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kimdavishb's review
5.0
Poppy Peters is finishing up culinary school at Calle Pastry Academy in Georgia. The new pastry instructor, Otto Chimenti, is America’s most eligible celebrity chef and has an ego to match. He’s teamed Poppy up with her nemesis, Georgina, to work on their final dessert and cake presentation. They must also work together at the farmer’s market giving out free samples from the students’ bakery while providing simple cooking demos. Poppy is in charge of demonstrating how to make Bananas Foster and hands a sample to a large man dressed in a pinstripe suit, which is much too hot for summer in the south. The mystery man ambles off to eat his ice cream smothered in bananas and rum sauce and soon after is found dead, with Poppy’s personal, initialed chef’s knife sticking from his back.
Detective Derek Reid is in charge of the investigation and warns Poppy to stick to her kitchen instead of getting into trouble by trying to solve the case. The dead guy is none other than Gino Milani, a member of the New Orleans mafia. Once her roommate, Bree, tells her that the mafia will retaliate against her since everyone will think Poppy is the murderer, she determines that she will have to find the real killer first. Plus she wants to prove to Detective Reid that there’s more to her skills than just baking.
The more questions Poppy asks the more secrets she finds are being hidden by a number of people but the threads of truth are difficult to unravel. It doesn’t take long for a mysterious black Cadillac to start following her and when another victim shows up, Poppy knows she’d better learn to trust the police and work with them instead of competing against them.
BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER is a fun culinary cozy! I love the setting at the Pastry Academy and hearing about all the treats they are making along with decorating skills. Poppy has several close friends that lend her support and encouragement, including Cole, the guy she crushes on but doesn’t want to admit it. Her roommate, Bree, is always in their apartment kitchen working on “Franken-Sweets”…looking to create the next cronut. She creates the Carrot Lane Cupcakes, which is a cross between Carrot Cake and Alabama Lane Cake, along with other spectacular desserts. The author provides several recipes, including some of Bree’s Franken-Sweets, at the back of the book and all sound incredibly delicious! In addition to the culinary side of the book, A. Gardner writes a mystery with twists and turns that leaves you guessing until the very end and then makes you wish the next book was available already to continue their story.
Detective Derek Reid is in charge of the investigation and warns Poppy to stick to her kitchen instead of getting into trouble by trying to solve the case. The dead guy is none other than Gino Milani, a member of the New Orleans mafia. Once her roommate, Bree, tells her that the mafia will retaliate against her since everyone will think Poppy is the murderer, she determines that she will have to find the real killer first. Plus she wants to prove to Detective Reid that there’s more to her skills than just baking.
The more questions Poppy asks the more secrets she finds are being hidden by a number of people but the threads of truth are difficult to unravel. It doesn’t take long for a mysterious black Cadillac to start following her and when another victim shows up, Poppy knows she’d better learn to trust the police and work with them instead of competing against them.
BANANAS FOSTER AND A DEAD MOBSTER is a fun culinary cozy! I love the setting at the Pastry Academy and hearing about all the treats they are making along with decorating skills. Poppy has several close friends that lend her support and encouragement, including Cole, the guy she crushes on but doesn’t want to admit it. Her roommate, Bree, is always in their apartment kitchen working on “Franken-Sweets”…looking to create the next cronut. She creates the Carrot Lane Cupcakes, which is a cross between Carrot Cake and Alabama Lane Cake, along with other spectacular desserts. The author provides several recipes, including some of Bree’s Franken-Sweets, at the back of the book and all sound incredibly delicious! In addition to the culinary side of the book, A. Gardner writes a mystery with twists and turns that leaves you guessing until the very end and then makes you wish the next book was available already to continue their story.
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