Author: Ruth Baker
Genre: Mystery
Digital Book
ASIN #: 978B09D7VCTQ5
CleanTales Publishing
77 Pages
$.99 Amazon
September 30, 2021
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Discover how Lucy Hale navigates her way through a rollercoaster of emotions as she tries to resolve a murder mystery that has her as the prime suspect. She thought running a bakery would be a piece of cake. But she's in for a mighty shock as her fiercest competitor is found dead...in her backyard!
Will she acquit herself in the court of public opinion or become the killer's next victim?
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Lucy Hale returned home to Ivy Creek when her parents were killed suddenly. She's decided to stay for awhile and run their bakery, but doesn't really know for how long. She's taken aback when a man approaches her and tells her that he owns a rival bakery and her parents were in the middle of selling their bakery to him, and that she should just complete the sale and leave. Lucy knows they'd never do that, and tells him so.
But he continues to hound her, and she has a verbal argument with him in her bakery, and the next morning she finds him dead in her backyard. Now she has to figure out who's trying to frame her, because one of the deputies is her old boyfriend, and he's being aloof and won't tell her anything. With the help of her aunt, Tricia, Lucy sets out to find the real murderer...if it doesn't get her killed, too...
I'm always up for giving new authors a chance, and I do think that Ms. Baker has promise. Her writing is very good, and she knows how to tell a story. Normally I don't like to read books that are "short," because they don't give us much background and I really would have liked to have had more on the lead characters. However, I realize that in a book this length, you can only fill in so much.
Saying that, I did like the fact that Lucy didn't come home broke, or from a bad relationship, or having been fired from her job. These are all trite plot lines, and sometimes they don't work well. (After all, if they're broke, what did they do with their money? Blow it all?). So I did enjoy that she was still employed and obviously has a little money, anyway.
The mystery itself was very good, with Lucy not knowing whom to turn to since the town wasn't very forgiving of her; and she depends on her aunt for support, and Tricia is with her all the way. There's a good bond there, and I enjoyed it. I also love cats, so Gigi was nice, but I'd like to see more of her in the next book.
I did have questions, and I hope that they will be answered in the next book: How did Lucy's parents die? What happened between her and Taylor? Who was taking care of Gigi before Lucy got there? Did they just leave the poor thing to starve? Why were the townspeople so quick to convict her of murder? Is she really that disliked here, and if so, why?
Yes, I know I have peppered the review with questions, but it didn't take away my enjoyment of the book. When the ending comes it was played very nicely, and I will definitely read the next in the series. Recommended.
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