Beignets and Broomsticks: A Maggie Miller Mystery

In Ripley’s lightweight third Maggie Miller mystery (after 2016’s Beignets, Brides and Bodies), Maggie, the owner of Maggie’s Beignet Café in Table Rock, Ariz., decides to deliver the last of the pumpkin spice beignets from her store’s Halloween party to regular customer Nancy Alverson. At the woman’s apartment, Maggie finds Nancy strangled with a cashmere scarf, which she recognizes as belonging to stylish lawyer Veronica Vargas. Maggie doesn’t have to work too hard as a sleuth: a mysterious package with a significant clue arrives in her mailbox, an unlikely request from Det. Mark Highsmith allows her to question Veronica, and her discovery of the villain is due purely to chance. Maggie’s stream-of-consciousness narrative is filled with digressions, few of which have anything to do with the mystery and sometimes seem like nothing more than padding. Still, her dotty internal monologues will amuse many cozy fans. Agent: Priya Doraswamy, Lotus Lane Literary Agency. (Mar.)