Title:	Pastry and Poison
	Author:	Carole Fowkes
	Published:	September 29, 2020, Ink Lion Books
	No. of Pages:	300
	Cover Price:	$12.00 Paperback, $3.50 Kindle

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Claire DeNardo has taken over her retiring uncle’s detective agency, and, in the seventh installment of The Terrified Detective Series, Pastry and Poison, by Carole Fowkes, is hired by her former boss and bakery owner, Gloria Valducci, when her head pastry chef drops dead after eating a beautiful tart that was delivered to the bakery. Of course most people wouldn’t be stupid enough to eat something that had suspicious beginnings, such as being delivered anonymously, but some of the characters in the story are actually that stupid and they are paying with their lives. Clair must investigate that murder and subsequent ones at other bakeries, and find the murderer before she is targeted and before more bakery employees die.

Apparently Claire is scared of lots of things, which makes her a “terrified” detective, and that seems like an oxymoron, since detectives are supposed to be brave to solve cases. The books are light and a bit humorous, however, so in this case it is okay. Fowkes does a good job of developing Claire’s character in this novel, but those who have read the previous novels will probably fare better with Claire’s personality because they contain her history. This novel can be read as a standalone novel, however, and except for several people being morons and eating something suspicious, the storyline is fairly believable. There are a few twists and turns, and a bit of romance involved, especially since Claire’s fiancé is the good looking police detective, Brian Corrigan. Brian unfortunately has a sexy new partner, and that makes Claire a bit jealous.

All told, this is a light, fun novel. It won’t be on the list of classics years from now, but it is well-written and suitable for all ages. Cozy lovers will enjoy this book and will most likely want to read the previous novels in the series, too.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.