Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns

 Murder is a Piece of Cake

Book Summary

With small town New Bison’s Spring Festival just around the corner, the pressure is on Maddy to continue her late great-aunt Octavia’s legacy. That means scoring the top prize and transforming Baby Cakes into Southwest Michigan’s must-visit bakery, even though her inexperience in the kitchen brings nightmares of humiliating tagged photos and scathing reviews.
 
There’s another reason for lost beauty sleep. A second bakery is opening in town under the ownership of CJ Davenport, a shrewd investor with a reputation for sabotaging anyone who gets in his way. And savvy, flashy Maddy tops his list. It’s a sticky spot to be in—more so when Davenport turns up dead with a Baby Cakes’s knife stuck in his back.
 
Maddy’s whole life just went from #thriving to barely surviving. Now, supported by the crafty Baker Street Irregulars and her new boyfriend, she must find the courage to face off against a killer who could very well get her name trending for the first and last time . . .

My Thoughts

Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns is the second book in A Baker Street Mysteries.  It can be read as a standalone for those who did not read Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder.  We return to New Bison, Michigan where Maddy is getting ready to reopen Baby Cakes, the bakery she inherited from her great aunt, Octavia.  Maddy wants the opening to coincide with New Bison’s Spring Festival.  Maddy is still learning to bake and, naturally, makes mistakes.  Of course, most people’s mistakes are not online for all to see.  Maddy likes to take pictures (of food, events, etc.) and post them online with hashtags.  I quickly tired of the hashtags (there were too many).  The first half of the book deals with the setup.   It was obvious who would die.  The victim was not a nice guy.   Maddy and her friends work to solve the mystery.    Maddy is determined to find the guilty party which will clear her friends.  The killer can easily be identified along with the why (there might as well have been a neon sign over the killer’s head).  The reveal felt rushed.  I was left with some lingering questions.  

I have a feeling that residents of New Bison have more secrets that will come to light in the future.  I wonder, though, how many murders can occur in one small town (soon the tourists will stay away in droves). Maddy seemed a touch more grounded in this book than in the first.  She has made some good changes to the bakery and, hopefully, it will get to open to the public soon.  I like the discovery they made concerning the bakery (sorry, but it is a spoiler).   I love Maddy’s dog, Baby (I like big dogs).  Baby is the highlight of the story.  Murder is a Piece of Cake is a lighthearted cozy mystery with whipped egg whites, a horrible husband, a lovesick mastiff, a setup sheriff, copious hashtags, and a probing baker.

Murder is a Piece of Cake is available from Amazon*.  The first A Baker Street Mystery is Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder.  Valerie Burns writes cozy mysteries using the non de plume V.M. Burns.  Thank you for joining me today.  I will return on July 11 with Must Love Flowers by Debbie Macomber.  I am taking a little break to rest and recover.  I injured my back courtesy of cat, Dickens. She lives up to her name.  I was hoping that she would settle down as she became older (she turned thirteen at Easter). Unfortunately for me, Dickens has become livelier with each passing day.  I was going down the steps and Dickens thought it would be fun to run between my feet.  I am grateful that I did not break any bones.   I hope that you have a fun and safe Fourth of July.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

How many of you read under the covers with a flashlight as a child?

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