him enough to see him dead. With many suspects, and even more secrets coming to the surface as she investigates, Jaymie feels buried by a blizzard of clues. But with Dickens Days on hold until the police can nab the killer, she's determined to catch the culprit so the ghost of Evan Nezer doesn't cast a pall over the whole Christmas season.  Buy eBook Here:   Buy Paperback Here:    Audio Book Here:

Beyond The Page  November 2018

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No Grater Danger Vintage Kitchen Mystery #7 *Vintage Recipe included.   In the brand-new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of Leave It To Cleaver, one out to spice up their life means to crush a helpless victim...   Vintage cookware enthusiast Jaymie Leighton is thrilled at the prospect of meeting an elderly descendant of her town's founding father, not least because she's known to possess an enviably large collection of antique spice graters. But the curmudgeonly woman also has substantial real estate holdings, and at the moment she's engaged in a fierce battle with a property developer who wants her to sell off her old buildings in the name of progress. When Jaymie goes to visit the woman and discovers that there's been an attempt on her life, she polishes up her sleuthing skills to find out who was behind the foul deed.   Her first instinct is to suspect the developer, but as she digs deeper into the case, she learns that her older new friend has purportedly been the victim of numerous criminal acts-- all of which point to different suspects. Unsure if the stories are true, or simply the confused ramblings of a senior citizen, Jaymie sifts through the clues hoping to expose the culprit, but she knows that if she keeps stirring up trouble, she'll be the next on the would-be killer's list. Buy eBook Here: Buy Paperback Here:

Beyond The Page June 2018

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Leave It To Cleaver Vintage Kitchen Mystery #6 *Vintage Recipe included.   In the brand-new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of White Colander Crime, someone with an old grudge decides it's time to bury the hatchet . . .   "Smartly written and successfully plotted, the debut of this new cozy series . . . exudes authenticity." --Library Journal on A Deadly Grind    Vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has agreed to help her sister clear out the house of a deceased older neighbor, and she's thrilled at the prospect of discovering antique kitchenware and other treasures--until she opens a vintage trunk in the cellar and finds the remains of a teenage girl with a cleaver buried in her skull. When the body of a second girl is found just days later in a nearby river, the clues all indicate that the crimes are connected--and that the culprit's motives are hidden in the past.    Jaymie just wants to cut and run, but the victims were both high school classmates of her sister when they disappeared, and that makes Jaymie the perfect person to help the local police investigate the killings. As she dredges up old memories and even older rivalries and jealousies, her list of suspects grows. But Jaymie knows she’ll have to whittle it down to just one, and fast, because someone has decided to cut their ties to Jaymie--in the most fatal of ways . . . Click on the logos below to buy this book and other books by Victoria Hamilton. Buy eBook Here:         Buy Paperback Here:

Beyond The Page June 2017

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White Colander Crime Vintage Kitchen Mystery #5: *Vintage Recipe included.   In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of 'NO MALLETS INTENDED'. the Heritage Society is re-creating a perfect Christmas -- until good tidings go bad...   Queensville has great expectations for their Dickens Day festival. A tourist-trade boom means a big turnout for the opening of Queensville Historic Manor and for Jaymie Leighton, food columnist and vintage kitchen cookware collector, a chance to promote the manor and give away homemade goodies. At the end of a long day of festival fun, Jaymie discovers the battered body of local woman Shelby Fretter.   Shelby predicted her own murder in journal entries -- and all clues point to Cody Wainwright, the troubled son of Jaymie's beleaguered newspaper editor. But considering the entire Fretter family had its share of dirty secrets, Jaymie's not convinced by the case against Cody. With twists all over, she's going to have to work like the Dickens to wrap up this investigation before Christmas-- especially with the real killer ready to kill again. Click on the logos below to buy this book and other books by Victoria Hamilton.

