Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Bakeries and Buffoonery: Magical Mystery Book Club by Elizabeth Pantley. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Bakeries and Buffoonery: Magical Mystery Book Club
by Elizabeth Pantley
Bakeries and Buffoonery: Magical Mystery Book Club
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Small Midwestern Town
Independently Published (February 15, 2023)
Print length : 310 pages
It’s a magical book club! When this group chooses a book, magic happens. The mystery comes to life, and they find themselves part of the story. To exit the book and get back home, they need to solve the mystery and reach The End.
This time, the club chooses a book called The Great Cake Rivalry, because, well … cake! They read the back cover and it’s unanimous. So off they go into another grand adventure into a town aptly named Frosting.
Frosting is a rural town in an idyllic setting. The people live quiet lives most of the year. But in the spring, things change. The Annual Cake Competition becomes the focus of every man, woman, and child. They take this competition seriously. The cakes are spectacular. The festival is fabulous. For a week there are contests featuring all kinds of cakes. The people of the community become official tasters and vote for the winning cakes in each category.
The grand finale is a display of finely decorated cakes, made by the town’s bakeries. The winner of the best design receives a prize package that would make any baker dizzy.
Sadly, this event has been tainted. Once a year, each one different, but all somehow related to this event, a person is murdered. The main investigator is stumped, but that could be because he’s an inept buffoon.
Can the book club help the people of this community figure out who is causing this disturbing pattern of deaths, and stop another murder from happening? Can they figure out why some of the citizens dress so oddly, and why they always wear those unique backpacks? All while they fill themselves to the brim with cake, of course.
Interview with Forrest from Bakeries and Buffoonery
by Elizabeth Pantley
Author of the Magical Mystery Book Club series
Hi Forrest, thanks for chatting with me here at the coffee shop. I figured I’d get the real scoop about this unusual book club from you. I tried talking to the other members but to be honest, they all tend to ramble.
Yeah, well. You know how adults can be.
How’d you manage to be the only teenager in a book club?
I was grounded and my mom wouldn’t leave me home alone, so she dragged me to the first meeting.
But that was quite a while ago, yet you’re still in the club, I see.
It’s all a bit crazy at times, but the club gets to travel inside mystery books and solve the case. We even get to see the dead bodies and everything. So yeah. It’s kinda fun.
What kind of books have you traveled to?
I really liked the cruise ship one. We got to sail all around Hawaii and go on a bunch of excursions. We even went to a luau where they roasted a whole pig. My mom’s a vegetarian, and she objected, but I thought it was dope. There were vampires in that one.
Oh, my gosh! Vampires! Weren’t you scared?
Nah. They’re cool. Well, most of them anyhow.
Are there vampires in Bakeries and Buffooneries?
Nope. Every book is different. This one has fairies. But not like Tinkerbell type. These are as big as you and me, and they look like humans. Until they don’t.
So, they have wings?
Oh, man! Do they ever! Huge, colorful, fantastic wings. It was amazing!
This book is about a baking contest, right?
Yeah. It’s an annual thing. Super competitive and cutthroat. Who knew cakes would bring out the monster in some people, right? We did get to eat a lot of cake, that was good.
Once you’re in a book like that, how do you get out?
Well, you gotta solve the case. Figure out who the killer is and stuff. Get to the last page in the book that says The End.
Aren’t you ever afraid you won’t figure it out?
According to Zell and Frank – they’re the oldest members – that’s never happened. As far as they know, anyhow. With those two you only get half the story.
Then why does the group keep risking these adventures?
Well, duh! Why do people go skydiving? Rock climbing? White river rafting? It’s the adrenaline rush. Going inside a mystery book is the most exciting thing you’ll ever do.
Are you planning another trip anytime soon?
Yeah. Book club meeting is tomorrow. We’re gonna pick the next book!
I hope you have another great adventure. Thanks for meeting with me, Forrest. And good luck!
My review of Bakeries and Buffoonery
Bakeries and Buffoonery is the fourth book in the charming cozy mystery series, the Magical Mystery Book Club by Elizabeth Pantley. Though it’s not necessary to read the books in order, I would recommend you do. You’ll get to know the characters much better as well as find out when and why certain characters are book club members.
As you can probably gather from the series name, this book revolves around a group of book club characters, but it’s no ordinary book club. The members in this club actually become characters in the book they choose to read! The book they enter this time around is set in the small town of Frosting. No, that wasn’t always its name, but the town has become obsessed with cake! There are three bakeries who compete in the Great British Baking Show….wait, no, that’s my other obsession…. These bakeries compete in an annual cake bake-off…no pies allowed! And every year someone is murdered! What does the murderer have against cake?! Who doesn’t love cake? That’s what the book club needs to find out.
As you read the books in this series, you’ll quickly find that the members of the club love to eat! Any time they are in a club meeting, they eat. They frequent the bakeries and restaurants in Frosting. And, thanks to an amateur bake-off, they bake…a lot! You’re going to be hungry thanks to the way the author describes the tremendous amount of food this group eats! As if cake wasn’t enough, right?!
I really enjoyed trying to figure out why some of the characters in Frosting dressed so strangely and why they had long oval backpacks. I was certainly surprised when the reason was revealed! Speaking of surprises, this book sets us up for a reveal that may or may not be in the next book! I’m always delighted by the fantasy elements that the author adds to this magical book club’s adventures. She has a wonderful imagination, and we get to live in her imagination through these books!
When it came to figuring out who the killer was, it took me a long time to pick the right culprit. Your list of suspects will be long thanks to the red herrings throughout. With so many quirky characters, almost any of them could be guilty. You’ll get a significant clue somewhere near the end, so pay attention!
If you like your cozy mysteries with a variety of well-written characters, lots of food, fantastical elements, and plenty of suspects for you to sort through, you will love this entertaining book and series! I definitely recommend it!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About Elizabeth Pantley
Elizabeth Pantley is the internationally bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents, published in over twenty languages.
She simultaneously writes the well-loved Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the new Magical Mystery Book Club series.
Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest, the gorgeous inspiration for the setting in many of her books. Visit her and sign up for her newsletter at www.nocrysolution.com
Author Links
Website: https://www.nocrysolution.com/books/
Newsletter Sign-up: https://www.nocrysolution.com/mailing-list/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destinyfallsmystery/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-pantley
Purchase Link – Amazon
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Bakeries and Buffoonery TOUR PARTICIPANTS
February 20 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
February 21 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
February 22 – I’m Into Books – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 23 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
February 24 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
February 25 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 26 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 27 – Elza Reads – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
February 28 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
March 1 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 2 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT
March 2 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 3 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 4 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
March 4 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 5 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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I love to discover cosy mystery series and authors who are new to me!
Love cozy mysteries.
Thank you for the AWESOME review and feature! I have soo much fun writing about this traveling book club! I think I gained a few pounds on this one writing about all those delicious cakes!
You’re welcome! I believe it! You know, writing about cakes requires research, so reading about them has to too!