Bailey Cates Books in Order (Updated April 29, 2026)

Bailey Cates is the cozy mystery pen name of Cricket McRae. Under the Bailey Cates name, she writes the Magical Bakery Mysteries, a witchy cozy mystery series set around Katie Lightfoot and the Honeybee Bakery in Savannah.

The author also writes the Enchanted Garden Mysteries as Bailey Cattrell, the Home Crafting Mysteries as Cricket McRae, and one darker western mystery as K.C. McRae.

For most readers, the best starting point is Brownies and Broomsticks. That book introduces Katie, Savannah, the bakery, and the magical rules that shape the rest of the series.

Bailey Cates Books in Order

Magical Bakery Mysteries in Order

1. Brownies and Broomsticks (2012): Katie Lightfoot leaves Ohio for Savannah, joins her aunt and uncle at the Honeybee Bakery, and discovers that murder and magic are both waiting for her.
2. Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti (2012): Katie is still learning how to live as a witch when a picnic turns into a murder case and a secret society complicates the investigation.
3. Charms and Chocolate Chips (2013): Katie’s work at the bakery, her growing magical identity, and a conservation-group mystery collide after a stranger collapses in her shop.
4. Some Enchanted Éclair (2014): A movie production in Savannah gives Katie a new case when Hollywood glamour, local history, and murder start mixing badly.
5. Magic and Macaroons (2015): Katie’s spellbook-club life becomes more dangerous when a voodoo-linked clue and a suspicious death pull her into deeper magical territory.
6. Spells and Scones (2016): A bookshop event next to the bakery turns deadly, forcing Katie to investigate a murder tied to a visiting author and a crowd full of suspects.
7. Potions and Pastries (2017): A celebration of the Honeybee Bakery’s anniversary leads Katie to a fortune-teller, a suspicious death, and a case that tests her magical instincts.
8. Cookies and Clairvoyance (2019): Katie is juggling wedding plans and home renovations when a friend’s boyfriend is accused of murder, making the case uncomfortably personal.
9. Witches and Wedding Cake (2020): Katie’s wedding week is disrupted by a murder connected to Declan’s family, so the investigation threatens both justice and the ceremony.
10. Spirits and Sourdough (2022): A ghost tour, a newly dead woman, and Declan’s missing guardian spirit give Katie a case that reaches into both Savannah’s supernatural past and her married life.
11. Rituals and Rolling Pins (2026): Katie finds a body in the marshland preserve near a friend, and the killing appears to have ritual elements that point back toward Savannah’s paranormal community.

Recommended Bailey Cates Reading Order

Read the Magical Bakery Mysteries exactly in series order:

1. Brownies and Broomsticks
2. Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti
3. Charms and Chocolate Chips
4. Some Enchanted Éclair
5. Magic and Macaroons
6. Spells and Scones
7. Potions and Pastries
8. Cookies and Clairvoyance
9. Witches and Wedding Cake
10. Spirits and Sourdough
11. Rituals and Rolling Pins

This is also the publication order. It preserves Katie’s growth as a hedgewitch, her relationships in Savannah, and the slow development of the Honeybee Bakery circle.

Do You Need to Read Bailey Cates in Order?

Yes, for the best experience.

Each mystery has its own case, but Katie’s magical training, friendships, romance, and standing in Savannah build from book to book. Later books also assume you already understand the Honeybee Bakery, the Spellbook Club, and Katie’s role as a witch-sleuth.

Readers who only want a single sample can read Brownies and Broomsticks as the cleanest introduction.

Bailey Cattrell Books in Order

Bailey Cattrell is another pen name used by the same author. These books are not part of the Magical Bakery Mysteries, but they are a good next step for readers who want another cozy mystery series with garden, perfume, and plant-magic elements.

Enchanted Garden Mysteries in Order

1. Daisies for Innocence (2016): Elliana Allbright runs a custom perfume shop and enchanted garden in Poppyville, California, where a murder forces her into amateur sleuthing.
2. Nightshade for Warning (2017): Elliana’s garden-centered life turns dangerous again when another murder case grows out of local tensions and old secrets.
3. Marigolds for Malice (2018): The third Enchanted Garden mystery brings Elliana back into a case where flowers, fragrance, and suspicion all matter.

Cricket McRae Books in Order

Before the Bailey Cates books, the author wrote the Home Crafting Mysteries as Cricket McRae. These are separate from Katie Lightfoot’s magical bakery world.

