Most likely to...
Stumble into trouble—Steph. She’s an artist at heart who disappears inside herself and into her music while she’s designing intricate buttercream flowers and stacking tiered cakes. Steph walks to the beat of her own drummer and tends to get lost in her own baking world. She’s rarely seen without her Airpods and is often seen sketching elaborate new cake designs in a cozy corner of the park. With her head in the clouds, she might inadvertently stumble into trouble.
Help out a stranger—Helen Capshaw is the matriarch at Torte. She’s part baker, part therapist, and a mom to all. Helen welcomes everyone into the artisan bakeshop with open arms, a hot cup of coffee, and a fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon roll oozing with her signature buttercream and finished off with a dollop of her raspberry preserves. She’s never met a stranger and would give you the shirt off her back and loaves and loaves of honey walnut bread to go along with it.
Be skeptical—The Professor. Ashland’s resident detective and Shakespeare aficionado is equally kind and cunning. You’ll find him wearing tweed jackets and quoting sonnets and soliloquies, but don’t let his literary façade fool you. His deduction skills are far superior. He’s had years of practice interrogating potential suspects, and his quick wit and clever mind can spot a lie miles away.
Come up with a clever ruse—Lance! Oh, our dearest, darling Lance, aka the Artistic Director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Lance is always up for any kind of farce, whether on the stage or out in the wild. He has a penchant for theatrics and a treasure trove of costumes, props, masks, and disguises. There’s never a part Lance will turn down, especially when it comes to catching a killer.
Motivate a team member or friend—Bethany is the team cheerleader at Torte. Her upbeat energy is beneficial, especially on long baking days. She always finds a way to make guests and staff smile with her baking pun T-shirts like Go Ahead, Bake My Day. She does make and bake every day brighter.
Discover a hidden clue—Andy, Torte’s resident barista, has a keen eye for detail and a gift for brewing the perfect cup of Joe. He spends hours tinkering with coffee roasts and testing new flavor combinations. His tenacity would make him the most likely to discover a hidden clue or secret compartment amongst his stacks and stacks of aromatic coffee beans.
Have the worst luck—Richard Lord, the owner of the dilapidated Merry Windsor Hotel, who likes to lord over Ashland as if he were king, seems to have trouble following him everywhere. Perhaps it’s karma. If he spent a little less time worrying about Jules and the happenings at Torte, and focused more time on himself, he might end up happier. But will he? Never. It’s always a case of what you put out into the world, you get returned back in spades. And unfortunately for him, he needs a bigger shovel.
Find a murder victim—Juliet, but please call her Jules. At this point in the series, Jules has stumbled on a body count so high in her charming hamlet of Ashland, Oregon, that the authorities might want to consider bringing her in for questioning. Not that Jules has a mean bone in her body. She’s the ultimate romantic, thanks in part to being named after that Juliet, but she also has a strange way of stumbling across bodies.
Be a witness—Sterling, Torte’s sous chef, is a budding young star in the culinary world. He’s an old soul whose love language is simmering a pot of heirloom tomatoes and garden herbs and kneading sourdough focaccia for an Italian-style Sunday supper. His tendency toward introspection and love of poetry makes him pay attention to the small details and take notice of people’s emotions—an excellent gift for the witness stand.
Another delicious installment in the Bakeshop Series set in Ashland, OR!
Amidst the rocky beaches of the Oregon coast, Torte’s beloved Sterling and Stephanie have been hired to take over the aging restaurant at the cliffside Whaleshead Resort. They’re nervous about striking out on their own, but excited by the opportunity to put their own spin a new menu. From fresh fish caught the very same day to vegan options and handcrafted pastries, they’re buzzing with ideas. What’s even better is that Jules and the team from Torte have come out for opening weekend to cheer them on.
Despite some opening night jitters, the dinner is off with a bang. Guests and long-term residents of Whaleshead Resort are eager to taste the young couple’s creations. As the tickets begin to line up and guests pile in the front door, Jules and Carlos offer to roll up their sleeves and help in any way they can.
Stephanie is taking on every chef’s nightmare—a fluffy chocolate soufflé—and Sterling is fast at work prepping shrimp linguini and pan-seared halibut when they suddenly hear screaming. Erik Morton, the manager of Whaleshead and their new boss, has taken a fatal fall down the steep and dangerous cliffside trail leading to the beach. Jules and her young protégés quickly realize this was no accident. Now, the team will have to juggle the investigation while keeping the restaurant—and Steph and Sterling's new jobs—from crashing like the waves along the cliffs.
Mystery Amateur Sleuth | Mystery Cozy | Mystery Culinary [Minotaur Books, On Sale: February 25, 2025, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9781250326218 / ]
Ellie Alexander is a voracious storyteller and a lover of words and all things bookish. She believes that stories have the ability to transport and transform us. With over twenty-five published novels and counting, her goal is to tell stories that provide points of connection, escape, and understanding.
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