Tag: bakery mystery

REVIEW: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

REVIEW: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Maddy’s always been a bit pampered and spoiled. But being stood up at the altar has left her feeling determined to build a life she can be proud of, and to stand on her own two feet. And her late great-aunt Octavia gives her a head start.

Octavia left Maddy a house, a bakery, and a dog in her will. Maddy has to stay in Michigan and run the business for a year before she can take full possession. And no matter how many times her father, the Admiral, tells her she can’t do it and should just give up and return home, Maddy wants to make it work.

When someone is murdered in the bakery, Maddy teams up with Octavia’s friends – the Baker Street Irregulars – to find a killer.

Review

This was delightful! I loved the whole cast of characters. These are people I would want as friends. The baked goods at Baby Cakes sound divine. The “voice” for the book is fantastic. The relationship between Maddy and her dad adds a fascinating layer to the story. (I can’t wait for a book where he comes to town!) This is the sort of set up – the community and the characters – that will put a new series on my must-buy list.

The book ended abruptly with a few questions still unanswered. While jarring, my assumption is that those will be picked up in the next book. The mystery here was good, and I’m eager to test my guesses on those remaining threads. I will absolutely be picking up the next book, both to see how things play out, and also to spend more time with these characters.

My only complaint was the use of the expression “deaf, dumb, and blind” twice in my review copy. That phrase has been out of fashion for decades since society determined that using “dumb” for mute was inappropriate.  Hopefully that will be addressed in final edits.

Mystery fans who love endearing animal characters, recipes, and mouth-watering descriptions of baked good in their cozy mysteries should snap this up right away!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read

REVIEW: Till Death Do Us Tart by Ellie Alexander

REVIEW: Till Death Do Us Tart by Ellie Alexander

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

It’s wedding time in Ashland, Oregon. When Juliet’s mom and the Professor were struggling to find a venue for the wedding, Juliet and the crew at Torte and most of the town decided to throw a surprise wedding at Uva, the vineyard in which Juliet and her estranged husband, Carlos, had invested.

Speaking of Carlos, he’s coming to town for the wedding and bringing his son, Ramiro, along. Carlos’ secrets about the boy were what caused the rift in his marriage to Juliet. Meeting Ramiro will be the first step in trying to repair their relationship.

And if a secret wedding and a new step-son weren’t enough for Juliet to juggle, she is also right in the middle of renovations at her bake shop, Torte. Juliet has her hands full.

Then her friend Lance drops his bombshell. He thinks his brother might be plotting to kill their father to finagle getting all of his money. Lance wants Juliet to help him keep an eye on his brother and his cronies. When Lance’s father dies, their investigation becomes a hunt for a killer.

Review

Book eight in the Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. As a mystery, this was a bit disappointing for me. I felt like the mystery was only maybe a third of the book. There was a lot of time devoted to the other things going on in Ashland and between the various characters. Thankfully, I really enjoyed those other story elements so this was still an enjoyable read for me.

I love Juliet and the crew at Torte. The relationships, interplay, and growth of the store are part of what I love about this series. The food descriptions always leave me hungry. I’d love to visit a shop like Torte.

If I was looking for an intricate murder mystery to dig into, this would have fallen flat for me. The first part was mostly supposition and theories. The second part was when the traditional mystery really kicked in and that was about halfway through the book. The fact that I care about the characters and the relationships in this series redeemed the reading experience for me. But someone with less connection to the characters might be disappointed with this one. I love when an author does a great job of balancing character development with a strong, central mystery. This did not fit that description for me.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: A Crime of Passion Fruit by Ellie Alexander

REVIEW: A Crime of Passion Fruit by Ellie Alexander

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

The cruise ship Amour of the Seas is in desperate need of a temporary pastry chef to get them through until their new hire can arrive. Carlos, back on the ship after his time in Ashland, asks Juliet to step in. The cruise offers her double pay, and Carlos arranges for her mom and the Professor to join the cruise for free. Four glorious days at sea. What could go wrong?

Being back on the ship helps Juliet gain new insights into her marriage, her cooking and her dreams for the future. It also puts her in place to discover a dead body. Even through she’s been away for awhile, Juliet’s knowledge of the ship and crew could help the captain and the Professor figure out who the dead woman is and what happened to her. While Juliet is hunting for a murderer and trying to survive a storm at sea, her friends in Ashland are trying to keep things going at Torte in the midst of a quarrelsome neighbor, a shake up with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival leadership, and major renovations at Torte. There’s never a dull moment in the latest addition to the Bakeshop mystery series.

Review

I really enjoyed this new addition to one of my favorite cozy series. While I missed the usual Torte crew, I liked the change of setting for this book. It added to the ongoing story line of Juliet and Carlos while also shaking up the food, the characters, and the location of the action. And it was all great.

I thoroughly enjoy the core characters of this series. There’s great camaraderie at Torte. And a great balance between the ongoing relationships in Ashland and the new details in each book for the mystery at hand. Good mystery in this one. With an unknown victim (“Jane Dough”), the motive and suspect portions didn’t evolve until later in the book once we knew more about the victim.

Personally, I am “Team Tommy,” and ready for Juliet and Carlos to sort out their relationship. I am looking forward to Another One Bites the Crust (winter 2017/2018) to see what happens next with the Ashland crew and see if the author will finally resolve the Carlos situation.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: A Sheetcake Named Desire by Jacklyn Brady

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

A bakery mystery. Rita goes to New Orleans for the express purpose of getting her estranged husband, Philippe, to sign their divorce papers. He’d been stalling long enough. But she shows up in the middle of a disaster at his bakery, Zydeco Cakes. After a season of sabotage and conflict, a major cake is ruined just before delivery, one of the employees is knocked out, and Philippe is found dead. Now, instead of being an ex-wife, Rita is a widow. And a murder suspect.

Review

For me, this was a good mystery but not a great story. The setting of the bakery was interesting, the characters were well defined (and there were a lot of them), and the mystery kept me guessing all the way to the end. My theory was all wrong. And I like when a mystery keeps me guessing almost as much as I like when I can puzzle out the solution on my own!

I just didn’t click with the story in a way that made me want to drop everything and keep reading. I didn’t love the characters. And characters often make or break a book for me. Many of the characters in this one were abrasive in their own quirky ways, maybe as part of their “artistic” personalities.

The writing is good. I would definitely read more from this author. I’m just not sure I clicked enough with the characters to dive into another in this particular series. Other readers might enjoy these characters even if  they weren’t a good fit for me. If you are a mystery fan, and the premise of this one sounds interesting, give it a try and see what you think!

Rating: ♥♥♥ ½