Murder...and recipes

The Crime Brulee Bake-Off
By Rebecca Connolly
Claire Walker #1

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Publication date: February 4, 2025

Print length: 320 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1639933044

 Publisher’s Blurb:

When Claire Walker is selected to be a contestant on the immensely popular cooking show, Britian’s Battle of the Bakers, she is thrilled. She can’t wait to spend eight enchanting weeks baking at the picturesque estate of Blackfirth Park. She can almost smell the fresh pastries wafting through the air as she and her fellow contestants use historical equipment to bring pre-1900s recipes to life. If she can win the fifty thousand pounds, she’ll be able to ditch her teaching job and launch her baking career.

The Viscount of Colburn, Jonathan Ainsley, is the custodian of Blackfirth Park and an eligible bachelor. With his family’s income dwindling, he reluctantly agrees to host the entire production team, but he refuses to participate since he’s had enough of single women who see him as nothing more than a potential conquest. But when a contestant is found dead soon after filming begins, Jonathan is forced to get involved. To make matters worse, the baker’s death is eerily similar to the legendary death of the tenth Viscountess of Colburn two hundred and fifty years earlier, which sends rumors racing through the estate.

Even as suspicion falls on some of the bakers, a decidedly different kind of heat begins to simmer between Claire and Jonathan. If they are to have any hope of a future romance, they must first solve the mystery before the show gets canceled or someone else falls prey to the Blackfirth Park ghost.

Mayhem on the Marzipan Express
By Rebecca Connolly
Claire Walker #2

Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing

Publication date: January 6, 2026

Print length: 320 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1639935000

 Publisher’s Blurb:

Amateur baker and part-time sleuth Claire Walker is looking forward to a vacation with her boyfriend, Jonathan Ainsley. The happy couple boards the famed Scottish train, the Mallaig Steam Express—temporarily renamed “The Marzipan Express” in honor of chef Alan Gables, who is hosting an exclusive culinary experience for his most devoted fans.

 The trip has barely begun when Claire and Jonny discover a dead body, and though it appears to be an accident, Claire can sense something is wrong as easily as she can sense an overbaked soufflé. All clues point to Alan as the culprit: He doesn’t have an alibi, his assistant is oddly nervous around him, and a shadowy figure keeps appearing at all the wrong times. Is someone from Alan’s past trying to frame him? Or could Alan be trying to cover his tracks?

 Claire had hoped for a delicious, romantic getaway, not investigating a mysterious death while stress-eating trifle in the kitchen car and trying to not be jealous of a magazine reporter who is flirting with Jonny. It’s mayhem in more ways than one.

My Thoughts:

These cozy culinary mysteries—with a side of romance—are a lot of fun. Yes, the baking competition is definitely an ode to Great British Baking. Yes, you can see the romance coming. But the setup of the mystery, particularly in the first book, is well done.

For 320-page books, these were quick reads. Description is good, and dialogue pops. The bromance between Jonny and Alan in the second book is an absolute hoot. There are some occasional mis-uses of words and odd constructions, plus a couple of fact-checking errors in my advanced reader copies that I hope were cleared up on final.

I like the romance between Claire and Jonny, but one thing sticks out to me: Why is she so insecure? There’s no real backstory there. The second book does give a little bit of explanation on why Jonny is so anti-social, but there’s really not much explanation for Claire.

Supporting characters are well-done and exist as actual characters, not cardboard cutouts. The reporter in the second book, as well as the assistant, are a bit “stock” but not so much that they ruin things.

 All-in-all, these are good reads that don’t demand much.

 Possible Objectionable Material:

People are murdered, though not on the page and description of the bodies is not graphic. Rumors of a ghost in the first book. Side mention of people having a “hookup” in the second book.

 Who Might Like These Books:

Mystery fans, particularly when there are recipes involved! Food lovers. Fans of Great British Baking. Those who like a little romance in their mystery.

 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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