Welcome to the

FIVE AMIGOS FALL-O-WEEN FUN!

Mary, Karen, and I had such a great time with the Three Amigos Reading Club, we brought in two more of our Amigos, Sheryl, and Karen K! We're going to share our Fall and Halloween cozy mystery picks!

Every Monday in September we'll have a new fall favorite (5 total each Monday when you visit us all).

And every Monday in October we'll share our favorite Halloween picks (5 total each Monday in October when you visit us all).

Welcome to week 1 of the

FIVE AMIGOS FALL-O-WEEN FUN!

with Bloggers Mary Brown, Karen M. Owen, Karen Kenyon, Sheryl Hagan-Booth and yours truly!

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My Fall cozy mystery pick for this week is

A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

 by Ellie Alexander

 

Welcome to Torte-a small-town family bakeshop where the coffee is hot, the muffins are fresh, and the cakes are definitely to die for...

It's autumn in Ashland, Oregon-'tis the season for a spiced hot apple cider with a serving (or two) of Torte's famous peach cobbler. It's also the perfect time for Jules Capshaw to promote her family's beloved bake shop by competing in The Pastry Channel's reality show, Take the Cake. The prize is $25,000. But as Jules quickly learns, some people would kill for that kind of dough. Literally.

Then, just as Jules dusts off her Bavarian Chocolate Cake recipe and cinches up her apron, the corpse of a fellow contestant is discovered-death by buttercream. What began as a fun, tasteful televised adventure has morphed into something of a true-crime detective show for Jules and everybody else on set. Who could have killed Chef Marco, and why? Can Jules sift out the killer before someone else gets burned?

When I think of Fall, I think of small towns, quaint shops, the smell of good food, and leaves changing from green to the colors of autumn harvest. Book two in the Bakeshop Mysteries, A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, has all of that and more.

Protagonist Jules Capshaw and her mother, own and run Torte bakeshop. Torte is the place to be for the locals of Ashland. A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, more than the locals are hanging out at Torte. Jules is part of a TV baking competition Take The Cake, and that brings all sorts of characters to the beautiful fall kissed streets of Ashland, Oregon, and through the door of the beloved bakery.

I love every book in this series, but A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is one of my favorites. It's fun story, a great mystery, and everything that makes cozies my favorite books to read.

MY REVIEW

5 eggs, 5 cups of sugar, 5 cups of flour, but 10 stars for A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. It was one I was most looking forward to this year. It was worth the wait! I loved every minute of it! I gushed, and raved about the first book in this series, MEET YOUR BAKER, so I won’t get all gushy this time…but I will rave! A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is one of my top three favorite book of 2015!

There is not one thing I don’t like about author Ellie Alexander’s writing. Her words transport me into her story. I can hear every sound, and smell every smell. I honestly feel as though I have walked the streets of Ashland, Oregan. Just like I have sat at a table in Torte and shared pastry and coffee with Jules and her mother. I ached to get into the kitchen with them and help them bake their amazing confections! Okay, I started gushing, didn’t I? ;-)

A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH focused on a reality cooking show. My sister and I watch them all, so it was fun to feel part of one and see how they may run behind the scenes. But you know, without murder on the set. But murder this book did have. For lead character Jules, finding a dead body may not have been fun, but the way the body was found was delightfully sweet for mystery fans such as myself.

A truly wonderful whodunit, the one thing this story had more of than delicious food…suspects. Seriously, I simply couldn’t even narrow it down, but author Alexander leads us through the investigation like the pro she is and total caught me off guard with the killer.

Make sure to check out the Bakeshop Mystery series! You’re going to love it!

Wonderful recipes and an excerpt from book three, ON THIN ICING, can be found at the back of the book!  

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So, that's my pick for this week's book. 

Make sure to check out the whole Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander.

Coming January 2, 2018

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My Amigos Mary, Karen & Karen, and Sheryl  want to share their fall picks for this week with you. 

Please head over to their blogs and check them out!

Mary's blog

MJBReviewers

Karen & Karen's blog

A Cup Of Tea And A Cozy Mystery

Sheryl's blog

Booth Talks Books

Check back next Monday with the Five Amigos for more great Fall cozy mystert picks!

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

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