A cold dose of murder

Le Cordon Bleu--trained pastry chef Chloe (last seen in A High Tide Murder, 2024) has returned to small-town Azalea Bay, California, from Paris after a broken engagement and a bad review of her desserts. To help her Grandma Rose, who is undergoing chemotherapy, she begins baking cannabis edibles, ultimately opening a weed café, Baked by Chloe. She is pleased when food blogger Calista Bryant gives her business a glowing review, but Calista also savages Starr Bright's health-and-wellness café. When Calista is found dead, Starr quickly becomes the chief suspect. Knowing Chloe has solved crimes in the past, Starr asks for her help, claiming that she is being framed. Learning that numerous other people had reason to wish Calista dead, Chloe investigates with the assistance of Starr's brother, leading her into grave danger. The sympathetic Chloe, who is learning to trust again, and details of creating edibles and running a weed café combine for a fresh take on a cozy, and it includes recipes.

The owner of a cannabis cafe helps solve the murder of a snarky podcaster. Chloe Barnes wants nothing more than to build up a healthy clientele for the weed-themed bakery she started in Azalea Bay, California, when her Grandma Rose needed help with the side effects of chemotherapy. So, she reluctantly agrees to be interviewed by podcaster Calista Bryant on the Azalea Bay episode ofStarch Nemesis. Calista, who's normally a tough critic, raves about Baked by Chloe, saving her harshest words for Starr Bright's health-and-wellness cafe, Sprout. When Calista turns up dead and the police suspect Starr, Chloe springs into action to save her fellow entrepreneur. The puzzle is standard shopkeeper cozy fare, with lots of suspects, a romantic side plot, warnings from the police to leave detection to the experts, and a tense confrontation with the killer when those warnings go unheeded. Adding cannabis to the heroine's signature confections provides a quirky twist, although readers should be cautious when it comes to the two recipes George appends. She obviously knows a lot about the chemistry of cannabis, and those recipes carry a warning that their potency can vary with both the strain of the plant and the consumers' personal tolerance. Like solving murders, however, creating edibles whose ingredients include psychoactive drugs is probably best left to professionals. After an edgy start, George settles into a comfortable groove. Unlike cannabis treats, her tales are steady and predictable. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.