Murder by the Millions

When the local bookstore hires her for a Great Gatsby-themed soiree, North Carolina caterer Allie Cat serves a lavish spread with a side of sleuthing in this delicious new mystery from Agatha Award-winner Daryl Wood Gerber.

If it were true that the best thing a girl can be in this world is a fool, then Allie Catt would be out of luck. Fortunately, Allie’s business is a smashing success. And following her Pride and Prejudice event, grander plans await . . . 

Feast for the Eyes bookstore manager and Allie’s best friend, Tegan, is hosting a book club soiree and wants it to be a glittering affair based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic Jazz Age-set novel, The Great Gatsby. Soon, Art Deco table settings and visions of flappers are dancing the Charleston in their heads. Even Tegan’s prickly sister, Vanna, is on board. And surely, Allie’s tuxedo cat, Darcy, thinks it’s the cat’s meow.

Amid the planning, charismatic developer Jason Gardner arrives in town to buy some historic buildings on Main Street. He, too, has plans: to create a modern mall. Allie is more than concerned. She even wants to protest. But when Jason invites her to cater a lavish party, she finds him surprisingly likable. Then she’s summoned to his estate for a meeting—and finds him dead.

Once again Allie’s landed in the middle of a crime scene. Worse, one of her earrings is later discovered near the body. And when police learn she was upset about the mall, she’s suspect #1. Allie’s blossoming sleuthing skills once cleared Tegan’s name, but can she save herself—before a killer writes her a not-so-great Gatsbyesque ending . . .Praise for A Literary Dining Mystery Series

“Allie’s ensuing investigation hits all the requisite beats: there are well hidden clues, hints of romance with a local cop, and recipes for quiches and cakes. This gets the job done.” —Publishers Weekly on Murder by the Millions

“Gerber combines the hallmarks of a great cozy mystery—books, baking, and a cat named Darcy—in this charming series starter that ends with a few recipes.” —Booklist on Murder on the Page

“Foodies and Jane Austen fans alike will delight in this charming mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews on Murder on the Page

“While Allie tries to clear Tegan’s name and nurses a secret crush on Zach, Gerber methodically hits all the familiar cozy beats, including a timely intervention by Allie’s cat, Darcy.” —Publishers Weekly on Murder on the Page

"Lightly-themed around Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice, this culinary cozy series debut perfectly hearkens to the romance and manners of its inspiration even as it presents a very modern murder mystery." —Criminal Element on Murder on the PageDaryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling author of the Aroma Wellness Mystery Series, the Literary Dining Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries, the French Bistro Mysteries, and the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, as well as the Cheese Shop Mysteries written under the name Avery Aames. She also writes standalone suspense novels and the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense. Prior to her career as a novelist, she was an actress with roles in television shows including "Murder, She Wrote," and she wrote for the popular TV sitcom "Out of this World." Originally from the Bay Area, she now lives in Southern California where she likes to cook, garden and spend time with her frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky. Visit her online at DarylWoodGerber.com.