Suzanne Toren

The Overstory unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fable that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. An air force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits a hundred years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself,...

"Embracing a sweet escape from her usual routine at The Cookie Jar, Hannah gets asked for her help in baking pastries at the local inn for a flashy fishing competition with big prizes and even bigger names. But the fun stops when she spots a runaway boat on the water and, on board, the lifeless body of the event's renowned celebrity spokesperson...Famed TV show host Sonny Bowman wasn't humble about his ability to reel in winning catches, and no one...

Hannah's popular bakery, The Cookie Jar, licated in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is best known for its tempting confections--until best-selling cookbook author and television personality Connie McIntyre is murdered in its pantry while baking a special treat for the town's Winter Carnival. Despite police warnings to steer clear of the case, Hannah is soon chasing down a bevy of suspicious characters.

Narrator Jack and his mother, who was kidnapped seven years earlier when she was a 19-year-old college student, celebrate his fifth birthday. They live in a tiny, 11-foot-square soundproofed cell in a converted shed in the kidnapper's yard. The sociopath, whom Jack has dubbed Old Nick, visits at night, grudgingly doling out food and supplies. But Ma, as Jack calls her, proves to be resilient and resourceful--and attempts a nail-biting escape.

"In the midst of planning for her mother's wedding, Hannah Swensen accidentally hits a man with her cookie truck while driving down a country road during a storm. Though she feels guilty, she is shocked when she finds herself arrested for murder. When the autopsy reveals that the mysterious stranger may have consumed a poisonous blackberry pie, Hannah must learn his identity and track down the baker to clear her own name of the crime: --

"Not even Lake Eden's nosiest residents suspected Hannah Swensen would go from idealistic newlywed to betrayed wife in a matter of weeks. But as a deadly mystery unfolds in town, the proof is in the pudding. When The Cookie Jar becomes the setting of a star-studded TV special about movies filmed in Minnesota, Hannah hopes to shine the spotlight on her bakery--not the unsavory scandal swirling around her personal life. But that's practically impossible...

"While Hannah speeds through a lengthy holiday checklist, drama in town grows like Santa's waistline on Christmas Eve. Her sister Andrea wants to stave off the blues by helping out at The Cookie Jar, Michele's love life is becoming complicated, Lisa needs Hannah's advice, and Delores has a Christmas secret she's not willing to share. But nothing dampens the holiday mood more than the chilling mystery surrounding the man found near death in an abandoned...

Hannah has excellent reasons to despise the caddish Bradford Ramsey, as do many other women. Nevertheless, she'd rather not expose her youthful indiscretions, especially to her policeman beau. Hannah is very busy with the mayor's wife Lake Eden, Minn. charity event at which Ramsey is host. So what should she say when she stumbles upon his murdered corpse?

Thanksgiving has a way of thawing the frostiest hearts in Lake Eden. But that won't be happening for newlywed Hannah Swensen Barton--not after her husband suddenly disappears. Hannah has felt as bitter as November in Minnesota since Ross vanished without a trace and left their marriage in limbo. Still, she throws herself into a baking frenzy for the sake of pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving-themed treats while endless holiday orders pour into The Cookie...

It's Christmas many years ago, and topping young Hannah Swensen's wish list is becoming the go-to baker in Lake Eden, Minnesota. But as Hannah finds out, revisiting holiday memories can be murder . . . With her dream of opening The Cookie Jar taking shape, Hannah's life matches the hectic December hustle and bustle in Lake Eden--especially when she agrees to help recreate a spectacular Christmas Ball from the past in honor of Essie Granger, an elderly...