Champagne and ball gowns, fairy lights and music... Oxford summer balls are one of the highlights of the calendar and tearoom sleuth Gemma Rose is looking forward to taking a break and slipping into something gorgeous for the evening. But when the night ends with a celebrity chef murdered by his own whisk, Gemma finds herself plunged into a new mystery-and the nosy Old Biddies keen to help with the investigation!

But trouble is also brewing at her quaint Cotswolds tearoom: between fighting claims that she's serving "fake" custard tarts and stopping her little tabby, Muesli, from being catnapped, Gemma has her hands full-and that's before she has to fend off an amorous Italian. To top it all, her boyfriend Devlin's mother is coming to visit and Gemma is anxious to make a good impression... although Mrs O'Connor isn't quite what she expected!

With so much going on, it's a recipe for disaster-but with a bit of help from her bossy mother, Gemma might just solve the case... and live to bake another day.

(** English custard tart recipe at the end of the story!)