Lee Mondello has long worn many hats while working for Salem, Massachusetts’ WICH-TV public broadcasting station, but the latest role offered to her may be the most prestigious one yet. With the opening of the Salem International Museum, her boss wants her to produce and host a brand new documentary series chronicling the museum’s very first traveling exhibit, Seafaring New England. Salem will be the first stop for the show, which will feature treasures loaned from all over the world, including from their city’s own long-established families. 

Covering the exhibit will allow Lee to add “historical documentary executive director” to her resume as well as give her a sneak peek into the behind the scenes work that goes into putting on the glamorous affair. While she’s never tackled anything quite this ambitious before, she’s definitely up for the challenge–with a little help from her beloved family and colleagues.

Alas, their preparations are marred by the unexplained shooting death of an armored-truck driver transporting artifacts for the exhibit. All the artifacts are accounted for, and the driver’s wallet is undisturbed, so it doesn’t look like robbery was the motive for his murder. His gun, however, is missing from the scene. 

While Lee’s new husband, Detective Pete Mondello, works the case, she tries to concentrate on the documentary assignment. She’s quickly swept up in the excitement over the newly renovated space as the museum gradually fills with displays both gorgeous and historic. But when a ship model with a tragic backstory gives rise to rumors of hauntings–and other valuable pieces begin to disappear and reappear–Lee will have to rely on all her skills, professional and paranormal, to get to the bottom of these mysteries.

The 13th installment of the Witch City Mystery series brings plenty of developments, both spooky and otherwise, for our heroine and her friends and family. Even as Lee is springboarding into her future, her beloved Aunt Ibby suffers an unexpected setback, while her new neighbor, Mike Martell, makes plans that will have repercussions for them all. The mystery is also multi-layered, with the question of why the poor armored-truck driver was murdered proving as baffling as who might have wanted to kill him.

There were three recipes included here. Since I’ve had my fill of delicious savory goods through the holidays, I decided to try out this one:

Aunt Ibby’s Lemon Bar Pie

Ingredients

1 store-bought 8- or 9-inch graham cracker (or gingersnap) piecrust

1 medium lemon (Aunt Ibby prefers Meyer lemons)

1 ½ cup sugar

⅓ cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Pinch of salt

4 large fresh eggs

Powdered sugar sifted for the topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the lemon into four wedges, then cut each one across and remove all the seeds. Put all the ingredients except the crust and the powdered sugar into a good blender and process just until smooth.

Pour this creamed mixture into the crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.Place on wire rack. This pie sets as it cools. When it’s cool, dust it with the powdered sugar just like lemon bars.

I love how easy this is to make, though I do recommend blending the mixture for a bit longer than you might think or ensuring you get a lemon with a tender peel. Due to some confusion with my extended family, I wound up having to use a slightly older lemon in this recipe, rendering the bits of peel in the finished dessert a little tougher to chew than I’d prefer. My mother, on the other hand, absolutely loved the bits of chewy peel, so follow the instructions here as written if that sounds preferable.

I also think the pie might have used a little extra time in the oven–not too much but perhaps five or so more minutes to make sure the center sets a little more firmly. And while Aunt Ibby might recommend serving this as quickly as possible, I’ve found that it actually keeps quite well in the refrigerator for a few days if you wish to prolong the lemony magic.

Next week, a strange dog leads us right into the heart of a murder mystery, as we bake up delicious treats for humans. Do join me!

See also: Cooking the Books: Christmas Mittens Murder by Lee Hollis, Lynn Cahoon & Maddie Day