Arsenic And Old Cake is the third book in A Piece Of Cake Mystery series by Jacklyn Brady.

With the economy being in turmoil, Zydeco Cakes is experiencing a downturn in sales for its high end cakes. Rita Lucero and her office manager, Edie, are going over the financials trying to decide on a course of action to keep the bakery afloat when a couple of friends stop by. Gabriel is bartender at the Dizzy Duke and Old Dog Leg is a member of the band that plays there. Old Dog Leg is blind and has just received a letter from someone claiming to be his brother, a brother he hasn't seen in 40 years. Old Dog would like for Rita and Gabriel to be "his eyes" and check him out. The only problem is that the brother is staying at the Love Nest B & B. and Old Dog feels the best way to find out if it is his brother is for them to pretend to be newlyweds. Against her better judgement Rita agrees to take on this undertaking. Then that evening, after the toasting to the "newlyweds", Rita hears a blood curdling scream and sees one of the proprietors standing over what appears to be a dead body. he is dead and the person who is supposedly Old Dog's brother has gone missing.

The "regulars" who live at the Love Nest are a truly hilarious bunch of folks. They all have a connection to the time 40 years ago when the brother disappeared. So Rita and Gabriel set out to find out what that connection is and help the brother prove his innocence.

A very good addition to an appetizing series. ( )

The best of the series so far. Previous books have left me feeling flat, but this one held my attention once I got past the ludicrousness of the initial setup: Old Dog Leg thinks his missing-for-40-years brother is back in town but doesn't know if it's really him. The only solution: Rita MUST go undercover as a newlywed at a honeymoon b&b to find out. Really? Flimsy. Even for a cozy.

BUT once you get past that the story behind the residents of the b&b is interesting, the mystery tied to old secrets. I really enjoyed it, and the ending was unexpected - I never guessed the murderer.

The characters have improved as well, Rita's employees not quite so insolent. Although Rita is still weak as a business owner. She seems to prefer stressing out about problems over actually fixing them or even confronting them.

I was ready to give up this series before reading this book, but I'll definitely check out the next one and hope this is a sign of great books to come. ( )

Arsenic And Old Cake is the third book in A Piece Of Cake Mystery series by Jacklyn Brady.

With the economy being in turmoil, Zydeco Cakes is experiencing a downturn in sales for its high end cakes. Rita Lucero and her office manager, Edie, are going over the financials trying to decide on a course of action to keep the bakery afloat when a couple of friends stop by. Gabriel is bartender at the Dizzy Duke and Old Dog Leg is a member of the band that plays there. Old Dog Leg is blind and has just received a letter from someone claiming to be his brother, a brother he hasn't seen in 40 years. Old Dog would like for Rita and Gabriel to be "his eyes" and check him out. The only problem is that the brother is staying at the Love Nest B & B. and Old Dog feels the best way to find out if it is his brother is for them to pretend to be newlyweds. Against her better judgement Rita agrees to take on this undertaking. Then that evening, after the toasting to the "newlyweds", Rita hears a blood curdling scream and sees one of the proprietors standing over what appears to be a dead body. he is dead and the person who is supposedly Old Dog's brother has gone missing.

The "regulars" who live at the Love Nest are a truly hilarious bunch of folks. They all have a connection to the time 40 years ago when the brother disappeared. So Rita and Gabriel set out to find out what that connection is and help the brother prove his innocence.

A very good addition to an appetizing series. ( )