Jules Capshaw & her team at Torte is hired by high tech company Bamboo to cater an outdoor weekend getaway along the Rogue River. But it soon becomes clear that Bamboo's executive team is full of dysfunctional members, none worse than CEO Josie Jones. Instead of bonding their whitewater rafting excursion & enjoying Torte's feast under the stars, team members are bickering and drinking heavily. The next morning, Jules finds one team member floating face down in the river. Who wanted to kill Josie? But wait...the victim isn't Josie but Bamboo VP Maddy wearing Josie's distinctive pink life jacket. Now back in Ashland, Jules tries to help the Professor and his police team with the investigation. With prodding & assistance from her OSU theatre director friend Lance, Jules picks up a few clues but the killer is revealed during a police news conference at the festival plaza. Subplots involving Jules' husband Carlos & stepson Ramiro & the continuing development of Torte team members adds to the story.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley & St. Martin's Press. My opinions are my own.

A good addition to the series set in southern Oregon. When Juliet and her husband Carlos go on a company retreat as the catering team, it becomes complicated when the woman in charge is a terror to her team. When the one who looked like her is murdered it makes people think she was the intended victim. A good story, with good characters. Would recommend.

This is a wonderful addition to this favorite long running series set in Ashland Oregon. I love the atmospheric setting and how the author includes the beauty of Ashland into her series. Each character is a delight and the sleuth is always fun and keeps me guessing to conclusion. A fun read for foodies and all cozy fans is the wonderful bakery setting and outstanding food elements in this series.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

I was, as always, happy to rejoin the Torte crew for another adventure. While I felt that a few twists were telegraphed early on, there were enough red herrings and false ends to keep me on my toes. Very successfully, Alexander got me to suspect everyone— except the real killer. I was worried that being on location would mean less face time with some of my favorite characters and locations, but thankfully they returned to Ashland. My only grievance is that, like Jules says, she and Lance played a relatively small part in the reveal. While I love The Professor, since the book follows Jules, I become attached to her solving the mystery.

A cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns. Jules and her family and friends once again find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery. When a group of executives come to town for a retreat and one ends up dead they must find the killer. It is a varied collection of characters that are gathered together. Some are intense and others are humorous. The plot is interesting and well written leading to a great conclusion.

Muffin But The Truth is the 16th installment in Ellie Alexander's popular Bakeshop Mystery series, and it's a fun whodunit!

Juliet Capshaw runs Torte, a bakeshop in scenic Ashland, Oregon. She has a loving husband in Carlos, and in this installment, Carlos' son Ramiro has come to live with the couple for a year. Torte has been hired to cater a company retreat/campout near a local river. It is not the picturesque Fall camping scene it sounds like it will be, as the group's dysfunction, nastiness, arguing, and heavy drinking are fully displayed. When a group member is found face down in the water, Juliet gets to work finding out who did it and why?

This series is a long-running favorite and with good reason. Alexander is an excellent cozy mystery writer who has built a charming world with memorable characters and solid mysteries. Even though I have skipped around in the series, I always feel like I'm visiting with old friends when I pick up one of these books! And this one would convey that feeling to the reader even if they hadn't read any previous installments. The background, setting, characters, and relationships are all warmly and vividly depicted.

But, on every visit to this quaint town, there is a murder, and fortunately, Alexander keeps us on our toes, trying to solve them alongside Juliet. I love guessing wrong when reading a whodunit, and happily, there were enough red herrings that I pegged the wrong culprit this time! The camp locale was great fun, as were all the food references. Cozy mystery lovers and fans of this series will definitely want to add this to their tbr!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this gifted ARC. I enjoyed it!

I didn't realize this was part of a series, but I think it could still be read as a standalone story (though it could be helpful to read the prior books). Overall, this is a quick read with fun characters. Descriptions pull the reader in, and the mystery will keep them guessing. I will likely check out other books in the series.

In Alexander's latest Bakeshop Mystery, we see Jules, Carlos, and the Torte gang catering a glamping corporate retreat for the most toxic group of colleagues imaginable. When things start going wrong, and one of the executives suddenly turns up dead, Juliet can't help but keep here eyes peeled and nose to the ground to figure out what's going on with her clients.

