Meet Your Baker
Series: A Bakeshop Mystery Book #1
Author: Ellie Alexander
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Page Count: 320
My Rating:
Book Summary
Welcome to Torte-a friendly, small-town family bake shop where the treats are so good that, sometimes, it’s criminal…
After graduating from culinary school, Juliet Capshaw returns to her quaint hometown of Ashland, Oregon, to heal a broken heart and help her mom at the family bakery. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is bringing in lots of tourists looking for some crumpets to go with their heroic couplets. But when one of Torte’s customers turns up dead, there’s much ado about murder…
The victim is Nancy Hudson, the festival’s newest board member. A modern-day Lady Macbeth, Nancy has given more than a few actors and artists enough reasons to kill her…but still. The silver lining? Jules’s high school sweetheart, Thomas, is the investigator on the case. His flirtations are as delicious as ever, and Jules can’t help but want to have her cake and eat it too. But will she have her just desserts? Murder might be bad for business, but love is the sweetest treat of all…
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: July
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. And while it’s not confirmed, I suspect, based on the way his mannerisms are written that the theatre director Lance may be gay, so I believe that we have some inclusivity as well, but again, I could just be reading him that way. Fingers crossed this is referenced more in future novels.
My Review
Let’s hear it for ‘Meet Your Baker’, Book 1 in the Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. Juliet Capshaw is back in her hometown of Ashland, Oregon to help her mom at Torte, her family’s bakeshop. Ashland is all about Shakespeare and every shop, restaurant, and even the local theatre are all centered around the famous playwright. It just so happens to be the annual Shakespeare Festival and board members of the theatre, who frequent the Torte bakeshop, are all in a huff. When Nancy Hudson, the loudest, and meanest board member is found dead inside Torte it’s a whose who of possible suspects and Juliet finds herself in harm’s way.
What a fun cozy concept! Thank heavens that I was a theatre major in college and that I’ve read my fair share of Shakespeare because there are so many fun references to his works throughout this cozy. I was drawn to this cozy because of course it revolves around baking and sweets (and who doesn’t love that!) and then realized just how much fun Shakespeare and theatre stuff was actually added. This book is a like a fabulous layer-cake. Ellie Alexander has a wonderful writing style and she’s actually educating you along the way with real world knowledge while delivering a fantastic setting. The town of Ashland sounds like a theme park that I definitely want to check out.
