Just Desserts

Every dish is a dessert disguised as dinner. Every performance hides a truth. And one final illusion proves fatal.

When celebrated food critic Saffron Tate receives an invitation to review Stratford-upon-Avon's most talked-about restaurant, she expects clever gimmicks and Instagram theatrics.

What she discovers instead is Just Desserts — an extraordinary floating restaurant aboard The Vanishing Act, where every apparently savoury dish is secretly a dessert. Shepherd's Pie is chocolate mousse. Steak becomes sponge cake. Every course is a carefully crafted illusion.

Behind the applause, however, the magic is beginning to fail.

Owner and former stage magician Cedric Myles has built a restaurant unlike any other, but popularity is masking deeper problems. Investors are worried. Staff are exhausted. Friends fear that success has become its own illusion.

Then Cedric is found dead.

At first, the obvious suspect seems to be the businessman who openly challenged his plans. But as Saffy peels away layer after layer of performance, she discovers that the truth lies somewhere far more unexpected. This is not a murder driven by greed or ambition, but by something far more dangerous.

Love.

As Saffy follows a trail of impossible desserts, theatrical performances and carefully maintained illusions, she begins to realise that appearances are not always deceptive. Sometimes they simply distract us from the reality beneath.

Warm, witty and packed with memorable characters, Just Desserts is a classic cosy mystery where food, theatre and illusion combine in a story about authenticity, family and the stories people tell themselves.

Perfect for readers who enjoy Richard Osman, M. C. Beaton, Faith Martin and clever mysteries with heart.