Title/Author: Brownies & Betrayal (A Sweet Bites Mystery #1) /Heather Justesen
Genre: Cozy Foodie Mystery
Publisher: Jelly Bean Press
Date of publish: October 2012
Pages: 253
Book Links: Amazon / Goodreads / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Riffle / Smashwords
About The Book:
Pastry chef Tess Crawford thought moving from Chicago to quiet Silver Springs, Arizona would simplify her life. That was before she found the body of a woman with whom she had traded heated words the previous night, left her fingerprints on the murder weapon, and came under attack for trying to clear her name. When her cheating ex-fiance shows up, intent on convincing her to come back to work for him, Tess—armed with an extra batch of éclairs—decides to take control and solve the mystery herself, with the help of friends and frenemies alike.
But will that be enough to save her when she gets too close and the killer decides it’s safer to get her out of the way?
My Review:
Tess was a pastry chef at a 5 star Chicago hotel with a team of assistants and high end clientele. Re-modeling her grandmother’s restaurant into a small town bakery back in Silver Springs, AZ is going to be a huge change. One of the many changes in her life as she looks to reinvent herself back in her hometown after her cheating ex caused her to re-evaluate her life.
While she is setting up the wedding cake that is her first job in the new town, she happens across the body of the bride’s maid, a woman who just happened to insult her and her award winning brownies at the rehearsal dinner the night before. With the altercation and her fingerprints on the murder weapon, Tess must ferret out the killer before the police close in on her as their prime suspect.
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This was an enjoyable evening read for me. Tess is a feisty character and paired up with best friend Honey, quite capable of getting herself into trouble. I will admit that I have a hard time picturing her with the slimy ex, Bronson. He really just doesn’t seem her type, though it obvious that she is not exactly the person she was when she worked for him.
The mystery was an interesting one. With so many people having been betrayed by the victim, there was plenty of suspense along the way. I did actually figure it out, but only by accident with a “this person is behaving oddly…” kind of thought. I hope that many of the characters that we have been introduced to in this first book make it into the rest of the series, which also looks very interesting indeed.
The highlight of this book is the recipes, most of which I can’t wait to try out.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Other Books in The Series:
Sweet Bites Mysteries (4 Book Series)
About The Author:
http://www.amazon.com/Heather-Justesen/e/B002OJX098
Heather Justesen was getting lost in books before she learned to read, and her love for them has never waned. She started writing in the year 2000 and has dabbled in several genres though her main interest is romance with some culinary mysteries thrown in. Her current book count is 14 with several books being released each year.
When she’s not glued to her laptop, Heather loves to decorate cakes, work in the garden and play with her many pets. You can check out the first chapter for any of her books, see the book trailers, or learn more about Heather on her website at http://www.HeatherJustesen.com, or check out her blog at HeatherJustesen.blogspot.com
Author Links: Website / Blog / Twitter
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