Alexander is one of the queens of cozies with such a long-running series for a reason. Like the others, Muffin But the Truth provides the characters we know and love, new characters to provide suspects, delectable food descriptions, and unpredictable mystery. I hesitate to give the book a five-star review for two reasons. First, there is too much build-up and build down. Alexander spends fifteen or so pages recapping the last fifteen books, and then spends several chapters on pretty much nothing after the mystery has tied up. If these bits were cut out or integrated into the mystery more, we'd have a true winner.** Second, the solution to the mystery really seemed to come out of left field. I didn't see any little clues dropped throughout, and as Juliet herself admits, she didn't really have the solution. I like to be able to help solve the case, or least be able to look back at things I should have picked up on. All in all, this is a very solid cozy, and fans of the series won't be disappointed.

**I do acknowledge that many cozies have some form a recap for folks who don't want to go back and read books 1-15, but I think this is excessive and could be more integrated.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 8/10

Ellie Alexander does it again in Muffin But the Truth, the latest installment of the Bakeshop Mysteries. This was one of my favorite books in the series. Thanks
@NetGalley
for the ARC.

Thank you to St. Martins Publishers and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review the latest Bakeshop mystery by Ellie Alexander.

MUFFIN BUT THE TRUTH is set in the backdrop of the mountains where Jules Capshaw and her colleagues are catering at a corporate retreat.

Bamboo is a upcoming corporation full of stressed out executives and the cruel behavior of their boss, Josie Jones, adds fuel to the fire. I often see the word "imploding" or "implode", which is the perfect description of what is happening.

The recurring cast of characters return and we see a romantic development between two of the recurring characters, which is very romantic. I love the mix of a possible romance and the steps taken in trying to solve the murder of someone at the corporate retreat. I learn a bit more about "glamping", which is a fancy version of camping and roughing it. And I always enjoy reading about the baking of different delicacies. I look forward to seeing the recipes in December when the book is published.

This is a five star read for me. I have to say this is one of my favorite Bakeshop mysteries.

3.75 stars

This superior cozy series is set in a bakeshop in Ashland, Oregon. Former cruise ship pastry chef Juliet Capshaw has returned to her hometown and taken over the family business. Her chef husband Carlos has joined her and they have made a happy life tending their bakeshop and vineyard.

Juliet and Carlos are appealing characters, and blessedly relationship angst-free. The supporting cast at Torte is well-drawn and they form a supportive network. Their peace is disturbed by a corporate client doing a retreat with Torte providing the food, including an adventurous wilderness weekend rafting the Rogue River. Not everyone makes it off the river alive.

Juliet's stepfather is a Shakespeare spouting police detective and she gets pulled into the case, as usual. The CEO client is incredibly unpleasant and toxic. These mysteries are good reads with a great setting and characters you care about. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Catering an offsite for a startup seemed like a good opportunity, even if the person Jules has been working with is a pain. After all, the group is going to the Rogue River! Well, someone ends up IN the Rogue River. Jules and her partner Lance discover that there's more to the bickering among the "team mates" than it appears at first look. Cozy fans know that there's always more than one person who disliked the victim (everyone in this case) and here there's a complicated reason for the murder. I like this series as much for the people as the mystery. Jules and Carlos are settled into their marriage, she's contemplating becoming a mother, and the Tart bakery is doing well. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. While this is the latest in a long running series, it should be fine as a standalone. I always wish Alexander would include recipes!

Juliet Capshaw, known as Jules to her friends, has made the unfortunate contract with a big city firm. She must somehow make campfire meals elegant and extravagant, while ignoring the bickering and excessive drinking.

To make matters worse, one of the executive team is pushed into the river during their rafting trip. Then Jules finds someone face down in the river the very next morning. Jules must discover the truth before the rest of the team leaves town.

Ellie Alexander is one of my favorite authors, and I have read previous novels in this particular series. I will admit that I did not read from the very beginning of the series, so some of the background is vague. However, I do know about Jules’s husband Carlos and his son Ramiro. I was very happy to see Ramiro in Ashland, and the trio being a family. It’s nice to see a motherly development in Jules. I also like that she is allowing her team at the Bakeshop to take on more responsibilities.

