Death by Chocolate Raspberry Scone

Death by Chocolate Raspberry Scone by Sarah Graves (2024) 282 pages

Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree is a grandmother who lives in an old house filled with extended family on Eastport Island, off the coast of Maine. She and her friend, Ellie White, run a popular bakery called the Chocolate Moose, but they're also known for their investigative skills.

Ellie's friend Sally has contacted them to help find a gold doubloon her husband had inherited, which is missing, along with her husband. She figures her husband is dead, but he'd told her that the value of the gold piece could help keep their three kids cared for, if needed. And with his absence, it's definitely needed.

Jake and Ellie alternate between baking delicious treats and motoring between islands looking for clues.  A group of shark researchers is coming to town soon, and they've asked for 48 Chocolate Raspberry Scones, and even though the bakers have never made this particular treat, they've agreed to fill the order. 

The story's told from Jake's point of view: She's funny and lovable. Prepare yourself for mouth-watering treats, searching for possibly dead bodies, criss-crossing the water while large sharks follow, and much more.

Coconut Drop Dead

Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews, 281 pages

Lyndsay Murray opened the Spice Isle Bakery just a few months ago, but she's already gathering quite a following for her Caribbean-inspired treats. With a booth at the annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival, she's hoping she can continue to grow the business, while also having fun soaking in the festive atmosphere. But when a local reggae singer is killed at the festival, Lyndsay finds herself doing whatever she can to help find the killer, and heal the community.

This is the third book in this series, and while the characters do reference the events of the first two books, it's not necessary to read them to follow the story here. I loved the tight-knit Murray family, the glimpse into Brooklyn's Caribbean American culture, and of course the mouthwatering treats served by the bakery. I'll happily read more of these books (and make the recipes at the end of this one!).

Devil's Food

Devil's Food by Kerry Greenwood (2006) 238 pages

Corinna Chapman is a former accountant turned baker. Her weekday life revolves around waking up at 4 am to make bread for restaurants and for her shop. She employs Jason, a former drug addict, as her very capable baking assistant, as well as Kylie and Goss, two wanna-be actresses who man the register in the bakery shop. Everything goes south when both Kylie and Goss get quite sick, and then Corinna's flower-child mother shows up, demanding Corinna help her find Corinna's father, who left the commune they lived in. Corinna would love to find her father, if it will mean that her mother will go away!

It's all hands on deck as several of the very eccentric residents of the apartment building, as well as Corinna's lover Daniel, work to help stabilize the girls' health and to figure out where Corinna's father went. They go into some scary neighborhoods and always seem to be a step behind. When some creepy monastic dudes show up at the bakery, demanding Corinna make an unpalatable bread, using their own recipe, that just adds to the weirdness.

The Spotted Dog

The Spotted Dog by Kerry Greenwood (2018) 272 pages

As Corinna, owner of Earthly Delights, and her bakery assistant are making breads for her shop early in the morning, an injured and distraught man approaches the back door with a scribbled note from a local helper of the poor, directing the man to Corinna's sweetheart, Daniel. The man, Sgt. Alastar Sinclair, had been beaten up and his dog Geordie, a trained bomb-sniffer from the Afghanistan war, had been stolen from him.

They work to help him, and after they see a video of the assault, they believe the assailants are from one of two violent Eastern European drug gangs. Meanwhile, two of the apartments in Corinna's building are repeatedly burglarized, in an apparent attempt to get some religious artifacts. Thirdly, a local Greek restaurant's computer is infected with malware. Corinna and Daniel try to find out if any of these problems are connected. Their primary quest is to find the dog and reunite him with Alastar, who is suffering from PTSD and feels hopeless without the dog.

Additionally, Greenwood's cast of quirky characters - friends, employees and residents of the building - make this a fast read, with a share of suspense as well as humanity. The Australian terms and idioms give the novel extra flavor.

Sprinkle With Murder by Jenn McKinlay

Sprinkle With Murder by Jenn McKinlay p. 215

Mel and Angie followed their dream and with the help of their best friend Tate, opened the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Tate is engaged to Christie and they hired Mel and Angie to make cupcakes for their wedding. Christie is the bride from hell and she pissed people off wherever she went. Mel did her best to accommodate her for the sake of making Tate happy. Things went bad when Mel found her dead one morning in her studio. Tate and Mel were persons of interest in the murder and Mel felt like no one believed her when she said they didn't do it. So it was up to her to find the real killer.

This was a cute mystery and a fun read after a semester of lots of hard reading and papers. This is the first in this series and I'll be reading the second one soon. There are some romances that are sparked in this first book and I would like to see what is going to happen with them. Plus I love mysteries that are centered around bakeries. Fun reading.