Because of my mother, I grew up on Victorian books. The Mrs. Jeffries series, in spite of details and expressions sprinkled in, has never reminded me of the Real Thing. I don't care. I like this series anyway. The tone reminds me of Miss Seeton. You aren't getting Anne Perry here, although Ms. Brightwell does have some good comments about social ills.

These books are dainty tea cakes that make for a nice afternoon or evening's read. Sometimes that's all you want; and if that IS all you want, this would be a good series to buy. The main characters are sympathetic (although Lutie is a little too much) and the murders aren't ridiculously easy to solve. This particular entry has a few decent red herrings (all right, I'll admit it -- the author had me fooled too long for my comfort).

The covers fit the series well except for one thing: why is Mrs. Jeffries always portrayed with completely grey hair when the books state that her hair has some grey in it? (I think her hair is auburn, but this isn't my computer, so I can't check.) I know it's a minor thing, but the artist is otherwise so close that it's a shame to have that mistake. I've suffered the aggravation of buying books with covers that have nothing to do with the interior so I do appreciate the fact that this artist has put some effort into the assignment.

In short, if you like cozies, you should try Mrs. Jeffries out. You'll probably want to get them all. Ann E. Nichols

In Victorian England, many individuals are cruel and abusive towards the servants they employ. Inspector Gerald Weatherspoon treats his employees as his best friends. In return, they adore him. The staff has many London contacts so when the inspector is involved in a murder investigation, they help him. Led by his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries, his staff gathers information and clues, and expeditiously presents them to Gerald in such a way so that he believes the ideas are his. Thanks to his servants, Weatherspoon is one of the leading inspectors.

Mrs. Jeffries and her sprightly crew spring into action once again when Roland Ashbury is murdered while apparently sharing tea with his killer. Weatherspoon and his invisible assistants discreetly learn that the victim was disagreeable person with many enemies including his business partner, daughter, and son-in-law (an MP). When Roland's wife is also shot, the investigative team knows that time is of the essence before someone else is killed.

Thirteen (as in the thirteenth book) is not an unlucky number for fans of this long running and delightful historical cozy series. Emily Brightwell makes sure that her characters remain fresh and interesting while the story line remains as absorbing as previous novels in the series. The historical detail gives a gothic feel to MRS. JEFFRIES TAKES THE CAKE. Even after all these years, this collection remains one of the best English cozy series on the market today.

Harriet Klausner

In Victorian England, many individuals are cruel and abusive towards the servants they employ. Inspector Gerald Weatherspoon treats his employees as his best friends. In return, they adore him. The staff has many London contacts so when the inspector is involved in a murder investigation, they help him. Led by his housekeeper Mrs. Jeffries, his staff gathers information and clues, and expeditiously presents them to Gerald in such a way so that he believes the ideas are his. Thanks to his servants, Weatherspoon is one of the leading inspectors.

Mrs. Jeffries and her sprightly crew spring into action once again when Roland Ashbury is murdered while apparently sharing tea with his killer. Weatherspoon and his invisible assistants discreetly learn that the victim was disagreeable person with many enemies including his business partner, daughter, and son-in-law (an MP). When Roland's wife is also shot, the investigative team knows that time is of the essence before someone else is killed.

Thirteen (as in the thirteenth book) is not an unlucky number for fans of this long running and delightful historical cozy series. Emily Brightwell makes sure that her characters remain fresh and interesting while the story line remains as absorbing as previous novels in the series. The historical detail gives a gothic feel to MRS. JEFFRIES TAKES THE CAKE. Even after all these years, this collection remains one of the best English cozy series on the market today.

Harriet Klausner

Popular 17-year-old Connie Lewis is friends with Mara Kreiger, an overweight reject at their New York high school--but when one of Connie's friends steals Mara's idea for a charity bake sale, Connie soon becomes a target when Mara plans to poison everyone at the event as revenge. If it's not obvious, Mara's a little off her rocker; but the reader could have guessed as much by reading the synopsis, as well as the tagline on the back cover: "Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts" (which got a laugh out of me).

A bit of romance is thrown into the seemingly transparent plot, involving a Romeo and Juliet scenario between Connie and Taylor Hall, the drug addict her father forbids her to associate with. It's not very significant to the story, but it does connect with the twist at the end, when the killer is revealed--though the twist isn't very surprising. Still, "Pat-A-Cake, Pat-A-Cake" is a pretty good addition to the Nursery Crimes series, which includes two others: "Jack and Jill" and "There Was An Old Woman"--both worth checking out if you liked this one.

