Cozy murder mystery. When the meanest gossip in Brea Ridge dies mysteriously, suspicions turn to cake decorator Daphne Martin. But all Daphne did was deliver a spice cake with cream cheese frosting--and find Yodel's body. Now Daphne's got to help solve the murder and clear her good name. Problem is, her Virginia hometown is brimming with people who had good reason to kill Yodel, and Daphne's whole family is among them.

Review

This one starts out like classic crime fiction with the discovery of a corpse and the possibility that a homicide has taken place. The narrator is a woman who is struggling to survive with a home-based cake baking business. The writer does a decent job of depicting some rather ordinary folk. It doesn't sizzle but it cooks nicely at a low heat. This has potential. -- Amazon Top Reviewer

When Daphne Martin, owner of Daphne's Delectable Cakes, finds cranky Yodel Watson dead on Watson's parlor sofa, Daphne knows she's stumbled on the ingredients for murder. Then she receives an odd call from Mrs. Watson's daughter, Annabelle, telling her that Yodel Watson kept a secret diary filled with gossip about most of the residents in her small Virginia town. The journal could hold clues to the circumstances of her death, so Annabelle asks Daphne to retrieve it. Upon reading the diary, Daphne is horrified to find a scandalous tidbit about her own mother and other neighborhood secrets best left buried. It turns out that practically everybody in town had reason to want Yodel Watson dead: the local pet store proprietor and his mistress, the bag boy at the grocery store, the town eccentric, and even Daphne's own sister, Violet. Cute but typical, this mystery is solid but uninspiring. The characters are likeable, although not unique. The dual puzzles are engrossing, but not particularly unparalleled. The recipes included in this book are fun but not distinctive. Overall, this is a good enough whodunit, but it lacks spice. -- manuscript review by Publishers Weekly, an independent organization

Yes, the title's an unfortunate pun (a cheese cake, perhaps?); Daphne, the main character, is a cake maker. And, delivering a cake to one of her customers, she stumbles upon the dead body of Ms. Watson. It's a silly story with a lot to love. Not a detective story, not a cake-lover's diary, it's the flavorful icing somewhere in between. -- Amazon Top Reviewer