A Murder Yule Regret by Winnie Archer

A Murder Yule Regret by Winnie Archer
Narrator: Emily Durante
Series: Bread Shop Mystery #7
on November 30, 2021
Source: Purchased
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 8 hrs 18 mins
Pages: 352
Format: Audiobook
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Freelance photographer and Yeast of Eden bakery assistant Ivy Culpepper has just scored the job of a lifetime shooting the Dickensian dress-up X-mas party thrown by It Girl film actress Eliza Fox...until an unwanted guest appears.

A holiday costume party in the sleepy coastal town of Santa Sofia could be just the boost Ivy needs for her fledgling photography business. At the party, Ivy enters a Victorian fantasy come to life, all courtesy of the fabulous Ms. Fox. Ivy gets to play shutterbug while hanging with Scrooge, Marley, the Cratchits, and more classic Dickens characters. But what begins as the best of times turns out to be the very worst for one of the party guests--a tabloid journalist with more enemies than Ebenezer himself.

When the man's body is found sprawled across the jagged rocks below the house, the fingers begin pointing at Eliza. Meanwhile, Ivy gets roped into helping prove the starlet's innocence. Her festive photos are now official evidence--and the Ghosts of Christmas Present could mean the party for Eliza is over, once and for all.

A Murder Yule Regret is the 7th in the series, but the first I read. It worked fine as a stand-alone, but I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I knew the characters better.

Ivy is a good character, curious, caring. She’s a freelance photographer and an assistant in the bakery. Her photos are important to solving the case, but to be honest I was more interested in the bakery and the bread than I was about her photography business. I’m not sure if that’s because I haven’t read earlier ones in the series or not. Or because I really love bread and this book has inspired me to try some baking of my own – or at least plan to try some baking of my own. I have a recipe and ingredients, just haven’t started yet.

The first victim is a “journalist” found dead at the bottom of a cliff during a party held by film actress, Eliza Fox. Ivy becomes friends with Eliza and can’t help nosing around. The mystery was well plotted with multiple suspects and a few good twists. I liked all the Christmassy-ness too, like the Dickens themed party.