“Pie Comes Before a Fall” by R.A. Hutchins

Book two of the Baker’s Rise Mysteries by R.A. Hutchins “Pie Comes Before a Fall” is a perfect comfort read to reconcile oneself with the inevitable arrival of the cold season.

Well, in my part of the world the fall has already come. With a bit of a winterish breath even. And it was absolute bliss to spend a few evenings wrapped up in warm blankets, with a cup of hot, orange, and cinnamon-flavoured tea, reading the next story about Flora and Reggie.

A quaint English village with the charm of the old days’ lifestyle is one of my favourite settings. Baker’s Rise is perfect in every way. Its inhabitants know each other and everyone who had ever lived next door. Even if they’d left a long time. Even if it’s someone who didn’t live there for decades and made no serious impact on local life. For example, a wife number XYZ of a local pub landlord and legendary – on the Baker’s Rise scale, of course – womanizer.

In a place like Baker’s Rise, titles of a Best Scone or Spongiest Sponge maker aren’t treated lightly. And if in the local contest your pastry gets acknowledged as the Most Victorious Victoria Sponge… You get the picture, I’m sure.

So, when one more murder happens in Baker’s Rise, it’s not the police the culprit has to be afraid of! Of course, it’s local inhabitants who are able to get to the heart of the whodunnit mystery quicker than Hercule Poirot or any Scotland Yard detective.

In book two, we see that Flora has comfortably settled into the life of a small village. For a high-level “white-collar” career woman who spent twenty years climbing the corporate ladder, she managed to do it remarkably quickly. But Baker’s Rise doesn’t leave the smallest chance to feel bored. Almost every day, some small secret or one with the potential to turn into a huge scandal gets revealed. Someone new arrives, old-timers change their routines, and sometimes, a villager dies…

“Pie Comes Before a Fall” is warm and full of humorous moments. It’s a book that will make you giggle, run to the kitchen to make some tea and grab some chocolate. The story will also make you shed a tear or too, mainly because when something nice happens to the characters, you feel their joy as your own.

I’m looking forward to reading more about Flora and her feathered sidekick’s adventures. Reggie, you are definitely a corker!