There's nothing better than a hot cup of tea in the afternoon. Nothing, that is, except a hot cup of tea and a scone topped with jam and clotted cream. Despite the calories, it's the perfect snack to enjoy as you bury your nose in a good book. If you're looking for something to read while your tea is steeping, you'll find 25 stories in the drawer of the blue china cabinet.
The Agreement - (February 2022) A divorced man looking for love on an online dating site does not read the terms and conditions before submitting his profile and lives to regret it. Boo Hag - (August 2021) A Harvard law professor visits her family in Charleston and fears that she has fallen victim to what the Gullah people called a boo hag. Bread and Circuses - (August 2021) A NASCAR driver meets a strange man who offers him a drink that sends him back to the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome. By Any Other Name - (February 2022) An elderly woman is upset when she learns the author of her favorite mysteries does not actually exist. Canterbury Tails: Baroness - (September 2021) A morbidly obese host of a televised food show must face the inevitable consequences of his past actions. |
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Disposal Inc. - (January 2022) Two detectives in need of extra money decide to start a side business: disposing of dead bodies for a price. Eye of the Hurricane - (October 2021) During a hurricane, a mysterious girl suddenly appears on a private island owned by a rock star who is seeking privacy. Fashion Trend - (September 2021) A fashion designer saves her failing business by designing one-of-a-kind gowns for the dead. The Fetch - (January 2022) A teacher spending summer vacation at home in Boston thinks she sees an old friend who dies just two days later. The Funhouse - (September 2021) While filming on location in an amusement park funhouse, a set designer finds the corpse of a long-dead western outlaw. |
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Holiday at Mayfair - (December 2021) A little girl from a former coal mining town is invited to a Christmas party at the grand home known as Mayfair where she is enchanted by a live performance of The Nutcracker. In the Blood - (September 2021) A girl travels to L.A. where she learns about a murderer with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Last Place on Earth - (July 2021) The murdered body of a little girl is found in a small town that had never experienced a homicide before. Mismatched - (November 2021) An intellectual novelist marries Hollywood's hottest actress but soon becomes disillusioned with the mismatched union. Moving Pictures - (March 2022) After the end of the Civil War, a photographer pursues his dream of making moving pictures. |
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A New Man - (January 2022) A controversial talk radio host takes a tonic, goes to sleep and finds himself in Abraham Lincoln's body. Ninth Step - (February 2022) A recovering alcoholic must confront the people he hurt and try to make amends. When a well-known comic actor tries to apologize to those he injured, he faces terrible consequences. Sinner - (August 2021) When a group of archeologists unearth skeletons at a medieval priory, the team members begin to disappear. Sister Wife Inc. - (July 2021) A working woman with three children agrees to a polygamous marriage with a sister wife to lighten the load. Sphenisciphobia - (December 2021) As the village of Puritan Falls prepares for a Dickens Festival, a visitor from France goes into a catatonic-like state and one of the village's beloved residents has to deal with bad news. |
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The Thunderbolt - (October 2021) A man diagnosed with cancer takes his family to Coney Island where he sees a mysterious girl inside an old-fashioned mutoscope. An Unexpected Gift - (July 2021) For her seventeenth birthday, a girl receives a music box that can predict the future. Vassalage - (December 2021) In the year 2066, a virtual assistant called Norman not only replaces Siri and Alexa, but soon reshapes the world. Weird Sisters - (August 2021) Unable to write gothic tales like his gifted sisters, a vicar's son finds his true talent in painting. But he becomes obsessed with depicting the graves in the churchyard. Whirligigs - (November 2021) A billionaire CEO retires to a small village in Vermont where he takes up making whirligigs in his woodshop, much to his wife's dismay. |
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