Auntie M’s December reviews all feature books certain to please readers on your list, so get your pencils out for gift-giving ideas in the next week. First up is Maggie McConnon’s Bel, Book and Scandal.

The third in McConnon’s series featuring chef Bel McGrath brings closure to the mystery thread that appeared in the first two books revolving around her missing high school friend, Amy Mitchell. Being the last person to see Amy on the night she disappeared has led some people in Foster’s Landing to assume Bel knew what happened to Amy, but she never has known and has been more desparate than most to know the truth.

Back home and running the kitchen at Shamrock Manor, the wedding and event site her family own, Bel is trying to get on with her life. With one broken engagement behind her and a recently broken new relationship she had high hopes for, she’s sworn off men as the Christmas season approaches.

Then a photo in a newspaper left at the Manor catches her attention, and Bel is convinced Amy is in the photo. With concrete evidence, or so she thinks, that Amy survived that night, Bel heads to a former commune in upstate New York to find out just what really happened to her friend, uncovering long-held secrets along the way.

As her amateur investigation continues, she will uncover more than she wanted to know about several people living in the area, and put herself in more jeopardy than she’s bargained for.

One of the charms of this series is Bel’s large Irish family, and as the only female sibling, the band of brothers she endures. With slightly eccentric parents she keeps hoping she’ll please, Bel’s cooking skills have risen the Manor’s profile. The behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to please brides and their families adds to the humor that runs through this charming mystery series.

Add in Bel’s saucy asides to the reader, and her mouth-watering food descriptions, and you have a recipe for a fun read guaranteed to please any mystery reader on your list.