Recommended Reading Order
For the best reading experience, it is highly recommended to read the Piece of Cake Mystery series in its original publication order. While each book features a standalone whodunit that is resolved by the final page, the overarching character arcs, business partnerships, and interpersonal relationships develop chronologically. Reading the books in sequence allows you to watch Rita Lucero's journey from a grieving, suspect-number-one widow into a confident bakery co-owner who is fully integrated into the colorful, quirky fabric of New Orleans.
- A Sheetcake Named Desire (2011)
- Cake on a Hot Tin Roof (2012)
- Arsenic and Old Cake (2012)
- The Cakes of Wrath (2013)
- Rebel Without a Cake (2014)
- The Cakes of Monte Cristo (2016)
The Piece of Cake Mystery Series in Detail
1. A Sheetcake Named Desire (2011)
The series opens with A Sheetcake Named Desire, introducing us to Rita Lucero. Having been separated from her husband Philippe Renier for two years, Rita travels to New Orleans to finalize their divorce by getting his signature on the papers. Instead, she finds him dead in his high-end pastry shop, Zydeco Cakes, with a chef’s knife in his back. Because of their rocky history, Rita is immediately pegged as the prime suspect. To clear her name, she has to take over the bakery operations alongside her former mother-in-law, Miss Frankie, and find the real killer before she is arrested.
2. Cake on a Hot Tin Roof (2012)
In the second book, Rita is fully immersed in running Zydeco Cakes during the chaotic New Orleans Carnival season. When her aunt and uncle come to visit, Rita hosts a Mardi Gras party. The festivities take a dark turn when local car salesman and celebrity Big Daddy Boudreaux is found dead shortly after a very public argument with Rita's uncle. To protect her family and keep her uncle out of prison, Rita must navigate the festive but dangerous streets of New Orleans to locate the real culprit.
3. Arsenic and Old Cake (2012)
Business at Zydeco Cakes is slow, and Rita is looking for ways to keep the bakery afloat when she is approached by a friend, blind trumpet player Old Dog Leg Magee. A mysterious man has arrived claiming to be Magee's long-lost brother, Monroe, who vanished four decades ago. Suspicious of the newcomer's motives, Rita and her friend Gabriel go undercover as newlyweds at the Twisted Palms Bed and Breakfast. When a fellow guest is murdered, Rita realizes that this supposed long-lost brother might be a cold-blooded killer.
4. The Cakes of Wrath (2013)
In the fourth installment, Rita attends a tense meeting of the local small business alliance. Following the meeting, she is almost run down by a speeding van, but is saved just in time by a fellow business owner named Moose. The relief is short-lived; shortly after, Moose’s wife is discovered dead with Rita's own prescription pain medication in her hand. Once again finding herself at the center of a police investigation, Rita must work quickly to find the truth and clear her name.
5. Rebel Without a Cake (2014)
As Halloween approaches, Rita and Miss Frankie prepare for a massive catering opportunity at a prestigious local ball. However, their plans are derailed when Miss Frankie’s neighbor, Bernice, claims she saw the ghost of her moonshiner uncle, who disappeared in the swamps years ago. When Bernice's cousin subsequently goes missing in the very same swamp, Rita and Miss Frankie head to the isolated town of Baie Rebelle to investigate. This book shifts the setting away from the bakery and into the mysterious Louisiana bayous.
6. The Cakes of Monte Cristo (2016)
The final book in the series finds Rita preparing to cater the Vintage Clothing Society's annual ball at the historic Monte Cristo Hotel. The pressure rises when Rita discovers an ornate, reputedly cursed ruby necklace hidden beneath a staircase at Zydeco Cakes. After the gem appraiser she consults is found dead and a menacing stranger begins stalking her, Rita realizes she must solve the history of the necklace before she becomes the curse's next victim.
What to Know Before You Start
The Piece of Cake Mystery series is written by Jacklyn Brady, which is a pseudonym for bestselling author Sherry Lewis. Writing cozy mysteries under different pen names is a common practice for Lewis, who has also written the Candy Shop Mystery series under the name Sammi Carter and the Fred Vickery mysteries under her own name.
Readers who enjoy culinary cozy mysteries will love the detailed descriptions of baking, Creole culture, and the atmospheric depiction of New Orleans. A major highlight of the series is the inclusion of authentic dessert recipes at the end of each book. These allow readers to replicate the Zydeco Cakes experience in their own kitchens, featuring everything from traditional Mardi Gras king cakes to decadent chocolate creations.
Read-Alikes and Spin-offs
If you have finished the Piece of Cake Mystery series and are looking for something similar, you can explore the other works by the same author:
- Candy Shop Mysteries (written as Sammi Carter): A five-book series starting with Candy Apple Dead (2005) and concluding with Sucker Punch (2009). This series features Abby Shaw, who runs a candy shop in Colorado and solves local mysteries.
- Fred Vickery Mysteries (written as Sherry Lewis): A series featuring an elderly sleuth solving crimes in a small Colorado town, starting with No Place for Secrets (1995).