This and That with Karen : Bake, Borrow, and Steal by Ellie Alexander

Dec 17, 2021

Bake, Borrow, and Steal by Ellie Alexander

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "Bake, Borrow, and Steal" the 12th instalment in the A Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. It releases on December 28th

Ellie Alexander's Bake, Borrow, and Steal, the most delicious installment yet in the Bakeshop Series set in Ashland, Oregon!

As the autumnal hues of November fall over the Shakespearean hamlet of Ashland, Oregon, Jules and her team at Torte are working on their biggest event ever. They’ve been invited to create chocolate showpieces for the gala opening of a new exhibit, Shakespeare’s Lost Pages at SOMA. The museum, located on the campus of Southern Oregon University, is getting ready to unveil the Bard’s lost manuscript, Double Falsehood, which is being touted as the greatest artistic discovery of modern times. In addition to molding luscious, silky chocolate into magnificent structures, Torte will be serving an authentic Elizabethan feast straight from the pages of a sixteenth century cookbook featuring Lardy cakes, Frangipane tarts, and jellies with chestnut cream.

Jules has underestimated the amount of work required to pull off such a culinary feat. She finds herself in the strange position of feeling frazzled and stressed as the day of the gala approaches. However, her team rallies around her and once the massive works of chocolate art are safely installed at the museum, she can finally let out a sigh of relief and revel in the excitement of the grand celebration. But her relief is short-lived. Right before the unveiling, news quickly begins to spread that Shakespeare’s lost manuscript is missing. Not only that, but the security guard tasked with keeping the priceless artifact safe has been killed. Is this a case of a heist gone terribly wrong? Or could it be that a killer is lurking in the museum archives?

I really enjoyed this story, with Thanksgiving looming, and a Shakespeare exhibit to get through beforehand then throw in a murder… what’s not to like! I also liked that we had a lot of tension among the museum board, and a lost manuscript to muddy the waters.

I’m happy that Carlos and Jules are making a go of their marriage. Torte seems like the ideal place to work and Ashland a perfect place to live. Jules has found her place, home and family of friends and now with Carlos there it’s perfect. Needless to say I cant wait for the next book.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and there were just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Don’t get me started on the descriptions of all the desserts, drinks and food , I think I gained weight just thinking about them. I like that recipes are included in back of the book too

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.