Book ~ "To Have and to Kill" (2010) Mary Jane Clark

From Goodreads ~ Piper Donovan, an actress who has been having a hard time of it living in Manhattan, has returned home to her parents’ small town in New Jersey. She’s been helping out at her mother’s bakery, which makes it perfect that Piper’s close friend, Glenna Brooks, has asked her to prepare the cake for her upcoming wedding. 

However, things aren’t as perfect as they seem and when there is a murder, Piper is determined to figure out what happened and protect her friend.

Piper is an actress whose character on a daytime drama was killed off.  With no other parts coming, she has moved back home with her parents.  Piper's mother owns a bakery and Piper helps out there.

Her friend, Glenna, is also on the daytime drama and recently got engaged.  During a fundraiser, Glenna's co-star and co-host, Travis, is murdered.  Who was the intended victim ... him or Glenna?  Glenna has received a threatening letter warning her not to get married ... is there a connection?  It seems like everyone had cause and reason and Piper gets caught in the middle.  She's lucky that she has her friend, Jack, an FBI agent to rely on for information.

This is the second book I've read by this author and also the second I've read in her Wedding Cake Mystery series (I read the fourth one in January ... I liked it enough to want to go back and read the series).  I liked the writing style and the short and snappy chapters.  The language and actions are suitable for readers of any age (no swearing or extreme violence).  There were lots of characters who could have been the murderer and you don't find out until the end and I bought it.

I liked Piper.  She has a lot going on with scrambling to make a living, dealing with her mother's illness and honoring her commitment to Glenna to make her wedding cake ... all the while suspecting everyone for Travis' murder.  Jack sounds like a nice guy.  He really likes Piper but respects the boundaries that she puts up.  I could understand why her mother was so secretive about her illness but I would have rather that she'd been honest about it right away.  Her dad is a former cop and I found he was a bit over the top in his protectiveness and paranoia.

At the end of the book, there is a recipe for Piper's Simple Buttercream Icing.

I liked this book and look forward to reading the others in this series and others by this author.