Part of Bookstore Cafe Mystery
First published 2026
Krissy Hancock runs Death by Coffee, a bookstore café in Pine Hills, Ohio. She's testing a red velvet latte for her upcoming wedding when disaster strikes. Her original baker cancels due to illness, forcing Krissy and her fiancé Paul to meet with two replacement cake decorators. The meeting turns ugly as the bakers attack each other instead of discussing wedding plans. The next morning, Krissy arrives at the bakery to make her final decision. She discovers both bakers dead on the floor, red velvet cake splattered around them. Did they kill each other over her wedding contract? The police investigation reveals deeper motives and hidden connections. Krissy must solve the double murder while managing wedding preparations and finding a new baker. The case becomes personal as she uncovers secrets that threaten her own safety. She races against time to identify the real killer before her wedding day arrives.
Genres: american-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary, adult-fiction, cozy-mystery
Vibes: cozy, engaging, fast-paced, lighthearted-mystery, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-detective, found-family, personal-stakes
Setting: Death by Coffee, Pine Hills, Ohio
Period: contemporary
320 pages · ebook · Kensington Cozies
Content warnings: death, murder