I recommend all of Eric Weiner's Nursery Crimes. They are all really good and a cool idea for a book series.

This book was really good! I thought it looked kinda dumb at first but then I loved it. I loved the relationship between Taylor and Connie, that was probably my favorite part of the book. The end really surprised me though.

I found this excellent book shortly after highschool. This book has many helpful hints to recover from culinary disaster, but it also lists the utensils and basic spices for a 'starter' kitchen. I gave about 3 dozen copies of this book, along with the "starter kitchen" as wedding gifts.

My grandmother used to keep my twin sister and myself when our parents would used to go on trips or just to show us some fun. Although they were French, like I am French, they were like a lot of old people all over the world. They did not like to waste anythings or throw anythings out even if they were not working properly. My grandmother had a very, very old toaster that used to burn the toast, so instead of throwing it out and starting over, she would take a knife and scrape off the black burns. So, for a long time, I thought that was a specialty, burnt toasted, scraped off! Now, my twin sister and I are gourmet cooks ( a French word!), and if something goes wrong....we just throw it out! If I burnt the meat or the soup, I would just start over. That is why this book is so funny. We are French and no respectable French woman is going to serve burnt anythings. The best things you can do, is know your foods and kitchen, and don't leave it in the first place. Also, it does not hurt to study with a great cooks like many French women do. That's what we did, because we are French, so we know how to keep from having the troubles in the kitchen.

In the early days of my culinary training, I encountered practically every "disaster" known to cooks! Although I have made improvements, I still keep this book always close by. Every cook, regardless of skill or talent, knows the frustration of something going wrong. This book will show readers not only how to repair and salvage the food but also how to best avoid potential disasters. A copy of this book should be in every kitchen!

I am currently in Charleston and am stunned that not one person that I have asked all over town has ever heard of this dear lady! I just purchased her cookbook and intend to buy the other. She is a dieing breed. I went away to college 20 years ago and never moved back to the south until this year. Thanks to Mrs Pregnall (as she is my senior) I am looking forward to establishing my own group of fans for reproducing her fabulous looking, down-home, gentil and uniquely southern creations. If you are listening Mrs Pregnall, I am earnestly hoping to meet you while here and have you to personally autogragh my book. I am thankful that ladies like you are still around and that you will continue to encourage your craft, which I'm sure has very little to do with the actual ingredients that you put inside the cake....like mostly love. May the Lord bless you and keep you!

I just received this new book on Friday--I also have the first book she wrote--Treasured Recipes--my goal is to make all of the cakes in both books. I currently have the Brown sugar nut in the freezer--we thought it was quite good. So far our favorite is the Chocolate Pound cake--using the Dutch chocolate and sour cream. I have also made the chocolate chip cake--for some reason my chocolate chips tended to settle to the bottom of the pan--not sure if I folded them well enough.

We also made the Charleston chews---you must keep this in an airtight container or they will dry out quickly.

I am going to start making the cakes in the second book this week. I personally prefer a pound cake that is quite heavy--and I have found that all of her cakes are quite light--probably due to the cake mix. All of them are very good and a delight to make.

If you have any experience with the cakes--personal likes and dislikes--I would love to read about them.

I feel as though Mrs. Pregnall is a very good and close friend of mine, as well as a personal mentor. But, I have never met her and wish that I could. Her recipes from both books are used in my endeavors to please my family and friends with the very best confections possible. Anyone can produce these wonderful treats and relish in the compliments. Teresa is an inspiration to me!

I've made several of the recipes in this book and all were very good. However, the book is poorly edited and instructions are not always clear. For example, the tofu cheese cake recipe does not specify what temperature to set the oven to. And you really do need a spring-form cake pan for it to turn out properly. The Key Lime Pie recipe was very confusing and I had to throw out the first batch of filling I made. I am not an expert cook but can generally follow recipes without any trouble. Chef Sato should have added a little more explanation and double-checked the recipes to be sure all the vital information was there. Buy this book only if you have time to remake the recipe if it doesn't turn out or are an experienced cook who can read between the lines and figure out what needs to be done.

I am fairly new to the vegan lifestyle,and and it was wonderful to find a cookbook with such delicious and easy to make sweets. My non-vegan family even loved them. Perhaps I'll convert them one dessert at a time! The only critism I have is that some of the cooking times stated are quite long so really watch out that you don't burn whatever you're cooking.

Great book .. with great recipes... make em and watch people eat them up......But dont tell them there Vegan and good for them.. They will never know.....

