Macarons Can Be Murder (A Paris Kentucky Bakery Mystery #1) by Rose Betancourt #bookreview #mystery

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Title: Macarons Can Be Murder

Author: Rose Betancourt

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Publication Date: July 11, 2023

Page Count:  262

My rating: 3 stars

About the book:

Perfect for fans of Ellie Alexander and Lucy Burdette, Rose Betancourt’s series debut is a culinary treat sure to charm.

Living in Paris, Kentucky, and having a sidekick cat named Pepe le Pew gives Marci Beaucoup’s life a certain je ne sais quoi. Combining her love of baking and France, Marci opened La Belle Patisserie to bring her small Southern hometown a bit of French flair and lots of croissants. Everything is sunshine and macaronsat the bakery until her landlord calls to tell her she’s selling the property. Marci’s relieved to hear that if the top bidder, an enchanting Frenchman named Antoine Dubois, gets the property, he’ll renew her bakery’s lease. Charmed by Antoine, Marci figures this development isn’t half bad and sees a handsome new landlord in her future—but then Antoine’s estranged ex-girlfriend Kelly turns up dead in front of her bakery. Sacrebleu!

Everyone calls Marci’s pastries “to die for,” but nobody’s actually died at La Belle Patisserie before. Antoine quickly becomes the main suspect to everyone in Paris—including to womanizing detective Maverick Malone. Who else would have killed Kelly but the ex-boyfriend she was just seen fighting with on the day of her death?

Marci finds out from her landlord that if Antoine is arrested, his purchase of her building will fall through—and her landlord will sell to developers instead, who plan to demolish the building and construct a strip mall in its place. Enamored with Antoine and with her patisserie dreams hanging in the balance, Marci is determined to prove Maverick and the rest of Paris wrong and find the true killer before Antoine winds up in jail—and she has to say au revoir to her bakery.   

Now Marci finds herself mixed up in the murder investigation, and she must find the killer before her half-baked theories result in her untimely death.

Macarons Can Be Murder by Rose Betancourt is the first book in the cozy A Paris Kentucky Bakery Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery books the mystery within this first book is fully solved so it can be read as a standalone if choosing to do so.

Marci Beaucoup has a total love for France and everything French but since she lives in America she has had to settle for the “other” Paris, the one in Kentucky. Marci has decided to combine her love of baking and everything french and open her own little bakery, La Belle Patisserie.

Just as Marci is getting the bakery up off the ground and business begins she finds that her landlord is wanting to sell the building. The new owner, Antoine Dubois, however ensures that Marci will be able to continue her business as usual, that is until Antoine ends up a murder suspect when his ex turns up dead in front of the bakery.

Macarons Can Be Murder by Rose Betancourt was an ok opener to this new cozy series. The story is kind of short one for an opener so I would have liked more suspects and time to get to know the characters and town a bit better before it all wrapped up. I would also warn to those out there that dislike a love triangle that this one seems to be one to include one so that may be a turn off to some but otherwise for me I’d have to see if this one grows on me in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Rose Betancourt is a USA Today bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. When she’s not plotting her next mystery novel, she loves reading, painting, spending time with family, and listening to oldies.  Her writing is fueled by Diet Coke and dark chocolate. Rose lives near Louisville, Kentucky.