Battered to Death

Battered to Death
Author: Gayle Trent
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2013-09-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1476706573

The third “entertaining…and tasty read” (Entertainment Weekly) in the Daphne Martin Cake mystery series. A RECIPE FOR MURDER Life is sweet for Daphne Martin right now, from her flourishing cake-decorating business to a rekindled romance with her high school boyfriend, Ben. All that’s about to change, courtesy of famously foul-mouthed celebrity chef Jordan Richards. The TV star has come to Brea Ridge, Virginia, for the town’s lavish cake competition, but he won’t be leaving under his own steam. After his first master class, Jordan is found bludgeoned with a cake stand and drowned in some very bitter batter. Plenty of townsfolk think the curmudgeonly confectioner had it coming, but the half-baked evidence points to Daphne as a prime suspect. With Ben mulling a new job offer—in Kentucky—Daphne is faced with a multilayered dilemma. She needs to somehow keep her boyfriend, win the cake competition, and sift out the real culprit . . . before the killer serves up another victim.

Killer Sweet Tooth

Killer Sweet Tooth
Author: Gayle Trent
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2011-10-11
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1451600046

Cake decorator Daphne Martin finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation—and an Elvis impersonator convention—with a bullseye on her back. Dead as a...dentist? They say sugar is bad for your teeth, but can it actually kill you? The Brea Ridge police seem to think so when they find cake decorator Daphne Martin wielding an oversized plastic toothbrush over a dentist’s dead body. Daphne moved back to her small Virginia hometown just months ago to open her Daphne’s Delectable Cakes business and already she’s been mixed up in murder. Now she’s got to prove her sweet innocence again. After hours of police questioning, Daphne returns home to find Elvis Presley in her driveway. She’s certain she’s hallucinating until the leather-clad hunk orders up a pink Cadillac cake for a convention of the Elvis impersonators. Daphne accepts, but her reporter-boyfriend Ben is suspicious of Elvis’s intentions. Does the King want to make Daphne his confectionery queen? Or is the convention a ruse for a more sinister operation? Daphne’s own investigation into Dr. Bainsworth’s murder, meanwhile, reveals the dentist made as many enemies as he did fillings. Just about anyone could have done him in, but it’s up to Daphne to find the killer—and finish Elvis’s cake—before she’s the one singing “Jailhouse Rock.”

The Diva Takes the Cake

The Diva Takes the Cake
Author: Krista Davis
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2009-06-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101057629

When the groom's ex is found dead before the "I Do"s, Sophie Winston vows to catch the killer before her sister's wedding ends in disaster in the second Domestic Diva mystery. Sophie Winston's sister, Hannah, is getting married—again! And if you ask Sophie, her future brother-in-law is no prince. But is he a killer? That's the question on everyone's mind when his ex-wife is found hanging from a pergola. This is one event Sophie and her sister hadn't planned on. As hidden family secrets begin to come to light, Sophie finds the list of suspects is almost as long as the list of wedding guests. Will the real killer be seated on the groom's side or the bride's? Or will he be standing at the altar? Either way, Sophie must solve the murder in time to stop her sister from making the biggest—and possibly the last—mistake of her life. Includes delicious recipes and entertaining tips!

Christmas Cake Murder

Christmas Cake Murder
Author: Joanne Fluke
Publisher: Kensington
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2018-09-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 161773232X

It’s Christmas many years ago, and topping young Hannah Swensen’s wish list is becoming the go-to baker in Lake Eden, Minnesota. But as Hannah finds out, revisiting holiday memories can be murder . . . With her dream of opening The Cookie Jar taking shape, Hannah’s life matches the hectic December hustle and bustle in Lake Eden—especially when she agrees to help recreate a spectacular Christmas Ball from the past in honor of Essie Granger, an elderly local in hospice care. But instead of poring over decadent dessert recipes for the merry festivities, she instantly becomes enthralled by Essie’s old notebooks and the tale of a woman escaping danger on the streets of New York. Hannah’s surprised by Essie’s secret talent for penning crime fiction. She’s even more surprised when the story turns real. As Hannah prepares to run a bakery and move out of her mother’s house, it’ll be a true miracle if she can prevent another Yuletide disaster by solving a mystery as dense as a Christmas fruitcake . . .

