Hobby-Themed Mysteries: Baking

Double Fudge Brownie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Life in tiny Lake Eden, Minnesota, is usually pleasantly uneventful. Lately, though, it seems everyone has more than their fair share of drama--especially the Swensen family. With so much on her plate, Hannah Swensen can hardly find the time to think about her bakery--let alone the town's most recent murder. . . Hannah is nervous about the upcoming trial for her involvement in a tragic accident. She's eager to clear her name once and for all, but her troubles only double when she finds the judge bludgeoned to death with his own gavel--and Hannah is the number one suspect. Now on trial in the court of public opinion, she sets out in search of the culprit and discovers that the judge made more than a few enemies during his career. With time running out, Hannah will have to whip up her most clever recipe yet to find a killer more elusive than the perfect brownie.

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

Early summer brings plenty of work for baker Hannah Swensen, even before Mayor Bascomb's wife drops by The Cookie Jar to place an order for her charity event...For eleven-hundred cookies! And Hannah almost flips when her business partner, Lisa, suggests setting up an apple turnover stand. But she places her faith in Lisa and agrees to be a magician's assistant in the fundraiser's talent show. The only snag is the show's host, college professor Bradford Ramsey. Hannah and her sister, Michelle, each had unfortunate romances with Ramsey, and when the cad comes sniffing around between acts, Hannah tells him off. But when the curtain doesn't go up, she discovers Ramsey backstage - dead, with a turnover in his hand. Now Hannah must find a killer who's flakier than puff pastry - and far more dangerous.

Death by Chocolate Snickerdoodle by Sarah Graves

In the fourth Death by Chocolate Mystery, Jacobia Jake Tiptree and Ellie White are fired up for Eastport, Maine's Annual Cookie Baking Contest. But when a cunning killer and a devastating fire threaten to ravage the quaint island town, Jake and Ellie must dip into another homemade homicide investigation before all they love goes up in smoke.

Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut by Sarah Graves

When the annual Pirate Festival blows into their small town, bakeshop owners Jacobia 'Jake' Tiptree and her best friend Ellie White expect they'll be busy baking up a storm at The Chocolate Moose. When the body of celebrity foodie Henry Hadlyme is discovered in the Moose's basement, Jake is pegged for the murder. Who among Henry's numerous enemies scuttled him in the cellar? Alas, dead men tell no tales. Will Jake and Ellie find the real killer before anyone else is forced to walk the plank?

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

When production for the tenth season of the hit cooking competition Bake Week begins at the gothic estate of the show's host and founder, celebrity chef Betsy Martin, everything seems normal. The six contestants are eager to prove their culinary talents over the course of five days, while Betsy struggles for control of the show with her new co-host, the brash and unpredictable Archie Morris. But as the baking competition gets under way, things begin to go awry. At first it's merely sabotage-sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high-but then someone shows up dead and suddenly everyone's a suspect.

Chocolate Covered Murder by Leslie Meier

After the suspicious drowning of a local fisherman and the murder of a sultry chocolate-store manager, Lucy Stone must track down a killer, all while navigating the craziness of the Tinker's Cove Valentine's Day tourist promotion.

Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier

Lucy Stone, the Tinker's Cove, Maine newspaper reporter has a whole subdivision of peculiar neighbors around her once peaceful farmhouse, and anonymous letters are arriving at her office. The unknown penman alleges that the new football coach, Buck Burkhart, is condoning unsavory behavior by the high school's senior football players toward the junior players and the cheerleaders, one of whom is Lucy's daughter, Sara. But no one is talking or listening, as the coach launches his lackluster team into a victorious season. Then Lucy finds Burkhart's neighbor, one of her volunteer bakers, knifed to death in her kitchen.

Doing It at the Dixie Dew by Ruth Moose

Beth McKenzie's attempt to turn an old Southern mansion into a Bed and Breakfast called The Dixie Dew is thwarted when her first guest is found dead in bed. Murdered, it turns out. Three days later a young priest who looks better in tennis whites than cleric black, is found strangled in his chapel. The whole town of Littleboro is abuzz, and Ossie Delbardo, the town cop whose job heretofore mainly involved controlling football traffic on Friday nights, is not cut out to solve the murders. With her barely opened B&B in danger of failing, and aided by her friend from high school and trusty handyman, Beth sets out to discover the truth of the murders. Littleboro has its share of characters, some of which are helpful and others misleading. There's Crazy Reba who lives in a tree, bathes in any bathtub she finds empty, and dumpster dives; Verna, the town know-it-all and affectionate owner of Robert Redford, a huge white rabbit; and Miss Tempie Merritt, music teacher and organist who always wears hat, gloves, and lace-trimmed white socks. When Beth herself is attacked, there's no more time for baking muffins and stencilling pineapples on the porch. She's in a race to uncover her neighbors' secrets before her hometown becomes her burial ground.

Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O'Connor

In Kilbane, opinions are plentiful and rarely in alignment. But there's one thing everyone does agree on--the bakery in the old flour mill, just outside town, is the best in County Cork, well worth the short drive and the long lines. No wonder they're about to be featured on a reality baking show. All six contestants in the show are coming to Kilbane to participate, and the town is simmering with excitement... As for the competitors themselves, not all are as sweet as their confections. There are shenanigans on the first day of filming that put everyone on edge, but that's nothing compared to day two, when the first round ends and the top contestant is found face-down in her signature pie.

A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp

Daisy bakes a little murder into every pie she creates, and she and her dog, Zoe, deliver them to the town's worst cads. Now, Daisy's entered a televised, elimination-style competition and has a shot at $100k in prize money--but she still has a murder pie to deliver between filming. In a completely unexpected turn of events, she discovers that her intended victim is one of the competition judges, and he turns up dead before the pie even arrives. Now, Daisy has to solve the murder--even if it means working a bit of magic--before someone calls foul play and exposes her murderous secret. For anyone who's ever fantasized about the world of competitive baking à la the Great British Bake Off--or has ever dreamed of getting back at that guy who wronged them years ago -- Popp's culinary cozy series is as alluring as a perfectly baked pie, this edgy yet utterly charming novel takes the idea of "a dessert to die for" to a whole new level.