Ellie Alexander is a wonderful writer. Her series: Bakeshop Mystery is a series of twenty-one books! I am often wary of how someone can continue to write good books after the tenth but Ellie Alexander does. Each of her books manages to capture the development of characters through their quirkiness and wit. It shows the turmoil the protagonist Jules goes through after working on a cruise ship, falling in love and getting married, leaving her husband behind on the cruise ship to return home.   Jules has some difficult decisions to make and gets herself into some interesting situations. Throughout the books, it is exciting to watch her evolve as a daughter, boss, wife and friend. Although Jules is the main character, the author strives to give each character a unique personality. They all play an important role in Jules’ life and the relationship she has with each is heartwarming. Of course there is the antagonist who shows up at the most inopportune times. He is someone that each of us can relate to. That person who is irritating and self-absorbed.

I usually do not like books that include “how to make food” in the context of the book.  If the author feels so inclined to add recipes at the end, so be it, but I usually do not like my “book time” to be wasted on how to “do” something.  I can read a “cookbook” or a “how to” book for that.  Authors of mysteries should be concerned with a great “who done it”, not how to make a chocolate tart! Ellie Alexander somehow makes descriptions of the food work.  Perhaps it is because her plots are so clever, the characters are so engaging and the location is so picturesque.  Every time I pick up this series.  I want to venture off to Oregon.  I think there is a trip in my near future.

Very short synopsis if each book:

Book 1, Meet Your Baker.  Jules has an awful lot to deal with. She left her husband on the cruise ship they both worked on and is now getting her life together in her hometown of Ashland, Oregon.  As she returns to help her mom at their family bake shop, Torte, life becomes more complicated than she bargained for.  It isn’t so easy to find yourself when your high school sweet heart is wanting to rekindle their romance.  Along with romance, there is mayhem as a Torte customer turns up dead.  Did I mention her high school sweetheart is now a police officer?

Book 2. A Batter of Life and Death. Jules decides to be a contestant on Take The Cake, a reality baking competition.  Things appear to be going well until…..someone is murdered!

Book 3. On Thin Ice.  Jules is finding a dead body again. This time it is the bartender in the freezer! This isn’t too bad except her husband shows up and becomes the suspect.  Can anyone say “love triangle?”

Book 4, Caught Bread Handed.  How is Jules going to deal with her love life? How is Jules going to deal with another murder in Ashland, Oregon.  A new restaurant opens up in town. New owner, dead owner, who done it?

Book 5. Fudge and Jury.  The Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon is a real thing! So is the Ashland Chocolate Festival!  Jules competes in the chocolate competition at the Chocolate Festival and  serves up a cake to die for….literally.

Book 6.  A Crime of Passion Fruit.  Well the series takes a turn as Jules goes back on  board the ship she left, with her husband.  It is a shame there always seems to be a  body, a dead one!

Book 7.  Another One Bites the Crust.  Jules’ best friend and partner in all things crime related, Lance, is also the artistic director of the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. He gets in a heated argument with one of the actors who is ….found dead.   What will Jules do?

Book 8.  Till Death Do Us Tart.  A surprise wedding; Investing in a winery with her husband; Remodeling Torte; Meeting her stepson;  A murder.  I hope there is enough time in her day.

Book 9.  Live and Let Pie.  When you thought things could not get more confusing for Jules, they do. Carlos, her husband is back on the cruise ship pining away for Jules.  Her mother, now married to “the Professor” a detective in Ashford and long time friend of Jules’ deceased father, enlists Jules to help in an unsolved murder.  Torte is moving along and so is the hiring of new employees.  And you thought you had a lot on your plate!

Book 10. A Cup of Holiday Fear.  Jules and her mom Helen want to celebrate Christmas with lots of friends and cheer. Who knew when the lights went out, they would go out for someone lying in front of the Christmas tree?

Book 11. Nothing Bundt Trouble.  This book is different from the others in the series. Jules moves into her family home and finds her late father’s journal.  Her father reveals observing a hit and run which becomes a cold case.

There are many mixed reviews on this book and whether it fits in with the series.  It does give a perspective into Jules’ father and the Professor.

Book 12. Chilled to the Cone.  Jules takes on another venture. She decides to open “Scoops” an ice cream shop, not too far from Torte.  Carlos is back!!! Now for the decisions.  Wait,  is there a murder?   Seriously though, the characters in all the books make me want to keep reading and even visit the murderous town of Ashland.

Book 13.  Mocha She Wrote.  Andy, the beloved barista and coffee aficionado extraordinaire, is suspected of murder after a judge at the West Coast Barista Cup ends up dead. Was it Andy’s Latte?  You need to read the book to find out.  You won’t be disappointed.

Book 14. Bake, Borrow and Steal.  Jules and her team bake up incredible Elizabethan desserts for the reveal of the Bard’s lost manuscript, “Double Falsehood”.  Things were going smoothly until the security guard in charge of protecting the manuscript ended up dead and the manuscript was gone.

Book 15. Donut Disturb.  Did I mention that Thomas, a now detective in training and Jules’ high school sweetheart, is getting married to another officer?  He is.  Jules and her team are providing a beautiful spread.  Lots of surprises are yet to come to make this day unforgettable.

Book 16. Muffin But the Truth.  Jules agrees to cater a corporate campout on the Rogue River.  The group is going to go rafting while building team spirit, which is hard to do when one of the team members becomes a “spirit”.  Nah. But he does end up face down in the river!  Lucky for Jules her step dad took her step-son on the same rafting trip.  Always good to have the Professor nearby.

Book 17. Catch Me If You Candy.  Halloween, costumes, a dead dragon. What more can I say.

Book 18.  A Smoking Bun.  Jules and Carlos are hosting her step-son’s family from Spain.  She wants everything to be perfect.  Perfect may be a little too much to ask for when during the annual Downhill Dummy competition someone is taken down.

Book 19.  Sticks and Scones.   Lance, the artistic director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is bringing Shakespeare to Uva, the vineyard owned by Jules, Carlos and Lance.  What a great idea!  Well, not if the main actor, who put on a stellar performance the day before, ends up dead.  Where you ask?  In Uva’s wine cellar of course.  Who finds him you ask? Jules of course.

Book 20.  Killing Me Soufflé.  Jules and her team are sorry to see Sterling, her head cook and Stephanie, her cake decorator spread their wings and take over as head chef and pastry chef at an aging restaurant that needs revitalization and young blood.  Unfortunately blood is what they get when their boss is sent over the cliff at the restaurant.  Lucky for Sterling and Stephanie that Jules, Carlos and the team were there when it happened.

Book 21. Laying down the Latte. A vacation in Costa Rica on a coffee farm.  Carlos, Jules and Andy visit Carlos’ friend who owns a coffee farm.  Who would have guessed their vacation would come to a  grinding halt when one of the workers is found in the pulping machine.