Caught Bread Handed

A Bakeshop Mystery

By Ellie Alexander     

ISBN 9781250088031 

Author’s website: elliealexander.co

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra                   

Summary:

Welcome to Torte—a friendly, small-town family bake shop where the oven is heating up as high as the body count…

Jules Capshaw is still chewing over her husband Carlos’s return to Ashland, Oregon. Could there be too many cooks in the kitchen? Whatever is stirring between those two will have to wait. Despite the Oregon Shakespeare Festival being dark for the winter, the bakeshop is bustling, the dough is rolling, and there’s no rest for the weary…especially when murder is thrown into the mix.

When Mindy Nolan, the owner of a new restaurant in town, turns up dead, the batter at hand thickens. Jules knows that there was bad blood between Mindy and others in town, and tracking down the killer could prove to be an unwelcome treat. And to top it all off, there’s Carlos, who is pleading—with those delicious dark eyes and sexy Spanish accent—for Jules to take him back. Is home where the heart is or will she make a fresh start…and risk getting burned? (Goodreads)

Review:

As I continue on my quest to read the entire “A Bakeshop Mystery” series, I am dutifully happy to report that I am enjoying this fourth book, Caught Bread Handed, as much as the first three books in the series! I am enthralled with not just the actual mystery of ‘whodunit’ but with the progression of the character development of the Ashland community. These friends and neighbours of Jules have depth (as does she). I think that is what is keeping me so engaged and wanting to continue this series with a vengeance, maybe even more than Jules amateur sleuthing prowess.

This installment of A Bakeshop Mystery series is based on a new restaurant coming to Ashland – right in the downtown core, and it is sorely lacking the Shakespearian vibe that the rest of the shops have. With its flashing lights, it does not fit in right from the beginning. Now if it had opened in the college area – all would have been fine. Unfortunately, the owner, Mindy Nolan did not seem to care. And that may well have been the reason for her demise! And as I have come to know, Jules will not be able to let the local constabulary solve this on their own. Jules will conduct her own discreet (and sometimes not so discreet) investigation herself.

No big surprise, but in due time, the reader will learn of ‘whodunnit’. I however was surprised that I was not able to figure it out before the big reveal. Maybe next time J, or not. Either way – I am truly enjoying reading this series. I am not putting a lot of detail about this part of the cozy mystery read as I feel it is imperative that each reader go through the sleuthing journey themselves and discover what they may without my intervention.

With this book, I found the character development of the townsfolk of Ashland leading the people to become more near and dear to me. The Jules and Carlos dynamic is further developed. Jules is truly stuck between a rock and a hard place. She loves Carlos but she is finding it VERY hard to forgive him for not telling him about his son. We do read that her feelings are deep and conflicted:

“I glanced across the plaza and shook my head. Carlos was at the Merry Windsor chatting with a bellboy in a green-and-gold stripped uniform. Of course. I couldn’t escape him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.”

Here is hoping that she eventually comes to accept why Carlos kept his son a secret, though it does seem that she has eased up towards the end of the book, when Carlos leaves and returns to the cruise ship. I shall patiently look forward to future books in the series to continue their story.

We see that the staff at Torte are just as invested in the success of Torte as the owners (Jules and her mother) are themselves. By the way – I so want to taste one of Andy’s delectable coffee concoctions as they all sound wonderful.

As what seems to be a pattern, Caught Bread Handed, is a truly engaging cozy mystery with, of course, a death, sleuthing by an amateur, a bit of a love story… and what I also like … interesting recipes that one can try for themselves. I cannot wait to further my Ashland adventures in the next installment Fudge and Jury, book 5 in the A Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander.