Antagonizing Antiques

On Valentine's Day, Winifred Page-Lopez escapes the gossip and town drama to retreat into the mystery room of the Cozy Corgi Bookshop and Bakery, with a crackling fire, a favorite romance, and her corgi, Watson-one-part love, one-part curmudgeon-snuggled beside her.

But how can Fred ignore past hurts and betrayals when the players from her old life are setting up shop in Estes Park, turning Elkhorn Avenue into a chessboard? Plenty of dirty chais and Katie's scrumptious pop tarts, along with Leo's love and Watson's snores, bring some comfort.

The pink-and-red heart decorations are barely down in the Cozy Corgi, when a local socialite's murder pulls Fred from her hibernation. The clock is running, and a trail of clues and misdirection reveal secrets new and old. To solve this murder, Fred must outwit an enemy and uncover a new betrayal. What she learns along the way could shake her world, or steady it.

Secrets don't age, and the past-with all its joys, sorrows, guilt, and grudges-can be crushing in its truths... or freeing.

(This culinary cozy mystery includes a recipe for romantic strawberry pop tarts.)