The crime brûlée bake off

Review by Booklist Review

Claire Walker is excited to be a contestant on Britain's Battle of the Bakers, to be held on the grounds of Blackfirth Park, owned by grumpy Jonathan (Jonny) Ainsley, Viscount Colburn. When one of the bakers, Lesley Kemble, is murdered in the same manner as a long-ago ancestor of Jonny's, the inexperienced local detective sergeant, Jim Watson, asks Jonny and Claire to help him investigate by keeping their eyes and ears open. After the show's staff decides the show must go on, a second baker is attacked, unsettling the rest of the bakers, who move into the manor house for safety. Though billed as a contemporary romantic mystery novel, the investigation is secondary to Jonny and Claire's developing interest in each another. Their sweet romance and the details of participating in a competitive baking show will please romance fans, those who enjoy watching The Great British Baking Show, and readers of baking-framed cozies like those by Joanne Fluke.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Romance author Connolly (the Agents of the Convent series) combines a genteel love story with a middle-of-the-road murder plot in this sturdy if unremarkable series launch. Bored with teaching history to disinterested teenagers, Claire Walker decides to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a baker and applies to the 12th season of Britain's Battle of the Bakers. She's swiftly accepted and summoned to historic Blackfirth Park--home of the wealthy and charming viscount Jonathan Ainsley--where the show is set to tape. Claire is immediately smitten with Ainsley, who, in turn, is charmed by her knowledge of history. The pair's mutual infatuation gets put on pause when one of the show's contestants is murdered in a manner that echoes the killing of one of Ainsley's ancestors. Producers call in the police, who tap the trustworthy Claire to gather intel on her fellow bakers. She ropes Ainsley into her investigation, putting their budding romance to the test as they try to keep more bodies from piling up. Connolly's leads have sufficient chemistry, and she dutifully hits cozy mystery beats, but an abrupt ending and workmanlike plotting prevent this from breaking out of the pack. It's a literary soufflé: tasty, airy, and insubstantial. (Feb.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

Claire Walker is thrilled when she is selected to be a contestant on Britain's Battle of the Bakers, which will be filmed at Blackfirth Park, one of England's stately homes (and the private residence of Jonathan Ainsley, the Viscount of Colburn). Jonathan is trying to keep the estate solvent and would be just as happy if the show filming on his park did not also showcase the historical family murder from 250 years earlier, when the 10th Viscountess of Colburn was strangled and drowned in the mill pond. Alas--or as Claire would exclaim, "crepes alive"--a contestant is soon found dead in the same pond. The estate is locked down, and Claire and Jonathan are drafted into helping solve the murder. The details of the cozy mystery spin out with regular order as the pair logically identify the killer and conduct a courtship on the side, while the baking show continues apace, even as it becomes clear the contestants are in danger. VERDICT Connolly (A Sporting Season), known for romances, ably opens this new ro-mystery series, crafting a slow, charming, sweet fall and filling the case with details of baking, estate living, and reality TV filming.--Neal Wyatt

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