The Vangie Vale Mysteries Series

One part Vicar of Dibley, one part amateur sleuth who loves pastries, set in the mountains of Montana where no one's business is her own…   Between the police scanners, the coffee ladies, and the senior center, no secret is safe for long. But Vangie Vale wants nothing more than to stay under the radar...especially the police radar. So when her new business is linked to a murder investigation, nothing will stop the gossip mill from connecting her to the dead body. Can't have that. In order to clear her good name and keep her face off the front page, this part-time-baker-part-time-pastor becomes extra nosy...with a little side of breaking-and-entering. But when she comes face-to-face with the Sheriff, Vangie can't ignore the fact that one of her macarons was involved in a murder. She has to find the real murderer. Penance on the Prairies is the first book in the Vangie Vale Mysteries--a western-set female sleuth mystery. It used to be called "Vangie Vale and the Murdered Macaron." (This is the second edition.)   RECIPE INCLUDED: The Murdered Macaron   "I loved Vangie Vale and the Murdered Macaron. Vangie's wry wit and people skills make her the ideal amateur sleuth. And then there are the macarons...yum! R.L. Syme is a fresh voice in the cozy mystery genre. I can't wait to see what she and Vangie get up to next." - Zara Keane, USA Today bestselling author of the Movie Club Mysteries   "An intricate web of lies and deceit, with so many twists and turns that she had me guessing until the very end. Usually, I can figure out whodunit pretty dadgum quickly, so if Ms. Syme can keep me guessing, then it's definitely a well-written mystery!" - Teresa Watson, author of the Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries   "A new to me author and a book that will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can to see what happens." - Texas Book-aholic blog   "What I wouldn't give to be in this story. It was fun, imaginative and full of yummy treats." - Babs Book Bistro   "I can't wait to discover more characters and more delicacies from Vangie!" - Bibliophile Reviews   "It might have been the book cover that drew me in. But it was the story and plot that kept me and lured me all the way to the end." - Varietats blog   "Vangie Vale is not your typical character in a cozy book. She is one complex woman in a small town in the beautiful setting of Montana." - My Reading Journeys blog   "This series is off to a tasty start." - Dolycas Review blog

Just when Vangie Vale's life was getting back to normal...   ...after a murder that rocked her little Rocky Mountain tourist town, she found herself in the middle of another murder... as the chief suspect.   Vangie stood shocked on the side of the curb as the sheriff stretched yellow crime scene tape around the front of her new bakery. Wouldn't this make a lovely headline in next week's paper: Local Baker Kills Parishioner With Pudding. Vangie's road back to good graces as a part-time pastor was bumpy enough already. This would be a road block. Can't have that.   Don't miss a moment of Vangie's new adventure.   SECOND EDITION: This book was first released as Vangie Vale and the Strangled Strudel   RECIPE INCLUDED: THE STRANGLED STRUDEL   "R.L. Syme is a fresh voice in the cozy mystery genre." - Zara Keane, USA Today bestselling author of the Movie Club Mysteries series

Mystery, murder, missing people, and Bunco. Who could ask for anything more? When Vangie brings a few fancy custard tarts to her Bunco group, she's hoping to impress the guest of honor with her pastry skills. But when the guest of honor never shows up and her body is discovered, everyone at the Bunco group is a murder suspect. Wrong place at the wrong time. Vangie Vale finds herself in another predicament trying to solve a murder in a neighboring small town before her mugshot shows up in the local anonymous gossip blog. And just when she hoped her Sherlocking days were done. No rest for the wicked…or the clergy.   Pick up your second book in The Vangie Vale Mysteries today! You'll never guess whodunit. "R.L. Syme is a fresh voice in the cozy mystery genre."  - Zara Keane, USA Today bestselling author of the Movie Club Mysteries series Corpse in the Coulee used to be titled Vangie Vale and the Corpseless Custard. This is the second version of this book. RECIPE INCLUDED: The Corpseless Custard

I never thought Edward would come back...    When the court case against my ex was finished, I thought we were finished, too. But it turns out, it was only the beginning. Things are starting to fall apart in Saint Agnes and right in the middle of it is another body. Who would have known? SECOND EDITION: This book was first released as Vangie Vale and the Larcenous Lava Cake   RECIPE INCLUDED: The Larcenous Lava Cake

Just when you think you're turning over a new leaf... surprise! It's the old leaf.   Yeah, I can't help myself. Even when I'm on vacation in the Outer Banks, if there's even a sniff of a crime... even the whiff of a murder... I can't help but get drawn into it.    In another life, I should have been a cop.   Instead, I'm gonna follow this tattooed guy with a gun all the way down this beachy road because he said something weird in the bakery once. Yeah, it's like I'll never learn...   SECOND EDITION: This book was first released as Vangie Vale and the Dismembered Donut   (RECIPE INCLUDED: The Dismembered Donut!)

Even in the great white North, Vangie gonna Vangie. She just cannot keep herself out of trouble, no matter where she goes. And when an old nemesis shows up and surprises her on her vacation, she can't help but investigate. This was originally written as a novella for the Passport to Murder anthology in Summer of 2021, but it's on its own now, and we hope you enjoy!

A little bit Jessica Fletcher, a little bit Vicar of Dibley… The Vangie Vale Mysteries is a cozy mystery series set in St. Agnes, MT–a mountain town on the edge of a national park. Vangie is one part pastor, one part baker, and a lot of hijinks ensue because of it. If you enjoy complex cozy mysteries (each book is 300+ pages), more in the vein of a Murder, She Wrote episode, then you'll probably enjoy Vangie. Or at least… what could it hurt to take a look at the first page and see? This volume contains Books 1-3 of the Vangie Vale Mysteries series by RL Syme.

If the Vicar of Dibley and Cupcake Wars had a baby, it would be Vangie Vale. St. Agnes, MT is back and Vangie is at it again! Just when she'd promised to turn over a new leaf of keeping her nose out of people's business… it's the same leaf. Here we are all over again. If you enjoy complex cozy mysteries, more in the vein of a Murder, She Wrote episode, then you'll probably enjoy Vangie. Or at least… what could it hurt to take a look at the first page and see? This volume contains Books 4-5 of the Vangie Vale Mysteries series by RL Syme, plus book 6 which was formerly only released in the Passport to Murder anthology, where Vangie goes to Canada!