Pecan Pie Predicament, The: A Cozy Mystery of a Sticky Situation and a Nutty Killer

?? Baker and pie shop owner Penny Crust is preparing for the annual State Fair pie competition when the competition's head judge—a notoriously harsh critic with a known nut allergy—is found dead behind her bakery, face-first in a prize-winning pecan pie. The police suspect a tragic allergic reaction, but Penny notices the pecans have been deliberately contaminated and the victim's scorecards contain coded symbols about recipe theft. With her bakery temporarily closed and the baking community in a sticky situation, Penny must sift through the clues to clear her name. Assisted by her baking staff and the handsome food allergist analyzing nut contamination, Penny uncovers a scheme involving recipe espionage, ingredient substitution, and a plot to sabotage small bakeries. From suspicious shell fragments that reveal nut switching to syrup consistency that doesn't match her recipe, every slice tells a story. But when Penny discovers the victim was systematically stealing family recipes from local bakers to sell to a corporate chain, she realizes the killer is protecting culinary heritage sweeter than any blue ribbon. With the state fair judging approaching and the real recipe thief still cooking up schemes, Penny must whip together the evidence before her own bakery gets permanently iced.