Cookies and Haunted Screams (A Yummy Bites Cozy Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Ava Zuma

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9798353790334; 9798353788362

Clean Tales Publishing

180 Pages

$17.99; $9.99; $2.99 Amazon

September 24, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐

When Jess is invited to cater for the grand opening of a new hotel in her small town, she's excited about the opportunity to amaze the guests with her yummy treats.

Her co-workers try to dampen her enthusiasm with talk of the hotel's building being haunted and harboring malevolent spirits.

It seems their worst fears are confirmed when the hotel's owner drops dead in questionable circumstances on the opening day.

Things go from bad to worse for Jess when her treats are taken for cross-examination by the local authorities.

But she knows her treats didn't kill the deceased.

But if they didn't, then who or what did?

Jess will have to overcome her personal fears and domestic distractions and focus her attention on finding a cunning killer.  Or else, her efforts to find the haunted house killer, if unsuccessful, might make her the hunted one with dire consequences.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Jess, along with her best friend and an employee run the best bakery in town.  Everyone knows it, and when a newcomer enters and wants all of the ginger cookies that she has, she's surprised when he later calls her and asks her to cater treats for the grand opening of his new hotel.  A supposedly haunted hotel that's been vacant and rundown.  So she's not only surprised he renovated it, but also that she's willing to say yes.

Things are running smoothly until later in the evening she hears a scream -- and when she goes to check it out, she finds that someone has just died.  Is the haunting real?  The police don't think so, but they take all that's left of her treats to test them for poison, just to be sure the man didn't ingest it from them.

With her freedom on the line, she's determined to find a killer -- and hope the killer doesn't find her first...

This is the first book in a new series, and I will say that it was indeed different to me, as I have not read anything by this author before.  However, it was an interesting book with a plot line that left Jess to go and discover what she could; her background as an ex-attorney helping her along the way.  When she questioned people, it was almost natural, and did not seem invasive at all, which I always find uncomfortable to read.

Jess is a powerful protagonist -- big-boned and six feet tall, and that would intimidate a lot of people (but not me; I have a six-foot tall daughter-in-law and my son is six-seven).  Still, I can understand first hand how it would feel to be a lot shorter around such a woman.  Fun indeed to read of.

The victim's son asks her for help in discovering who killed his father, and this segues into another story line that comes together with the first; it is delivered easily and seamlessly.  Not to mention that Jess has troubles at home with her own son, and even though it is a secondary subplot, some of the readers can sympathize with her.

In the end, after all her questioning, she begins to put things together which almost become a fatal reaction for Jess, but of course we know it won't be or the series will end as soon as it is begun!  It all begins to make sense, and we discover if the hotel is haunted and who the killer really is.  I enjoyed this quite a bit and will read the next in the series.  Recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from Clean Tales Publishing and the author but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BB8PCZBB?tag=amberstone81-20

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5006436515

More on Ava Zuma's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/z/ava-zuma/

Murder Spills The Tea (Tea by the Sea Mysteries Book 3)

Author:    Vicki Delany

Genre:     Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496737694

Kensington Cozies

304 Pages

$23.99; $9.06 Amazon

July 26, 2022

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The country's hottest TV cooking show is coming to Cape Cod.  And against her better judgment, Lily Roberts is entering America Bakes! with her charming tearoom, Tea by the Sea!  Filming is already proving disruptive, closing the tearoom during Lily's busiest season.  But tensions really bubble over when infamous bad-boy chef and celebrity judge, Tommy Greene, loses his temper with Lily's staff, resulting in an on-camera blowout with Cheryl Wainwright.  Just as Lily thinks the competition can't get more bitter, Tommy is found dead in Tea by the Sea's kitchen...murdered with Lily's rolling pin.

