Author: Ruth Baker
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book (Hardcover Also Available)
ISBN #: 9798840246047
Clean Tales Publishing
168 Pages
$9.99; $2.99 ($14.99) Amazon
July 12, 2022
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When Lucy's asked to provide the treats at the book launch for a popular author, she's excited about the opportunity to be in the presence of this author who might just give her tips on becoming an author herself.
Things take a drastic turn for the worse when this popular author goes missing at her book launch...and is eventually found stone-cold dead. It seems this tragedy was caused by an allergic reaction...or was it?
As Lucy begins to under the relationships this author had with several people in her life, she realizes that many people had a lot to gain by her demise. Lucy feels her life is in danger as she pokes further into the affairs of the people closest to this author.
Will she discover a sinister plot motivated by greed, revenge and jealousy? Or become the next victim of a killer who's not afraid to remove every stumbling block in their path?
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I have to first say that part of the blurb is wrong. Lucy has no interest in becoming a writer, but she does stay for Paula Perk's book signing because she wants her bakery items to be tasted, which perhaps will bring her more business.
When Lucy Hale is asked by Clara Davidson to provide the treats for the speaking engagement, she's happy because it will bring in a large amount of money, as well as business for her bakery. But while she is at the event, Paula goes to the bathroom and doesn't emerge. After deputy sheriff Taylor Baker breaks the door down, Paula is found on the floor, and it's apparent a bee sting killed her. But there was more than one bee in the bathroom, and how did it get there?
Even with Taylor admonishing her not to investigate, Lucy is determined to find out who killed the woman and why. Was it her apparently grieving husband? Her anxious manager? Or someone else in the crowd of people? She wasn't well-liked in Ivy Creek, and Lucy is going to find her killer...if the killer doesn't find Lucy first...
This is the sixth book in the series, and I have to say that they are getting better with each book. The characters are getting fleshed out, and we're seeing Lucy grow her business, along with her Aunt Tricia and her loyal employee Hannah. It's nice to see that she's not struggling, as many protagonists do in cozies.
I like her character, as she doesn't overtly accuse people of murder; but studies clues and tries to come to the best conclusions. In this book, she finds her clues in an unexpected place, and she never would have if it weren't for the inadvertent help of a new friend in town. The ending is done nicely, with the antagonist explaining the reasons why and full of rage, and it also gives us something to look forward to in the next book. Recommended.
I received a copy of this book from Clean Tales Publishing but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Ruth Baker's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ruth-baker/
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