Bread Box Blunder, The: A Cozy Mystery of Yeasty Yarns and a Risen Racket

?? Artisan baker Crusty Kate is thrilled when her sourdough starter wins first prize at the county fair, but her triumph turns stale when the judge is found dead in her bakery—his face pressed into a suspiciously perfect loaf that definitely didn't come from her oven. The police suspect an allergic reaction, but Kate's sharp eyes spot that the bread box crime scene has been staged and the victim's notes contain coded comments about flour fraud. With her bakery temporarily closed and her reputation getting moldy, Kate must knead through the lies to find the truth. Assisted by her retired baker uncle and the charming grain mill owner who supplies her flour, Kate uncovers a scheme involving stolen heritage grains, sabotaged starters, and a black market for ancient wheat varieties. From suspicious fermentation patterns that suggest temperature tampering to crust textures that reveal unusual baking methods, every loaf tells a story. But when Kate discovers the victim was about to expose a conspiracy that threatened every small baker in the state, she realizes the killer is someone who knows their way around a proofing basket. With the annual Bread Festival rising on the horizon, Kate must prove her innocence before her business is toast.