Suspicion immediately falls on Cheryl, but the temperamental star has racked up plenty of culinary clashes in the past, both on- and off-screen.  And nearly anyone associated with Tommy or the show could be the killer: be it one of Lily's fierce competitors, a member of the beleaguered film crew, or even one of Tommy's fellow judges -- struggling cookbook maven, Claudia D'Angelo or beauty contest winner, Scarlet McIntosh.  Now, while she's baking up a storm for the show, Lily must also whip up an impromptu investigation...before the murderer rolls someone else away.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Lily Roberts owns Tea by the Sea, a lovely tearoom centered right in Cape Cod.  Her grandmother Rose, transplanted from Yorkshire long ago, owns a lovely Victorian B&B nearby, and they live happily in the seaside town.  That is, until Rose and Lily's best friend Bernie enter her in a TV reality show, and she's been chosen as one of the contestants.  Now, the cast members are staying at the B&B and the crew is overrunning the tearoom and telling her what to  do.  Lily is not happy.

She's especially not happy when one of the judges, Tommy Greene, purposely trips her employee MaryBeth and MaryBeth's mother Cheryl has a few harsh words for him.  When Tommy is discovered dead the next morning in the tearoom, Cheryl is the main suspect.  But Lily is sure Cheryl's not a killer, but she's not sure about his castmates.  Even though the police tell her to leave it alone, she's not going to, and with the help of Bernie and Rose, she intends to find the killer before they get away with it...

This is the third book in the series and I have read them all.  I've become fond of the characters in this series, finding not a one of them evil or flighty.  (Except for Allegra, but she's new and no one could possibly like this woman).  The main characters are full of ideas about who might have killed Tommy, especially Bernie, who is able to get information due to her background as a forensic accountant.  

But the more information they have, the more they discover that Tommy was actually a nice guy who was devoted to his wife and family, making it harder to find out who might have had a grudge against the man.  Lily just watches the players in the TV cast, hoping that one of them will accidentally spill information.  And with them fighting amongst themselves, it's not long before she sees that there's more to them than what meets the eye.  Now all she has to do is find out who wielded the rolling pin...

I love this series, and while the killer didn't surprise me much (only because I read a lot of mysteries), at the very end we are given a glimpse of what the future might bring, and once again peace is brought to Cape Cod...for the time being.  I eagerly await the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Spills-Tea-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B09KP4WN5C/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4954868724

More on Vicki Delany's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/vicki-delany/

Cookie Dough and Bruised Egos (Ivy Creek Cozy Mystery Book 6)

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

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.

https://www.amazon.com/Cookie-Dough-Bruised-Creek-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0B29LNDPH/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4851692184

More on Ruth Baker's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ruth-baker/  

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off (A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Book 2)

Author:    Darci Hannah

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)

ISBN #:    9781496731739

Kensington Publishing

304 Pages

$8.99; $6.99 Amazon

October 5, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With the spirit of the holidays wafting through the Beacon Bakeshop, Lindsey thinks she has the recipe for the sweetest Christmas ever -- winning the town-wide cookie bake-off.  Unfortunately, striving for a picture-perfect December in Beacon Harbor is a lot like biting into stale shortbread.  Low on staff and bombarded by visits from family, Lindsey can barely meet demands at work, let alone summon the confidence to face fierce competition...

Self-appointed Christmas know-it-all Felicity Stewart is determined to take the top spot in the bake-off, and she's not afraid to dump a little coal in everyone's stocking to do it.  Just as the competition heats up, everything falls apart when the judge is found dead -- and covered in crumbs from Lindsey's signature cookie!

Solving a murder was never on Lindsey's wish list.  But with her reputation on the line during the happiest time of the year, she'll need to bring her best talents to the table in order to sift out the true Christmas Cookie culprit.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Lindsey Bakewell is finally making money at her bakeshop, and the demands for her tasty goods are growing, especially during the holidays.  When her friends Betty and Felicity show up in her shop, they aren't there for the goodies this time.  Felicity has convinced the town council to have a Christmas cookie bake-off, with a celebrity chef from Chicago to judge the goods.  She's sure she's going to win because of her connection and the fact that she owns the town's year-round Christmas store, but unfortunately, she's up against both Lindsey and the chef from a hotel in town.

Finding out she has stiff competition, Felicity is not happy.  She's blatantly flirting with the judge, who tried doing that with Lindsey also but was rebuffed.  Her actions are noted by the other bakers, and not in a good way.  When Felicity sees the chef flirting with another contestant, she goes ballistic -- but when he doesn't show up for the second half of the competition and is found dead by Lindsey and her boyfriend Rory.  Now, along with Rory and her best friend Kennedy (and a little unexpected help from a few others), Lindsey is once again on the trail of a killer who might be cooking up another murder...

