a downhill dummy and a mountain murder

It’s after Christmas, and Jules Capshaw is ready to take a little time off to spend with her family. Her bakery Torte can run on its own for a few days while she spends time with her husband Carlos and his family, who are visiting from Spain. Jules wants to welcome them to Ashland, Oregon, and have some fun while they’re visiting, so she’s got some fun activities planned.

First up is the moonlight snowshoe tour on the mountain, where they are led by their experienced guide Hero through some beautiful scenery. Jules brings lots of food from Torte, including their new savory buns. However, their tour gets cut short when a local on cross-country skis comes through with a couple of women. Hero recognizes the skier immediately as Fitz, who is known for taking risks. He has two women with him, and he’s leading them off the trail.

Hero stops the tour for Jules and her gang, in order to let ski patrol know what Fitz is doing and where he went. Ski patrol has to rescue Fitz and his group, making one member of ski patrol in particular very upset. Shawn is his name, and he recognizes Jules because his best friend Andy is Torte’s award-winning barista. He tells her about how dangerous Fitz is on the trails, clearly resenting how he has to rescue the man again.

Jules and Carlos make it back home safely, going back the way they came, not even too disappointed that their tour had gotten cut short. The next morning, after all, is the downhill dummy competition, and Jules is going for the first time. Contestants create a dummy, strap it to skis, and then shoot it down the ski jump to see how high and how far it can go. Torte has created a special dummy for the occasion, a baker who looks a lot like Jules with a six layer cake. It sails down the ski jump to the delight of the crowd (the cookies the Torte bakers threw into the crowd helped too).

The final dummy to go down the ski lift was put together by the ski patrol. It looked like a tree made of metal branches, and while it was impressive, it looked like it could be dangerous too. And as it turned out, it was. Somehow, it landed on someone at the bottom of the hill, and after everyone had been so careful to stay clear of the landings.

When Jules goes to find out what happened, she discovers that the victim was Fitz. And one of the locals who was there immediately pointed out Shawn as the murderer. Andy is certain that Shawn would never kill anyone, no matter how much he disliked someone, so Andy asks Jules to please help his friend. Jules has been known to help out with an investigation, and she finds that she can’t say no to Andy. So once again, Jules is on the case. But will she be able to get to the bottom of the crime, or will a killer decide to ice her next?

A Smoking Bun is book 18 in Ellie Alexander’s popular Bakeshop Mysteries, and it’s still making me just as hungry as the first one I read. These books are dangerous, filled with delicious treats, coffee drinks, soups and savory dishes, and just about every kind of delicious food you can think of. No matter what you like to eat or drink, you will find something that sounds delicious here. But not only that, you’ll find a well-plotted mystery and a large family around Jules and Torte.

I love these mysteries for the relationships that Jules has developed in her family, with her found family at the bakery, with the police, and with her best friend Lance, who runs the local theater. This group of people keep things interesting, and the foods keep things savory. But of course, I’m also here for the mystery, and I get hungry for justice when Jules starts to put the ingredients together to pull the case together.

Egalleys for A Smoking Bun were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.