Éclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford is the first book in the NEW “Emergency Dessert Squad” mystery series. Publisher: Penguin Random House, June 2016

With her rent rising faster than her pie crust, bakery owner Winnie Johnson had hoped to be rescued by an inheritance from her wealthy friend and neighbor Gertrude Redenbacher. Instead all she inherits is the widow’s hostile hissing tabby, Lovey, and a vintage ambulance, restored by Gertrude’s late husband. As her dream crumbles, Winnie makes her final delivery—a peach pie to an elderly widower. But she finds Bart Wagner lying on his kitchen floor, smothered by a pillow.

To comfort her frightened and grieving neighbors, Winnie comes to the rescue with her baked goods—and an idea is born: dessert delivery via her ambulance and a new business called the Emergency Dessert Squad. When she’s not speeding to the scenes of dessert emergencies, Winnie is also racing to track down Bart’s killer—before she needs to call a real ambulance for the next victim. . .

What a great start to a new series in this well-written drama where I’m introduced to Winnie and her friends in this character-driven whodunit. I love the comfortable tone and the pacing of this story which creating a light-hearted drama with an intriguing mystery, a bit of romance and the building of a professional career. And oh those delectable naming of treats, how sweet it is. The author did a great job in setting this mystery up with a few viable suspects and I liked that the observation of clues wasn’t prevalent, but when it was all said and done, that final clue gave way to the killer’s identity. Boasting a lovable cast of characters (I enjoyed the age range of youth to senior and their interaction), engaging dialogue (especially Winnie’s internal conversation) and a feel-good atmosphere, this was a great read and I look forward to more scrumptious delights in the next book in this fantastically terrific series.