Note: Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and author Ellie Alexander for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Killing Me Soufflé is the 20th book in the Bakeshop Mysteries series by author Ellie Alexander. I don’t know what was going on way back in book number one, but this book is accessible if you haven’t read anything else in the series. Ellie Alexander recounts enough information and background that I had some ideas about the characters and could follow the story. After reading this, I’d like to know more. I’ve added the series to my “want to read” list.

Jules and Carlos are the proprietors of a bakeshop/cafe in Oregon, as well as a winery. Two of their proteges have left their employment to revitalize a restaurant at the popular Whaleshead Resort on the Oregon Coast. Jules has memories of summer vacations there with her parents and has volunteered to come help out at the restaurant’s grand reopening.

They learn the Resort has been suffering under mismanagement. Maintenance is not being performed on a timely basis, the staff seems to disappear at a whim and leave the front desk empty, and bills haven’t been paid. The manager, Erik Morton, is rude and dismissive, blaming everyone else for his shortcomings. There are also rumors of the resort being sold.

No sooner have Jules and Carlos arrived than Erik’s body is found, seemingly pushed off a cliff on the trail down to the beach. Jules’ mother and stepfather are also guests this weekend. Her stepfather is just known as The Professor and apparently has some ties to law enforcement, as he is tapped by the local police chief to help in the investigation. The Professor has used Jules in investigations before, and has no problem sending her out to talk to people who might open up more easily to a civilian than to the police.

There are a number of suspects present at or near the resort. Some of them engage in suspicious behavior. Jules chases down leads and helps her friends have a successful opening weekend, while at the same time being pregnant with twins.

The overall story in Killing Me Soufflé is good. You have a mystery with a closed number of suspects. I didn’t guess who the killer was, as it really doesn’t come together until the end. It’s not like the clues were there and I missed them or guessed wrong. There was no way to know until all was revealed. It kept me roped in this way.

I don’t know if some of it is jumping into a series so far along, or the author’s style, but I struggled to stay engaged in the parts of the story that weren’t based on the murder. Information was given repetitively. If Jules discovered something, she would repeat the information again and again. I lost count of how many times it’s mentioned that she will be cutting back at work once the twins arrive.

The story was fun and light, though, and the descriptions of the menu items would make anyone hungry. I like that the author includes recipes at the end of the book. If we weren’t in the middle of a heat wave, I might have tried some of them. The characters are interesting enough that I wanted to find out how they arrived at this point. The author manages to include just the right amount of background to whet the appetite for new readers to go back and check out earlier books in the series.

While not the best cozy mystery I’ve read, Killing Me Soufflé was a quick, light read that kept me entertained. It makes a great bit of summer reading. If you’re looking for another series to rope you in, this is definitely a contender.