Dead Pan

Dead Pan
Author: Gayle Trent
Publisher: BelleBooks
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2009-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1935661515

Book Two of Gayle Trent's cozy mystery series about a Virginia baker turned mystery sleuth. Once again Daphne Martin is the prime suspect when her baked goods are found at the scene of the crime.

Fat Cat Takes the Cake

Fat Cat Takes the Cake
Author: Janet Cantrell
Publisher: Wheeler Publishing, Incorporated
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781410495570

A National Bestselling AuthorA Fat Cat MysteryWhen mayoral candidate Richard "Dickie" Byrd throws a high school reunion, it brings back not-so-sweet memories for dessert shop proprietor Chase Oliver and her friend Julie Larson. Julie would rather not reconnect with Ron North, the creepy kid who had a crush on her back in the day. So when Ron's body is found in the park the next day, Julie is suspected of murder.

Murder Takes the Cake

Murder Takes the Cake
Author: Gayle Trent
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2011-03-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1451600011

Cake decorator and amateur sleuth Daphne Reynolds must clear her name after a routine cake delivery ends with one of her clients dead.

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake

Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake
Author: Alexis Hall
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2021-05-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1538703300

Fans of Casey McQuiston, Christina Lauren, and Abby Jimenez will love this scrumptious and sweet romantic comedy from the "dizzyingly talented writer" of Boyfriend Material (Entertainment Weekly) Publishers Weekly Summer Reads Top 10 Staff Picks Oprah Daily Most Anticipated Romance Novels of 2021 Buzzfeed Must-Read Spring Romance Novels Goodreads Sexy Spring Romances LGBTQ Reads: Most Anticipated Adult LGBTQAP Fiction 2021 We Are Bookish: Spring Releases to Have on Your Radar Following the recipe is the key to a successful bake. Rosaline Palmer has always lived by those rules—well, except for when she dropped out of college to raise her daughter, Amelie. Now, with a paycheck as useful as greaseproof paper and a house crumbling faster than biscuits in tea, she’s teetering on the edge of financial disaster. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way . . . and Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s most beloved baking show. Winning the prize money would give her daughter the life she deserves—and Rosaline is determined to stick to the instructions. However, more than collapsing trifles stand between Rosaline and sweet, sweet victory. Suave, well-educated, and parent-approved Alain Pope knows all the right moves to sweep her off her feet, but it’s shy electrician Harry Dobson who makes Rosaline question her long-held beliefs—about herself, her family, and her desires. Rosaline fears falling for Harry is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. Yet as the competition—and the ovens—heat up, Rosaline starts to realize the most delicious bakes come from the heart.

Killer Wedding Cake

Killer Wedding Cake
Author: Gayle Trent
Publisher:
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2015-06-21
Genre:
ISBN: 9780974109091

Daphne Martin's wedding to Ben Jacobs is only a couple of weeks away. An award-winning cake decorator, Daphne is busy designing their wedding cake. Her twin nephew and niece, Lucas and Leslie, are excited about being in the wedding party. And Daphne's brother-in-law Jason is planning a bachelor party for Ben. Everything is going beautifully until Daphne's ex-husband Todd shows up. Just released from prison after serving a sentence based on his shooting a gun at Daphne, Todd comes to Brea Ridge to profess his undying love for her. Despite Daphne's attempts to make Todd leave town, he insists on hanging around to reconnect with people he used to know. When he's found murdered, Daphne finds herself at the center of the investigation. Now she must track down Todd's killer before she becomes the next victim. Can she still make it to the church on time?