Cake and Punishment: A Southern Cake Baker Mystery

Pastry chef Sophia Cummings, the heroine of this diverting, if at times overly busy series debut from the pseudonymous Bell, wowed New York City for a decade with her sweets, but she has slunk home to Rumford, Ky., after catching her lover, chef Noah, with their restaurant’s maître d’. Now high school chum Charlotte Harrington needs a substitute cake for her wedding, four days hence at the Rumford Country Club. When Sophia goes to meet RCC chef Emile and check the kitchen, she finds him on the floor, dead, next to a gleaming new skillet, the apparent murder weapon. She repeatedly tells handsome Sheriff Carter Kincaid that Southern cooks don’t use unseasoned skillets—ever. Carter knocks Sophia’s sleuthing, but her skillet obsession stokes his suspicions about club manager Evelyn Moss. Sophia has to find the real killer to take the heat off Evelyn and ensure that Charlotte’s dream wedding can happen. Cozy fans, especially those who are compulsive early-morning bakers, will look forward to Sophia’s further culinary adventures. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (May)