Now that pastry chef Rita Lucero has resolved to stay in New
Orleans and run the bakery she inherited from her deceased
(kind-of) ex-husband Phillipe, she really has her hands
full! Carnival season has arrived and Zydeco Cakes is busy
not only filling their regular orders but making as many
King Cakes as they can. Meanwhile, her second-in-command
wants Rita to catch up to modern times. Ox is hounding her
to update the company's webpage and start a blog (as if she
doesn't have enough to do without updating a blog on a
regular basis!). Her mother-in-law informs her that she
needs to host a Mardi Gras party for a few hundred of
Phillipe's closest friends (he was the "lucky" person to get
the baby in last year's King Cake), and it's a GREAT
opportunity to network since she's still new in town. So the
last thing Rita needed was a surprise visit from her Aunt
Yolanda and Uncle Nestor, who live in New Mexico (where Rita
lived until recently).
She invites Yolanda and Nestor to the party, in an effort to
be a gracious host. And while Yolanda seems enjoy herself,
Nestor gets into a heated argument with local celebrity Big
Daddy Boudreaux. No one is sure what the brouhaha is about,
but it seems to blow over quickly. However, a few hours
later, Boudreaux is found dead in a pool. And after
questioning several people, the most obvious suspect is
Nestor, especially after one woman claims that a second
round of the argument took place.
Although Rita is extremely busy, she vows to spend every
second of her free time proving that Nestor is innocent. She
is determined that she stay out of the way of the police
investigation and not turn up a suspect; she just wants to
prove that Nestor has an alibi and or lack of motive. But
that proves difficult to do when Nestor refuses to speak to
her (or anyone else) about that night and the people speaks
to only turn up damning evidence.
The kitchen really heats up when Rita (despite her best
efforts) actually thinks she knows who may have killed
Boudreaux and begins trying to piece a case together against
her suspect. This, plus trying to run the bakery, keeping
the respect of the employees (not new to the bakery, but new
to her), and keeping Ox happy by trying to balance work
responsibilities with keeping Zydeco's name out disconnected
from the murder.
CAKE ON A HOT TIN ROOF was a truly excellent read. While one
doesn't regularly connect the fun and frivolity of Mardi
Gras with the darkness of murder, this is something the
author balanced well. Rita's character also investigated the
murder in an interesting way that I really enjoyed. I also
enjoyed finding out more about Rita's family dynamic with
her aunt and uncle, which had only been alluded to in the
first book in the series. Overall, this was a fantastic
read.
When local car salesman and minor celebrity Big Daddy
Boudreaux is found dead at her Mardi Gras party after an
altercation with her uncle, pastry chef Rita Lucero, despite
her busy schedule, must save her Uncle Nestor from a sticky
situation.
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