Catch Me If You Candy is the 17th book in the popular Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. It’s no secret that I absolutely LOVE this long-running series – it still manages to stay fresh after so many books!
Title: Catch Me If You Candy
Author: Ellie Alexander
Series: Bakeshop Mystery #17
First Published: August 22, 2023
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Halloween has arrived in picturesque Ashland, Oregon, and all of the ghouls and goblins have descended on Main Street for the annual parade.
Jules Capshaw and her team at Torte have been baking up autumn delights and trick-or-Torte bags filled with sugar cookie cutouts, spiced cider, and mummy munch. The grand marshal of this year’s parade is no other than a regal pug aptly named King George. Jules is delighted to get to share the experience with Carlos and Ramiro, but things take a dark turn when she discovers a dragon slumped down dead in front of the bakeshop.
Jules is extra shaken because a few days before the parade, her mother’s Mahjong partner Helen discovered a warning note about a dragon in an antique game set. Jules hopes it’s just a random coincidence, but as the clues begin to unfold it becomes evident that there’s been a murder on All Hallow’s Eve. Can Juliet sift out the truth before the killer comes after her?
A sweet treat for Halloween
I can’t believe that this is the 17th book in the Bakeshop Mystery series! I read the first one over six years ago and it still continues to be one of my favourite cozy mystery series. Throughout the series, the characters have grown, loved, lost, and continue to delight. The Torte team has grown but the members, both new and old, still feel like a cohesive family. The supporting cast outside of Torte also continue to develop into unique and memorable characters, although with such a large cast, some characters get more ‘air time’ than others. I think having so many wonderful personalities to work with allows this series to keep fresh and new while still maintaining the sense of familiarity that many cozy mystery readers, like myself, enjoy.
I love the huge party atmosphere that Ashland has towards Halloween and it’s treated as a holiday that children and adults can enjoy together. There are lots of yummy treats and while it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I really love the descriptive baking that takes place in these books. Being an avid home baker myself, I’m always looking out for tips to pick up and you can tell Ellie Alexander knows her way around a kitchen as all the food scenes are described in loving detail.
The murder is pretty interesting as there is a mini-mystery beforehand with a mysterious note in an antique Mahjong set. Halloween, with its spooky vibes and costumes, seems like the perfect time to commit a murder and Jules, with a major assist from Lance, has her work cut out for her in solving this one.
The mystery of the Mahjong note and the murder are very evenly paced, and there’s lots of baking and personal development intertwined in the story. One thing I love about this series is that we get to check in with all the characters, even if it’s just a little tidbit, and they all seem to be moving forward with their lives, either professionally or personally, or both.
Changes ahead?
One feeling that I got from this story though is that there may be big changes in. the horizon. Whether it’s Jules and Carlos possibly becoming new parents, or Torte team members taking off on their own adventures, or whatever it is that Lance is doing sneaking around with Richard Lord, I feel that “something” is in the air. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for a new book to find out the future of our beloved Ashland residents. One thing that I love about my cozy mysteries is the familiarity and stability so we’ll see how well I deal with changes (it took me FOREVER to warm up to Carlos as I had my heart set on Jules and Thomas getting together for a long time).
All in all, Catch Me If You Candy was another pitch-perfect entry to the Bakeshop Mystery series and I can’t wait for book 18!
Quote from Catch Me If You Candy
I’m not surprised you enjoyed Catch Me if You Candy. Alexander is a terrific storyteller!
Isn’t she great? I love both her mystery series and they’re always at the top of my TBR!
It took me a while to warm up to Carlos too! I love him now, but his arrival caught me off guard and for the first few books I was always sure he was going to be the killer.
Really excited about this new book! Going to try to hold off until October to read it, but it sounds so good.
LOL – Julie, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who didn’t fall in love with Carlos right away! It took me several books to even accept the fact that he was staying around. This would be the perfect book to read in October – it’s got the best Halloween vibes! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!