I love this series! I hopped into it with book 17 and now want to read the entire series! I love Jules' & Ramiro's relationship and can't wait to see where it goes and if they end up having kids. I also really enjoy the fact that her stepdad who is a police officer appreciates her sleuthing instead of trying to discourage her. Can't wait for the next installment!

#ASmokingBun
#NetGalley

Bakeshop Mystery series #18, but can be read independently. I don't read a lot of cozies having a low tolerance for cuteness, but this is a series I have always enjoyed. Part of it is probably because it takes place in Ashland, Oregon, home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival which I have visited on numerous occasions (and highly recommend - both town and festival).
In this installment of the series, it is the last week of the year, Christmas is over and all eyes move to the Mount Ashland Ski Lodge where fun and wild events are scheduled. As it is the slow season for her bakery in Ashland, Juliet is taking time off to be with the visiting family of her step-son from Spain. So when Mt. Ashland has the crazy "Downhill Dummy" event, in which locals create bizarre and themed dummies to send down the ski jump with an almighty crash (including one by her Torte staff), the whole family heads for the resort. And all is great fun until something goes terribly wrong, and a dummy crashes into and kills a person in the crash zone. And the game is afoot.
The characters are well fleshed out and all relevant previous happenings smoothly integrated into the story, so you never feel left out. Most everyone is highly intelligent, and even the villains are well-developed and never lean into caricature. The setting is a major character in itself, both the town and the bakery. The food descriptions are succinct and mouth watering. And Juliet's sleuthing is always quite reasonable, and with her father-in-law the lead detective in town, she is always working WITH the police, not knocking heads with them. It is an extremely balanced narrative, and I highly recommend it.

Jules Capshaw is excited that her stepson’s family is visiting Ashland, Oregon, from Spain and has all kinds of activities planned including watching decorated dummies being sent down a ski jump. Jules and company are enjoying the event until when of the dummies goes off course and kills a bystander. Jules quickly finds out that there are plenty of people who wanted to the victim dead, including the friend of one of her employees. Jules sets out to help the police find the killer while trying to not ruin her time off with family and friends.

“A Smoking Bun” is the nicely done 18th book in Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop cozy mystery series. I love the way that Jules bakeshop has evolved over the course of the series, adding more workers and businesses – and the character development throughout the books. I especially like the visit of Ramiro’s family in this book – it’s a complicated relationship that somehow works. The details of Ashland in the winter are wonderfully done – I loved the visits to the ski lodge where the mystery takes place. Speaking of the mystery – it is well done and well plotted with a unique murder weapon! There are plenty of suspects to choose from – I can’t say I was completely surprised when the killer was revealed but I was saddened. All in all well done by Alexander.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Back in Ashland, OR with Jules and Torte crew. As Carlos’ family from Spain comes to visit, Jules and Carlos take them up Mount A for snowshoeing and other fun events. When a universally disliked person dies during one event, nearly everyone who knew the victim had a motive to kill him. Jules and her friend Lance, along with the trusty Professor, figure out who the killer is in time to save the mountain’s lodge and before Carlos’ family vacation ends. It was a quick read and I’m curious how some of the more personal changes Jules is contemplating will impact future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I read this as an Advance Reader Copy. Thank you to Net Galley, the author and publisher. This is my honest review.

This is the 18th book in the Bakeshop Mystery series and the first one that I have read. Now that being said, I really enjoyed it. It mentions a few things that happened in other books, but not so many that I couldn't follow what was going on and get invested in the characters.

It takes place in the beautiful mountains of Ashland, Oregan with a pastry chef named Jules. The Mount A ski resort near her home is popular with locals and tourists alike and when someone is murdered there, the whole town is in an uproar. Jules finds herself in the middle of the mystery and with the help of her friends and her stepfather who is the town's police chief, sets out to find the killer.

The mystery was interesting, the backdrop of the area was compelling and sounded beautiful. The characters were mostly likeable and I enjoyed the relationship between Jules and her husband and family. It also had some great cooking tips and wonderful descriptions of some mouth-watering food.

I can definitely see why the series is so popular and I look forward to reading more.

I continue to enjoy this series.
The characters and setting plus a well paced whodunit are hallmarks of a good cozy mystery.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

This is the eighteenth Bakeshop Mystery, but the first I have read. In this episode, Ramiro's family is visiting from Spain over the New Year. Jules is busy with her bakeshop and planning things for them to do and see.

Events at Mount A, the local ski resort, will feature prominently. But during a midnight snowshoe trek, they see a guide lead two people off the trail and see the ski patrol come to rescue them. The next day is a much anticipated event called the Downhill Dummy. Local groups and businesses create dummies to send down the ski jump in anticipation of spectacular crashes. But things go immediately wrong when the same guide who led his group off trail is hit by one of the dummies and killed.

