#Review ~ Live and Let Pie (A Bakeshop Mystery, Book 9) by Ellie Alexander #CozyMystery @ellielovesbooks @StMartinsPress

 

Live and Let Pie

A Bakeshop Mystery, Book 9

Ellie Alexander

Publisher: ‎ St. Martin's Paperbacks; Reissue edition (December 31, 2018)

Mass Market Paperback: ‎ 304 pages

ISBN-10: ‎ 1250159393

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1250159397

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Goodreads

Life is sweet once you step into Torte, everybody's favorite small-town bakeshop. But what happens when it becomes the scene of a crime?

About the Book:

The heat is on for pastry chef, family business operator, and unlikely sleuth Jules Capshaw. Just when she thought she could enjoy some time away from the kitchen, Jules manages to discover a skull during a picnic by the lake. As if unearthing remains that may be connected to a missing-persons case from the 1960s isn't enough on her plate, Jules must contend with the unsolved matter of her own marriage while her estranged husband Carlos sails the open seas, awaiting a verdict. Then there's Jules's bitter landlord Edgar, who is intent on making a sweet deal on a vacant lot down the block from Torte--until he turns up dead. If only Jules could find a recipe that would let her bake her cake and eat it, too...

My Review:

Live and Let Pie is book 9 in the Bakeshop Mystery series. Featuring the continued expansion of Torte, the discovery of a skull in a long-cold missing-persons case, and the real estate war for a piece of vacant property, Jules and the town of Ashland are busy. When the owner of the vacant land is found murdered, Jules becomes embroiled in a haunting disappearance from the past and a chilling present-day murder. 

The world building continues as new events take shape and new characters are introduced. The familiar favorites are always a pleasure to see on the pages. I enjoy reading about Jules, Jules's mom, Stephanie, Sterling, Lance, Andy, Thomas, and the Professor. I connect with all the favorites on some level and can't imagine these books without them.

The story is fast paced and engaging. I enjoyed trying to unravel the murder mysteries and whether they were connected or not. Every time I thought I had things all figured out, the author tossed in a complication that changed my mind. Ellie Alexander does a great job keeping everything under wraps and revealing things methodically and at the right time.

I love the Bakeshop Mystery series. All of the books are wonderful. Each story is different, containing not just the murder mystery but other threads. The author does a fantastic job weaving multiple stories within each book. Each thread makes sense as you move along in the book, some intersecting with the murder and others just additional everyday life. The books are descriptive and I am able to immerse myself into the town of Ashland or wherever the author takes the characters in this series.

My review copy was a paperback I purchased from Amazon.

My Rating:

#Review ~ Dead as a Door Knocker (House-Flipper Mystery, Book #1) by Diane Kelly #CozyMystery @DianeKellyBooks @StMartinsPress

 

Book Details:

ASIN: ‎ B07FGX2TG7
Publisher: ‎ St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: ‎ January 29, 2019
Print Length: ‎ 350 pages

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BaEmAy
Goodreads:

About the Book:

WILL THIS KILLER DEAL LEAD TO A DEAD END?

Meet Whitney Whitaker. A hopeless romantic when it comes to real estate, she knows what it takes to find—and flip—the home of one’s dreams. A fixer-upper is like catnip to Whitney: she can’t resist the challenge of turning an eyesore into a priceless work of art. So when one of her clients decides to liquidate a crumbling property, Whitney seizes the opportunity to purchase it for a song. But soon a curious incident of the cat in the night-time leads to a change in tune. . .

Sawdust is the name of Whitney’s cat—of course. Whitney’s passion for gut-renovation may be a mystery to him but one thing Sawdust knows for sure is this: Dead bodies don’t belong in flower beds. So why is there one in this new, albeit old, house? Now it’s up to Whitney, along with the help of hot-and-cold Nashville Police Detective Collin Flynn, to find the truth about what happened before the mortgage property forecloses and Whitney loses her investment. . .and maybe her own life.

My Review:

Dead as a Door Knocker is a great first book in the House-Flipper series by Diane Kelly. The main character, Whitney Whitaker, is a property manager and works with her cousins in renovation. After she evicts a trio of bachelors from one of the rental properties, the owner of the home offers to sell it to her at a substantial savings. Whitney joins forces with her cousin, Buck and what is supposed to be an easy reno and flip threatens to bankrupt them both. Things get even worse after Whitney finds the body of the former owner of the home dead in her garden. Now a person of interest, Whitney must do everything she can to clear her name and keep herself out of jail. 

I really enjoyed this book. Whitney is an intelligent and capable heroine. Her story has wonderful secondary characters. Her cat, Sawdust, is a nice diversion from the mystery. He assists her and even has mini chapters from his point-of-view. I enjoyed the setting and how the author brought everything to life. The book is engaging and the mystery is thought provoking. Figuring out who committed the murder was challenging and I never did guess correctly.

The story was slow to develop because there was backstory to explain but this didn't detract from the book. In fact, I appreciated how the author set everything up. To just jump right into the mystery would have left me feeling like so much was missing. Instead, we received a nice description of who Whitney is, how she became the owner of the property, and her relationship with the deceased and other suspects. 

There are the makings of a couple potential love angles but the author didn't cram them down the reader's throat. Subtlety was the name of this game. I hope to see some sparks between the two sets of characters. One pair I'm sure will develop but the other pair might just be me hoping for them to get together. We'll see as I move along through the series.

I borrowed this book from my local library using the Interlibrary Loan program.

My Rating:

Visit the Author's Website:

https://www.dianekelly.com/