Nothing’s more important than family. My family’s big, boisterous, and unapologetically nosy. I’d do anything for them, and they’d move heaven and earth for me. That was proven once again when they helped me realize my dream of opening a family-owned West Indian bakery in Little Caribbean, our neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

We immigrated to the United States from Grenada when I was very young. My happiest memories are of us preparing meals together. I’d been bullied from elementary school even through college. So for me, our kitchen was a magical space filled with unconditional love. It was a safe place where I wasn’t afraid to be myself. Running a bakery with my family would be a way of sharing that joy and our culture with our community: people who’d emigrated from the West Indies, were descended from West Indians, or who’d been adopted into the group.

I couldn’t have opened the bakery without my family’s support. My maternal grandmother had retired from the Grenville Post Office in Grenada and relocated to live with us. Granny was the one who’d finally convinced me to have faith in myself and put my MBA to good use by following my dream. My parents took early retirement to help me operate our bakery. My older brother, Devon, is the youngest associate partner with a law firm in Brooklyn. Although he wouldn’t be working with us, he invested in the business and used some of his precious vacation days to help open it. We offer authentic Caribbean food in a shop filled with images of Grenada and bouncing with the music of the islands. Occasionally Granny entertains younger guests with tall tales based on West Indian folklores and myths.

Establishing the bakery was my greatest dream. I didn’t realize it would get my family involved in murder. Oh, brother.

My days start pretty early. I’m up before 4 AM to workout at my neighborhood gym before helping my family open the bakery at 7 AM. I’ve been kickboxing since I was 13 years old. My parents had enrolled me in classes when they’d found out I was being bullied. They never wanted me to get into fights, but had hoped kickboxing would build my confidence. Although the bullying continued and I never got the boost of confidence we’d all been hoping for, I enjoy kickboxing. I even made a friend who convinced me to participate in an upcoming kickboxing exhibition.

But back to the murder.

Claudio Fabrizi owns and operates Claudio’s bakery, which is a few blocks from our shop. He blew a gasket when he heard we were opening Spice Isle Bakery. While we were getting the store ready for our soft launch, he’d come by every day—sometimes more than once a day—to bully us into not opening the store. No one was more surprised than I was when I found the courage to stand up to him. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t give up.

Saturday was the first morning of our soft launch. Claudio came into our bakery and started an argument with me in front of my customers. Mommy, Daddy, and Dev came to my rescue and his son, Enzo, dragged him out. If that wasn’t mortifying enough, I don’t know how familiar you are with Little Caribbean but it has a champion grapevine. News of my confrontation with Claudio spread across the neighborhood before noon. According to the gossip, I’d “cursed him up,” which I totally hadn’t done.

But neighborhood “gossip” has a way of becoming “gospel,” so when Claudio was found dead in his home Sunday morning, the bo-bo came looking for me. And one of the lead detectives is my high school crush Bryce Jackson, New York’s finest in more ways than one.

The one time I find the courage to stand up to a bully and someone uses that encounter to frame me for murder. Oh, brother.

With my reputation, freedom, and business on the line, I’ll need my family’s help to gather the courage I’ll need to find the real killer:

• Claudio’s son who was anxious for his inheritance;
• His pastry student whose recipe he’d stolen;
• The event planner who’d do anything to marry into the Fabrizi family; or
• The blogger with a secret grudge.

Against the Currant, A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: January 2023
Format: Print, Digital, and Audio
Purchase Link

Investigating a murder was never on the menu. . . but someone’s set the table for bakery owner Lyndsay Murray to take the fall.

Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York: Lyndsay Murray is opening Spice Isle Bakery with her family, and it’s everything she’s ever wanted. The West Indian bakery is her way to give back to the community she loves, stay connected to her Grenadian roots, and work side-by-side with her family. The only thing getting a rise out of Lyndsay is Claudio Fabrizi, a disgruntled fellow bakery owner who does not want any competition.

On opening day, he comes into the bakery threatening to shut them down. Fed up, Lyndsay takes him to task in front of what seems to be the whole neighborhood. So when Claudio turns up dead a day later—murdered—Lyndsay is unfortunately the prime suspect. To get the scent of suspicion off her and her bakery, Lyndsay has to prove she’s innocent—under the watchful eyes of her overprotective brother, anxious parents, and meddlesome extended family—what could go wrong?

About the author
Olivia Matthews is the cozy mystery pen name for national best-selling author Patricia Sargeant. Patricia enjoys putting ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances to make them find the Hero Inside. Her work has been featured in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, Library Journal and RT Book Reviews.

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