a dizzying mystery

Jules and Lance are back creating their own types of art in Ashland, Oregon. Juliet Capshaw is a baker and the owner of Torte, a local coffee shop and bakery that serves the community with caffeine, tasty treats, breakfast and lunch, ice cream treats during the summer, and even wine, through the vineyard she owns with her husband Carlos. And now that her best friend and the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Lance, is starting his own production company to do smaller, more experimental stagings of Shakespearean plays, Jules is part of that as well. Since Lance has chosen their winery Uva, to stage The Taming of the Shrew, Jules and her gang at Torte have agreed to cater the first performance with small bites.

Clearly, Jules has a lot going on. And that doesn’t even include the fact that Carlos’s teenaged son has been living with them for a year, going to school in Oregon instead of his native Spain, where his mother lives. Having Ramiro living with them has been a blessing. But it’s also been a lot. Which might explain why Jules has started having dizzy spells.

But Jules pushes through and helps prepare the sweet and savory bites for the play’s opening. She even takesa van full of pastries to Uva, just in time to get in on some of the drama. Not the drama happening on the stage, but the drama happening backstage, as the lead actor was causing problems for the crew. Jimmy Paxton was a dream in the role of Petruchio, but he was a nightmare to work with. He criticized the costume designer and argued with the associate director. And not only that, he also accused someone on the crew of trying to kill him.

That night, the production is mesmerizing, and the food is perfection. But when Jules needs to go back down to the wine cellar, she realizes the key is missing. It’s usually on a hook in the kitchen, and it was there earlier, but now it’s missing. Jules looks for it but can’t find it. She decides to go to the wine cellar to see if by any chance the door is open, and it is. And sitting there, alone, is the troublesome actor himself, Jimmy Paxton, with a corkscrew in his neck.

Jules gets the police immediately, and the next few days are a whirlwind of intensity at the bakery as well as the murder investigation. Jules and Lance are known for sticking their noses into local investigations, and while they are able to find out where the wine cellar key went and why costumes and props had been going missing from the show. But until they figure out who the killer is and why they did it, Jules and Lance will still be in danger. And with Juliet having dizzy spells, will she be able to handle the extra stress of catching a killer?

Sticks and Scones is book 19 in Ellie Alexander’s popular Bakeshop Mystery. Clearly, she has found the recipe to create delicious novels with the right blend of crime and family warmth, delicious treats and investigating. These characters have been honed over years, so they are strong and three-dimensional. Reading Alexander’s cozy mysteries is like taking a master class in writing, each one with a strong plot and a perfect balance.. Although every single one does leave me hungry.

I have been a longtime fan of these Bakeshop Mysteries. I especially love this one, where Jules finally seems to feel the weight of opening some new branch of her bakery empire each book. I know she has a lot of good help, but it sounds like a lot of work. I was also a fan of Lance’s new Fair Verona Players and his choice of The Taming of the Shrew. I’m always happy reading about the Shakespeare plays they put on at the university and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, so that was a nice surprise. And as always, there are a handful of recipes at the end, including Strawberry Scones, so Sticks and Scones is packed with delectable treats from beginning to end.

Egalleys for Sticks and Scones were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.