Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing these ARCs in exchange for honest reviews. The recipe reviews and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing. 

Sticks and Scones
A Bakeshop Mystery
Ellie Alexander
Minotaur Books

Ellie Alexander has created another great Bakeshop Mystery cozy with well-crafted characters and recipes. All of the core characters have a heart like Jules, but only Lance has panache and a dash of devil-may-care making Lance the perfect person to head up an acting troupe. In addition to being the artistic director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and head of his new production company the Fair Verona Player, Lance is Jules partner in crime solving. In addition to Jules and Lance there is the Torte team which is one great big family. Then there are the other characters such as the victim who is an egomaniac but when on stage, he is one heck of an actor, as well as Tom the investor who is an insufferable wine snob with one too many opinions that he can’t seem to keep to himself. To round it out there is a drab seamstress, a love struck stage assistant, and more than a few people who are not necessarily sad that the understudy is stepping in. Know who else is stepping in? Lance goes straight into investigatory mode and while he doesn’t drag Jules, he gently tugs her into joining him. The story holds your interest and character interactions do a great job of eliciting emotions. For example, I literally rolled my eyes when Jules has the “opportunity” to interact with Tom at the local pub. Other times I found myself chuckling over Lance’s comments about morning jogging. Last but not least is the sighing brought on by the way Carlos tends to Jules when she is feeling a little “off.”

Every Bakeshop Mystery comes with descriptions of the most amazing foods woven into the story and this time is no different. There are mentions of chicken salad, cherry based sweet treats, barbecue chicken cups, tahini cookies, and strawberry scones. There are recipes at the end of the story and I can confirm that the scones are as easy to make as they are tasty.  I certainly hope that this isn’t the last one, there is still so much more for Jules to do and so many changes on the horizon. Reading about her personal growth has been educational and enjoyable.