Poppy Peters is counting down the days till she graduates from the Calle Pastry Academy in Georgia. Unfortunately, things go seriously awry when she's working at a booth for the academy at the local farmers' market. Now, a mobster is dead using Poppy's own knife and Poppy finds herself smack in the middle of yet another murder investigation. Will Poppy uncover who the real murderer is or will she end up as a victim of the mob?

BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER is the third book in A. Gardner's Poppy Peters Mysteries series. While the mystery in BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER is a standalone story, I highly suggest reading the first two books in the series because of the relationships that have developed over the course of the series. Part of the fun of BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER is watching Poppy learn to cope with her pastry academy nemesis, Georgina, and new readers will miss out on seeing how their relationship has evolved.

I was a little worried about the mob aspect of BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER. Not only am I not a fan of books or movies featuring the mob, but it seemed a bit outrageous to have mobsters dying around a pastry academy. Never fear, however, as A. Gardner puts her own unique spin on things and takes an outrageous concept and makes it sheer fun.

A. Gardner has done a wonderful job at crafting the characters in the Poppy Peters Mysteries and I'm more than a little sad to see Poppy and the rest of the crew graduate from the Calle Pastry Academy. The ending leaves me hopeful we have more murders still to be solved but I'm going to miss the atmosphere of the academy. Poppy and her friends are just a lot of fun and I like the way A. Gardner moved the various relationships along in BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER. If you love scrumptious desserts and entertaining characters, don't hesitate to give this delightful cozy mystery a shot!