A Body at the Bakery is the sixth book in the Mercy McCarthy Mystery series by Lucy Connelly, which continues to be one of my favourite cozy mystery series.
Title: A Body at the Bakery
Author: Lucy Connelly
Series: Mercy McCarthy Mysteries #6
First Published: November 4, 2026
Publisher: Bookouture
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, and tour organiser, Books on Tour, for inviting me on this book tour and for providing me with an e-copy of this book for review purposes ***
One of Mercy McCarthy’s daily haunts is the patisserie at the heart of Shamrock Cove’s main street, run by her good friend Paisley. The enticing aroma of rich chocolate and perfectly baked sweets is a treat she can rarely resist. She never expected that her pastry run would turn deadly.
Following the breadcrumbs with her trusty canine pal, Mr. Poe, Mercy freezes in terror when she stumbles across the lifeless body of Paisley’s ex-husband, John. All fingers point to Paisley, but Mercy is determined to prove her dear friend’s innocence.
John’s cousins refuse to help Mercy’s investigation just as a suspicious stranger starts lurking around the bakery. Mercy is worried that Paisley could be next, so she enlists the help of her neighbours to catch the killer before another body turns up at the bakery. With her friends at her side, Mercy is sure the case will bqe a piece of cake.
Then another devastating murder happens in front of Mercy’s own eyes. With the St. Patrick’s Day parade just around the corner, can Mercy catch her killer before another innocent bystander at the bakery becomes toast?
Another fantastic adventure with Mercy and Lizzie
We’re on book 6 and this series still continues to be one of my absolute favourites. I adore Mercy & her twin sister Lizzie, but also love the other residents on the enclosed court where the twins live in Shamrock Cove, Ireland. While their neighbours weren’t as involved in the mystery-solving in this book, they still showed up in their own way, which was nice.
Mercy and Lizzie continue to adapt to life in their adopted country and not only have they built solid friendships, they also have blossoming personal relationships.
The murder hit really close to the twins’ friendship circle and emphasized how much Mercy has adjusted to her new life. They never doubted Paisley was innocent and neither did the reader. There were several new characters introduced but it wasn’t hard to keep track of who was who. The mystery runs along at a great pace and never stalls. The second victim caught me by surprise and added a lot of suspense to the story as it added a bit of chaos to everything.
You can definitely read this as a standalone but I highly recommend getting into the entire series as there are a few storylines that have been running in the background throughout the series. These background plots don’t take up a lot of time and so reading this book on is just as enjoyable. I can’t wait to return to Shamrock Cove!
You can buy your own copy of A Body at the Bakery here.
About the Author, Lucy Connelly (aka Candace Havens)
Bestselling author Candace Havens has published more than 25 books. Her novels have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion, Write Touch Reader Awards and National Reader’s Choice Awards. She is a Barbara Wilson Award winner. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. Candace runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2000 writers and teaches comprehensive writing classes. She does film reviews with Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.
You can connect with Candace Havens/Lucy Connelly online here:
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