Jacklyn Brady

Jacklyn Brady is a new author to the cozy mystery genre, and her first offering, A SHEETCAKE NAMED DESIRE, is truly delectable. Brady’s amateur sleuth, pastry chef Rita Lucero, has made my list of favorites. Rita is fed up with getting the run around from her soon-to-be ex-husband Philippe Renier. After two years of being in divorce limbo, she travels to New Orleans to make him sign the papers and make it final. Not long after she arrives at his upscale bakery, Rita finds Philippe dead show more with a knife in his chest, making her the heir to his fortune. This fact doesn’t bode well with the police or with Philippe’s employees at Zydeco Cakes.

The one person who does have faith in Rita is Miss Frankie, Philippe’s mother. She asks Rita to take over Zydeco, at least temporarily, to scope things out. When Rita starts investigating, she discovers that in addition to murdering Philippe, someone has been sabotaging Zydeco’s business – stealing cake designs, destroying equipment, and ruining the finished cakes. Rita is determined to uncover the guilty party, because as Philippe’s heir, she could be next.

A SHEETCAKE NAMED DESIRE was a well-crafted murder mystery with a cast of colorful characters, from charming to down right detestable. Something that really stood out in this book was the character depth. I’m still fairly new to the cozy mystery genre, but in the ones I’ve read, usually the protagonist does not have an emotional attachment to the murder victim. This was not the case in this book. Though on the verge of divorce, it was clear that Rita still cared for Philippe and his mother, Miss Frankie. That added an extra layer of of emotional depth to the story. (Any cozy that makes me tear up a couple of times gets extra points in my book!)

In addition to the interesting mystery and great characters, I really enjoyed the rich descriptions of the sights and flavors of New Orleans. I could almost taste the jambalaya. I would recommend this book to any cozy mystery fan. Up next in the A Piece of Cake Mystery series: CAKE ON A HOT TIN ROOF with an expected publication date of 2/7/2012.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

I love a good cozy mystery series. This time it's candy! And who doesn't love candy. Abby is a funny, likeable character with just a bit of ditz. This mystery was straightforwards and typical of a cozy - it was very fun. This is the last book in the series and seems to wrap up all the main points, maybe Sammi Carter will revisit in the future. 4 stars.

Sheetcake is the first in the A Piece Of Cake Mystery series.

This is a very interesting story with a good mix of characters. Brady provides the reader with characters they will love to hate and some that they will just love.

Phillipe Renier is the owner of Zydeco Cakes in New Orleans, an upscale cake bakery. His wife, Rita Lucero, a trained French Pastry chef, has been living in Albuquerque and working in her aunts and uncle's Mexican restaurant for two years. She has been trying to get show more Phillipe to sign their divorce papers, but to no avail. She heads for New Orleans to just appear at Zydeco and get the divorce papes signed when he shows up. While she is waiting in the reception area, a ruckus is heard coming from out back. Following everyone out she pass the delivery van with damaged cake that was about to be delivered. Off to the side Rita finds Ox who has head injuries and under some bushes she the finds the dead body of Phillipe. Rita and Ox end up being prime suspects. But there are other employees who might like to see their boss dead. Then there's the current girlfriend whose not what she appears to be. Plus the owner of Zydeco's main competitor wants to buy it.

Still being legally married, Rita inherits half of the business. Her mother in law, who owns the other half, pleads with Rita to hang around and take over the business and find the killer of her son. Rita has mixed emotions about leaving her aunt and uncle, who had raised her and sent her off to a French Pastry school. But then there is the satisfaction from finding the killer and running a succesful business. So Rita sets off to find the killer, with the detective assigned to the case keeping a watchful eye on her.

Very much looking forward to the next book in the series, show less

Candy store owner Abby Shaw already has her hands full running the Divinity Candy Shop - trying to make it profitable as well as having the upstairs renovated - so the last thing she needs is trouble with the annual arts festival. But there is plenty of trouble - the mayor has let go Meena Driggs who was running the festival and appointed troublemaker Felicity Asbury in charge. Felicity ruffles plenty of feathers and nobody is terribly surprised when Felicity is found murdered in Divinity's show more parking lot. Unfortunately, the location of Felicity's body makes Abby the number one suspect and she has to find the real killer in order to clear her name and keep the candy shop open.

"Peppermint Twisted" is the nicely done third entry in Sammi Carter's delightful candy shop cozy mystery series. The setting is a good one - not only the candy shop where Carter gives readers a glimpse into how a candy store is operated, but the town of Paradise itself where everybody knows everybody else and nothing stays secret for very long. The mystery itself is well written and plotted, with plenty of suspects, and while I did figure out who the killer was there was still a twist that I didn't see coming. But while the mystery was well done, what really makes the book work so well is the character of Abby and her family dynamics. She is struggling to run the candy shop while avoiding the interference of relatives (which adds some humor to the mystery). It is her complex relationship with her brother Wyatt that makes this book so strong. Both of them are struggling with issues they had as kids and while they both love each other, neither is willing to admit it. Their relationship alone makes this series worth reading.

"Peppermint Twisted" is a nicely done cozy mystery. show less