Every recipe seemed like you always needed to refrigerate your dough for a very long time before you could actually bake, then enjoy. A lot of the recipes called for specialty items that you just can't go to the local grocery and buy. Laura sells these items on her own out of a magazine. I am thinking of ordering some just so that I can try these recipes but the prices are a bit high.

I just made the triple chocalate babka - very good but took a long time to get to the finished project. The recipes are nice and tasty but time consuming so start in the morning if you want something by dinner!

If you like desserts & have a bread machine, this book is for you! Try the Croissants...try the Chocolate & Cherry Loaf...try them all!! Recipe variations for each of the major brands of bread machines, and lots of helpful information included.

I haven't made all the cakes in this book, but I've made over half of them, and all have worked out well. My primary interest is in the pound cakes and angel food cakes; I've made all of these. In particular, the fresh raspberry and the lemon-vanilla cakes have turned out extremely well. In the pound cakes, I had the best result with the sour cream/chocolate chip and the soaked orange cakes. I've also made almost all the chiffon recipes, with the best reslts with the orange-and-lemon and the chiffon spice cakes.

This book has detailed instructions to accompany the recipes, making it easier for beginners to follow. Too often, smaller books such as this will sacrifice instructions for saving space, and this one doesn't.

My only disappointment is the quality of the book itself. There are no photographs, and the quality of the paper and binding don't bode well for heavy use. I plan to transcribe a few recipes out into the computer and the book won't be used again. The recipes are a good buy for the book's price, though. Just don't expect to hand this volume down to your children!

This book is just great. The recipes are simple, easy to follow, and they taste wonderful. The explanations given are so helpful.

I have a number of Elizabeth Alston's books, and she is true to form in this one. I would venture to bet she is from England, or at least has an English heritage due to her taste in cakes. You won't find sheet cakes or layer cakes calling for lots of super sweet icing in this book. These cakes are for the purists out there who appreciate the complex flavors and textures of unadulterated cake. Each one is unique and delectible. The point is that the CAKE itself is the star of the show here. I truly enjoy some of her unique flavor combinations and variations in these recipes. (A note about flour: I have found that using cake flour does not give as good a crumb and weight to the pound cakes or the heavier coffee cakes. Not only does it cause the cake to be too "crumbly", but the cake dries out after a day or two. Reserve the cake flour only for recipes that are for light cakes such as Angel Food cakes.)

Another thing I appreciate about this book, and her baking for that matter, is that you can bake more than one batch at a time. In fact, I think the cakes taste better when done that way. With the flavor combinations she has assembled, her suggestion to allow the cake to rest one day before serving or freezing is a good one. This allows all those wonderful flavors to mingle, or as my grandfather used to say, to let the flavors "meditate".

None of her recipes are hard, complicated or time-consuming. In fact, they are pleasingly quick to prepare for baking. When I am not baking a cake, muffins or scones from one of her cookbooks, I am reading them, scouring them for inspiration to be creative. She has taught me a lot about expanding my horizons in this area, for which I am thankful. My husband is thankful as is his coworkers. This morning he took a freshly baked creation to work to share with his department. Shortly after noon I received an abrupt e-mail saying that if I ever wanted to see my husband again I would have to send at least five of those cakes to the office!! The staff must have loved them to want cake ransom for my husband's return. Get the book and watch with pleasure as your loved ones and friends pig out on your creations in a wild food orgy. But be careful...you might find yourself chained to the kitchen with someone holding a gun to your head as you are trying to get YOURSELF out of ransom!

I am an avid baker, cakes especially, and this book is the perfect guide for anyone who is either a pro or a beginner looking to become serious with a cake pan. For beginners, the beginning of this book is a true kitchen campanion, explaining the obvious and not so obvious points of baking a cake in abundant but very helpful detail. Both the practical and scientific aspects of baking are touched upon in very easy to understand terms. For pros, the recipies are quite satisfying. Every step from pre-heating the oven through measuring ingredients through embellishing and serving is explained for beginners, while many taste and flavor variations are offered for those who are looking for more of a challenge. I highly suggest this book for anyone looking to start or to expand a knowledge of cake baking. My only minor complaint is that it doesn't offer any advice for perfecting cupcakes, especially using some of the great batters on these pages. But regardless, you'll really refer to this book time and time again.

This book contains everything from the basics of cake-making to fanciful decoration and frosting techniques. In between are about 2 dozen recipes for cakes of all types.

Be warned that none are simple to make, though instructions are well laid out for those with baking experienced. I've especially liked the carrot and lemon cakes, so far.

