The Elara Vance Mysteries The Sourdough Suspect

Elara Vance's bakery, 'The Daily Crumb, ' usually smells of fresh bread and gentle gossip - until a notorious local historian is found dead, a half-eaten sourdough boule from her shop beside him. The police call it a heart attack, but Elara knows Alistair Finch never touched sourdough. When she discovers a cryptic note tucked into the bread, she realises a killer is on the loose, and she might be the only one who can prove it.

Armed with a baker's keen eye for detail and unparalleled access to village secrets, Elara begins her own discreet investigation. From the fiercely protective librarian to Alistair's ambitious young protégé, everyone seems to be hiding something. Each alibi is compared against her baking schedule, and inconsistencies are spotted with the precision of a master patissier.

But the deeper Elara digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Alistair's death is far from accidental, and the killer is willing to silence anyone who gets too close to their carefully kneaded lies. The comforting aroma of her bakery is slowly being replaced by the chill of fear.

With the scent of danger in the air, Elara must uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim, or worse, her beloved 'Daily Crumb' becomes the scene of another tragedy. Can she unmask a cunning killer before her own life, and her livelihood, crumbles?