Just Desserts & Murder: A Temperance Matthews Cozy Mystery

Lucinda Race

Dec 2025 · Little Bakery Cozy Mystery Series Book 1 · MC Two Press

About this ebook

In Oak Hollow, every recipe comes with a dash of mystery...

Temperance Matthews thought opening her dream bakery in Oak Hollow—with her mini dachshund, Hank, at her heels—would be a sweet start to her new life. Instead, her shop goes up in flames, and a body is found among the ashes.

When her quiet assistant Louise shows up bruised, with twigs in her hair, and missing a shoe, Temperance’s data-analysis skills from her FBI days suddenly feel like the only hope of untangling the mystery. But the plot thickens: Jonah, the bakery’s former owner, is stabbed while trying to reach Temperance. The frosting on the cake? Louise’s boyfriend is the victim of the fire. Surveillance footage shows him entering through a locked back door—yet only three keys exist, and Louise doesn’t have one.

With threats mounting and the police closing in on a suspect, Temperance must follow a trail of half-baked clues before the real culprit turns her cozy little town into a crime scene… and who becomes the next target.

Just Desserts and Murder is book 1 in the exciting new Little Bakery Cozy Mystery Series featuring Temperance Matthews. Each book can be read as a standalone.

Ratings and reviews

Good story! Filled with never ending excitement and wonderful characters. I enjoyed meeting Temperance and her brilliant brain and deductive capabilities. She really worked to figure out not only who burned her bakery down but also why the dead body was in her store. She has a super group of friends who help her along the way plus the local Detective who is always looking for other angles to follow. Overall it was one that had just enough twists to keep me guessing.

Temperance is our leading lady of the story. She leaves her past career for her dream job, opening her own bakery in a small town she grew up in. Unfortunately because of her aunt's passing, she has a place for a new start. Temperance makes friends, and with their help, she continues to work hard to make delicious treats for her customers. Well a fire that is suspected as a murder flips her world upside down! Ehe has to rely on her past to secure the safety of her future. This was a great read!

Temperance Matthew and her sweet pup Hank work to figure out who burned down her bakery and left a body behind. Temperance a former FBI analyst Moved to Oak Hollow when her aunt left her a house she relocated and opened the bakery of her dreams. All that burned down in front of her and the fire chief found a body in the burned bakery. This is a sweet cozy mystery. Friends, hometown cozy goodness. Really enjoyed the finding friends and solving mysteries.