Beautifully photographed and so far I have only made 2 of the cakes and my guests raved about them. One was the white cake and the other was the fantastic coffee cake which was a major hit. I am anxious to try the carrot cake next. I found his introduction very helpful and he has some great hints on how to make the very best cake.

I had a ball just reading the recipes. While they all wouldn't be considered "low-fat" they are reduced-fat and would definitely curb that craving that so many of us sweet-tooths get. I found the way the author reduced the fat (without adding sugar) to be fascinating. She really knew her stuff and I look forward to trying one of the cheesecake recipes later today.

This is a great cookbook for people who love to eat desserts guilt-free. Susan Purdy does an excellent job of turning traditional favorities (like brownies) into low-fat treats. She uses rich ingredients (like dutch-process cocoa) in smaller quantities to provide flavor and low-fat ingredients (like low-fat cream cheese) to cut fat and calories. She gives a complete breakdown of the fat and calorie content at the end of each receipe. The recipes are written step-by-step and there are some pictures. Most of the recipes make a couple dozen cookies or an 8-in square pan. If I had one complaint it would be that the receipes call for a lot of very specific ingredients (for example, you are advised against substituting low-fat cream cheese and Neufatchel cream cheese). However, everyone I've shared these recipes with can't believe they are low fat.

Just reading the Table of Contents may make your mouth water: Luscious Lemon Squares, Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler, Key Lime Pie, Southern Sweet Potato Pie, Pear-Prune-Brandy Cake, sauces, toppings, and more! Susan G. Purdy (former student at "Le Cordon Bleu" and "L'Ecole de Cuisine la Varennes" in Paris) is a master chef, whose previous book, "Let Them Eat Cake" won the Julia Child Award. Her number one criterion for these low-fat goodies is taste: "The recipes must stand on their own and taste wonderful, not 'okay' because they are low fat."

It's an easy yet complete guide to making low-fat sweets, with cooking tips on almost every page, enumerated instructions for each recipe, and notes on advance preparation, special equipment, and time requirements.

Her recipe for the delicious and usually cholesterol-heavy Tiramasu is a wonder. Per serving, it has 341 calories (compared to 600 for her favorite non low-fat recipe), 7.8 g of fat (compared to 37 g), and 92 mg of cholesterol (compared to 243mg). Her lemon meringue recipe has half the fat and one-sixth the cholesterol of the usual by using non-fat butter, no egg yolks, and other healthy substitutions. There is a long, excellent chapter on nutrition and cooking, a list of recipes by dietary requirement (e.g., fat-free, lactose-free, reduced-sugar) and occasion (children; holidays). She includes also a humorous 4-pagesection called "quick-fix cover-up tricks" when recipes don't go as expected.

This is a fun, thorough, and delicious set of recipes. Ms. Purdy talks about the importance of reducing fat and cholesterol but never sounds preachy. There's a guide to USDA food labels (for example, she explains the meaning of "fat-free" on a label), a list of mail order suppliers, a bibliography, index, and some beautiful color pictures within the book's 389 pages. An excellent book: Highly recommended!

This book has fondant covered cakes for beginners and the somewhat advanced decorator. There are instructions on how to cover your cakes with fondant, and how to decorate them with figurines to be molded out of fondant. The instructions are all very clear and result in doable cakes with wonderful results. Lots of pictures guide you through the proces of making and decorating the cake of your choice. The recipe for the Madeira sponge cake is the easiest I've ever tried and delicious too. Most cakes will probably take a bit longer than two hours, but there's something for every occasion, from baby themed to sports, birthday ideas for children and grown ups both, and suitable for both males and females. Overall, a wonderful book that will make you confident to make your own cakes into a succes.

I found this book at the library and fell in love with it, and bought it for my own collection. My daughter is turning 4 next month and I was going to buy her a cake. But after finding this book I decided to do it myself. I always thought I would have to take cake decorating classes in order to make a cake worth showing. But with this book, I was able to make a cake that everyone raved about. There are so many different cakes for all different occasions. Anyone can bake a cake they are proud of with this book.

If you are like me it would take longer than two hour's to make one of these cakes. ;> It is a wonderful book filled with cakes that will definately get people's attention.Some of them are so cute you may have a hard time cutting it to eat.The pictures are very good,it goes step by step,has a list of ingredients and utensils needed for each one.Some examples are: a hot dog,jungle scene,birthday fairy,puppy,purse,babies,bears,birds,wedding couple,etc.These really make you want to spend the time to make a fondant cake.