Sticks and Scones: A Bakeshop Mystery (A Bakeshop Mystery, 19)

“Alexander’s fans will not be disappointed.”

What could possibly go wrong at a Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, except, well. . . maybe murder.

And that’s the basis for Ellie Alexander’s new cozy mystery, Sticks and Scones. Juliet Capshaw, baker extraordinaire, owns “Torte,” the local bakery, and her best friend, Lance, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, hires her to provide side dishes at the opening night of The Taming of the Shrew.

As Juliet “Jules” prepares her bakery staff, she meets Jimmy Paxton, star of the event, and it is not auspicious. Jimmy is arrogant, rude, spoiled, lecherous, and extremely talented. He is also not well-liked by the rest of the cast and crew.

Before the show starts, Tom Rudolph, one of the investors in the Fair Verona Players, introduces himself to Jules. He knows that Jules and her husband, Carlos, own a popular vineyard, and Tom is looking for a good bottle of wine. He does not make a good first impression as he tells Jules how poor her security is because the key to the wine cellar is out in the open where anyone can take it and steal their product.

Alexander introduces the cast and crew early in the story, allowing the reader to become familiar with those who will play a significant role in the events to follow.

The show opens to a full audience, and the play is a success. But as the night wears on, Jimmy disappears. It is not until Jules discovers that the key to the cellar is missing and she lets herself in with an extra key that the story starts to ramp up. Jimmy is dead . . . he’s been murdered by corkscrew! The vicious attack leaves him wallowing in his own blood.

Although Jules is good friends with the local police gendarmes, and the investigation's leader is none other than her stepfather, the Professor, she feels it is her responsibility to hunt down the murderer. After all, the murder occurred on her property, and she was warned about problems with easy access.

Jules begins her deep dive into the cast, crew, and any outsiders who may have had a motive to kill Jimmy. Olive Green, the Costume Designer, and Bertie Parker, the Associate Director, rise to the surface, although Jules still needs to find motives. And there is Tom Rudolph, ever the arrogant investor—what reason could he have?

Sophie, the Assistant Set Designer, is in love with Jimmy—or is she? Ed, the Set Designer, is responsible for ensuring the sets are ready and perfect for the audience to appreciate. He already has a difficult relationship with Jimmy.

As Jules digs further into the background of the cast and crew, it does not take long for feelings to erupt and gossip and finger-pointing to begin to flow. Numerous “accidents” occur on the set, and the feeling is that someone is trying to upset the cast and force them to make mistakes during the show. There are no serious injuries, but not for lack of trying, that is—until Jimmy turns up dead.

It is during Jules’ search that Alexander provides the reader with numerous motives, some of which hit brick walls and some of which appear to carry water. She expresses her frustration with “Why? I felt like I had received the same answer from nearly every member of the Fair Verona Players. Did none of them trust each other?”

Alexander provides strong motivations for several of the characters to want Jimmy dead, and she continues to lead the reader down a number of paths until she reaches a satisfactory conclusion.

It should be noted, however, that throughout the story, Alexander has a habit of driving the reader up a road that has nothing to do with the story. Her narrative is often lengthy regarding how to bake a particular item. She also wanders off in various directions regarding Jules' personal history and family issues, taking the reader away from the flow of the story.

Having said this, the end of the book has several pages of recipes that are referred to in the story. This is a tactic that some cozy authors use, and it is fun to see how these recipes will turn out.

Overall, the story is a success, and Alexander’s fans will not be disappointed.