Berkley Prime Crime November 2015

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No Mallets Intended Vintage Kitchen Mystery #4: *Vintage Recipe included.   Jaymie Leighton is excited and a little nervous about her current big venture, completely redoing the kitchen at Dumpe House— now the Queensville Historic Manor— in time for the December opening. But the house is mired in controversy, a challenge to the heritage society’s right to own it, and questions about the author hired to write a pamphlet detailing the Dumpe family history and that of the house.   None of Jaymie’s business, so she keeps her head down and her focus on the exact color right for the kitchen, and assembling all the accouterments, including a Hoosier cabinet! She’s also got lots to think about in her personal life with Daniel acting a little odd, and her friend Heidi dragging her in to the trouble between her and her fiancé, Jaymie’s former boyfriend Joel.   But a late night whack on the head with one of the antique mallets Jaymie has been cataloging for the society and a dreadful murder right on the house’s doorstep draws her once again into murder and mayhem. Jaymie faces her most cunning and dangerous opponent yet, but with Valetta by her side and the police chief's approval, she must figure out whodunit before they do it again! “This well-plotted with several unexpected twists and more developed characters.” —The Mystery Reader “Smartly written and successfully plotted.” —Library Journal Click on the logos below to buy this book and other books by Victoria Hamilton.

Berkley Prime Crime November 2014

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Freezer I'll Shoot Vintage Kitchen Mystery #3 *Vintage Recipe included.   Trying to escape her overbearing mother, vintage kitchenware enthusiast and soon-to-be columnist Jaymie Leighton retreats to her family’s cottage on Heartbreak Island. While there, she hopes to write an article about the Ice House restaurant, owned by good friends and neighbors, siblings Ruby and Garnet Redmond. Once an actual icehouse, the restaurant is charmingly decorated with antique tools of the trade, including a collection of ice picks.     One night, while working on her article, Jaymie overhears an argument and, ever the sleuth, sets out to explore. But when she stumbles upon a dead body, her blood runs cold. It’s Urban Dobrinskie, whose feud with the Redmonds is no secret, and he’s got an ice pick through his heart. Now Jaymie’s got to sharpen her sleuthing skills to chip away at the mystery and prove her neighbors’ innocence— before someone else gets picked off…    “This third book in the Vintage Kitchen series is definitely the best one yet, or maybe it's just that the characters in these books are growing close to my heart. I enjoy the discussion of the connection between this part of Michigan and Canada, and the shared holidays. Personalities and problems seem very realistic, and I find myself rooting more and more for Jaymie and one particular man. The mysteries are always solid and developed with good clues”                                                     —Ronna, Goodreads Reviewer Click on the logos below to buy this book and other books by Victoria Hamilton.   Also available in large print, and audio CD, voiced by Emily Woo Zeller! Click Here to buy large print book or Audio CD.

Berkley Prime Crime November 2013

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Bowled Over Vintage Kitchen Mystery #2 *Vintage Recipe included. Stirring up trouble…   Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two.   With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton… “Victoria Hamilton has dished up another fun and entertaining winner!” —Lori Caswell – Escape with Dollycas review site Click on the logos below to buy this book and other books by Victoria Hamilton.       Also available in large print, and audio CD, voiced by Emily Woo Zeller! Click Here to buy large print book or Audio CD.

Berkley Prime Crime   March 2013

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A Deadly Grind Vintage Kitchen Mystery #1 *Vintage Recipe included. A Hoosier to die for?   When vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton spies an original 1920s Hoosier brand kitchen cabinet at an estate auction, it’s love at first sight. Despite the protests of her sister that the 19th-century yellow-brick house they share in Michigan is already too cluttered with Jaymie’s “junk”, she successfully outbids the other buyers and triumphantly takes home her Hoosier.   But that night on the summer porch where they’ve left the Hoosier to be cleaned up, a man is murdered, struck on the head with  the steel meat grinder that is part of the cabinet. Who is this stranger— and what was he doing on their porch? Does his death have anything to do with the Hoosier?   As the police struggle to determine the man’s identity, Jaymie can’t help doing a little digging on her own, accompanied by her three-legged Yorkie Poo, Hoppy. But in her bid to uncover the truth about the hidden secrets of the Hoosier, Jaymie may be the one who ends up going, going…gone.   “The author has laid the great foundation for more books in this series, setting us up for many return visits to Heartbreak Island. I hope not too many hearts are broken but with cozy mysteries you never know who the next victim or suspect may be. I just know this author is going to give us a wonderful who-dun-it that will find us Bowled Over!!”                              —Lori Caswell – Escape with Dollycas review site Click on the logos below to buy this book and other books by Victoria Hamilton.       Also available in large print, and audio CD, voiced by Emily Woo Zeller! Click Here to buy large print book or Audio CD.

Berkley Prime Crime   May 2012