Witch Cake Murders by Zoe Arden

Title: Witch Cake Murders
Author: Zoe Arden
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 330
Genre: Cozy Mystery

Witches and humans have always existed peacefully in Sweetland Cove... until now.

Someone is killing humans and drawing unwanted attention to the supernatural residents of Sweetland Cove.

Ava Rose just turned twenty-one, and with her birthday came a few surprises.

One: she's a witch.

Two: she's part owner of a magical bakery she never knew existed.

Three: Someone wants her dead.

The day Ava arrives in Sweetland Cove, murders begin occurring…

Witches and wizards are quick to blame her, but Ava's aunts won't let the town they love turn against her.

But murders follow Ava everywhere.

Soon, she finds herself on the receiving end of the killer's mad spree. With a crazy wizarding sheriff who wants to lock her up, and an even crazier wizarding detective who wants to lock her whole family up, Ava must solve this case alone.

But as the days pass and the only clues point to her, Ava starts to wonder if maybe the sheriff is right.

Maybe she really is the killer.

The only thing Ava knows for sure is that the witches of Sweetland are not happy with her. Especially those witches who have something to hide.

And they all have something to hide.

Can Ava stop the killer before they strike again... even if that killer is her?

Witch Cake Murders is available at Amazon.

Book Excerpt:

"Let me ask you something," Brendan said. "You're a witch. Why do witches like human men?" He was looking at me so earnestly I felt compelled to answer him. I just didn't know what to say.

"Um..." I stammered. "I don't know. I grew up around humans, so I guess I'm just drawn to them." I looked back through the glass patio door at Damon, who was dancing with Megan again. Brendan followed my gaze, looking miserable.

"Love sucks," he said, then shoved the purple stem he'd been twirling into his pocket and skulked off. I turned back to the stars and sighed.

An earth-shattering scream rose into the night, making me jump.

Through the patio door, I could see a crowd gathering around the perimeter of the room. A woman was screaming. I hurried inside. The crowd had opened up, leaving two people in its center.

Felicity stood there, her mouth hanging open. Campbell was dancing around her, his hands flying unnaturally through the air. His head was tilted at an odd angle and his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth, like a thirsty dog. He was making strange grunting noises that almost resembled words.

"He's drunk!" someone yelled.

Campbell swung his hips around and bumped into Felicity, who stumbled away from him.

"All right, all right, break it up," Felicity's boyfriend Lincoln said.

Lincoln was the sheriff of Mistmoor Point, and the crowded parted for him as he came through.  Even if he hadn't been a sheriff, I suspected the crowd would still have parted for him. At six feet tall with bronze hair and blue eyes, he made quite a figure in the middle of a crowd.

"Okay, Campbell. Time to go home," Lincoln said, clamping one hand down on his shoulder.

Campbell yanked Lincoln hard, sending him flying across the room. Everyone gasped. Campbell stopped, looked around, then let out a strange gurgling sound. He fell to the floor. His face was bright blue.

Felicity hunkered down next to him. She gave him one hard shake then looked up at the rest of the room, her mouth gaping.

"He's dead," she cried. "Campbell's dead!"

Who would be next?