Shakespeare, Baked Goodies and Murder

When you read any Bakeshop mystery by Ellie Alexander, you'd better have some baked goods handy or you will be drooling all over the book. Juliet Capshaw and her mother Helen bake the best goodies, cakes and cupcakes around in their lovely Ashland, Oregon bakeshop. In Caught Bread Handed, they bake and still have time to solve a murder.

On her morning bread delivery, Juliet stumbles on an open door at ShakesBurgers, a garish and totally unwanted fast food chain in the lovely downtown. As she pushes through the door, she finds the owner Mindy lying on the floor with blood pooling below her wrists and her partner Mathew trying to stop the bleeding.

There are plenty of suspects particularly as the business owners association held an emergency meeting the night before with lots of conflict and accusations. No one wants ShakesBurgers to ruin the image of the Shakespearean setting downtown.

Also Juliet has her hands full trying to bake with only one industrial oven and the reappearance of her estranged husband Carlos. Carlos wants her to return to their life as chefs aboard a cruise ship, but Juliet has grown to love being on dry land and working with her mother. Carlos appears to fit right in at Torte, but will he stay or will he go?

If only there were a way to enjoy the scent of baked goods and fresh coffee creations while reading these books. Andy's coffee concoctions have me craving coffee at all times of the day.

The first book in this series is Meet Your Baker.