Bittersweet Brew
(2025)(The third book in the Pawprints & Pour-Over Mystery series)
A novel by Hailey Hartley
When renowned pastry chef Colette Dubois agrees to create an exclusive holiday dessert line for The Copper Kettle coffee shop, owner Hazel Winters thinks her struggling small-town business has finally caught a break. The collaboration is supposed to put Snowbridge Heights on the culinary map and give Hazel's shop the boost it desperately needs during the competitive holiday season. But on the morning of the first delivery, Colette is found dead in her pristine kitchen, surrounded by the beautiful pastries she'll never deliver. With no signs of forced entry and everything looking peaceful except for Colette lying still on the floor, the police suspect a tragic accident or sudden medical emergency. But Hazel knows something is wrong. Colette was meticulous, healthy, and had texted Hazel just hours before about finally having proof of something she wouldn't explain.
Determined to understand what happened to the woman who'd become a friend during their collaboration, Hazel teams up with her dependable assistant baker Finn O'Connor and her chatty regular customer Iris Whitmore—a retired food critic with a sharp eye for detail and an even sharper tongue. Armed with Colette's cryptic final message and hindered by Hazel's sleek black cat Pepper, who insists on napping in boxes of potential evidence, the trio uncovers a trail of professional jealousy, stolen recipes, and bitter rivalries in the local culinary scene. From sabotaged reputations to a prestigious baking competition with suspicious winners, it seems Colette had been investigating fraud that threatened several careers. But as Hazel digs deeper into the cutthroat world of artisan baking and receives threatening warnings to stop asking questions, she realizes someone is willing to kill to keep their deception hidden, and the killer might be preparing to strike again.
Full of warmth, humor, and the perfect blend of amateur sleuthing, Bittersweet Brew is a cozy mystery that proves even the sweetest creations can hide bitter secrets. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and settle in for a mystery where holiday cheer meets deadly ambition, where a cat's well-timed nap might reveal crucial evidence, and where the truth is worth fighting for—even when it means exposing the darkest side of professional rivalry and discovering that the price of success built on lies is far higher than anyone imagined.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Determined to understand what happened to the woman who'd become a friend during their collaboration, Hazel teams up with her dependable assistant baker Finn O'Connor and her chatty regular customer Iris Whitmore—a retired food critic with a sharp eye for detail and an even sharper tongue. Armed with Colette's cryptic final message and hindered by Hazel's sleek black cat Pepper, who insists on napping in boxes of potential evidence, the trio uncovers a trail of professional jealousy, stolen recipes, and bitter rivalries in the local culinary scene. From sabotaged reputations to a prestigious baking competition with suspicious winners, it seems Colette had been investigating fraud that threatened several careers. But as Hazel digs deeper into the cutthroat world of artisan baking and receives threatening warnings to stop asking questions, she realizes someone is willing to kill to keep their deception hidden, and the killer might be preparing to strike again.
Full of warmth, humor, and the perfect blend of amateur sleuthing, Bittersweet Brew is a cozy mystery that proves even the sweetest creations can hide bitter secrets. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and settle in for a mystery where holiday cheer meets deadly ambition, where a cat's well-timed nap might reveal crucial evidence, and where the truth is worth fighting for—even when it means exposing the darkest side of professional rivalry and discovering that the price of success built on lies is far higher than anyone imagined.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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