A Sheetcake Named Desire: A Piece of Cake Mystery

In the pseudonymous Brady's enticing debut, pastry chef Rita Lucero, who's been working as a sous chef in her uncle's Mexican restaurant in Albuquerque, N.Mex., goes to New Orleans to try to get her pastry chef husband, Philippe, to sign divorce papers. Instead, she finds Philippe with a knife in his chest. Suspects include old friends who were also his employees and Rita herself, not to mention an unscrupulous competitor. Philippe's mother, Miss Frankie, asks Rita to temporarily oversee her son's shop, Zydeco Cakes, but keeping the business afloat leads Rita to ask uncomfortable questions that just might lead to her own demise. The New Orleans heat is emphasized too much, and Rita's odd insistence that she and Philippe weren't still married is a bit jarring, but a friendly detective and some good recipes add to what is overall a pleasant read. (Aug.)