Red Velvet and Revenge

The sixteenth Peridale Cafe cozy mystery puts Julia South-Brown on the judging panel of the village's first bake off, next to local radio DJ Tony Bridges. Off air, Bridges turns out to be a man who has made an enemy of nearly everyone he has met, from his wife and ex-wife to his assistant.

When a contaminated red velvet cake turns his well-publicised peanut allergy into a murder weapon mid-competition, Julia is left with a long list of suspects and a case that refuses to stay simple. It does not help that her father and stepmother are stranded in Ibiza with a broken leg, leaving Julia suddenly responsible for her baby brother while her husband Barker finishes his second novel.

Agatha Frost balances the whodunit with the domestic thread the series runs on: village life, family, and decisions Julia cannot put off much longer.