This is the second book in the series and I have to say that I loved it just as much as the first.  Lindsey is nearly frantic with all the Christmas cookie orders she's taking, especially since she hasn't found an assistant baker to help her, until an older woman shows up and is just what she needs.  With perfect help in the bakery, she finally has a little free time -- at least until she's off looking for a killer.

I am glad to see that Kennedy is back, as well as Lindsey's parents James and Ellie, (and, of course, their dogs, the models), as these characters bring a liveliness to the series and make it even more worthwhile reading.  Lindsey is smart and business-savvy, and she's just beginning a relationship with her neighbor Rory, which, due to the holidays, is causing a bit of humorous frustration to them (at least for me).  They just can't catch a break.  Kennedy, however, has a secret of her own, and she's enjoying all of it, while the parents are both terrific people and I would love to spend time with them.  Lindsey's lucky in her life, even with her ghostly Captain Willy around, who seems to be guarding her in his own way.  I also enjoy looking forward to 'seeing' more of him in future books.

But the murder has the town on edge with everyone wondering who the killer is and a few of them are speculating that it might even be Felicity, fueled by jealousy.  But did she kill the chef?  And if she didn't, then who is to blame?  The suspects begin to mount, and it brings even more questions as to the reasons why.  When Lindsey and her friends start digging deeper, they find something they weren't expecting, and it leads to a rather interesting climax that has everyone surprised.

When the murderer is revealed it is rather sad, as most of the time it is; but who can say what is in the mind of a killer.  Or what makes them do what they do.  It all came together, wrapped in a nice package that completed the story satisfactorily.

And, of course, it's Christmas.  Where would Christmas be without a little magic?  I saw hints of it at the beginning of the book, and I knew why, although it certainly would take Lindsey a lot longer.  After all, sprinkling holiday cheer is all what Christmas is about.  Joy, family, and friends.  Spreading happiness and love.  And let's not forget that Christmas magic...

I received a copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Christmas-Bake-Off-Bakeshop-Mystery/dp/1496731735/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4285133177

More on Darci Hannah's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/darci-hannah/

Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop (A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Book 1)

Author:    Darci Hannah

Genre:     Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781496731722

Kensington Publishing

352 Pages

$7.49; $6.99 Amazon

February 23, 2021

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

More interested in kneading dough than adding it up, Lindsey's breakup inspired her to set up the shop she always wanted in a place that always made her happy.  She's spent many childhood summers near this beach community and converting the old run-down lighthouse into a bakery café and home offers a perfect fresh start for Lindsey and her devoted Newfoundland dog, Wellington.

But not everyone in town has a sweet tooth.  The preservation society won't have the lighthouse's history sugar coated by lattes and cakes -- and a protest group crashes Lindsey's Memorial Day opening.  Then her ex-fiancé Jeffery Plank and his girlfriend Mia Wong arrive to trash the place.  In the ensuing chaos Mia chokes on a donut and dies.

An autopsy reveals cyanide in Mia's bloodstream and Lindsey is the police's prime suspect.  To clear her name, she's going to need to combine ingredients found in the town's checkered past to uncover the identity of a desperate killer...

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Lindsey Bakewell, fresh off of a breakup with her cheating ex-fiancé Jeffery, impulsively buys an old lighthouse and its attached carriage house in the place where she used to spend her summers with her beloved grandparents.  She's an ex-investment banker, and begins renovating the place to open a bakeshop, which has always been her dream.

With new employees in place, and a temporary barista in the form of her hunky neighbor Rory Campbell, everything seems to be going smoothly -- until a bus load of people arrive, including her ex and his girlfriend Mia, who begins causing trouble by grabbing food and drink from paying customers, and throwing donuts against the display cases.  Shortly after Rory unceremoniously escorts Mia outside, she collapses on the ground, and it's soon discovered that she was poisoned.

