To Have and To Kill
Wedding Cake Mystery, No 1
Mary Jane Clark

William Morrow /HarperCollins
December 2010/ ISBN 9780061995545
Cozy mystery
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

Would be actress 27 year-old Piper Donovan leaves Manhattan and returns to her family's home in Hillwood, New Jersey where she assists she mother in the family bakery, Icing on the Cake. Piper promises to create a cake for the upcoming wedding of Glenna Brooks, a friend and the star of the daytime soap opera, A Little Rain Must Fall; but the murder, by cyanide poisoning, of Glenna's costar and former lover, Travis York, threatens to derail the wedding.

Glenna has been receiving threatening letters. Piper ,with the help of her neighbor Jack, an FBI agent, sets out to find the guilty party. Her own future is in limbo when she discovers that her mother has macular degeneration and will not be able to continue with the bakery.

This is an enjoyable cozy mystery. It is easy to read with short chapters. The characters are believable and likable. The cake decorating and baking are informative. Included is Piper's butter cream frosting recipe, which sounds easy to make and delicious.

Reviewer's Note: