Mocha, She Wrote is the 13th book in Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop Mystery series, featuring Juliet Capshaw, owner of the Torte bakeshop in Ashland, Oregon.
Title: Mocha, She Wrote
Author: Ellie Alexander
Series: A Bakeshop Mystery Series #13
First Published: June 29, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genres: Mystery,
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Summer has ushered in a new season in the charming hamlet of Ashland, Oregon. Torte is bustling with tourists taking in star-drenched shows at the Elizabethan, setting out to hike in the surrounding Siskiyou Mountains, and sampling the bakeshop’s summer lineup of raspberry lemon tarts and mint mojito cold brews. Jules and the team are buzzing with excitement when they learn that Andy, Torte’s head barista, has been selected to compete in the West Coast Barista Cup.
The prestigious competition draws coffee aficionados from up and down the coast to Ashland. The winner will not only claim to be best-in-brew, but also be awarded a hefty cash prize. Andy’s nervous about his chances, but Jules is confident that her star barista will shine. However, things take a grim turn when head judge Benson Vargas spits out Andy’s first offering, claiming it to be the worst thing to ever touch his lips—and hours later, is found dead clutching Andy’s creamy latte. Suddenly Torte’s favourite barista becomes the number one suspect. There’s no roast for the weary. Jules will have to sleuth out whodunit to clear Andy’s name and catch a killer before she ends up with one foot in the grounds.
It’s all about the coffee
My favourite cozy mystery series… Coffee… A title that’s a pun on Murder, She Wrote (one of the best mystery shows ever!)… This book has everything!
With the West Coast Barista Cup in town, there was A LOT of focus on coffee, and Torte’s head barista and coffee magician, Andy, has the spotlight put firmly on him. I really enjoyed learning more about coffee (one of my favourite things to drink) and all the different ways to enjoy it.
With the competition came a slew of new characters, including Piper and Benson, the head judges, and all the competitors, including Andy’s two main competitors, Sammy, 5-time Barista Cup champion and YouTube coffee goddess who owns a popular coffee shop in Spokane, and Diaz, a cocky, hipster-type who does odd things like serving coffee in an avocado (yes, I’ve seen it many times on Instagram, no I don’t think I’d enjoy it). There’s also James, who is the MC of the Barista Cup and also the chef at The Hills, where the event is being held.
I think one of the ways that Alexander has been keeping this series fresh is the changing backdrop. While Torte is always the main focus, the last two books have shifted the action away from the bakeshop – last time we were focused on the ice cream venture and this time we’re spending most of our time at the coffee competition. Not that we still don’t get to read about lots of mouthwatering lunches and to-die-for pastries, but it’s all about the coffee in this one.
When the mean-spirited judge, Benson Vargas is murdered, I never suspected Andy for a second, but the field of suspects was still pretty open. Aside from the other competitors, plus Piper and James – everyone had their own reasons for wanting Benson dead.
I’m still in love with Ashland and its characters
I really don’t want to gush. Really. But I can’t help but admire the longevity of this cozy mystery series and its ability to stay in my “must read” list time after time. As readers of my blog can quickly figure out, I read quite a few cozy mysteries and since there are literally hundreds of new books in the genre published each year, I have to be picky with the ones I read since I don’t have time to read them all. There have been some very long-running series that I have gotten bored with or lost interest in but honestly, The Bakeshop Mystery just keeps me coming back for more.
Part of the charm is the setting and the characters. I have grown so familiar with Ashland and it’s engaging set of characters that it’s like returning to visit with friends whenever I pick up a new book. But that can’t be the only reason this series still has me excited over every new release.
Familiarity aside, I think it’s the constant growth and development of the characters that I also love. It’s not just about the main character, Juliet and her ability to solve murders, or her love life, or her growing business, Torte. It’s also about her friends and staff – they all have such distinct personalities and Alexander has been giving them each character development time. Some more than others, but it’s always well-balanced within the plotline. For example, in the last book, Chilled to the Cone (you can read my review of that book here), Jules made some significant decisions about her life in Ashland, so in this book, she didn’t have as much personal growth, but other characters, like Andy, did.
We also see Carlos finding his own path in Ashland and Lance (my favourite character) still eager to solve mysteries but also enjoying a romance of his own. Other regular characters who have minor life developments include the Professor (inching ever so closer to retirement) and Thomas and Kerry (who are planning their wedding, but with some concerns popping up). I still wonder how Ashland’s police force will function when it’s managed by a married couple but I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
I had an inkling of who the murderer was about halfway through the book but the motive wasn’t that clear until closer to the end. And while I didn’t miss it, I did feel that the police presence seemed a bit more “in the background” in this one – Thomas or the Professor are usually much more involved and there’s more interactions between them and Jules.
Overall, this was a great addition to the Bakeshop Mystery series (especially if you’re a coffee lover!) and one that I can highly recommend. It was so nice to see Andy take the spotlight and I hope we see more of the staff in starring roles in the future. While you could read this as a standalone, I definitely would recommend starting from Book 1 in the series, Meet Your Baker.
Read Mocha, She Wrote for yourself
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