Murder Takes the Cake - Gayle Trent

Murder Takes the Cake is a brand new series from Gayle Trent, just released by Bell Bridge Books.

Middle aged Daphne Martin moves back home to small town Virgina to start over after her marriage ends. She settles in and opens 'Daphne's Delectable Cakes.' She is delivering her third attempt- a spice cake with cream cheese icing - to Yodel Watson. Her previous two cakes have been rejected by hard to please Yodel. However, Yodel won't be rejecting this cake - she's dead. Is it murder or natural causes?

Yodel was the town gossip and kept track of everything in a diary. Yodel's out of town daughter asks Daphne to pick up the diary from her mother's house for her.

'Mother kept a diary - a virtual tell-all of the happenings in the community. If someone killed her , the reason why is in that book".

This stretches believability a little bit. If that's the case, why not give the book to the police?

In any case, Daphne does pick up the book and begins to read it. She discovers much more than she had bargained for. Her family is mentioned in the book, along with half the town. It looks like a lot of people had motives to kill Yodel - including her own family. And half the town thinks it was Daphne's spice cake that killed Yodel! So Daphne sets out to clear her name.

The folksy names, dialogues, settings and characters all promise a good cozy (culinary) mystery. This was an easy, entertaining read. It reminded me a bit of a comfortable, enjoyable game of Clue. A second in this series - "Dead Pan" is already in the works.

There are lots of cake decorating ideas throughout the story and some recipes are included. Daphne has her own cake decorating web page as well!

Murder Takes the Cake was a semi-finalist in Amazon.com's Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.

Booth's Sister - Jane Singer

Jane Singer is a published Civil War scholar. Booth's Sister is her first fiction foray from Bell Bridge Books.

Singer first came upon two photographs of Asia Booth Clark and the story she wrote about her brother, John Wilkes Booth, published in 1938 as The Unlocked Book. Singer felt the need to know more about Asia and has written this fictionalized account exploring Asia Booth's life.

Nearly everyone (including us Canadians) can tell you who shot Abraham Lincoln and where. Beyond that I didn't know too much. Booth's Sister is a fascinating look at the life of the sister who was left to deal with the aftermath of the assassination.

The book opens with the statement:

"My brother killed Abraham Lincoln. That is my weight, my shame."

From there we travel back to relive their childhood, from Asia's viewpoint. Raised in rural Maryland with an often absent actor father who insisted that Shakespeare be part of everyday life, the two youngest Booth children embraced the theatre. The freed black woman Gillian seems to have been a much stronger force in her life than their own mother. Inklings of Johnny's political leanings are hinted at in his childhood.

I found the first part of the book a little confusing. Singer has taken great literary license in imagining their days. Asia seems to want to be her brother. Lots of Shakespearean quotes and references let us know how great a role the theatre plays in their lives. But I sometimes had to read pages two and three times to understand what was real and what was imagined.

The second half of the book, their adult life, captured me more. It seemed more grounded and readable. Asia still longs to be a man and particiapate in the theatre. Her brothers are celebrated actors and she longs to be on the stage with them. Instead she enters a loveless marriage, but continues to help her brother with his plans to bring down Lincoln's government. 'Johnny' commits his crime and Asia's life is forever changed.

There are two monologues- " Voices From the Time of the Assassination" at the end of the book that I found to be excellent. I enjoyed them almost as much as the book. I love the idea of fictionalizing history and Singer has done an admirable job of bringing to life a lesser known figure from the past.

Egret Cove - Margaret Nava

Egret Cove is the newly released fiction debut of Margaret Nava from Bell Bridge Books.

Covers always catch my eye. This cover is very appealing. Bright and inviting - just makes you want to sit in a chair and watch the ocean doesn't it?

Egret Cove tells the story of Angela Dunn - a sixties something divorcee from Kokomo, Indiana who packs up her dog Gizmo and moves to a Florida retirement trailer community. Her brother lives there and has offered her a job with his pest control business.

The subtitle -'A good place to start over'- describes the jist of the novel. Angela is looking for more in life - although she's not always aware of it. At the trailer park we are introduced to many of the other residents, including the dashing, single Gilberto and full of life Katherine. Katherine is a member of the Foxy Ladies - pretty much the same idea as the Red Hat Society.

Although Angela is going through some upheaval in her life which could explain her behaviour, I just didn't quite bond with her. I found her to be a bit mercurical - rude, abrasive and cynical at times, then naive and shy. I found the character of Katherine to be more my cup of tea. She is ready to embrace and experience life and has a wonderful outlook.

I would place this book in the "hen lit" category. Light hearted but appealing to older readers. There are references made that will pass over younger reader's heads. "...Esther William's bathing suit..."and a few others.

I believe Nava has a great idea for a series here - there are plans for at least two more Angela and Gizmo books - and with more fiction experience the story will not seem quite so forced.