A Crime of Passion Fruit

Ellie Alexander — 2017

Torte—everybody’s favorite small-town family bakeshop—is headed for the high seas, where murder is about to make a splash. . . Jules Capshaw is trying to keep her cool as Torte gets set to make its transformation from quaint, local confectionary café to royal pastry palace. Meanwhile, Jules’s estranged husband Carlos is making a desperate plea for her to come aboard his cruise ship and dazzle everyone with her signature sweets. She may be skeptical about returning to her former nautical life with Carlos but Jules can’t resist an all-expense-paid trip, either. If only she knew that a dead body would find its way onto the itinerary . . “A warm and inviting atmosphere, friendly and likable main characters, and a nasty murder mystery to solve!” —Fresh Fiction Now, instead of enjoying tropical drinks on deck between whipping up batches of sea-salted chocolates and flambéing fresh pineapple slices in the kitchen, Jules is plunged into dangerous waters. Her investigation leaves her with more questions than answers: Why can’t anyone on board identify the young woman? And how can she help Carlos keep passengers at ease with a killer in their midst? Jules feels like she’s ready to jump ship. Can she solve this case without getting in too deep? “A perfect mix for fans of Jenn McKinlay, Leslie Budewitz, or Jessica Beck.” —Library Journal

Reviews

Stephanie Joseph@i_besteph

May 7, 2022

I have no idea why my reading has been color coordinated these past few days. Such a weird coincidence!😂 This is book #6 in the Bakeshop Mystery Cozy Series and you know I’m giving this a 5-star rating. Ellie Alexander is a great author. I love reading her work. It gives my brain a mental workout figuring who the murderer is but it’s also very engaging. Love her & the book! Rating: 5/5

Cindy@readingactually

Apr 8, 2022

I have a new favorite Cozy Mystery Series! This book pulled me in right from the start, I loved the hometown Northwest setting of this book. It is set in a bakery , for the first few chapters, in a small town in Oregon and the description of the bakery itself and the pastries had me wanting to visit! I thought that the side characters quirkiness added to the overall feel of this foodie cozy mystery. Soon hunky sounding Jules's estranged husband calls and begs Jules to return temporarily to the cruise ship where he is the head chef. Now I have to say that this is a series but you can most definitely read this as a standalone although I wish that I had read all of the previous books as this is my first book in this series that I am reading. Soon Jules, her mom and her mom's boyfriend are departing for the cruise. Not soon after there is a corpse found by Jules and it is time for the mystery to begin. There was lots of action , drama and a big storm going on in this book. I loved every minute of this and found myself rooting for Jules and Carlos to get back together but that topic will be continued in books to come, I hope. There is a nice twist in the mystery of the murdered stowaway and I was surprised by whodunit. I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy mystery and it had a nice twist at the end, also there were recipes included at the end of the book. I am thrilled that I found a new series.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge

Karli @curlykarli

Nov 17, 2021