Joy Ann Ribar

Francine “Frankie” Champagne is the 40-something owner of Bubble and Bake, bakery by day and wine lounge by night in the tourist haven of Deep Lakes, a small central Wisconsin town in Whitman County. After a fire destroyed Frankie’s home five years ago, Frankie left the law firm where she worked as a paralegal to begin anew, pursuing her passion for baking and wine tasting.  Partnering with long-time friend Carmen Martinez, who also manages a sheep farm with her husband, Frankie’s fiery spirit and Carmen’s practical nature combine perfectly for success.

The peacefulness of a Deep Lakes winter is upended when a local pastor is found dead inside his fishing shanty on frozen Lake Loki.  Frankie sticks her curious nose into the investigation, despite warnings from the local police chief to leave it alone.  But Frankie has something to prove, maybe to the local newspaper editor who wouldn’t hire her as a reporter, maybe to herself as she juggles multiple identities:  mother, daughter, business owner, vintner, baker, writer.  Frankie’s fierce independence won’t allow her to back down, so she pursues the clues she finds on the pastor’s desk and in the fishing shanty, while the two sides of her dueling conscience meddle with her decisions. Scraping away layer after layer of information, Frankie discovers the chilling deception that led to the pastor’s icing on the lake.

Grab your favorite vintage, pastry or both, and settle in for a cozy helping of whodunnit with a new friend, Frankie Champagne.

Book 2 of the Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery series. Out Now!

The promise of Spring in Deep Lakes, Wisconsin brings the community out of hibernation to plan the annual Roots Festival. Bubble and Bake owner Frankie Champagne just wants to help the Granite Mansion quarry heiress plan the keynote presentation. So, why does she find herself in the middle of the legendary and deadly Quarry Curse?

Summer in Deep Lakes sprouts a homegrown murder on the O’Connor farm. Frankie Champagne’s hunt for clues lands her deep in sheep doo doo, especially after rare stones surface in unexpected places. Crime-solving is no picnic for the baker/vintner as she hops from farm to field to bakery, trying to keep up with the tourist season and track a killer, too.

A frazzled Frankie is wrangling the Bubble & Bake tourist season and grape harvesting at her vineyard, so what’s a woman to do when a dead bird expert floats to the surface of Blackbird Pond? Since the victim is a beloved cousin of Frankie’s employees, she swoops in to investigate. Can the Bubble & Bake crew find the killer before the dirty bird  flies the coop?

Before Frankie Champagne encountered Deep Dark Secrets, her main concerns were baking tasty pastries and producing flavorful wines—along with charming her mother, of course. But with the town Christmas season in jeopardy, Frankie steps up to save the day, as only someone who doesn’t believe in the word impossible can do. Frankie summons her female superpowers and, with a little mysterious intervention, she might even overcome her Christmas blues in the process.