A Sweet Treat

Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent
(Adult)

What a sweet treat and a great first start for a new series! 

Daphne is a middle aged divorcee who decides to start a new cake decorating in the town where she grew up. Unfortunately, her very first customer is murdered by poison and the fingers soon start pointing to Daphne.  With the help of her sister, a childhood friend (who soon turns into an intriguing love interest) and some quaint hometown characters, she soon clears her name, catches the killer and gets her cake business up and running.

While I truly love cozy thrillers, this one had a bit more substance than most others I've read.  The main character has a bit of a shady past that I know will come to play in other books and the love interest holds quite a bit of promise.  The other characters in the book remind me a bit of Andy Griffith and Mayberry-funny and a little bit odd. 

The cake decorating lingo was a bit hard for me to understand since I don't decorate but I know enough about baking to get the gist.  If you don't know your way around the kitchen, you should probably skip this as long descriptions are in almost every chapter and Daphne dishes quite a bit about how baking soothes her soul.  This is a cozy mystery, so no violent murder, graphic violence and any suggestive language or actions.  Just a good, sweet murder mystery.  I look forward to reading the 2nd one in the series.