Alice Webb: 3 books

The small talk at a summer barbeque is rudely interrupted by a baffling murder. It looks like poison, but how can that be when everyone has shared the same food and drink? Alma Easter, a cake-obsessed old lady, knows the answer. With this and other intriguing mysteries, Beaten to the Punch...

Tragedy befalls a jolly December day when a Christmas elf falls from the top floor of a department store to the icy pavement below. But why was he up there and not on his shift? And could it be related to a string of thefts from the store? In this short story, Alma Easter, the cake-loving old-lady detective, thinks she knows the answer.

A merry bit of Christmas shopping takes a more sinister turn when a man is found dead – stabbed to death with a candy cane. Who was the masked assailant who attacked him? And why did they choose a candy cane as a weapon? Luckily Alma Easter, the cake-loving old lady detective, is on hand to investigate.