A Crime of Passion Fruit
Mass Market Paperback, 266 pages
Published June 27th 2017 by St. Martin's Paperbacks\
Goodreads synopsis:
Torte--everybody's favorite small-town family bakeshop--is headed for the high seas, where murder is about to make a splash. . .
Jules Capshaw is trying to keep her cool as Torte gets set to make its transformation from quaint, local confectionary cafe to royal pastry palace. Meanwhile, Jules's estranged husband Carlos is making a desperate plea for her to come aboard his cruise ship and dazzle everyone with her signature sweets. She may be skeptical about returning to her former nautical life with Carlos but Jules can't resist an all-expense-paid trip, either. If only she knew that a dead body would find its way onto the itinerary . .
***
5 Stars
This i s my first foray into the Bakeshop Mystery series. I picked this book up at my local grocery store, which to my luck, carries cozy mysteries. I know you should probably start with book one in a series but I didn’t have any trouble getting into this book. The set up in the first few chapters really gives you a handle on who is who and what is going on in the universe in and around Ashland.
Like in the last Ellie Alexander book I read, this main character is estranged from her husband. I wonder if Alexander has a background which helps her flesh out this sort of relationship or she just has people in her life she can look to for motivation. She portrays these relationships very realistically. Husband, Carlos, is a pastry chef on a boutique cruise liner. This book sure gives you an inside look at how hard these people (the kitchen staff) work to pull off all the magnificent food prepared on a cruise ship. I was in awe.
The storyline was rock solid and I loved how she brought the activities back in Ashland back into the picture through the emails of Thomas, Lance and others. This helped keep us connected to all that was going on in the book and I thought a key part of the success of the title. The people who regularly read this series will want to see their favorite characters and these emails made that possible even if in a small way.
I look forward to diving into the first book of this series and starting all over and see what truly makes this series such a successful and integral part of the cozy-mystery community.
I bought this book with my own money.
_____
Ellie Alexander, author of the Bakeshop Mystery Series (St. Martin's Press), is a Pacific Northwest native who spends ample time testing pastry recipes in her home kitchen or at one of the many famed coffeehouses nearby. When she’s not coated in flour, you’ll find her outside exploring hiking trails and trying to burn off calories consumed in the name of research. Aka Kate Dyer-Seeley
No comments:
Post a Comment