Welcome to Hanmer Springs. Small town. Big secrets.With a divorce pending and her career hanging in the balance, Holly Waterston returns to her hometown of Hanmer Springs to lick her wounds. According to her accountant, she also needs to sell the cupcake bakery owned and operated by her family for three generations. The bakery is the only place Holly’s younger sister Crystal has ever worked.But … Crystal has ever worked.
But when their mortgage holder suffers anaphylactic shock after eating a cupcake, Crystal is chief suspect for the attempted murder. Despite being labeled allergy-free, the cake was chock full of peanuts.
Holly must dig in her heels and don an apron if she’s to clear her sister’s name, uncover the real culprit, and find out why their booming business is hemorrhaging money. If she can’t, then Holly might lose Crystal to prison and lose the one place she can truly call home.
This Sweet Baked Mystery is certified allergy-free of the following ingredients:
No Swearing
No Gore
No Graphic Scenes
and absolutely No Cliffhangers!
Warning: May contain traces of danger and good humor.
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I heart this book so much.
So much.
I loved the main character. She was brilliant. Loved the complex family dynamics. The characters weren’t ‘perfect.’ Perfectly flawed in that quirky cozy mystery sort of way.
Holly and her sister make for an interesting duo. Big sister helping little sister who seems to have gotten into trouble again. I didn’t figure out all the parts to the mystery until close to the end.
If you enjoy cozies, definitely grab this one .
Grateful twisted mystery with just enough diversion to make it captivating.
“Cupcakes and Conspiracies” introduces readers to Holly Waterston and her younger sister Crystal, both of them having grown up in the tourist town of Hammer Springs, famous for its hot mineral springs, They both had helped their father in the family cupcake bakery, “Sweet Baked Goods”, since they were eight years old . While Crystal ended up in Hammer Springs to help her father with the bakery, Holly left to go to college and become a lawyer. After their father’s death, Holly learns that her father left her their huge family house and left Crystal the family cupcake bakery. When Holly goes through the family finances, she learns that they are deeply in debt and will probably have to sell both the house and the bakery to clear their debts. Crystal has been running the bakery herself since her father died and really loves what she is doing. Holly is on leave for a short time from her law practice and volunteers to help Crystal with the bakery. When Crystal leaves Holly alone in the bakery so she could make some cupcake deliveries, Holly is overwhelmed by the amount of cupcakes being sought after by the tourists and town’s people. She cannot understand why the bakery is so much in debt based on the amount of money coming into the business. When she is alone in the store, a frazzled Holly, not being used to waiting on demanding customers, gets immediate help from Meggie, a hairdresser who does know how to deal with customers. They become good friends. Crystal is then suddenly charged with the attempted murder of Brian Masters, the man who owns the mortgages of most of the businesses in town and who is so allergic to peanuts that coming in contact with them could kill him. Brian Masters, in a coma, is rushed to the hospital in Christchurch, the city that Holly had lived in before she returned to Hammer Springs. Chrystal had just had an argument with Masters because she is the AA sponsor of his son Derek, a young man trying to get over his alcohol addiction. Brian Masters does not believe in AA or in Derek being involved with Crystal because he sees her as a former heroin and alcohol addict who could hurt rather than help his son. He threatens Crystal with the knowledge that he has the mortgage to the bakery and her house and if she does not leave his son alone, could foreclose any time he wanted to. Holly has to tell Derek what happened to his father and offers to feed his cat while he goes to the city to stay with his father. She offers him a place to stay in the city. Readers follow Holly while she investigates the accountant, Humphrey, who is in charge of keeping the finances of the bakery and most of the other town businesses and how all of those businesses are deeply in debt to Brian Masters. She and Meggie want to sit down with Humphrey and go over his books and find out why all the businesses he takes care of are in such debt. Readers sympathize with Crystal because they cannot believe she put peanuts in Brian Master’s cupcake, being so aware of the dangers of peanuts since her own father had the same kind of allergy that Masters has. I could not put the book down until I learned exactly what is going on in the town of Hammer Springs and why the town’s businesses are so much in debt in spite of the huge influx of tourists who come to use the hot mineral springs and who daily use the services of the businesses. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more like it,
Just not enough to keep me interested from the start, dnf
Sometimes I just want something light and not so heavy on the death stuff to read. This was a good story with likeable characters. It was clean with no sex, cursing, etc. A good read. I look forward to reading more books by Katherine Hayton.
cozy mystery
short
I would recommend this book for anyone that likes cozy mysteries. The characters are likable and the plot takes some interesting twists. There are no offensive words or sex!
Series has potential as the main characters are realistically flawed and like-able. The plot had enough twists to make it enjoyable.
It was hard to guess the villain and I was surprised that it ended somewhat abruptly; still I enjoyed it.
Look forward to reading more Sweet Baked Mysteries
very good
Enjoyed it! Fun characters doing silly things that get them in trouble. Of course, it all turns out just fine.
I prefer light hearted books like these. Great
The twists and turns made for a good read.
Sometimes unrealistic, but an enjoyable mystery.
An easy fun read with a strong heroine
Nice cozy mystery series with interesting characters, unexpected situations and plot turns. Sorry to come to the end of the series.
Good book, definately up my alley!
fun mystery