A Soufflé of Suspicion by Daryl Wood Gerber

Mimi Rousseau is still working to get her new French Bistro on the lips of the tourists and locals alike, so Maison Rousseau is hosting the Sweet Treats Festival during Crush Week.  Her head chef Camille's sister Renée is the coordinator but things are not all good.  Renée purchased the Festival rights from Allie O'Malley and now since the Festival seems to be on the verge of success, Allie is feeling cheated.  The discovery of Renée murdered has many of the vendors wondering if Allie is the murderer or is it Camille or Renée's estranged husband.  There are many possibilities since Renée was not everyone's favorite person.

Mimi feels the need to help find the guilty person since her friend Camille needs closure as well as clearance of guilt. The characters as just a well-developed and charming as in the first installment and once again I find myself wishing that the Bistro really did exist and I could go and taste all the delectable sounding dishes.

Great story!

Murder in the Manuscript Room by Con Lehane

Spies can be found anywhere including the library but when an undercover agent is found murdered and stuffed on the shelf, Raymond Ambler knows he needs to figure why his library was "targeted" 

I have  to admit that this second installment was a bit easier to read than the first and I got the beginnings of an interest in the characters.  They seemed more real this book, but still have need to grow.  I do think that the plot was a bit to convoluted and the book could have withstood a bit more editing..

Killer Green Tomatoes by Lynn Cahoon

Angie Turner is finally ready to open her new hometown restaurant the County Seat, but she is till trying to find a few more suppliers for her all natural recipes so when her sous chef recommends his cousin's farm, she's willing to give it a try.  The cousin, Javier, is somewhat of a ladies man, so when his current girlfriend is found murdered, he is the natural suspect. 

Angie has a strong sense of family that drives her to assist trying to clear Javier of suspicion, but when he disappears the investigation gets trickier.  I love the way that the food images and descriptions are easily woven into thew story as well as well-hidden clues.

Murder with Cinnamon Scones by Karen Rose Smith

This second installment of the Daisy Tea Garden Mysteries was just as good as the first.  Daisy and other shopkeepers in Willow Creek are hosting Quilt Lover's Week but Reese Masemer will be missing out on all the fun - He's found murdered by the covered bridge and Daisy's best friend Tessa (Reese's girlfriend) is the prime suspect.

The story moves along so well with insights into running the business, blossoming romance and delectable sounding treats all intermix with the clues for this fun whodunnit.  I only wish I could find Willow Creek on a real map so I could visit the Tea Garden.

Murder on the Green by H. V. Coombs

Described as Midsomer Murders meets The Great British Bake Off - it fell a bit short on both but was still entertaining in the mystery category. In my opinion it had a few too many characters and didn't really stand alone as a mystery alluding to activities and character connections from a previous book. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the first book in this series.