January 23, 2023
This winning series launch from the pseudonymous George finds the 28-year-old Paris-trained pastry chef Chloe Barnes returning home to her idyllic beachside hometown of Azalea Bay, Calif., following a humiliating breakup with her cheating fiancé. When her much loved grandmother falls ill with cancer, Chloe puts her five-star baking skills to work making cannabis brownies to help Grandma Rose cope with pain. The brownies are such a hit with Grandma Rose and her friends that Chloe’s Aunt Dawn proposes the two of them go into business and open a shop selling THC-infused baked goods. Chloe is intrigued, but before she can get Baked by Chloe off the ground, a former high school classmate, Brendan Chalmers, with whom she recently had a frightening run-in, is found stabbed to death. Since the knife has Aunt Dawn’s initials on it, she becomes the prime suspect. George checks off all the requisite boxes, including an appealing small-town setting, cute dog, close family, and the possibility of romance on the horizon. Cannabis-infused recipes round out the volume. Cozy fans will eagerly await the next Cannabis Café mystery. Agent: Jill Marshal, Marsal Lyon Literary.
June 1, 2023
George's debut, the first in her "Cannabis Caf� Mystery" series, is a cozy with all the necessary requirements--family members in trouble, a smart amateur sleuth, a charming small town, and a sense of community. Chloe Barnes leaves her fancy pastry-chef job and her cheating ex-fianc� in Paris and returns home to California to help her grandmother, who's recently been diagnosed with cancer. While Chloe deals with her losses, she ponders how best to use her culinary talents. Then, seeing her grandmother's struggle with the side effects of chemotherapy, Chloe decides to open a cannabis caf�, giving her a chance to create delicious concoctions that make people feel better. The brutal murder of a former high school classmate puts her plans on the back burner, and when Chloe's eccentric aunt Dawn is named as a suspect, Chloe knows that it's up to her to discover the truth. Narrator Chelsea Stephens adorns the novel with a variety of character voices and an enthusiastic presentation. VERDICT This cozy mystery with a modern twist offers informative details about cooking with cannabis and includes several recipes too. A winner for fans of Maddie Day, Ellie Alexander, and Mia P. Manansala.--Joanna M. Burkhardt
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.