The characters at Torte are always a joy. I love how things from the food to the surroundings are described. The mystery was okay in this one. I found myself wishing Lance played a bigger role.

A Smoking Bun by Ellie Alexander is the latest fun entry in this series. Being from Oregon myself, I love that the series takes place in Ashland, which allows me to really visualize the story's location. Jules and the crew are always fun to catch up with and being caught up in a murder investigation during the winter and the snow was a fun mystery.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A SMOKING BUN – A BAKESHOP MYSTERY — Book Eighteen – by Ellie Alexander

I LOVE the characters, a bakeshop whodunit set in the snowy Mountains of Southern Oregon, coupled with amateur sleuths—Yes, Please!

Unfortunately, what doesn’t work, is the speculation and logic surrounding the events of the whodunit throughout the narrative, in my opinion.

As I mentioned, I love the characters, and I can’t help but want to read book one in the series to discover how Carlos and Jules’ journey began.

Side Note: I really, really, really want that chai cookie recipe with the eggnog glaze frosting *drools*

Thank You, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Paperbacks, for providing me with an eBook of A SMOKING BUN at the request of an honest review.

Another great instalment in the series. I don’t know what else to say other than I love this series and think anyone who likes a cosy mystery should read it! As someone who loves the snow I love that this one took place in the snow on a mountain! I also loved the mystery and all the food descriptions. I can’t wait for the next one. Thank you netgalley and st Martin press for a free copy!

This was such a great book!! I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. I thought I had it all figured out and of course I didn't!! I would definitely recommend this book to all my family and friends.

This is one of my all time favorite cozy mystery series and I look forward to every new book! Jules and her bake shop are busy providing great food to the people of Ashland, OR. Her boyfriend’s teenage son is staying with them and his family is visiting from Spain. They’ve been snowshoeing and are now watching the slopes for the Downhill Dummy, where teams send a decorated stuffed dummy down a ski jump. Unfortunately, this year an actual dead body comes down instead of a dummy. Jules gets involved with the investigation and there are red herrings galore. I really like the characters and the delicious descriptions of all the food!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I just reviewed A Smoking Bun by Ellie Alexander. And I must say this do not disappoint. I love that I am able to be transported to Ashland to experience this amazing world. Thank you for bringing life to this new adventure and allowing me to catch up with old friends. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to share and review. This is my own review #ASmokingBun #NetGalley

This book was amazing !! The mystery was interesting, and the storyline was well written. I love the characters and were fun to hang out with! I look forward to reading the next book to release! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!!

The mystery seemed a little flat in places with some suspects and clues that felt like they didn't need to be included. It was nice to see the town going through a mystery through the eyes of some out of the country tourists.

I loved being back in Ashland and amongst characters that feel like family, especially with Ramiro's family visiting. The winter setting amongst snowshoe trips, the annual downhill dummy competition and the risk of developments looming made this a great, entertaining book perfect for winter. I love the writing style and how vivid the descriptions are from the setting to the food in the bakery. The characters are so likable and I love seeing what's developed with them since the last book. The mystery was so relatable (at least for someone who has lived in a ski town) and I like how the clues were laid out.

I’m been waiting on this release and we’re back with Jules and the crew as her favorite crew as they try save the ski lodge. Not only did we try to figure out the mystery, but we also got to see a look on the secondary plot on meeting Carlos’s son family.

It was an interesting cozy mystery. I appreciated the characters, and look forward to more by this author.

very enjoyable mystery filled with plenty of red herrings and false trails. And also, a lot of winter fun and delicious food. I have read several of this series and I have enjoyed getting to know these characters and seen how they have grown. It was very nice to read about a good relationship between a woman and her husband's ex with whom he shared a child. In this case the child was an older teen in high school and the relationship ended a long time ago. There was mutual respect, care about the well being of the young man, and genuine warm feelings for each other. In the end, the story ended on a positive note with all the nice fuzzy feelings you expect from a cozy and hope to have for a new year.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

When a cozy series has 19 books in it, and I haven't read any of them yet, I have to weigh things in my mind about whether I want to jump in and start reading or not. 19+ books is a big commitment. So, I decided to jump out of my comfort zone and read book #18 before deciding to commit to the entire Bakeshop Mystery series or not.

And.....I now have 18 more books to read. :) A Smoking Bun was an entertaining and fun cozy mystery!

It's a bit rough jumping in at Book 18, but I soon had the setting, characters and basic premise figured out. So, this book can definitely be read as a standalone by anyone who hasn't read this entire series. I liked the background premise - the bakeshop. Culinary cozies are some of my favorites! I enjoyed the characters and the basic plot. Jules is a great MC. She's smart, a great businesswoman and an excellent amateur sleuth.

The basics: It's time for the annual Downhill Dummy celebration at a local ski resort. One by one, those participating strap dummies to skis and send them hurtling down a ski jump to see which one gets the best air and most spectacular crash landings. When one of the dummies goes off course and lands on top a local guide, Jules finds herself smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation.

I'm definitely backtracking to start this series at Book 1. :)

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martins Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

Another fun cozy mystery, featuring baking and skiing.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Another great addition to the Torte Bakery series. The setting added to the story. It was filled with a good amount of mystery and characters/suspects. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Ellie Alexander continues the Bakeshop mysteries in a Smoking Bun; Jules and her husband are cooking for her visiting relatives who are going on a night snowshoe tour. The tour is interrupted by off trail activities by a skier who ends up dead the next day at the Downhill Dummy ski event. Whodunit? The ski lodge owner in financial trouble, the environmentalist? and others. Cozy with cutting edge.

A new Bakeshop mystery always fulfils my need for cozy foodie good times :) Another fun installment, this one with a very wintery setting!

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and St. Martin's Paperbacks for my honest review.*

Jules and Carlos are hosting Carlos' ex and her family for a few days at New Year's and Jules is excited to be spending time with the whole family and showing them Mount Ashford. they take a midnight snow shoe excursion that is interrupted by a rude party pushing past them. The next day, there is a Downhill Dummy event and everyone is having a grand time until someone is killed by a dummy. So Jules investigates the death that might be a murder or might just be an accident.

What a cast of characters! This was my first time reading Ellie Alexander and I was surprised to see it was the 18th book in the series. I have a lot of catching up to do!

I enjoyed the descriptions of the events and the mountain! And the employees of Torte - seems like there could be a lot of side stories there. Even from not reading the prior books in the series, I didn't feel like I missed anything and I enjoyed what character development there was with the family from Spain and all of the employees in the bakery. I felt like the pacing of the mystery and all of the other happenings in the town were spot on and the re-hashing of the mystery every few chapters was great to keep up on the details that were important.

I will be reading the series to catch up soon!

An entertaining and fun mystery. The characters are engaging and realistic, I especially love the extended family feel of the book. The mystery itself is intriguing with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. All in all, a great book. This is the first book of the series that I've read, but I'm definitely going to read the others.