I think it’s amazing that this cozy series has continued for so long! This book is the thirteenth and I’m proud to write that I’ve been reading them since the beginning. In fact, Ellie Alexander and I started our journeys together in a way. I was just getting my blog up and running as she was writing and publishing the first Bakeshop Mystery books. (As well as her Pacific Northwest mysteries, which are definitely worth a read, too.)

Mocha, She Wrote focuses on a national coffee competition that Torte barista, Andy, enters. Much of the action takes place outside of Torte, the Ashland, Oregon bakeshop featured in the books. But I can’t complain. As a coffee addict, it was fun to get absorbed into a coffee-focused storyline. (Though I will say that I’m more of a coffee traditionalist than any of the competitors!) The competitors in the West Coast Barista Cup take their coffee creations very seriously, as do the judges and organizers. To them, it really is a matter of life and death–a matter that Andy and Jules quickly get wrapped up in.

The Bakeshop Mysteries always offer a nice balance of character, setting, plot, and, of course, pastry.