As for the mystery, I was at first following Jules thought process. Then one incident happened and I thought “maybe its this other way.” Which turned out to be true. However, even though I was right, I did not guess the killer. I thought Jules and her “partner” Lance were not really detectives in this one. She was more of a narrator and baking instructor. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it does take away the mystery theme when the reader isn’t really reading clues.

Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

I have been reading the Bakeshop Mystery series since 2016. I have fallen in love with not only the characters but the world that Ellie Alexander has created. She has made Ashland feel like a home away from home.

In this book Jules finds herself starting a new chapter in her life. Should her and Carlos start their own family? Ramiro, Carlos’ teenage son, has come to stay with them for a year and Jules is finding that she loves being a mom.

Until they decide Jules has agreed to cater Bamboo’s executive retreat in a bougie rustic camp out and rafting kind of way. The CEO is someone that you don’t mind being offed but there are twists and turns that you don’t see coming.

As always, I highly recommend this series. You come for the Murder but stay for the company.

Muffin But The Truth by Ellie Alexander (Bakeshop Mystery # 16) 4 stars

Jules Capshaw and the crew of Torte have taken on a catering job for a corporate retreat near the Rogue River. Unfortunately, during the retreat one of the participants dies. Is it an accident or foul play? Keep reading and find out.

A thoroughly entertaining read with Jules and Company helping the police with the investigation. I love the over the top involvement of Lance, the director of the local theatre group. The victim was part of a corporate group that sounded like an out of control startup. There are distinctive personalities among the suspects. There were a few red herrings thrown, so the mystery kept me guessing. A wonderful addition to the Bakeshop Mysteries; may there be many more.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for this ARC.

Muffin But the Truth is the 16th installment in the A Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander and the first book I read by the author. Torte where our main character, Jules works as a pastry chef, is preparing the catering for a corporate retreat on the beautiful Rogue River. The executive team of the corporation is full of dysfunctional and uninteresting people. One of them is found dead floating in the river by Jules. Was it murder or an accident?

The elements I liked about the story were Jules and the gang and the setting in the beautiful state of Oregon. The mystery itself was disjointed and fell flat for me. All the people from the corporate team were obnoxious and we never got to find out much about their backstory except for one person.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alexander hits it out of the park once again! I adore the series and found this installment to be one of the best. The external group of characters were so horrifically dysfunctional in the most entertaining way. It offered a fun contrast to the tight knit Torte crew. The mystery kept me guessing the whole time and definitely wasn’t what I expected. I can’t wait for the next book.

Ashland's favorite baker/amateur sleuth is back at in the latest book from the Bakeshop Mystery series. Jules is happy to have her husband and step-son all summer, and looking forward to catering for a company out on an adventure camping trip together. But things take a tragic turn and she once again finds herself in the middle of the drama, and attempting to find answers. Always a fun read, and with characters who continue to grow as the series develops.

Muffin But the Truth is the 16th novel in a the bakeshop cozy mystery series set in Ashland, Oregon. Ellie Alexander knows how to write a fun cozy mystery, during which she also envelopes the reader in lovely food, Oregon scenery, and with a touch of Shakespeare to keep readers alert and engaged.

Jules and her Torte family provide the food, drink, and coffee. Alexander describes the bakeshop and its food and drink so beautifully, that Jules' bakeshop Torte becomes another character in the novel. The same can be said of the Rogue River, the town of Ashland, and the surrounding vineyards. The setting becomes more important and engaging than the murder mystery, but that is a good thing. Cozy mysteries need a wrapping to excite the reader, and Alexander does so quite beautifully. For readers like myself, the opportunity to revisit Oregon, where I grew up, is a rare privilege.

I really need to go back and read the earlier novels in this series, but even if readers are new to Ellie Alexander, Muffin But the Truth can be enjoyed as a stand alone novel. I want to thank the author and publisher, St Martin's Paperback for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you also to NetGalley for introducing me to such a fun writer.

It's a good thing Alexander is a prolific author of these wonderful cozy mysteries because I can't get enough of Jules and her Torte family. As always, a mild mystery surrounded by descriptions of yummy food. Recommended readers start at the beginning and follow the progression of the shop and the characters.