Arsenic and Old Cake (A Piece of Cake Mystery, #3)

by Jacklyn Brady

Blind man’s bluff

With business going stale at Zydeco Cakes, Rita Lucero has plenty to worry about. But when the blind trumpet player Old Dog Leg Magee asks for a favor, she can’t say no. His brother Monroe disappeared forty years ago, and now someone has shown up claiming to be him. Old Dog Leg needs Rita to be his eyes—and see if it’s really his brother.

The Twisted Palms Bed and Breakfast is full of unsavory characters, Monroe included. Posing as newlyweds, Rita and her friend Gabriel check in, only to discover that Monroe’s true identity isn’t the only mystery they’ll have to solve. When another guest at the Twisted Palms turns up dead, it seems the mysterious man might also be a murderer...

• ISBN10: 0425251721
• ISBN13: 9780425251720
• Publish Date: 6 November 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425251720

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

The best of the series so far. Previous books have left me feeling flat, but this one held my attention once I got past the ludicrousness of the initial setup: Old Dog Leg thinks his missing-for-40-years brother is back in town but doesn't know if it's really him. The only solution: Rita MUST go undercover as a newlywed at a honeymoon b&b to find out. Really? Flimsy. Even for a cozy.

BUT once you get past that the story behind the residents of the b&b is interesting, the mystery tied to old secrets. I really enjoyed it, and the ending was unexpected - I never guessed the murderer.

The characters have improved as well, Rita's employees not quite so insolent. Although Rita is still weak as a business owner. She seems to prefer stressing out about problems over actually fixing them or even confronting them.

I was ready to give up this series before reading this book, but I'll definitely check out the next one and hope this is a sign of great books to come.