My Series-ous Reading is ready to dish it out before Another One Bites the Crust

While I just did a write-up of new series titles to enjoy, my Series-ous Reading schedule is still going full speed ahead. In fact, it's so far ahead that my latest selection, Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander, is ready for it's own curtain call before the calendar month is near it's end.

No doubt that reading the prior entry, A Crime of Passion Fruit, this summer revved me up for this book, which has Juliet "Jules" Capshaw returning home to Ashland with a renewed sense of purpose and her mom Helen engaged to be married to the charming head homicide detective known as The Professor.

Jules is happy to be back, with the expansion of the family bakery Torte going along well and the annual Shakespeare Festival about to begin. What does concern her is the demeanor of Lance, the artistic director of the local theatrical company who is surprisingly having trouble with the board as well as at war with the new leading man,Anthony, who is set to star in the first of the season production of Antony & Cleopatra:

While Lance can be charmingly over dramatic at times, even Jules can see that he's seriously stressed out here. The theater is truly his life and she's willing to do anything to help him out.

Lance does ask a favor of her; to help out at the special opening season party that he's quickly planning. The official party was catered by local business rival Richard Lord(whose taste in food is worse than his fashion sense which consists of loud enough to wake the dead golf clothes) with the aid of Anthony, who seems to have it in for Lance,which is puzzling given the big break that Lance has granted him here.

Jules is a little worried about how tense Lance is and not crazy about having to dress up in period garb for the party, which is totally Shakespearean style with a live peacock thrown for good measure. However, she is willing to do what she can for a good friend and some of the dressing up isn't too bad at all.  In fact, the party turns out to be quite the smashing success despite the late in the evening fight between Lance and Antony, which ends peacefully enough for the time being:

That peace is suddenly shattered as Jules gets a late night visit from a frantic Lance, covered in blood and in shock over finding Antony stabbed to death on a nearby park path. As the police take over the case, even inviting a detective from another town to look into the matter, it appears that Lance is the prime suspect. Can Jules clear him of wrong doing before Lance is made to take his final bow?

I really loved the behind the scenes action of this plot, which allowed for a few extra suspects such as Vera, the wardrobe lady who knows a few secrets about Tracy, the current leading lady, Judy, a theater volunteer that overhears a rather pertinent conversation and prop man Thad who has personal reasons for helping Tracy keep her secret.

Also, I appreciated the time given to both Jules and her mother to deal with the reality of Helen's remarrying and their mixed feelings about the whole thing. The Professor is a great guy(and very receptive to his fiancee's emotional state) but it's understandable that Jules and Helen would miss their father and husband all the more due to this important life change and it's nicely handled here.

While I do have a Series-ous Reading title picked out for October(more on that in a moment), I'm already continuing with the Bakeshop Mysteries on my own with the next book, Till Death Do Us Tart, where Jules and the whole town is setting up a surprise Mid Summer Night's Eve wedding for Helen and The Professor!  Granted, I do want to be fully prepared for the new entry in the series, A Cup of Holiday Fear,  but also because it's lovely to sample the sweets of Ashland with a mystery murder flavor or two to savor:

Meanwhile, my October pick is The Quiche of Death, the first book in M.C. Beaton's beloved Agatha Raisin mystery series. I have read one of the later books recently but would like to take up the first one for some Series-ous Reading fun.

Agatha Raisin is a well established London lady who decides to retire from her successful PR firm in order to live in a small village set in the Cotwolds, a childhood dream of hers. However, it's hard to fit in with the locals and bribing her way into the annual quiche contest seems like a great way to break the ice.

Unfortunately, when the contest judge winds up dead, Agatha is instantly under suspicion and she has to use her wits in order to clear her name and then some. I happened to catch the recent BBC made for TV adaptation (Season One and anxiously waiting for Season Two to be available on Netflix!) and was hooked right away on this Bridget Jones meets Miss Marple approach. This should be wicked fun for Halloween reading indeed: