Love this book! Sophia runs a dessert cafe in her hometown; she is dating a High School heartthrob; the Sheriff! When a murder takes place, one of her High School friends is accused; she and her other friends decide to help find the killer; if he doesn't find her first! Loved the Southern Speak in this book! The majority of it is real! I am from the deep South; we only talk strange, our brains work just fine, Thank you!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley

Fun, quick cozy with a great group of friends who support each passthrough thick, thin and muder. Love the quest for the party of memories

this is a good mystery book, if you like mysteries with the female a baker you will love the story . Sophia is hired to cater a benefit for the library but before she gets paid the rich man dies, who did it and why, the man was not very well liked but would someone kill him? I was given a copy by netgalley but this is an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It's a typical cozy mystery with a baker trying to sleuth out who the killer is. It has lots of good food, connections between the community and feel good feelings. #BatterOffDead #NetGalley

What a great addition the the cozy genre. This series is so well rounded with interesting characters and plot lines. I'm always eager to see how the story unfolds.

I received this book through NetGalley for a honest review. Liked this story very much. We get to see Sophie try and get her feet down in town as the new baker. She finds herself in a sticky situation when she finds the rich Ray Peel dead. Her friend is the number one suspect so of course she is going to look into who killed him. She has a few scary things happen and you think she really needs to stay away from what is going on. This is a great second book to a new series I look forward to reading about.

Another good mystery in this series. Sophia has opened her bakery and is catering different events. Life is good for her now that she is home and has a new boyfriend. At the event, she stumbles across a dead body and her best friend is accused of the murder. Her boyfriend, the sheriff, wants her to leave it alone and let him find the killer, but she can't let her best friend down and she has to find the real killer. With the help of her friends and her mother, they investigate all the suspects. Someone doesn't want her to get any closer and it puts her life in danger. Will she find the right person before it is too late?

For Goodness Cakes bakery owner, Sophia Cummings, once again finds herself trying to prove a good friend innocent of murder. Realtor Madison Ridge is the primary suspect since she was seen arguing with the victim at the Friends of the Library Fundraiser just before he was found dead.

However, it must be said that Ray Peel, the victim, managed to make several people mad. He reneged on $500,000 pledge to the library expansion fund and put Cat Freeman’s family at risk since they had guaranteed the loan to build it. He was not going to renew the lease for the land the Green Valley Winery occupied which would cause it to go out of business. He planned to sell the land to finance his new restaurant franchise but told Madison Ridge she was too small town to manage the listing and sale. He cancelled the National Wine Toasters of America convention at the last minute when he forced the winery to close after promising Lanie Truvinski she could use the site.

So, there are plenty of suspects for Sophia’s Operation Merlot, her investigation into the murder of Ray Peel. But, just to keep things stirred up, Sophia finds the journal of recipes from Ford’s Bakery (now her bakery) and wants to replicate the famous Ford’s Maple Long John, a greatly missed pastry in Rumsford, KY. Now, Sophia is juggling efforts to contact the Fords for permission to use their recipe with tracking down clues in the murder mystery.

Author Maymee Bell writes an entertaining cozy with a touch of humor and great pacing. Her characters are skillfully drawn, the dialogue is snappy, the relationships and situations downright fascinating. Let’s hope Ms. Bell never tires of thinking up these Southern Cake Baker Mystery plots. I, for one, would truly miss them.

Batter Off Dead by Maymee Bell, aka Tonya Kappes, is the 2nd book in A Southern Cake Baker Mystery series, and it is wonderful. Sophia Cummings worked as a pastry chef in New York City, but when she catches her boyfriend, a chef, cheating with their co-worker she goes back home to Rumford, Kentucky and opens For Goodness Cakes. Sophia is catering a fund raiser for the library, when she finds the Winery's landlord, Ray Peel, dead. Peel had reneged on promises, of money, so he was not popular. When Sophia's best friend is the prime suspect, she rushes to find the real killer. I strongly recommend this book. This book is a quick read, that I could not put down. I am anxiously waiting the next adventure for Sophia.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A fun cozy mystery. I definitely will be reading more books in this series. Mystery fans do not want to miss this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital arc this is my unbiased review.

Classic cozy set in Kentucky. Sophia has poured everything into her bakery and it seems to be going well until the charity fundraiser she's catering. Gosh Roy was a rat. That doesn't mean he should be dead or that Sophia's friend Madison did it. Sophia's love interest, Carter, is the Sheriff and he's asked her to step back from poking around, especially since someone seems to be after her now. You know how this plot is going to go but Bell has done a nice job with the characters, as well as with the twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. OH- and the recipes look great!

Fun story, even though the main character seemed a little too pushy and nosy for my tastes. Loved all the characters and how everything came together. Loved all the side stories and subplots. Truly a fun read.

PDF Copy for Review from Net Galley

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Sophia Cummings finds herself catering a wine event and not expecting to stumble across a body. She gets involve trying to clear her friend’s name who is one of the major suspects despite her sheriff boyfriend warning her not to get involve.

Throw in a brick thrown at her bakery window with a warning into to stay away into the mix. Does it have something to do with the murder or just a case of vandalism? Who had the most to gain by the death of the body?

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, Maymee Bell's Batter Off Dead is so good, it will make you wanna slap your momma! The second book in the Southern Cake Baker Mystery series is fun and lighthearted with just the right amount of humor and mystery to keep you turning the pages. Big city baker, Sophie Cummings, has returned to her little Kentucky town to open her new bakery, For Goodness Cakes. While catering a library charity fundraiser, a large library donor withdraws his $500K donation, and shortly thereafter, Sophie stumbles across his dead body. With interesting twists and surprising turns, the identity of the killer made me wonder whodunit the entire time.

Having grown up in a small Kentucky town, the characters are very relatable in expression and actions. In fact, the characters are written so well, I feel like I actually know some of the townsfolk! Don’t forget to check out the back of the book for mouth-watering recipes.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

While catering the desserts at fund raiser for the local library, Sophia stumbles on one of the big donors, literally. Only he’s dead shortly after he withdrew his half million dollar donation. So many people had reason to dislike the guy, but who would truly want him dead?



But when Sophia’s bestie is the main suspect, she and the gang are on the case, no matter what her sheriff boyfriend says. These Southern Belles are on the case and won’t back down until they find the real murderer.

The second book in the series is as delicious as the first one and I cannot wait for the next entry in this series. The book is a great standalone if you have nor read the first book, but don’t be surprised when you find yourself reaching for the first book, because you’re going to want more!



Maymee Bell (AKA Tanya Kappes) is one of my favorite authors! hands down! Love her writing style and characters. If you’re a cozy lover, this is a series an

Batter Off Dead is the second book in the Southern Cake Baker Mystery series. We meet up again with Sophia Cummings where she’s opening up her new bakery—For Goodness Cakes in her hometown of Rumford. While she’s catering a big town event, she stumbles upon another dead body, and her best friend Madison is the prime suspect. So, once again, Sophia puts her sleuthing skills to the test and hunts for the killer while making delicious pastries along the way.

This was a very refreshing read. I enjoyed the first book in the series so much that I had really high expectations for the second book, and the author delivered tenfold. Not only did I have a lot of fun, but the delicious pastries and baked-goods in the story really made me hungry haha. They were described in such intense details that it brought flavors to my mouth. I can honestly say that I definitely picked up some really cool baking tips that I will definitely try out in the future.

Anyway, this book really delivered. I missed these characters so much, and it was nice to pick up with them again. Everyone has grown a bit, and I love the sweet romance between Sophia and Carter. It’s so cute! And I love how the relationship between Sophia and Bitsy improved.

The mystery itself was one of the best parts about this book. It really took me by surprise! There were so many good twists and surprises that when I finally got to the bad guy, I was really shocked. Like I had it all wrong haha, and I loved that. Any author that can trick me like that and have it make sense has a reader in me forever.

Overall, an excellent addition to a delightfully amazing series that always makes my stomach growl. I can’t wait for the next one!

This was an ok cozy mystery. I liked the characters well enough, but there were times when large blocks of info were repeated almost verbatim. If the author of editor feels the info needs to be repeated, fine but at least rewrite it in a differdnt way. I'm s librarian and even I got sick of rereading that the cookies were named as they were because the Library was the heart of thd community and which groups used the rooms, etc.

Batter Off Dead by Maymee Bell is the second book in her Southern Cake Baker series and was another fun read for cozy fans.

Sophia has For Goodness Cakes Bakery up and running now in Rumsford. She has been hired to cater at the Heart of the Town Library charity fundraiser at Grape Valley Winery. Ray Peel, the local bachelor millionaire has made a promise to the town library to pay off the construction loan for the new wing but it all turns south as Ray starts breaking promises not only to locals but to old acquaintances, too. Poor Sophia trips over his dead body while going to the winery to collect payment for the event. Things go from bad to worse has Madison, one of Sophia's closest friends, is the police's number one suspect. That's all Sophia needs to know to begin sleuthing.

Ms. Bell's characters are engaging, likable and down-to-earth in this small Kentucky town. I always feel like I've been welcomed back whenever I read a book in this series. With a swiftly paced plot, twists and turns that kept me guessing, plenty of suspects and a shocking reveal, Ms. Bell has written a mystery that will keep a reader turning the pages.

This is the first time I have read this authors work and I am definitely looking forward to book 3 in this series. This is a whole lot of mystery, friends helping friends and a sprinkle of romance. I love the setting of an old fashioned bakery.

This is Book 2 of the Southern Cake Baker Mystery series. Sophia Cummings is a pastry chef, trained in New York City, now owner of For Goodness Cakes in small town Rumford, Kentucky. Sophia has been commissioned to cater the Heart of the Town Library charity fundraiser at Grape Valley Winery where the murder of a person who is (was) supposed to make a large donation causes huge problems for everyone. When a friend of hers becomes the top suspect, Sophia decides she has to help solve the case. This is a seriously fascinating book that kept me up all night reading. I didn’t want it to ever end, but really needed to know who the murderer was. Boy, was I surprised! I highly recommend this book.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley.