A cosy, Christmassy crime that’s equal parts mystery and delicious festive food! Perfect for fans of The Great British Bake-Off and Murder at Mistletoe Manor.
A dash of murder, a sprinkle of amateur sleuthing, and a cup full of Christmas spirit…
After months of working alongside the legendary chef Shirleen Foster, Keisha Scott is ready for a night of festivities celebrating her boss’s famous 12 Christmas Cakes.
It’s all of Keisha’s dreams come true, until the night takes a turn for the worse. Her boss’s former collaborator (now rival), Ruby Walton, accuses Shirleen of stealing her recipes.
Even worse, Ruby is found dead a short while after their argument, leading the police to arrest Shirleen as the top suspect.
Keisha is less convinced, however. Fuelled by her passion for true crime podcasts, and aided by Shirleen’s vexing nephew, Virgil, she sets out on a mission to clear Shirleen’s name.
This will either be a piece of cake or a recipe for disaster…
My Review:
I do so love a good foodie cozy mystery and this one has introduced me to a new-to-me author! Eeeeep! Love the cozy Southern charm and the light touches of Christmas. And all those cakes – delish! Fair warning: reading this book might induce sugary cravings!
Keisha’s living her dream, working with a baking legend…until things go awry and murder becomes a main ingredient! Keisha’s natural curiosity and loyalty to her boss compel her to try her hand at amateur sleuthing. She is a true crime aficionado, after all. Unfortunately that means she has to match wits with her boss’s annoying nephew. Love Keisha’s spunk and there’s some great humour and banter in this developing relationship. Looking forward to seeing where that goes in future books!
The mystery is intriguing, with enough plot twists to keep things interesting – culinary rivalries, multiple secrets, and enough plausible suspects to keep an armchair sleuth like myself precariously balanced on the edge of my seat all the way to the end! Excellently plotted with a lovely balance between investigating and character development. Really appreciate the diverse cast and I’m eager to meet up with them again though now I’m not sure if this actually is the start of a series. Ack, I hope it is, but if it isn’t perhaps eager cozy mystery fans might be able to change that.
I listened to the audio edition of ‘Death by Christmas Cake’ and thoroughly enjoyed my listening experience. Narrator Ozzie Jacobs did an amazing job bringing these characters to life. She really captured their personalities and the overall mood of the story. Highly recommend the audio version of this festive cozy mystery.
My thanks to RB Media and Net Galley for providing me with an audio copy of this book.
