A Batter of Life and Death
Series: A Bakeshop Mystery Book #2
Author: Ellie Alexander
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Page Count: 304
My Rating:
Book Summary
Welcome to Torte – a small-town family bakeshop where the coffee is hot, the muffins are fresh, and the cakes are definitely to die for…
It’s autumn in Ashland, Oregon – ’tis the season for a spiced hot apple cider with a serving (or two) of Torte’s famous peach cobbler. It’s also the perfect time for Jules Capshaw to promote her family’s beloved bake shop by competing in The Pastry Channel’s reality show, Take the Cake. The prize is $25,000. But as Jules quickly learns, some people would kill for that kind of dough. Literally.
Then, just as Jules dusts off her Bavarian Chocolate Cake recipe and cinches up her apron, the corpse of a fellow contestant is discovered – death by buttercream. What began as a fun, tasteful televised adventure has morphed into something of a true-crime detective show for Jules and everybody else on set. Who could have killed Chef Marco, and why? Can Jules sift out the killer before someone else gets burned?
More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth & Setting:
Main Sleuth: Juliet (Jules) Montague Capshaw
Best friend/ Sidekick: Doesn’t really have one
Physical Description: White female, active, green eyes, white-blonde hair
Location: Ashland, Oregon
Business: Torte, a Shakespeare inspired bakeshop
Time of Year: Late October into November
Pet: None
Love Interest: Thomas Adams (?), although she is still married to her husband Carlos, but separated
Family: Mom, her Dad is deceased
Diversity? Yes! Juliet’s family is white, non-hispanic, and while most all of the characters in this book are white, she is technically still married to her Spanish (he’s from Spain) husband Carlos and so we learn quite a bit about Spanish cooking and baking. Juliet has adopted much of his culture not only when it comes to food but when it comes to music and attitudes. It’s great. There’s also a French-ish character in this book – I won’t give too much away by saying more – but it’s there.
My Review
Another top-notch mystery in ‘A Batter of Life and Death’, Book 2 in the Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. The TV show take in this book is tons of fun and pretty convincing. I’d imagine that the way the characters act and interact would be right on track for how real small-town business owners would act and react when given a TV platform to be spotlighted. What I love about the Juliet character though is that she’s normal and realistic – none of it feels far-fetched, which makes the mystery layers compelling and the clues fun to follow.
Of course I always have to sigh a little bit when it comes to depictions of vegan/vegetarian characters – it seems that folks always want them to falter or be found out as “cheaters”. It’s a challenge to take on that lifestyle if you’re not born to it / raised in it, and especially if it’s for moral reasons – just saying. But I can’t fault an author / creative writer for using what comes across their path in the course of character developments. That aside- the writing was flawless, the characters compelling (and polarizing), and the mystery was just that until the very end reveal!
