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Add this copy of Murder Most Sweet: a Bookish Baker Mystery (a Bookish to cart. $48.44, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2020 by Dreamscape Media.
I had planned to read and review this book closer to the release date but I was suffering from chemo side effects and preparing for surgery at that time. Now I have just a few radiation treatments left and am in a much better place to read this book that features a breast cancer survivor protagonist.
Teddie St. John loves to bake and she�s good at it. She also loves to write mysteries and she excels at that too. A breast cancer survivor she has plotted her life around those two things, plus her friends, her mom, and her American Eskimo dog, Gracie. She is excited to attend a book signing at her BFF Char�s bookstore. The author, Tavish Bentley, is a famous British suspense writer who ended up in Lake Potawatomi when his event in Milwaukee was canceled. Sadly just as the event is getting started Teddie suffers one of those dreaded side effects brought on by cancer treatments and ends up leaving the book signing early.
Later while out walking Gracie she makes a gruesome discovery. Behind her friend�s bookstore, she finds the famous author�s fiance dead with a significant clue that points directly at Teddie as the murderer. Thankfully she is friends with the sheriff and he knows she didn�t kill anybody. The author does have a fan who is obsessed with him, and Teddie�s money is on her as the killer but then a second body is found and that really twists things up. Teddie enlists the help of her besties to help her find the real killer and serve them up on a silver platter.
I love Teddie St. John! It is always nice when you have something in common with the lead character in a cozy but this time it isn�t just a craft or an occupation, it is something neither would have chosen for ourselves. Surviving cancer is a battle and her road was much tougher than mine. I know the author drew from her own experiences and that makes the story even more special. Ms. Walker also surrounded Teddie with excellent friends, an overbearing mother, and a lovable pup. These characters all drew me in right away.
Setting the story in my home state, also the author�s, grabbed my attention too. The dialogue rang true, the descriptions of the people and places was like looking out my back door, and OMG the food/Kringles mentions brought me actual joy.
The mystery was top-notch, with actually two to solve. Teddie was an interesting sleuth to follow. If you are looking for quirky, somewhat creepy characters look no further than the people that land on Teddieââ?¬â?¢s suspect list. She takes some risks but none of the ââ?¬Å"too stupid to liveââ?¬Â? kind that some amateur sleuths do. I did hone in on a few things before she did but was very entertained by the way things played out.
The story had a great flow with one scene near the beginning of the book that had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. There is also the start of a romance for Teddie. At first, I thought it was happening too quickly but who am I to judge. Teddie has been through a lot and deserves all the happiness she can get.
Murder Most Sweet is a terrific cozy mystery that has set this series off to a fine start. My appetite has been seriously whet, I can hardly wait for Deadly Delights that will be hitting shelves June 8, 2021.
Kristina
Sep 26, 2020
Debut of A Bookish Baker Mystery series
Murder Most Sweet by Laura Jensen Walker is the debut novel in A Bookish Baker Mystery series. Teddie St. John is a strong female protagonist who is an author, avid baker, and breast cancer survivor. Teddie writes a cozy mystery series set in a town similar to her own of Lake Potawatomi, Wisconsin. She is a likeable and relatable protagonist who is going through early menopause (from chemo). We get to see how the breast cancer has changed Teddie's body and life. There are some humorous moments. There are a variety of secondary characters that includes her fashionista mother, Sheriff Brady Wells, and her two close friends, Char and Sharon. Teddie has an American Eskimo dog named Gracie who is such a sweetie. Two women die in this whodunit after famous author, Tavish Bentley comes to town. Teddie becomes a suspect because she has no alibi and her scarf was used as the murder weapon. The evidence is circumstantial, but the police must follow procedure. The clues, like the killer, were obvious. I would have liked a more challenging mystery. Despite two murders, romance is in the air for Tavish and Teddie. At times, Murder Most Sweet felt more like a romance than a mystery. Teddie likes to bake and does so frequently especially when she is stressed. She whips up treats for friends and for bribes to get information. It was interesting learning about the pastries native to Teddie's ancestry and Wisconsin like the Kringle. To my disappointment, there foul language present throughout the story (mild). I preferred it when these type of words were taboo in cozies. There is a scene involving Gracie that dog lovers will find upsetting. I loved the Lord Grantham reference. Murder Most Sweet is a lighthearted cozy mystery with a bevy of baked goods, an attractive author, modish mother, a concerning contract clause, and one worried writer.
