Summary
Book 7 in the Bakeshop Mystery series. Jules, her mom and the Professor are back from their cruise. The renovations at Torte are in full swing. And the new season of The Shakespeare Festival is kicking off with Antony and Cleopatra. Unfortunately, the star has become a problem. His ego is out of control. He even refuses to use his real name and insists on being called “Antony.” Lance, the artistic director, is convinced “Antony” is causing trouble for him with the Board of Directors, too. It’s made Lance a man on the edge.
When Lance stumbles across Antony’s dead body, the evidence says Antony finally pushed Lance over that edge to murder. Juliet knows Lance would never do that. He might be a drama king, but he would never kill someone. The Professor recuses himself from working the case because of his friendship with Lance. The detective who gets the case is by-the-book and has no feel for the town or people of Ashland. Juliet is going to have to start sleuthing again if Lance is going to have a chance to enjoy the new season at the theater.
Review
Jules and the gang at Torte are some of my favorite characters in fiction. It’s so easy to fall back into a rhythm with them every time I read a new book in the series. The dynamics between the characters are fun, and the renovations at Torte have the potential to set up some great stories in the future.
The mystery in this one didn’t click for me. Lance felt like the most logical suspect all the way through the book. I never got a good sense of other suspects with strong motives. The solution was almost as big a surprise to Jules as it was to me.
The characters are so delightful (well, Lance started to get on my nerves) that it offset my disappointment with the mystery. There are some fun tidbits and possible hints of things to come in future books. The very end was especially fun. I’m looking forward to seeing how those pieces play out in the next book. Till Death Do Us Tart releases in August of 2018; the cover is gorgeous!
Thanks to the author, Ellie Alexander, for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book to review. I won it on a social media contest she hosted.