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A poetry slam at a bakery? Why not! Even though Pie Town proprietor Val Harris would rather be spending time with her newfound half-brother, she knows her employee, Abril, is beyond excited to be hosting the event. Especially since it stars the apple pie of Abril’s eye, poet and professor Michael Starke. But the evening ends on a sour note when Professor Starke is found murdered mere moments after being accused of plagiarism.
Just like that, Pie Town is at the center of another criminal inquiry. At Abril’s request—and much to Detective Carmichael’s consternation—Val and Charlene decide to investigate Starke’s death. But the case is as tough as an overworked crust and the Baker Street Bakers are only coming up with scraps. If they don’t pinch the cultured killer soon, Pie Town’s reputation could crumble.
Source: Purchase Rating: 4½/5 stars
The Bottom Line: It took me until about the halfway mark of this book to realize exactly what I had in my hands. When I realized I had a HUGE book full of personal evolution – yeah, there’s a lot of that this week – I was so dang excited. I totally enjoyed the actual mystery, but what I liked most about this book was the personal bits that were happening with Val from start to finish. Val has a new stepbrother to contend with, a growing relationship with Gordon (yummy!), and Charlene is on a tear like never before (UFOs!). With so much happening simultaneously, Val begins to question everything, doubt all her decisions, and wonder if anything in her life is as it should be. By story’s end, Val has yet again solved the crime and seemingly come upon on the answers to her life questions. I truly enjoyed this particular arc and found that it overrode the actual plot for me. Evolution is a main character is such a must-have for me and is surely came in spades in this read.
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