Home Crafting Mysteries in Order

1. Lye in Wait (2007): Sophie Mae Reynolds, a soap maker and home crafter, finds herself investigating death, arson, and family secrets in a practical-crafts cozy mystery.
2. Heaven Preserve Us (2008): Sophie Mae’s next case uses the series’ home-crafting angle again, this time with food preservation and another small-town mystery.
3. Spin a Wicked Web (2009): Fiber arts, relationships, and murder tangle together as Sophie Mae’s personal life and sleuthing instincts keep crossing.
4. Something Borrowed, Something Bleu (2010): A wedding-season mystery brings cheese, romance, and trouble into Sophie Mae’s home-crafting circle.
5. Wined and Died (2011): A case tied to wine, mead, and an old recording pulls Sophie Mae into a mystery with a darker emotional trail.
6. Deadly Row to Hoe (2012): The sixth Home Crafting Mystery keeps Sophie Mae’s practical-skills world at the center while giving the series another murder to unravel.

K.C. McRae Standalone

• Shotgun Moon (2013): A darker western mystery about Merry McCoy, a woman returning home after prison and trying to protect her cousin from a murder accusation.

Full Author Reading Order

Readers who want the author’s broader bibliography can use this order:

1. Lye in Wait
2. Heaven Preserve Us
3. Spin a Wicked Web
4. Something Borrowed, Something Bleu
5. Wined and Died
6. Deadly Row to Hoe
7. Brownies and Broomsticks
8. Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti
9. Charms and Chocolate Chips
10. Shotgun Moon
11. Some Enchanted Éclair
12. Magic and Macaroons
13. Spells and Scones
14. Daisies for Innocence
15. Potions and Pastries
16. Nightshade for Warning
17. Marigolds for Malice
18. Cookies and Clairvoyance
19. Witches and Wedding Cake
20. Spirits and Sourdough
21. Rituals and Rolling Pins

For readers who only want Bailey Cates, start at Brownies and Broomsticks and stay with the Magical Bakery Mysteries.

Are the Pen Names Connected?

No shared continuity is required.

1. Bailey Cates is for the Magical Bakery Mysteries.
2. Bailey Cattrell is for the Enchanted Garden Mysteries.
3. Cricket McRae is for the Home Crafting Mysteries.
4. K.C. McRae is for Shotgun Moon.

You can read each pen-name series separately without losing story context.

Latest Bailey Cates Book Status

As of April 29, 2026, Rituals and Rolling Pins is the next listed Magical Bakery Mystery and is book 11 in the series.

Date listings for the 2026 release are not fully consistent across sources, so readers should treat the year and series placement as the stable information and confirm the exact on-sale date with their preferred bookseller.

There is no newer confirmed Bailey Cates series beyond the Magical Bakery Mysteries.

FAQs

What Bailey Cates book should I read first?

Start with Brownies and Broomsticks. It introduces Katie Lightfoot, the Honeybee Bakery, Savannah, and the magical foundation of the series.

Are the Magical Bakery Mysteries standalone?

Each book has its own mystery, but the character relationships and magical world develop in order. Reading from book one is strongly recommended.

Is Bailey Cates the same author as Bailey Cattrell?

Yes. Bailey Cattrell is another pen name used by the same author for the Enchanted Garden Mysteries.

Is Bailey Cates the same author as Cricket McRae?

Yes. Cricket McRae is the author’s earlier cozy mystery name and is used for the Home Crafting Mysteries.

Where should I read the Enchanted Garden Mysteries?

Read them after the Magical Bakery books if you want more by the author, or read them separately starting with Daisies for Innocence.

Is Shotgun Moon part of a series?

No. Shotgun Moon is a standalone western mystery written as K.C. McRae.

Is Rituals and Rolling Pins book 11?

Yes. Rituals and Rolling Pins is listed as book 11 in the Magical Bakery Mystery series.

Conclusion

The best Bailey Cates reading order is simple: begin with Brownies and Broomsticks and read the Magical Bakery Mysteries in publication order.

After that, move to Daisies for Innocence if you want the Bailey Cattrell garden mysteries, or Lye in Wait if you want the earlier Cricket McRae Home Crafting Mysteries.

Keep the pen names separate, and use Rituals and Rolling Pins as the next Bailey Cates entry once book 11 is available.