cover image Killer Sweet Tooth: 
A Daphne Martin Cake Mystery

Killer Sweet Tooth: A Daphne Martin Cake Mystery

Gayle Trent. S&S/Gallery, $15 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-4516-0002-5

At the start of Trent’s entertaining third Daphne Martin cake cozy (after 2009’s Dead Pan), baker Daphne and her friend, Myra Jenkins, make an emergency visit to the dentist in Brea Ridge, Va., where they discover Dr. Jim Bainsworth dead on the exam room floor. Hearing a noise, they arm themselves with a giant model tooth and toothbrush, useless weapons but enough to persuade the arriving police that they’re guilty of something. After hours being grilled like perps, the two are released, but the surprises aren’t over. Just as Daphne is unlocking her front door, she’s accosted by an Elvis impersonator who wants to order a pink Cadillac cake for the Elvis Impersonators’ Evangelical Interdenominational Outreach convention, but before Daphne starts on the cake, she and Myra need to find a killer. A little jealousy from boyfriend Ben Jacobs and some smalltown gossip add to the mix for a tasty read, despite a few minor plot holes. (Oct.)