The Baker and the Body

Blythe River Mysteries #1

by Jesse Leigh Murray

A poisoned landlord was just the beginning. If Maddie wants to survive, it's going to take more than cupcakes and croissants.

Maddie Dixon, proprietress of the Blythe Spirit Bakeshop, is not interested in being a detective. Despite her love of mystery novels, and her penchant for solving them before the book ends, Maddie is content with her little bakery in her placid little hometown of Blythe River.

But when Maddie finds the resident landlord, Otto St. James, dead in his home, the victim of a vicious poisoning, she becomes mixed up in the mystery, setting out to find who killed Otto before they can strike again. When her bakery is targeted, however, Maddie finds that she's in over her head, and she's not going to be able to bake away her troubles.

Maddie is going to have to either solve the mystery of who killed Otto St. James, or be the murderer's next victim.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2024

About the author

Jesse Leigh Murray lives and works in the Pacific Northwest, which is basically made for readers and writers. After spending a decade writing horror and dark fantasy under another name, she is overjoyed to finally be focusing on her true passion: cozy mysteries. She is the author of the Blythe River Mysteries series and the upcoming American Gramsters series.

When she isn’t writing, Jesse can usually be found reading, experimenting in the kitchen, or plotting new mysteries over far too much coffee.

She lives with her husband, overgrown children, and a particularly evil cat. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.

Reviews

[Kay Foresy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the murder, this was such a cozy and heartwarming book. It makes me wish I was a baker in a small village who solved mysteries. I will definitely read the second book!

[Amanda Trumpower · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had a solid cozy mystery premise and set up, but the writing kept kicking me out of the story. Over-explaining the characters’ feelings. Sentence structure much too repetitive with way too many dependent clauses. Dialogue tags that drew attention to themselves. It felt like a promising piece of student writing.

[Deborah Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maddie is baking a cake for the wedding of her Ex boyfriend and his bride. The whole town is gossiping about her so she is determined to prove she does not care. Drama at the wedding and a drunken Man who later turns up dead has Maddie investigating. This was a really fun story and I enjoyed it.

[Rachel Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE cozy mysteries and this one does not disappoint! Maddie Dixon and her best friend Ben make an amazing crime solving duo. The town is laid out masterfully and unlike Maddie's reads, I did not figure out the whodunit right away. Excellent read!

[Michele Clays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really enjoyed this one. Very well written. Characters that you want to be friends with and not a predictable storyline. It’s a very enjoyable read. Can’t wait for the next one!!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy mystery! A fun and entertaining read!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute. I think the series has a lot of potential!

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

This book was hard to put down and kept me guessing until almost at the end. I would recommend this book.

[Tita · Rating 1 out of 5]

So very unrealistic! The behavior of the characters was so unlike anything a real person would do. The conversations didn't match the emotions of the characters. The end was so sappy, sweet. Much was left out of the narrative that I had a hard time figuring out what happened and how much time had gone by. Really a poor opening to a new series.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maddie Dixon has built a life in her charming hometown of Blythe River, where she runs the local bakeshop, which caters to the community. She has been asked to make the wedding cake for her ex-boyfriend's upcoming nuptials. Most of the town goes to the wedding, but as they go to cut the cake, Otto St James steals the top of the cake. Otto is a fixture in the town and owns much of the property there. Since he had been acting strangely, Maddie decided to go after him and see if she could retrieve the cake. That is when she finds him dead, and this starts Maddie and her friends' investigation into the death of Otto.
As the investigation continues, we learn about the townspeople and the secrets behind them. Then, as they learn more, Maddie and her friends might also be in danger. The story is a great way to start the series and introduce the interesting characters in Blythe River. I will continue with the series. I received this as an ARC directly from the author.

[Angel Dey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me guessing and the ending was incredible!

I don’t think I have ever read a cozy mystery where I burst into laughter during the accusation scene. It was super tense, then BOOM crashed in the hero who was not what I was suspecting at all! It was fantastic!

And along with that, the dropped clues throughout really had me guessing who the real killer was, which made this a really fun read. I can’t wait for the second book in the series!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in the series. The main character is Maddie. Maddie owns a bakery in a small town and does a cake for a wedding. But someone comes in the reception and steels the entire top. Maddie goes to this person's house and finds him. Now people think she murdered him. She thinks she knows who is behind it all. So did I but I was only half right. Can she figure everything out before it's too late?

[Diane Ploussard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and mysterious

I like the characters in this book, and I'm so glad that there is a series with the same people that I found I had become fond of and wanted to know better. This book was exciting, funny, and kept me on my toes.
This was a true "who done it" from beginning to end.

[Natascha Szumla · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a steady diet of thrillers, this was exactly the palate cleanser I needed. It’s a true cozy mystery—cute, predictable in places, and packed with familiar clichés—but that’s part of the charm. The story is light, easy to follow, and never asks too much of you. Not groundbreaking, but a pleasant, low-stress read that does its job well.

[Betty Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Baker and the Body, Book 1

It was exciting from start to finish
but her cat needs to be a little more involved. The characters were believable and can't wait to read next book.

[Jan Stier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

First I need to say,I cannot wait for the return of the reporter. That said, although I had eventually narrowed down the murderer, the circumstances surrounding the issue were a surprise. You will enjoy this story as it ties everything together in a neat bow!

[Karin Tillotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who killed Otto St. James and why??? He remembered??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book..

[Ashley Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need more!

Loved this book! I can’t wait for the next one! It had the perfect amount of humor, love stories, and murder mystery!

[K | Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Kimberly Temple · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable cozy mystery. I hope there is another book to follow in the series.

[Claude Dancourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute light read to finish the year.

I enjoyed the characters and the writing. The plot has enough twist to keep you guessing.