Now Jules Capshaw needs to fit a murder investigation into her already packed schedule. She quickly learns that the resort is in financial trouble and plans a fundraiser to help the owner make payroll. But is the owner on the up and up? Or does she have a hidden agenda? And what about the woman wandering around with a clipboard? And the environmentalist willing to do anything to stop the resort from selling off some land for clear cutting?

This was an entertaining mystery with interesting characters. Fans of the series won't want to miss this one. Newcomers, like me, will want to read other books in the series to learn more about these intriguing characters.

Another cozy Ellie Alexander book ready to make you want to curl up with a fresh cinnamon roll and a cup of hot cocoa! I loved the New Year's Eve theme of the book, and it was great to see the blended family of Ramiro's mother with Carlos and Jules. The setting of the ski lodge mountain was perfectly creepy for the wintry murder mystery and I did keep guessing who the killer was throughout the book. By the last 1/4 of the book I had the killer figured out but there was still enough secrets that were hidden to keep things interesting.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Another fun visit to Ashland with the Torte crew. I loved the introduction of Ramiro’s family from Spain as well as the focus on the mountain and skiing, especially the fun activities they participated in at the lodge. I was surprised by the guilty party (I usually am) and the resolution on the whole. I thought, however, there was a lot more filler in this one that I wanted: several pages of step-by-step baking, more time chatting and world building, tons of time eating. Looking forward to the next one, particularly the developments with Richard Lord’s new venture.

Ellie Alexander has done it again. The Bakeshop Mystery Series is one of my favorites. Juliet and Carlos have settled into their lives in Ashland, Oregon. Carlos’ son, Ramiro, has come to spend a year as an exchange student at the local high school. Over Christmas break, Juliet and Carlos are hosting Ramiro’s mother (Sophia), step father (Luis) and sister (Marta). Juliet has planned many activities to showcase the area. During their nighttime snow shoe expedition, their guide has to leave them to rescue a group that has gone out of bounds. The group is lead by Fritz who claims to be a guide on the mountain but isn’t authorized. All ends well that evening but at the next event Juliet has planned, disaster strikes. Fritz is killed but is it an accident or murder???? The majority of this book takes place at the ski area. There is still interaction with bakery employees and towns people that we have met in previous installments. All of Ellie’s books can be read as stand-alone – although I did feel this one wasn’t as clear about the inter-relationships of the characters. But it doesn’t distract from the story. This is another five-star read from Ellie Alexander.

Our favorite baker is back at it with her detective skills! When Ramiro's family comes to visit, Jules has every detail planned, but plans are derailed when Fitz is murdered at a family fun event. As it turns out, Fitz has a long list of enemies, which means a long list of suspects.
A Smoking Bun is everything you want in a cozy mystery... beautiful setting, well-developed main characters, quirky side characters, and good food and coffee.

One of the things that I love most about Ellie Alexander's Bakeshop Mysteries is the way she weaves Jule's daily life throughout the story. A Smoking Bun, the 18th book in the series does an especially good job of blending characters, community, and mystery to give the story a wonderful personality. That "personality" is what takes book from a good cozy mystery to a great one. Ramiro's mother, sister, and stepfather join Carlo, Juliet, and her stepson for a post-Christmas winter break. Although Juliet is a bit nervous about meeting Ramiro's mom, the two women hit if off beautifully, but a lovely visit to Ashland, Oregan is somewhat marred when the group witnesses a death that turns out to be murder. In spite of hosting Ramiro's family, Jules feels compelled to investigate when a friend of one of her employees is arrested for the crime.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review a copy of the delightful ARC of A Smoking Bun.

#NetGalley #St.Martin'sPress #EllieAlexander #ABakeshopMystery

A Smoking Bun by Ellie Alexander is another intriguing mystery in her series about Torte bake shop owner Juliet in Ashland, Oregon. She has a wonderful staff of baristas and bakers who have become friends: Andy, Bethany, Steph, Sterling, Marty and Rosa who runs her dining room.There are lots of delicious cooking and baking recipes included as usual.

Juliet and her husband Carlos and his teen son Ramiro from Spain who is spending the semester in high school with them are expecting a visit any day from Ramiro’s mother and her husband and his little sister for a New Year’s weekend celebration.

Juliet and Carlos also own Uva a nearby winery along with Juliet’s friend Lance who is the Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival headquartered in Ashland.

They are planning snowshoeing and skiing adventures at the nearby lodge on Mount Ashland. The snowshoeing is exciting but the next day during what’s called the annual downhill dummy competition someone gets murdered.

The police, led by The Professor, the lead detective who is also an old friend of Juliet’s deceased father and now married to her mother, takes charge, along with the two other police officers, her old friend Thomas and his wife Kerry who is also a friend.

But Juliet and Lance who consider themselves amateur sleuths also try to solve the murder and help the police. There are plenty of suspects: the lodge owner, a member of the ski patrol, a tour guide, and two strange women who have been lurking around the lodge and no one seems to know why.

The story gets more and more complicated and convoluted until we find Juliet and Lance on the second floor of the lodge pointing a fake gun at one of the strange women who is named Ruth. But she is pointing a rifle at them. What will happen? You’ll definitely want to find out.
This is absolutely a book worth reading!

A great addition to the series- it’s like meeting up with old friends who can’t stay out of trouble no matter how hard they try

A Smoking Bun by Ellie Alexander is the eighteenth A Bakeshop Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series. The story was not as easy to read as the others in the series. We are introduced to a number of new characters plus there are the regular characters (hotel staff, Ramiro’s family, ski patrol, bakery staff, contest participants, townspeople). It can be a challenge to keep them all straight. I found the pacing to be languid (little action, but plenty of chatting and eating). The mystery was uncomplicated. The victim, of course, was not well liked. You do not get to know any of the suspects very well. The mystery is not at the forefront of the story. A couple of details give away the killer’s identity. I like that we get to learn about a few of the outdoor activities available around Ashland. Jules arranged for the family to go on a midnight snowshoe trip on Mount Ashland (I bet the stars were beautiful) with a late-night feast. They also went skiing. Mount Ashland’s annual downhill dummy competition is certainly different. As usual, there is plenty of baking, cooking, eating, and drinking wine. A Smoking Bun had a cheery ending. There was a tidbit at end regarding the obnoxious Richard Lord that had me chuckling. A Smoking Bun is a light, upbeat tale with a visiting family, a slain skier, a snug lodge, tasty pastries, downhill dummy competition, and sunny news.

I didn't realize A Smoking Bun is #18 in the Bakeshop Mystery series. That explains why I couldn't connect with the characters. They are too well developed in who they are and in their relationships which is a positive when you've followed the series from the beginning.

The plot was excellent. I did guess the victim and the murderer early on.. The baking lessons are part of the character's character.

My recommendation is to start this series from the beginning to get the maximum enjoyment.

This is the eighteenth book in the Bakeshop Mysteries series. It may be read as a standalone but you miss much of the character development that brought the cast to their current points in life.

Jules is excited and anxious to have her step son’s (Romiro) family coming to visit. She has plenty lined up to keep them entertained. A death occurs while they are on the mountain on an evening outing.

Jules becomes involved in trying to resolve who killed the pushy, egotistical young man.
There are plenty of mis-directions and twists to keep the reader flipping the pages to the end.

I look forward to the next installment. There were no recipes for me to rave about in the Advanced Readers’ Copy (ARC).

I was given and ARC by Netgalley and am not required to leave a positive review.

In A Smoking Bun, Juliet and Carlos are excited to have his family from Spain come for a holiday visit. Juliet has lots of activities planned, including a nighttime snowshoe tour on Mt. Ashland. That begins the complications when a rogue guide takes two skiers out of bounds and the group needs rescued. When the guide dies the next day, there are a multitude of suspects, as he was disliked by everyone. Juliet and Lance become involved in the mystery, but are more on the periphery this time. The story is as much about family and life changes as it is about solving the mystery. There is a climate activist, a mysterious woman doing ‘assessments’, various ski patrol members and guides and a ski lodge that is going broke.
This was an enjoyable cozy mystery, set in the beautiful town of Ashland and on Mt. A.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Smoking Bun was a great winter read. Jules and family are entertaining extended family from Spain for New Years and have special outings planned. Many occur at Mount A ski lodge-including the dummy race where someone is murdered. Jules and Lance step in to help the Professor solve the crime. Can’t wait for the next installment!

This is the 18th installment in the Bakeshop Mystery series but the first one I have ever read. I am a big fan of cozies, especially if they have recipes - even though I have yet to make a single one I found in a book, but the potential is always there) - and I think I found a new series to add to my list. Even though it is a long, ongoing series, I did not feel lost or that I was missing a lot so I feel like it could be read as a stand-alone. I am sure there would be more depth of understanding of the characters had I been reading all along but this hit all the cozy buttons that I needed for a winter, mystery read. I plan to pick up book one soon and make my way through the series. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.