Now, with the bakeshop temporarily closed, Lindsey and her best friend Kennedy, an top-rated influencer, are tasked with finding out who poisoned the woman.  Then when another tragedy occurs, the investigation ramps up, but not without the help of Rory, her dog Wellington, and maybe even a little ghostly influence in the form of Captain Willy, who haunts the lighthouse...

This is the first book in a new series, and I have to say that I am sorry that I waited so long to read it.  I absolutely love the fact that while Lindsey runs from New York after a breakup, she isn't broke and moving back in with her parents.  In fact, this new protagonist is quite wealthy and can stand on her own two feet.  I also loved the fact that when she learned something, she turned it right over to the police, instead of keeping the information to herself.  A clue that she was indeed an intelligent woman instead of someone who needed to 'prove herself just as good as the police.'

I did like the characters in the book quite a bit.  Lindsey, of course, has proven herself to be smart, capable, and willing to take risks, while also turning information over to the authorities.  Kennedy is a complete hoot, and I would love to see her in later books.  Rory is the hero-anti-hero, who doesn't flaunt his past and just wants to live his life; while the others in the town are all worth getting to know.  I love that there's no 'evil nemesis,' and that the police chief doesn't hate her.

These make for quite an interesting book, one I just couldn't put down once I started reading.  The plot was done very well, and the writing is extremely good.  There are no stereotypes in the mix, and the descriptions of everything surrounding Lindsey make it so nice that I would like to vacation in this little place (but not live there as I really don't care for snow!).  

I love to cook and bake, so I don't even mind the descriptions of food or the recipes.  Although I do realize not everyone enjoys this, it is a culinary mystery, so they are to be expected.  And the recipes in the back sound completely yummy.

When Lindsey starts investigating, she can't pin down who would set out to sabotage her -- after Jeffery declares he didn't kill anyone -- and wonders if she, herself were the real target or if it were someone else.  When she starts digging, she also begins to become interested in her resident ghost's past and his untimely demise, and wonders what happened to him, and why.  But what she discovers is that there are more secrets in this town than she could ever imagine, and finding them out could get her killed...

When the ending comes and the murderer is revealed, it is both sad and unexpected, which is the way it should be in a mystery.  The pieces fit together nicely in the puzzle, and there is a very good climax scene that I didn't see coming at all, and made everything before it worthwhile.  This is a very good start to a new series and I will read the next.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Beacon-Bakeshop-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B089NBKLW8/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4281627685

More on Darci Hannah's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/darci-hannah/

Batter Off Dead (A Southern Cake Baker Mystery #2)

Author:  Maymee Bell
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781683318781
Crooked Lane Books
304 Pages
$17.70; $9.99 Amazon
December 11, 2018

✮✮✮✮✮

Sophia Cummings may be unlucky in love, but she knows that the way to a man's heart is through his sweet tooth.  This evening, she plans to use that knowledge - and her skills as a New York City-trained pastry chef - to open the hearts and wallets of Rumford, Kentucky's richest men.  Sophia, proprietress of For Goodness Cakes, has been commissioned to cater the Heart of the Town Library charity fundraiser at Grape Valley Winery.  She's spent all her dough to make this a successful event, raise her profile, and win more plum catering jobs.

At first, the going is as smooth as an elegant chocolate ganache.  After nibbling Sophia's tasty treats, Ray Peel, the winery's landlord, announces he will pay off Rumford's library loan.  But the evening soon turns decidedly frosty when Ray is murdered - before he can make good on his promise, and before he can pay Sophia for her catering services.

For Goodness Cakes will collapse if Sophia can't collect what she's owed.  So Sophia once again puts on her sleuthing apron to figure out who iced Ray.

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sophia Cummings has returned home to the small town of Rumford, Kentucky, where her mother rules the local society and her father is a successful attorney.  She's recently opened a bakery, For Goodness Cakes, and has been kept busy with catering jobs, special orders, and people wanting to buy her amazing pastries.  She's surrounded by her best friends Madison, who's a real estate agent, and Charlotte, who's a newlywed come to work for Sophia.

She's working on a charity fundraiser for the library, to be held at a local winery.  Although Sophia hasn't been paid yet for the treats she's created, she hopes to collect a check that evening from the winery's owner, Giles Dugan.  The librarian, Catherine Fraxman, is also excited because a local bigwig, Ray Peel, has offered a huge donation that will pay for the library's new addition.

