Thursday, March 7, 2013

Brownies & Betrayal

Brownies & Betrayal: A Sweet Bites Mystery Book #1 by Heather Justesen

This book came out in October but I just recently got my hands on a copy. I'm becoming a fan of culinary murder mysteries. Must go back to my childhood days of loving Nancy Drew books.

Brownies & Betrayal is just that: a culinary murder series with some romance thrown in for good measure. You can get behind the heroine Tess Crawford. She flees Chicago and her cheating ex-fiancee to start over in little Silver Springs, AZ where her BFF, Honey (great name!), has convinced her to start up a sweet shop. She's smart, a little insecure at the moment and wicked talented in the kitchen. She's not looking for a committed relationship but is up for a little clean fun and I got the sense that possibly in future books in this series there may come a time and man for serious commitment. In the meantime she needs to clear her name, start up her shop, and send a world class jerk packing!

There are kisses exchanged, hand to hand combat and a little gun play. This is the first book I've had a chance to read by Ms. Justesen but by reputation she's a bedroom door shut writer. (You romance people know what I mean.) Read accordingly.

Great dialogue, flow, action and emotion. All in all, go get the book for a thrilling (but not nail biting) read. I'm looking forward to #2!

I can vouch for the recipes in the book. I tested them all. You can make them. It was my first time making cheesecake and eclairs. The best part about test kitchening for Ms. Justesen is all the recipes are desserts and I LOVE to make desserts!(as you all know by now)

Do you have a favorite culinary murder mystery series you like?


Here are the back cover blurb & link.

http://www.amazon.com/Brownies-Betrayal-Sweet-Bites-Mystery/dp/0615698085/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361761645&sr=1-1&keywords=brownies+and+betrayal#_

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?
 
 

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