Gayle Trent

In Gayle Trent’s latest mystery Murder Takes the Cake (ISBN: 978-0-9802453-6-3, available October 1, 2008), when the meanest gossip in Brea Ridge dies mysteriously, suspicions turn to cake decorator Daphne Martin. But all Daphne did was deliver a spice cake with cream cheese frosting–and find Yodel’s body. Now Daphne’s got to help solve the murder and clear her good name. Problem is, her Virginia hometown is brimming with people who had good reason to kill Yodel, and Daphne’s whole family is among them.

Murder Takes The Cake tells the story of Daphne Martin, a forty-year-old divorcee who returns to her fictional hometown of Brea Ridge, Virginia to start her life over. She has left behind an ex-husband who is in prison for an attempt on Daphne’s life, a dingy apartment and a stale career. She has started fresh in a new home with a new career, Daphne’s Delectable Cakes, a cake-decorating company Daphne runs out of her home. She is thrilled to be living closer to her beloved niece and nephew, although being close to other family members brings up lifelong resentments and more than a couple complications. Daphne is also reunited with childhood friend, Ben Jacobs, a full-fledged HAG (hot, available guy). Then Daphne finds her first client dead.

“Gayle whips up a sweetly satisfying mystery that’ll have you licking your lips for more!”
– Christine Verstraete, Searching for A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery

“Murder Takes The Cake has all the right ingredients for a delicious read.”
– Ellen Crosby, The Bordeaux Betrayal

Sylvia Weinstock, “The Leonardo Da Vinci of Cakes” whose client list includes Oprah Winfrey and Mariah Carey, is looking forward to receiving her copy of “Murder Takes the Cake” by Gayle Trent. The cozy mystery novel, proposed to be the first in a series, features a cake decorating heroine. Says the author, “Daphne Martin is starting life anew, and one of the major changes for her is that she left her job in the corporate world to become a full-time cake decorator.” But how did Sylvia Weinstock become involved? “Sylvia Weinstock is known for her breathtakingly elegant cakes,” says Trent. “When a customer in the book orders an extravagant cake, Daphne gets inspiration from Sylvia Weinstock’s book ‘Sweet Celebrations: The Art of Decorating Beautiful Cakes,’ written with Kate Manchester. I wrote Ms. Weinstock and told her about the book. When I offered to send her a copy, she eagerly accepted. I’m honored she has taken an interest in ‘Murder Takes the Cake.’”

Weinstock isn’t the only famous cake decorator to take an interest in “Murder Takes the Cake.” Kerry Vincent, author of “Romantic Wedding and Celebration Cakes” and frequent Food Network Challenge judge, has invited Trent to the Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show on September 27, 2008. The Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show, organized by Kerry Vincent, is the largest judged sugar arts show in the United States. Says Trent, “I was connected with Ms. Vincent through a friend of hers, and I’m so happy I contacted her. She has been delightful and wants to launch the next book in the series at next year’s Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show!” Vincent believes the show will provide Trent with excellent fodder for the next cake-related murder mystery. “I’m really looking forward to the trip,” says Trent. “It’s exciting, and it will be so much fun to see all the cakes and hear about the decorators’ techniques.”

Murder Takes the Cake, ISBN: 978-0-9802453-6-3, will be released on October 1, 2008. For a bound galley review copy, please contact Deborah Smith at debbsmith@aol.com. To interview Gayle Trent, contact her at gd830@hotmail.com. Order from your local bookseller or via Bell Bridge Books at http://www.bellbridgeboks.com.

Gayle Trent’s latest mystery Murder Takes the Cake (ISBN: 978-0-9802453-6-3, available October 1, 2008), has been released into the wild. Well, maybe not the wild so much, but rather a Starbucks in the author’s hometown of Bristol, Virginia.

The author used the service BookCrossing.com to register and release a copy of Murder Takes the Cake. With BookCrossing’s online service, authors and/or readers can obtain a tracking number for their book and then put it in a public place for other readers to find. Readers who pick up the book can then enter the tracking number at BookCrossing.com and see where the book originated, where it has been, and log where it is currently. Trent’s book had a sticker on the front announcing it as a “Traveling Book.” Says the sticker, “I’m not lost – I’m on a journey!” Book Magazine calls BookCrossing.com “an unlikely global sociology experiment.” And The San Francisco Chronicle says, “Setting books free is being likened to a modern-day message in a bottle.” Says Trent, “I’m just eager to see where the book goes.”

Murder Takes The Cake tells the story of Daphne Martin, a forty-year-old divorcee who returns to her fictional hometown of Brea Ridge, Virginia to start her life over. She has left behind an ex-husband who is in prison for an attempt on Daphne’s life, a dingy apartment and a stale career. She has started fresh in a new home with a new career, Daphne’s Delectable Cakes, a cake-decorating company Daphne runs out of her home. She is thrilled to be living closer to her beloved niece and nephew, although being close to other family members brings up lifelong resentments and more than a couple complications. Daphne is also reunited with childhood friend, Ben Jacobs, a full-fledged HAG (hot, available guy). Then Daphne finds her first client dead.

“Gayle whips up a sweetly satisfying mystery that’ll have you licking your lips for more!”
– Christine Verstraete, Searching for A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery

“Murder Takes The Cake has all the right ingredients for a delicious read.”
– Ellen Crosby, The Bordeaux Betrayal