When she arrives at the winery she runs into Madison, who seems excited about an upcoming meeting with Ray; and she also heads to Giles' office to collect her check, but finds him having a heated argument with his daughter, which she finds out due to an employee, is because Ray is planning on selling the winery immediately, which explains his meeting with Madison.

While shes' setting up Madison returns, obviously upset.  Unfortunately, she's not in a good mood anymore, due to the result of her meeting with Ray.  It seems Ray doesn't think Madison is right to sell his property, and she's understandably angry.  But when she goes looking for Giles in order to get her check, she literally trips over the body of Ray.

Someone murdered the man, in the middle of the party, in the vineyard, and Sheriff Carter Kincaid, now Sophia's boyfriend, isn't pleased that this is the second time she's found a dead body.  But then again, neither is Sophia.  According to her, all she wants to do is create the tasty pastries for the town and live a quiet life.

But that's not to be, especially since she learns that Madison is the main - and probably only - suspect in the murder, since what she said to Sophia about Ray was overheard.  When Carter refuses to eliminate Madison, Sophia feels that her only choice - with Madison and Charlotte begging her to help - is to try and figure out who hated Ray enough to kill him.  Once she starts looking, she finds out that there are several people who might have wanted him out of the picture.  But who had the best motive?  And which one of them were angry enough to kill?...

This is the second book in the series, and, I am glad to say, is just as good as the first.  I was delighted in the first book, Cakes & Punishment, and this one picks up shortly after the last.  The plot is again well thought out, with a host of suspects who all had a reason for Ray to be out of the picture.  However, it seems that Carter is only focused on Madison, which irritates Sophia no end.

When he asks her to stay out of the investigation, deep down he knows it isn't going to happen; and when her mother Bitsy seems to 'want in', it only makes it worse.  Carter accepts the fact his girlfriend isn't going to stop what she's doing, but only hopes that she doesn't try to expose herself to danger, and insist she share all her information with him.

The characters are a lively bunch, and Sophia and her friends and family have a believable relationship with each other.  You can practically feel the rapport between the three women, their closeness with each other coming through the pages.  Her relationship with Carter is also very well done.  He's an intelligent man who follows the clues and does a thorough job, even if it's not fast enough for Sophia.  He knows he can't change her and doesn't try, and she never imagines herself smarter than him or a better sleuth.

There were a couple of things that bothered me, even as I didn't allow them to spoil my enjoyment of the book.  I was a tad uncomfortable with some of Sophia's blatant questioning of people and then going so far as to search offices while there were people right down the hall (not a smart move); and I did get tired of everything being 'mouth-watering.'  Really, I don't think I've ever in my lifetime had any food make my mouth water thinking about it or seeing it, yet this happens a lot to her.  (Maybe I just don't have tons of saliva in my mouth, but hey...)

When the ending came and the killer was revealed, it made sense in a twisted sort of way, although I didn't feel that we were given any clues to the murderer (although I may or may not have hidden a few in my review).  Although the ending was put together well, it would have been nice to have a couple of clues at least that led us in the right direction.

Ms. Bell has given us a tale with crisp writing and a great deal of southern charm, people you'd like to know and a town you'd like to visit.  All in all, a worthy second entry to a series that I hope will be around for a good long while.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Batter-Off-Dead-Southern-Mystery/dp/1683318781/ref=

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2676719396

More on Maymee Bell's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/maymee-bell/

Cakes & Punishment (A Southern Cake Baker Mystery #1)

Author:  Maymee Bell
Genre:  Mystery

Hardcover; Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781683315711; 9781683317968
Crooked Lane Books
336 Pages
$18.35; $10.99; $9.99 Amazon
May 8, 2018 (TP November 13, 2018)

✮✮✮✮✮

Bucolic Rumford, Kentucky has glowing fields of bluegrass, a fine selection of bourbons, and now a professional pastry chef.  Broken-hearted Sophia Cummings has come home from New York city.  She's not there a minute before she's charmed into making her high school friend Charlotte's wedding cake.  The kitchen at the Rumford Country Club seems perfect until Chef Emile's body is discovered, sprawled near the stove, a cast iron skillet on the floor close by.

