Baked goods

Ann Claire: A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime & Croissants

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Series debut

This is a charming debut, set in the French countryside.  As promised in the title, it provides both cycling and baked goods.  The main character, Sadie Greene, has shucked her secure actuary job in Chicago after the hit and run death of her best friend, Gem, and bought a French bicycle touring company.  She’s all in and her little company, Oui Cycle, is about to take off on it’s first tour. Joining her are – let’s be real – the suspects: her hometown almost family, the Appletons (parents, son, and girlfriend); a sleek German, Manfred; two Scottish sisters who can’t get enough of the baked goods; and a supposedly undercover travel writer, Nigel.  In true Murder, She Wrote style, two of the most unpleasant on the tour, Nigel and Dom Appleton, seem targeted for doom. read more

Carlene O’Connor: Murder at an Irish Bakery

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Few protagonists have ever managed to draw me in as quickly as Siobhan O’Sullivan in Carlene O’Connor’s Murder at an Irish Bakery. The Garda of Kilbane is to provide security at a bakery competition at the old mill bakery called Pie Pie Love, which is a dream assignment for the pastry addicted Siobhan. While she takes her duty seriously, Siobhan is also delighted with the prospects of samples a-plenty of both confections and coffee. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and I found myself needing a little tasty treat as I read her very relatable internal musings about her sampling expectations. Sadly, things aren’t all cakes and lemon tarts. read more