Vangie Vale and the Strangled Strudel-Guest Post on the Great Escapes Tour

About the book 

You could call it the straw that broke the camel’s back but it was more like a Montana forest timber.
Just when Vangie Vale’s life was getting back to normal after a murder that rocked her little Rocky Mountain tourist town, she found herself in the middle of another murder… as the chief suspect.

Vangie sts ood shocked on the side of the curb as the sheriff stretched yellow crime scene tape around the front of her new bakery. Wouldn’t this make a lovely headline in next week’s paper: Local Baker Kills Parishioner With Pudding. Vangie’s road back to good graces as a part-time pastor was bumpy enough already. This would be a roadblock. Can’t have that.

Guest post

Character Guest Post: Vangie Vale, from the Matchbaker Mysteries

A part-time baker who solves crime. Sounds like something from a Hallmark movie, right? But I must admit, I don’t think of myself as a crime solver. I think of myself, first, as a pastor, and second, as a baker, and third, as a human, being involved in people’s lives because I care about them. And when something happens to someone I care about, you can bet your hat I’m going to get involved.

I was always one of those kids who had a hard time sitting on the sidelines when kids were getting bullied on the playground. Even as a young person, I had an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong—which is probably what made me want to be a pastor—and there was nothing that bothered me more than injustice. I want people to pay for their crimes, and I don’t want innocent people to have to pay for things they didn’t do.

Naturally, this has led me to run-ins with the police on more than one occasion. A couple of times back in North Carolina, before I moved to Montana, and then a couple of times here in Saint Agnes. But every time I get invested in an investigation, it’s because there’s some kind of justice that isn’t being done. Yet.

And if I’m honest, of course, part of the reason I get involved is to make sure that the people who are under my care—the people in my parish—are treated fairly, because their lawyers or the law enforcement or even their own families, sometimes, don’t have fairness on top of their radar.

They should, though. Fairness should be priority number one.

Injustice bothers me on a cosmic scale, of course, in addition to a personal one. But in general, I like for people who do bad things to get what’s coming to them. This is why I don’t believe in karma. Because rarely do people who do bad things actually have to pay for what they did wrong. Almost always, the people who have to pay are innocent of those wrongs, and the evil person skates by with no consequences. Someone else is paying the “karma bill” for their wrong-doing. But I consider it my job to see that justice is done.

Especially where the law is concerned, because as much as we’d like to believe it is, justice is never blind. Never. It should be. Idealists want to believe it is. It is not. Someone has to stand up and make the injustices of the world right. And if I’m the only person ever doing so, I will do that until the day I die.

And others are saying

This is a terrific addition to a great series and I enjoy how Vangie’s compassion helps solve a crime and brings comfort to the town.
~Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder

The book is well-written and the plot line was great. I had no real ideas about who had done the crime until it was revealed at the end.
~Valerie’s Musings

VANGIE VALE AND THE STRANGLED STRUDEL drew me in with its fast-moving plot and interesting characters.
~Lisa Ks Book Reviews

I truly savored The Strangled Strudel! The fast-moving plot is captivating, with never a dull moment.
~Jane Reads

I found this book to be a very quick read that kept me guessing throughout the entire story and I must say, I was shocked by the whodunit, once the murderer was revealed.
~The Montana Bookaholic

. . . the main character Vangie is firmly established and I am quite hooked on her antics I must say. The combination of her being a part-time pastor and full-time baker makes for some interesting twists to this story. . .
~Books a Plenty Book Reviews

This is one cozy that you won’t be able to put down. Heck, the other two books were just as good, so go grab them as well.
~A Chick Who Reads

I was anxious each time Vangie returned to her bakery or went to check on a friend or suspect. Truth can be stranger than fiction, and this book did read as if true!
~Laura’s Interests

This author has a talent for drawing readers in, holding on tight, and then giving us a shocking twist.
~Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

Buy the book 

Amazon 

Visit the tour

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway