Below is the complete list of Catherine Bruns books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Cookies & Chance Mysteries Books
- Tastes Like Murder (2015)
Tastes Like Murder was published in 2015 and is listed as book #1 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Baked to Death (2016)
Published in 2016, Baked to Death is listed as book #2 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Burned to a Crisp (2016)
Burned to a Crisp is a 2016 release and appears as book #3 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Frosted with Revenge (2017)
In the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series, Frosted with Revenge is book #4 and was published in 2017. - Silenced by Sugar (2018)
Silenced by Sugar was first published in 2018; within the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series, it is listed as book #5. - Crumbled to Pieces (2018)
Crumbled to Pieces was published in 2018 and is listed as book #6 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Sprinkled in Malice (2019)
Published in 2019, Sprinkled in Malice is listed as book #7 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Ginger Snapped to Death (2019)
Ginger Snapped to Death is a 2019 release and appears as book #8 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Icing on the Casket (2020)
In the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series, Icing on the Casket is book #9 and was published in 2020. - Knee Deep in Dough (2021)
Knee Deep in Dough was first published in 2021; within the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series, it is listed as book #10. - Dessert is the Bomb (2021)
Dessert is the Bomb was published in 2021 and is listed as book #11 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Seasoned with Murder (2022)
Published in 2022, Seasoned with Murder is listed as book #12 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Formals, Fortune Cookies & Fraud (2022)
Formals, Fortune Cookies & Fraud is a 2022 release and appears as book #13 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Cookies, Chamomile, and Corpses (2023)
In the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series, Cookies, Chamomile, and Corpses is book #14 and was published in 2023. - Bake, Batter, and Roll (2023)
Bake, Batter, and Roll was first published in 2023; within the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series, it is listed as book #15. - Crimes and Confections (2024)
Crimes and Confections was published in 2024 and is listed as book #16 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Planes, Candy Canes, and Hearses (2024)
Published in 2024, Planes, Candy Canes, and Hearses is listed as book #17 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series. - Death Whisk (2025)
Death Whisk is a 2025 release and appears as book #18 in the Cookies & Chance Mysteries series.
Publication Order of Cindy York Books
- Killer Transaction (2015)
Killer Transaction was published in 2015 and is listed as book #1 in the Cindy York series. - Priced to Kill (2016)
Published in 2016, Priced to Kill is listed as book #2 in the Cindy York series. - For Sale By Killer (2018)
For Sale By Killer is a 2018 release and appears as book #3 in the Cindy York series. - Killer View (2022)
In the Cindy York series, Killer View is book #4 and was published in 2022. - With Option to Kill (2023)
With Option to Kill was first published in 2023; within the Cindy York series, it is listed as book #5. - A Killer Market (2023)
A Killer Market was published in 2023 and is listed as book #6 in the Cindy York series. - Killer Under Contract (2024)
Published in 2024, Killer Under Contract is listed as book #7 in the Cindy York series. - Killer Commission (2025)
Killer Commission is a 2025 release and appears as book #8 in the Cindy York series. - A Christmas Killing In Deed (2026)
In the Cindy York series, A Christmas Killing In Deed is book #9 and was published in 2026.
Publication Order of Italian Chef Mysteries Books
- Penne Dreadful (2019)
Penne Dreadful was published in 2019 and is listed as book #1 in the Italian Chef Mysteries series. - It Cannoli Be Murder (2020)
Published in 2020, It Cannoli Be Murder is listed as book #2 in the Italian Chef Mysteries series. - The Enemy You Gnocchi (2021)
The Enemy You Gnocchi is a 2021 release and appears as book #3 in the Italian Chef Mysteries series.
Publication Order of Maple Syrup Mysteries Books
- A Doomful of Sugar (2022)
A Doomful of Sugar was published in 2022 and is listed as book #1 in the Maple Syrup Mysteries series. - Syrup to No Good (2023)
Published in 2023, Syrup to No Good is listed as book #2 in the Maple Syrup Mysteries series. - In the Blink of a Pie (2024)
In the Blink of a Pie is a 2024 release and appears as book #3 in the Maple Syrup Mysteries series.
Publication Order of Aloha Lagoon Mysteries Books
- Death of the Big Kahuna (2017)
Death of the Big Kahuna was published in 2017 and is listed as book #1 in the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries series. - Death of the Kona Man (2017)
Published in 2017, Death of the Kona Man is listed as book #2 in the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries series. - Death of the Hula Girl (2025)
Death of the Hula Girl is a 2025 release and appears as book #3 in the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries series.
High Heels Mysteries Books
with Gemma Halliday, Kelly Rey
- Jeopardy in High Heels (2020)
(With Gemma Halliday)
Jeopardy in High Heels was published in 2020 and is listed as book #1 in the High Heels Mysteries Bookswith Gemma Halliday, Kelly Rey series.
About Catherine Bruns
Catherine Bruns is a contemporary cozy mystery writer whose bibliography is best understood through series rather than through one single dominant detective. She writes in a cheerful but murder-forward commercial mystery mode, and her official site presents that identity very clearly: she is a USA Today bestselling author with multiple recurring lines, including the Cookies & Chance Mysteries, Cindy York Mysteries, Aloha Lagoon books, Italian Chef Mysteries, Maple Syrup Mysteries, and a coauthored High Heels title with Gemma Halliday. That range matters because Bruns is not simply the author of one successful cozy concept. She has built a broader mystery shelf out of several different small-town, food-centered, and profession-driven setups.
Her official biography gives a useful sense of both background and tone. Bruns lives in Upstate New York with her husband, three sons, and a house full of pets, and she says she has wanted to be a writer since childhood, when she wrote her own version of Cinderella. She holds a B.A. in English and is affiliated with both Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Those details fit the overall feel of her work: approachable, genre-conscious, and written by someone clearly rooted in the mystery community rather than accidentally adjacent to it.
The clear center of gravity in her bibliography is the Cookies & Chance series. Her own site foregrounds it first, and outside listings consistently identify it as her signature line. That makes sense. A baker-centered cozy series is an ideal home for the things Bruns seems to enjoy most as a writer: community, recurring side characters, food detail, light humor, and murder plots designed to be brisk and inviting rather than bleak. The scale of the series also shows how central it has become. Public series listings and retailer pages now place it at fifteen books, with Death Whisk as the current fifteenth entry.
At the same time, her bibliography shows a writer who likes to vary the surrounding world even while staying inside the cozy lane. The Cindy York books shift to a real-estate angle, the Italian Chef series leans into culinary mystery from another direction, and the Maple Syrup Mysteries add a regional, seasonal identity of their own. Her site also lists her contributions to the Aloha Lagoon multi-author universe, which is another sign that she works comfortably inside shared cozy frameworks as well as her own named series. The through-line is not one protagonist or one town. It is a consistent mystery sensibility: warm setting, amateur or semi-amateur sleuthing energy, and crime made readable through charm rather than grit.
There are also some useful clues in how her work is received. Public author pages describe her as both bestselling and award winning, and Goodreads-style bio material notes that For Sale by Killer won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense. That combination is telling. Bruns writes cozies first and foremost, but her work is not framed as disposable novelty. It has built a real readership and has picked up genre recognition along the way.
The best way to understand Catherine Bruns’s bibliography, then, is as the work of a cozy mystery writer who has expanded successfully by building several cleanly branded series rather than relying on one giant franchise. Her books promise familiar pleasures—food, community, recurring characters, small-scale suspense, and a light touch around death—and her shelf shows how effectively she has delivered those pleasures across multiple settings. She is not trying to reinvent the mystery genre. She is doing something more specific and commercially durable: making murder fun, approachable, and repeatable in worlds readers are happy to revisit.