On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
Dough or Die (A Bread Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – California
Kensington Cozies (August 25, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 1496724410
ISBN-13 : 978-1496724410
Kindle ASIN : B082WQZBGF
Known for its mouthwatering traditional breads, the Yeast of Eden bakery has gained fame across Northern California’s coast. Now the shop is bound for Reality TV—but a murder may kill its reputation . . .
People come to the beach town of Santa Sofia as much for the healing properties of Yeast of Eden’s breads as for a vacation getaway. And now a cable food channel has selected the bakery as a featured culinary delight for a new show. Baking apprentice Ivy Culpepper is excited as the crew arrives, ready to capture all the ins and outs of the renowned bread shop. But instead, they capture something much harder to stomach: the attempted murder of the show’s cameraman just outside Yeast of Eden . . .
With no motive and no clues, and the town craving answers, it will be up to Ivy to sift through the evidence to find the truth. But she’ll have to move quickly before someone else is targeted or the wrong person gets the heat—and the business collapses like a deflated soufflé, right before her eyes.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The Yeast of Eden Bakery is drawing quite a bit of attention and now it is going to be featured in the pilot episode of Best Bakeries in America, a new reality show on the food channel. Ivy is so happy for her mentor, Olaya. She is going to be able to share her Bread for a Life Program that helps immigrants and low-income women gain confidence and independence as they work their way out of challenging situations.
The crew from the food channel arrives and there are a few petty disagreements between them but filming finally starts and things appear to be going well until during a break the cameraman is run down by a car right outside of Yeast of Eden.
With the lack of evidence, Ivy knows she can do a little sleuthing to knead out the suspects and their motives, hopefully find the truth before anyone else gets hurt.
I always enjoy my visits to Santa Sofia. In this story, I really enjoyed the way Olaya set up her class giving each student a turn to lead and share a bread from their culture. Such a true example of how recipes are shared and enjoyed and passed on generation after generation. It also enables readers to get to know these characters better. When Olaya gets sick we also see how the relationship between her, Ivy, and Penelope Brandford continues to grow. Ivy and Miguel’s relationship is also evolving nicely. Ms. Archer has done a wonderful job of creating characters that have dimension and layers.
The mystery was complicated by the number of suspects and the fact that Ivy didn’t know anyone from the food channel crew so she had to dig deep. Again there were twists upon twists with a red herring or two too! Then, of course, Ms. Archer throws in the last epic twist. Then all the clues fall into place for Ivy. I had an inkling about what happened but was not fully committed to anyone until is was all spelled out for Emmaline and in turn me.
One of the problems with this series is the food descriptions from Miguel’s restaurant and from Olaya’s bakery. My stomach was continually growling. I do love that the recipe for Hembesha, an East African Spiced Bread, and Rosemary Bread are included in the book.
Dough or Die
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About the Author
, the Lola Cruz Mysteries
, the Book Magic Mysteries
, and the Magical Dressmaking Mystery series
written as Melissa Bourbon
. A former middle school English teacher she lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos, and the youngest of their five children.
You can read my review of Kneaded to Death here.
You can read my review of Crust No One here.
You can read my review of The Walking Bread here.
You can read my review of Flour in the Attic here.
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Bread is my favorite. I’d love to have the two bread recipes you mentioned in your post!