Coming August 20, 2024

Sticks and Scones: A Bakeshop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
19th in Series
Setting – Oregon
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Minotaur Books (August 20, 2024)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250326192
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250326195
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CPWT7HT9
Audiobook ASIN B0DC752KPJ

It’s late spring in Juliet’s charming hamlet of Ashland. Spotted deer are nibbling on lush green grasses in Lithia Park, the Japanese maples are blooming, and Torte is baking a bevy of spring delights—lemon curd cupcakes, mini coconut cream pies, grapefruit tartlets, and chocolate dipped almond Tuiles.

Meanwhile, Juliet’s friend Lance, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, is taking center stage with his new theater troupe—the Fair Verona Players. Their performance in Uva’s vineyard promises to be a modern, gender-bending twist on “The Taming of the Shrew,” but as the curtain rises, so do the strange occurrences. Stage mishaps and internal bickering threaten to derail the production. But the real show begins when the leading actor, Jimmy Paxton, meets his final curtain call. Now, Jules is not only in the mix, but she’s going to need to craft the perfect recipe for solving this theatrical whodunit.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

It is a pleasure to be back in Ashland, Oregon. Juliet’s friend Lance is taking on a new project —the Fair Verona Players. Instead of performing at the theatre, the new troupe’s performance of a “modern gender-bending twist” of The Taming of the Shrew will be in a restored barn at UVA.  It hasn’t been smooth sailing though. There have been some weird incidents and not the usual camaraderie among the cast and crew.

The curtain goes up on opening night, the cast kills it! Everyone is excited about future performances. Then Jimmy Paxton, the show’s leading actor is found dead in the wine cellar. It was a packed house for the play. The cast and crew had access to the building. Jimmy was great on the stage but behind the scenes his “demeanor and disregard for boundaries was unsettling.” Did he push someone too far? or did he have other enemies? Jules and Lance will ferret their way through the large cast of suspects to find who ended Jimmy Paxton’s career just when it was set to take off.

Ms. Alexander has created a wonderful core cast of characters for this series. The whole way Jules and her mother previously run their business creates such camaraderie among everyone working there. Carlos is the same way with his employees. They are one big happy family that revels in each other’s success and helps in times of sorrow. There is a little shake-up happening within the pages of this story that proves this perfectly. It is easy to be invested in their lives. I would love to be part of this fantastic group of human beings.

The author has penned a very well-plotted and written mystery that she blends effortlessly with all the happenings in Jules’s life. She also is an expert at adding humor in all the right places. I swear everyone Jules talked to had secrets, told lies, and/or omitted key details. No one seemed to be mourning the guy’s passing. I had a blast following along with each clue and twist. Jules, Carlos, and Lance make a spectacular team, the takedown was great.

A lot happens in this book aside from the murder. The ending of the book again tugs at my heart. “That was life. Love, loss, food, family, and sharing a comforting meal around a table while raising a glass in toast to all good things yet to come.” I totally agree.

Sticks and Scones is a splendid addition to the Bakeshop Mystery Series. Genuine characters with huge hearts inhabit this series and Ms. Alexander gives them top-notch mysteries to solve. This book has that and more. I can’t wait for Killing Me Soufflé to be released on February 25, 2025.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

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About the Author

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.”