Murder Takes the Cake - Gayle Trent

Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent
A Daphne Martin Cake Mystery, Book 1

Review:
At the age of 40, Daphne Martin is beginning a new chapter in her life. She has relocated from Tennessee to her Virgina hometown after divorcing her abusive husband Todd (who is currently serving time in prison). She's trying to make a fresh start by turning her passion for baking cakes into her own business: Daphne's Delectable Cakes.

Unfortunately for Daphne her first client, Yodel Watson, is ornery and the town's gossip. Ms. Watson is quite difficult (to put it mildly) and has Daphne running in circles with the changes for her cake orders. Naturally Daphne remains professional and tries to accommodate Yodel's unrealistic demands (she is her first client after all). When Daphne arrives at Yodel's home with her third cake, she unexpectedly finds herself involved in a murder investigation.

Rumor has it that Yodel was poisoned. And because Daphne found her dead, it is assumed that an ingredient in one of Daphne's cakes may have poisoned her. To prove her innocence and keep her business from being ruined before it even begins, Daphne must find Yodel's killer.

Murder Takes the Cake is the first book in this cozy series. Although the story centers around Daphne's attempt to rebuild her life, the reader is also introduced to a host of secondary characters. Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this light, quick read. Murder Takes the Cake is a good start to a promising series. Recommended.

______________
Book Details:
Pub. Date: March 29, 2011 (Reissue)
Publisher: Gallery Books (A Division of Simon & Schuster)
Pages: 288
ISBN: 978-1-4516-0001-8
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: Publicist

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. Receiving a free copy did not influence my review in any way.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. (Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms.)

Here's what I'm looking forward to:

Title: I'll Walk Alone
Author: Mary Higgins Clark
Release Date: April 5

From Amazon.com:
THE QUEEN OF SUSPENSE IS BACK! Mary Higgins Clark’s new novel—the thirtieth and most spine-chilling of her long career as America’s most beloved author of suspense fiction— is about the newest and most up-to-date of crimes: identity theft.

Who has not read about—or experienced—with a sinking feeling the fear that someone else out there may be using your credit cards, accessing your bank account, even stealing your identity.

In I'll Walk Alone, Alexandra “Zan” Moreland, a gifted, beautiful interior designer on the threshold of a successful Manhattan career, is terrified to discover that somebody is not only using her credit cards and manipulating her financial accounts to bankrupt her and destroy her reputation, but may also be impersonating her in a scheme that may involve the much more brutal crimes of kidnapping and murder. Zan is already haunted by the disappearance of her own son, Matthew, kidnapped in broad daylight two years ago in Central Park—a tragedy that has left her torn between hope and despair.

Now, on what would be Matthew’s fifth birthday, photos surface that seem to show Zan kidnapping her own child, followed by a chain of events that suggests somebody—but who? Zan asks herself desperately, and why?—has stolen her identity.

Hounded by the press, under investigation by the police, attacked by both her angry ex-husband and a vindictive business rival, Zan, wracked by fear and pain and sustained only by her belief, which nobody else shares, that Matthew is still alive, sets out to discover who is behind this cruel hoax.

What she does not realize is that with every step she takes toward the truth, she is putting herself— and those she loves most—in mortal danger from the person who has ingeniously plotted out her destruction.

Even Zan’s supporters, who include Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner and amateur detective, and Father Aiden O’Brien, who thinks that Zan may have confessed to him a secret he cannot reveal, believe she may have kidnapped little Matthew. Zan herself begins to doubt her own sanity, until, in the kind of fast-paced explosive ending that is Mary Higgins Clark’s trademark, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with an unexpected and shocking revelation.

Deeply satisfying, I’ll Walk Alone is Mary Higgins Clark at the top of her form.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Sheila, of One Persons Journey Through a World of Books, is the host of It's Monday! What Are You Reading? This is a weekly event to share what we read last week, what we are currently reading and what books we plan to read this week.

Recently read:
It has been awhile since I participated in the It's Monday weekly meme. I've had to work late on numerous occasions and as a result my reading suffered. In the last two weeks I've managed to finish one book: The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg. I think work is starting to slow down somewhat and I won't have to spend my evenings there. I'm looking forward to getting my reading back on track.

I'm reading:

• Save as Draft - Cavanaugh Lee
• Cutting For Stone - Abraham Verghese
  

Reading soon:

• Sing You Home - Jodi Picoult
  
• Pictures of You - Carol Leavitt
• Stitch Me Deadly - Amanda Lee
  

What are you reading this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. (Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms.)

Here's what I'm looking forward to:

Title: Exposure
Author: Therese Fowler
Release Date: May 3

From the author's website:

In EXPOSURE, Therese Fowler has written her most gripping novel to date—a ripped-from-the-headlines story of intense young love and a nightmarish legal maelstrom that threatens to destroy two families.

Amelia Wilkes’ strict father does not allow her to date, but that doesn’t stop the talented, winsome high school senior from carrying on a secret romance with her classmate, Anthony Winter. Desperately in love, the two envision a life together and plan to tell Amelia’s parents when she turns eighteen and is legally an adult. Anthony’s mother, Kim Winter, who teaches at their school, knows—and keeps—their secret. But the couple’s passion is exposed sooner than planned: Amelia’s father, Harlan, is shocked and infuriated to find naked pictures of Anthony on his daughter’s computer. Just hours later, Anthony is arrested.

Despite Amelia’s frantic protests, Harlan uses his wealth and influence with local law enforcement and the media to label Anthony a deviant who preyed on his innocent daughter. Spearheaded by a zealous prosecutor anxious to turn the case into a public crusade against “sexting,” the investigation soon takes an even more disturbing and destructive turn.

As events spiral wildly out of control and the scandalous story makes national news, Amelia and Anthony risk everything in a bold and dangerous plan to clear their names and end the madness once and for all.

A captivating page-turner, Therese Fowler’s EXPOSURE is also a deftly crafted, provocative, and timely novel that serves as a haunting allegory of the consequences of love in the modern age.