Winter has arrived in Larch Haven, Vermont, bringing with it holiday cheer, lots of snow, and freezing temperatures. Becca Ransom is squeezing in time to skate on the frozen canals and drink hot chocolate by a roaring fire while also whipping up new creations for her family’s chocolate shop and experimenting with holiday flavors like eggnog, gingerbread, and peppermint. At the same time, Becca is preparing for the Baking Spirits Bright holiday baking competition, a popular annual event. She’s planning to enter an edible model of Larch Haven, with a mountain backdrop made of cake, gingerbread cottages, and chocolate gondolas on sugar-glass canals.
Professional bakers and a local food blogger are also participating in the event and they aren’t about to go down without a fight. The competition quickly heats to a boiling point, with flaring tempers and mysterious happenings. When one of the entrants is found dead, stabbed with Becca’s chocolate chipper, Becca tries to salvage the season by finding the killer. But the heat is on, and Becca is in danger of getting burned.
Release Date: Oct 10, 2023
Series: A True Confections
Book: 2
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $8.99
Becca Ransom is getting settled back into life in Larch Haven, Vermont, after working in Los Angeles as an actress. The holidays are coming up, and the canals throughout the town are frozen and perfect for skating and getting into the Christmas spirit. Becca is looking forward to her first Christmas since returning to her hometown. She is busy preparing holiday sweets for the family chocolate shop, but her best friend, Dizzy Bautista, convinces her to enter the annual Baking Spirits Bright competition. The excitement of the contest is dampened when one of the bakers is murdered. Even though her friend, Sawyer Maguire, who is on the local police force, tells Becca to stay out of it for her own safety, Becca can’t help but launch her own investigation into the death.
This is the second book in a charming series, but you don’t have to read the first book to enjoy this one. The small-town atmosphere with so many cute shops is ideal for a cozy mystery series. Becca is a likable main character, and I especially enjoy her friendship with Dizzy. They are there for each other during their sleuthing escapades and in the ups and downs of their lives in general. I also like Becca’s renewed friendship and the promise of something more with Sawyer.
The murder victim in this story was an unpleasant person, so there is no shortage of suspects. There are also plenty of townspeople willing to gossip, so Becca is able to get information that the police can’t by talking to people and keeping her ears open. I wasn’t able to guess who the killer was, but there didn’t seem to be any clues leading to this person either, so the resolution wasn’t very satisfying. On the other hand, the overall ending of the book was wonderful and uplifting for a mystery set around the holidays.
~ Christine
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