Baker turned reluctant amateur sleuth, Sally Muccio’s, finally found the happiness that’s eluded her for years. She’s in love with a great guy, her bakery is thriving, and now she and her best friend Josie Sullivan are gearing up to appear on the popular reality baking show, Cookie Crusades. But a visit from Sal’s greedy ex-husband Colin, who's looking to cash in on the bakery’s dough, changes everything. Within a few hours Sal’s world—like the shop’s original fortune cookies—is broken apart when Colin turns up dead, and her boyfriend’s arrested for the crime. Now Sal’s mixing it up with vengeful ex-inlaws, a suspicious new employee, slippery baking competitors, and a greasy mobster who’ll stop at nothing to collect on Colin’s unpaid debt. Can Sal prove her man is innocent in time? Or is she about to get baked herself? (Summary via Goodreads)
I cannot say enough good things about Catherine Bruns and her Cookies & Chance Mystery series. Baked to Death is the 2nd book in this series and its even better than the first book, Tastes Like Murder.
Things are going pretty good in Sally's life. Her bakery is doing well, the bakery is in a baking competition in Florida, she is finally divorced from her lowlife husband, Colin and she is with the man she is suppose to be with, her high school sweetheart. Everything is going smoothly until Colin shows up in town demanding money, gets in a bar fight and is found dead the next morning. After the police arrest Sally's boyfriend, she will do anything to clear his name. She even does some snooping around when her and Josie are in Florida competiting in the bakery contest. The only thing Sally walks away with is that Colin had a lot of enemies and cheated on everyone, not just her.
To really appreciate the story you really need to sit down in a comfy chair and get lost in the book. Catherine will have you reading faster than you ever thought you could read, you will be sitting up straighter as you get towards the end as things unfold, and you won't be paying attention to anything around you as the killer gets closer......
And if you're not sure about this series yet, the LAST line of the book will make your decision for you ! !
Review by Missi
I couldn't put Baked To Death down. I love how this series is progressing. This book moves at the perfect pace to get to know all of the characters and each of the lives they lead.
This book starts out with Sal in a great place in her life. Her bakery is becoming the place to go for the best cookies. She is finally getting her love life in order, maybe she has to decide between two great guys and maybe a third??? And she and Josie have been selected to be contestants on "Cookie Crusades" that is filmed in Florida with a grand prize of $20,000. This would be awesome for business and possibly help expand.
This is where the clock strikes midnight on the Cinderella story for Sal! Her ex husband Colin shows up drunk demanding half of her bakery, they get bambozuled by a new hire that turns out to be a spy! Then Sal takes out Josie and her hubby to celebrate Josie's birthday and Colin shows up. He ends up trying to hurt Sal! If all this isn't enough to make your head spin Colin ends up murdered. Yikes!!! What is Sal going to do? She has to find a way to clean up Colin's mess with the mob before she becomes the next victim.
The more I read this series the more I fall in love with the characters. They are so down to earth and believable. We all have a Josie in our lives and hopefully a Handsome man. All this being said I have to admit my favorite character is Grandma Rosa. She totally rocks! She is not only wise but she is hilarious. I almost think she has a gift for fortune telling that the family doesn't know about. She gives the perfect advice at the perfect time. Just like the Fortune Cookies??? I am eager to watch if and when Sal let's go of the past and starts to live again.
Review by Penny M.
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