Cake and Punishment — Maymee Bell

In the first of a delectable new Southern-set baking cozy series, a pastry chef must craft the perfect cake for an old friend's wedding while sifting through the suspects in a murder

Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and JoAnna Carl, Cake and Punishment -- with authentic Southern recipes! -- will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Bucolic Rumford, Kentucky has glowing fields of bluegrass, a fine selection of bourbons, and now a professional pastry chef. Broken-hearted Sophia Cummings has come home from New York City. She's not there a minute before she's charmed into making her high school friend Charlotte's wedding cake. The kitchen at the Rumford Country Club seems perfect until Chef Emile's body is discovered, sprawled near the stove, a cast iron skillet on the floor close by.

With one look at the shiny, new frying pan, Sophia knows it's not Emile's. She offers her knowledge to Sheriff Carter and her talents to Evelyn, the manager, who needs an interim chef. The mood in the country club is grim: Emile's peppery personality had burned members and staff alike. Sophia wonders which one of them burned him?