With one look at the shiny, new frying pan, Sophia knows it's not Emile's.  She offers her knowledge to Sheriff Carter and her talents to Evelyn, the manager, who needs an interim chef.  The mood in the country club is grim:  Emile's peppery personality had burned members and staff alike.  Sophia wonders which one of them burned him?

✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽

Sophia Cummings is a pastry chef at an upscale restaurant in New York.  After catching her live-in boyfriend making whoopee with the Maitre'd at their restaurant, she took some time off and went home to visit her mother and father in small-town Rumford, Kentucky.

But rest isn't about to come her way.  While at a Junior League meeting at the local country club with her mother, she runs into some old friends, one of whom is about to be married.  Charlotte Harrington is beside herself because her baker has bailed on her.  But then she practically begs Sophia to make her wedding cakes, and Sophia reluctantly agrees.  When she goes the next day to the club to meet Charlotte, Sophia heads to the kitchen to check it out, but instead discovers that the club's chef Emile has already been checked out instead, hit over the head with an iron skillet.

When Sheriff Carter Kincaid arrives, she's summarily questioned and released; and even though she's not happy about having to work in the kitchen, she's even less happy when she finds out that Evelyn Moss, the director of the club, is the main suspect.  She refuses to believe that Evelyn, for all her gruff exterior, could kill anyone.  So when Evelyn asks her to temporarily help with meals until another chef can be found, she once again agrees, finding her vacation to be a working one, whether she wants it or not.

Just when she thinks her plate can't get any fuller, even more complications arise; and when she's determined to find Emile's killer before Evelyn can be charged with the crime, she discovers that someone out there knows what she's doing, and wants her to stop...even if it means that they'll have to stop her permanently...

This is the first in a new series and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  It takes place in a small town in Kentucky, but that's where the similarity to many cozy mysteries end.  There were no 'tried and true' clichés throughout the book: our protagonist didn't run home broke and out of a job, she merely took a leave of absence and has money in the bank; she didn't decide to start a business she couldn't afford and then struggle and hope she can eat the next month.  She actually wears makeup; she doesn't just 'throw on a little lip gloss' and have everyone tell her that she's hot (not that there's anything wrong with that); and I loved the fact there was no 'evil nemesis' out to destroy Sophia and her life, nor the dreadful love triangle that permeates so many of them (rant over!).

What I didn't like: she was a little invasive on people during her 'investigating', sometimes saying and doing things that weren't exactly danger-free, not even trying to hid the fact of what she was doing (however, it did show that she knew she wasn't very good at being a sleuth, which she also admits to herself) so it was to be expected that the killer would figure out sooner rather than later what she was doing.  (Example: when she went investigating Patrick).  She also writes out a 'suspect list' and isn't above practically bald-faced accusing people, which isn't smart and could very well alienate some from her forever.

However, she was smart enough to share anything she discovered with Carter instead of keeping information to herself, and I did like that.  It showed that her only goal was truly helping Evelyn, and not some misguided idea that she was better than the sheriff was at his job.  An intelligent move on the part of the author.

I found the mystery to be well thought out; the dialogue was witty and fun; the characters felt real as well as the friendship between Sophia, Charlotte and Madison; Sophia's mother Bitsy definitely ruled her little town, and even though Bitsy seems a bit manipulative, I never got the feeling that she was pushy or that Sophia minded one bit.  I actually like Bitsy as much as the rest of the characters.

When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, the reason made perfect sense, and the fact that the murderer had thought out how to frame someone else actually added to the plot because they weren't sloppy, which made it more difficult to detect who they were, and that was an added bonus.  I will say that while I had my suspicions, I liked the fact that the clues never directly pointed toward that person.

All in all, this was a delightful beginning to a new series, and it held my interest throughout.  I think I could easily become attached to the characters in this book and look forward to the next in the series, hoping to spend time with them again.  There are also some yummy-sounding recipes at the end that I will definitely be making.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Cake-Punishment-Southern-Baker-Mystery/dp/1683317963/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2673812368

More on Maymee Bell's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/maymee-bell/