Batter Off Dead: A Southern Cake Baker Mystery

Sophia has two things on her mind: preparing for a library fundraiser and continuing to grow her business, but everyone else is counting on the handsome and rich Ray Peel to make good on his many promises. As the landlord of the winery, he has shocking ideas for its future and plans to donate to the library to settle its loans. Everything changes when Ray is found dead. As Sophia dives into the mystery, she uncovers several suspects and broken promises that give ground for motive. When her house is broken into, it’s clear someone is trying to send her a message, but one of her friends is a suspect, and she’s not about to give up yet.

The mystery is complex with several suspects whose motives lead Sophia in circles and make the mystery delightfully complicated for her to solve. The threats she receives are scary, ranging from a break in at her house to a window of her shop being smashed with a brick. Maymee Bell even supplies an underlying mystery when mysterious coupons appear in the paper Sophia didn’t place, which is strange, but as the truth is revealed, so is the cleverness of how every thread ties together. Bell also incorporates a romantic comedic element through the sweet banter between her and her boyfriend, Sheriff Carter, as they often butt heads about her sleuthing. Sophia is a delightful sleuth who never lets fear or threats stop her from finding out the truth. She’s the type of sleuth you’d want to go investigate with and makes every scene delightful. Batter Off Dead is a decadent treat with mystery, heart, and humorous team-ups with Sophia’s mother and friends that make for non-stop sleuthing fun.

Batter Off Dead is the second book in the Southern Cake Baker Mystery series.