Murder at the Bake Sale
A Maya and Sandra Mystery #2
Lee Hollis
Kensington Books, December 2020
ISBN 978-1-4967-3197-5
Mass Market Paperback
Written by Lee Hollis (the pen name for a sister and brother writing team), Murder at the Bake Sale is the second in the Maya and Sandra series. The two first met when Sandra, then President of the Portland High school PTA, was the target of online harassment by someone posing as a gossip columnist. In the process of investigating that problem, Maya, who was already a private investigator, accepted Sandra’s offer to help in the business when Maya’s partner went on maternity leave. Now a partner for about a year, Sandra is still fairly new at investigations and still learning the ropes from Maya, but she brings to the business her skills in dealing with people learned during her marriage to a politician. On a personal level, both are having marital problems. Maya’s husband, Max, a former police captain convicted of corruption has been in prison for several years and Sandra is married to a U.S. senator, but they are officially separated.
Maya’s daughter, Vanessa, is dating Sandra’s son, Ryan, and the two are working on various fund-raising projects to fund the Spring class trip to Barcelona, which is to be led by their Spanish teacher, Diego Sanchez who, upon meeting Maya, flirted with her which led Maya, likely one of the worst bakers around, to agree to try and make something edible for the fundraising bake sale.
Unfortunately, shortly after their meeting Mr. Sanchez is found dead after eating cookies bought at the bake sale. The students in his class, stunned by the sudden loss of their popular teacher, hire Maya and Sandra to find the killer. Along the way the two women learn more than they ever wanted to know about what goes on in both Washington D.C. and in their home town. But can they solve the mystery of who killed Diego Sanchez?
Murder at the Bake Sale is a cozy mystery written by a well-known and prolific author and set in the beautiful area of southern Maine. I am sure cozy mystery fans will enjoy it!
Reviewed by Melinda Drew, December 2021.
Buried Under Books 