Harrowing Hats — Joyce Lavene; Jim Lavene

Hail ye, hail ye, and welcome to the Renaissance Village. Here, assistant professor Jessie Morton spends her summers honing her skills and finding the lady, lord, or serf whodunit. When the village chocolatier is murdered, Jessie finds herself in a very sticky situation indeed.

DARK, BITTER, UNSWEETENED...DEATH

Life in the Renaissance Faire Village is pretty sweet for Jessie Morton -- until one of the Three Chocolatiers is found drowned in a vat of chocolate in his shop. When a hat pin is discovered sticking out of the dead man's eye, it seems someone is trying to pin the murder on hatmaker Andre Hariot.

But Andre is just one name on a long list of knaves, knights, and wenches. The dearly departed and double-dipped chocolatier, Cesar Rizzo, made many enemies in the Village due to his reckless romancing. As Andre's apprentice, Jessie feels a special obligation to clear his good name. Although they can't bring Cesar back, bringing swift justice to someone who messes with chocolate would at least be...semisweet.