Bakeshop Mystery

Welcome to Torte, a friendly, small-town family bake shop where the oven is heating up as high as the body count...Jules Capshaw is still chewing over her husband Carlos's return to Ashland, Oregon. Could there be too many cooks in the kitchen? Whatever is stirring between those two will have to wait. Despite the Oregon Shakespeare Festival being dark for the winter, the bakeshop is bustling, the dough is rolling, and there's no rest for the weary...especially when murder is thrown into the mix. When Mindy Nolan, the owner of a new restaurant in town, turns up dead, the batter at hand thickens. Jules knows that there was bad blood between Mindy and others in town, and tracking down the killer could prove to be an unwelcome treat. And to top it all off, there's Carlos, who is pleading with those delicious dark eyes and sexy Spanish accent for Jules to take him back. Is home where the heart is or will she make a fresh start...and risk getting burned?

Welcome to Torte, a friendly, small-town family bakery where the pastries are delicious...and, now, suspicious. It's almost spring in Ashland, Oregon, and the town is preparing for the Shakespeare and the annual Chocolate Festival. Business is cookin' at Torte, and the store is expanding as Jules' team whips up crèpes filled with mascarpone cheese and dark chocolate. Torte stands a chance of being this year's confectionery belle of the ball! Life couldn't be sweeter unless murder taints the batter. Evan Rowe, of Confections Couture, makes a chocolate fountain that would put Willy Wonka to shame, and his truffles are to die for literally? Yes, the world-renowned chocolatier has just turned up dead...right after sampling a slice of Jules' decadent four-layer chocolate cake. Now all eyes are on Jules as she tries to find the mysterious ingredient in her own recipe. Can she sift out the truth before another contestant bites the buttercream.

The heat is on for pastry chef, family business operator, and unlikely sleuth Jules Capshaw. Just when she thought she could enjoy some time away from the kitchen, Jules manages to discover a skull during a picnic by the lake. As if unearthing remains that may be connected to a missing-persons case from the 1960s isn't enough on her plate, Jules must contend with the unsolved matter of her “own” marriage while her estranged husband Carlos sails the open seas, awaiting a verdict. Then there's Jules's bitter landlord Edgar, who is intent on making a sweet deal on a vacant lot down the block from Torte, until he turns up dead. If only Jules could find a recipe that would let her bake her cake and eat it, too.