A DEADLY BATCH

A festival. A famous first love. A body in the bread tent.

Charlotte Bishop has exactly one rule for the Sandpiper Cove Bread and Harvest Festival: sell every sticky bun before noon and stay far away from drama. This year, that rule doesn't survive breakfast.

Between a surprise celebrity guest judge who happens to be the ex-boyfriend she never quite got over, and the town's least-liked new resident stirring up trouble at every tent on the green, Charlotte already has her hands full. Then she finds that resident's body in the festival's demonstration tent the morning after - and watches the police set their sights on the one person she knows would never do it: her best friend and star employee, Dee.

With Dee facing a nightmare she doesn't deserve, Charlotte trades her rolling pin for a magnifying glass, using the oldest trick in the Kneaded Crumb's book - a warm loaf and a friendly ear - to get the whole town talking. What she uncovers is a web of secrets, debts, and quietly ruined lives that reaches further than she ever expected, tangled together with an old flame who insists on getting involved whether she wants his help or not.

With a killer still walking free, a festival in shambles, and a decade-old heartbreak refusing to stay in the past, Charlotte will have to trust her instincts, her recipes, and the people she loves most to get to the truth - before the wrong person pays for a crime they didn't commit.

A Deadly Batch is a warm, witty small-town mystery packed with quirky neighbors, slow-burn romance, and just enough suspense to keep you guessing until the last slice. It's the first delicious installment in the Kneaded Crumb Mysteries, and it comes with a sweet bonus: five original bakery recipes straight from Charlotte's own recipe box.

Perfect for readers who love cozy mysteries with a small coastal town setting, an amateur sleuth with a big heart, a will-they-won't-they romance, and recipes to try at home. Fans of clean, lighthearted whodunits with no graphic violence or language will feel right at home in Sandpiper Cove.