I have read every book in Jacklyn Brady's A Piece of Cake
mystery series, and I always anxiously look forward to the
next book in the series. The latest book, ARSENIC AND OLD
CAKE, was no exception. Rita Lucero is trying to keep
Zydeco Cakes in the black, but things aren't going well.
The employees there sense trouble and are growing restless,
wondering if they should start seeking employment elsewhere.
While Rita is trying to figure out how to keep Zydeco
running without laying anyone off, one of her friends, Dog
Leg Magee, the blind trumpet player at the nearby bar asks
her for a favour. Dog Leg's brother, Monroe, disappeared
about forty years ago and has suddenly reappeared, asking
for a meeting and reconciliation. But after all this time,
Dog Leg can't trust that this is really Monroe. And, being
blind, he needs someone to meet Monroe and let him know if
his brother has really returned or if someone is running
some kind of con.
The confounder is that Monroe is staying at a
bed-and-breakfast that caters to the newlywed crowd. So Dog
Leg asks Gabriel Broussard, the bartender (and someone Rita
occasionally dates), to pair up with Rita and pose as such a
couple so they can find Monroe without raising suspicions.
Despite her misgivings about leaving Zydeco and the workers
at such a bad time, she agrees to help out her friend, not
knowing that one of the guests will be killed while she's there.
Complications ensue when the other guy Rita has been dating
- a police officer - is assigned to the case. Not only does
Rita find herself explaining that she isn't really a
newlywed AND that she has no knowledge of the murder, but
she ends up being unofficially assigned to the case since
she has a reasonable explanation for being on site. Despite
wanting to return to Zydeco full-time to figure out the
business issues, Rita is happy to delay having to explain
everything to Dog Leg since Monroe disappeared as soon as the
body was discovered.
ARSENIC AND OLD CAKE did not disappoint; the mystery was
well-written
and very suspenseful. Rita once again finds herself
navigating a relationship with the mother of her dead
husband (who would be an ex-husband had he not suddenly
died). They have both a personal and professional
relationship and must figure out how to balance the two
while still getting to know each other. Rita also continues
to earn the trust of the Zydeco employees, who weren't
featured in this book as much as they have been in other
books. I like how things played out between Rita and the
men she's dating; it's realistic and brings a very human
side to the character.
Blind man’s bluff With business going stale at Zydeco Cakes, Rita Lucero has plenty to worry about. But when the blind trumpet player Old Dog Leg Magee asks for a favor, she can’t say no. His brother Monroe disappeared forty years ago, and now someone has shown up claiming to be him. Old Dog Leg needs Rita to be his eyes—and see if it’s really his brother. The Twisted Palms Bed and Breakfast is full of unsavory characters, Monroe included. Posing as newlyweds, Rita and her friend Gabriel check in, only to discover that Monroe’s true identity isn’t the only mystery they’ll have to solve. When another guest at the Twisted Palms turns up dead, it seems the mysterious man might also be a murderer...
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