Robbie Jordan’s restaurant, B&B, and country store Pans ‘N Pancakes is usually closed on Mondays, but she’s making an exception for this St. Patrick’s Day. The televised cooking competition Holiday Hot-Off is filming its latest themed episode at her store, and she’s happy to earn both the publicity and the paycheck.

Her enthusiasm is lessened, however, by the high-handed nature of the main producer and host, Tara Moore. Tara inherited the show from her late brother and runs her two-person crew with an iron fist. Her assistant, Jaden Routh, does everything Tara doesn’t want to, including answering Robbie’s pertinent questions about what the contestants may require from the venue and, by extension, Robbie herself. At least her cameraperson Vin Pollard is on the friendlier side, at least to Robbie. It’s pretty clear that there’s no love lost between Vin and Tara.

Despite a tense day of setup, Robbie is looking forward to watching the show’s live taping the next day. As the morning wears on, however, Tara is nowhere to be found. As Tara has booked lodgings over at Pans ‘N Pancakes, Robbie heads up to check on her and discovers her lying dead in her rented room.

Lieutenant Buck Bird of the local police department is on hand, having been asked to help judge the contestants’ entries, so he quickly takes charge of the scene. Robbie figures that this pretty much ends her involvement with the Holiday Hot-Off until Jaden informs her that an outside investor would like for the show to go on. He asks for a re-do on Wednesday. Robbie checks in with Buck and the other investigators brought in for the case and is somewhat surprised to find that they think it’s a good idea too. Keeping the contest going means that the suspects will be that much easier for them to keep tabs on. Besides, once the crime scene is cleared, Robbie is free to continue with her business. Hopefully, a good taping will help banish any shadows cast over her establishment by the murder.

Unfortunately, this enforced proximity means that the murderer can easily see what Robbie is up to as she helps Buck with the case. Will our intrepid heroine find herself on the wrong end of a murder weapon as she gets too close to uncovering the killer’s identity?

While Maddie Day’s Country Store Mystery novels are always entertaining, I was very absorbed in this one due to the continuing changes in Robbie’s family life. Since marrying Abe O’Neill and becoming a stepmom to his son, Sean, she’s gradually getting used to parenting a teenager while trying not to feel too anxious over her own fertility. Her concerns for her family feel honest, genuine, and unselfish. I also really appreciate the accurate representation of drag culture within these pages—a territory not often covered by culinary cozies!

There were five recipes included here, many featuring Irish stouts in keeping with the Holiday Hot-Off theme. I actually decided to try one that didn’t.

Raspberry Scones

Ingredients

2 ½ cups unbleached flour, plus more for work surface

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup cold butter, cut into half-inch dice

¾ cup buttermilk

1 large egg yolk

1 ½ cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)

1 tablespoon coarse sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a food processor, pulse together flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg yolk.

Slowly pour buttermilk mixture through feed tube into processor, pulsing until dough just comes together.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle raspberries on top. Knead 3 times to fold in raspberries (there may be loose pieces of dough and a stray berry or 2). Gather and pat dough into a 1-inch-thick square.

Pull apart into 2-inch pieces and place pieces, about 2 inches apart, on 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets and sprinkle tops with coarse sugar.

Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.

Let scones cool slightly on sheets on wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These were delightfully light, fruity scones with the perfect amount of sweetness—though, I admittedly sprinkled more than a tablespoon of sugar over them at the end. I love how it all comes together in the food processor, only really needing a bit of forming before being popped into the oven. I wasn’t really sure what was meant by 2-inch pieces, so just made round scones that were about two inches in diameter each. 

This recipe made 17 delicious scones for my family and me. My kids actually clamored to eat these while they were still cooling and really enjoyed them both with and without butter. I’d definitely recommend this as an everyday baked good that is healthy and tasty and not at all difficult to make.

Next week, we head to the West Coast to bake up another sweet treat in the series debut of one of my favorite cozy authors. Do join me!

See also: Cooking the Books: Cheddar Late Than Dead by Linda Reilly