Book Reviews

Death by the Dozen (Cupcake Mysteries #3) By: Jenna McKinlay

Death by the dozen

Death by the Dozen (Cupcake Mysteries #3) By: Jenna McKinlay

Plot:

Melanie and Angie are determined to win the Challenge to the Chef to promote their Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Mel’s mentor from culinary school, Vic Mazzotta, may be one of the judges, but Mel and Angie will have to win fair and square. But, when Vic’s dead body is found inside a freezer truck, Mel and Angie will need to use their best judgment to find the cold-blooded killer or they may lose more than the contest- they may lose their lives.

Review:

Another great installment in the series. Her cupcake/pastry descriptions are really making me want to bake.

This time Mel had someone she was close to murdered, however they were still a heel so as a reader it didn’t really affect me. It worked well as believable motivation for her to investigate, though. The killer was obvious only if you’ve watched too much Law and Order but was still very entertaining.

The Tate-Angie-Roach love triangle is still going strong and I’m happy that the love triangle I foresaw in the previous book for Mel did not come to pass in this book. Really hoping the relationship stuff gets settled soon, people can be happy in their relationships and still find themselves surrounded by murder, right?

4.5/5

Buttercream Bump Off (A Cupcake Bakery Mystery #2) By: Jenn McKinlay

Buttercream Bump Off

Buttercream Bump Off (A Cupcake Bakery Mystery #2) By: Jenn McKinlay

Plot:

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura’s Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery is gearing up for Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately someone has iced Baxter Malloy on his first date with Mel’s mother. Now Mom’s a suspect, and Mel and Angie need to find time around frosting to dig into the man’s shady past and discover who served him his just desserts.

Review:

Finally got to read the next book in the series, so happy. Tons of more amazing sounding cupcakes and a good mystery as well.

This series is everything you could want in a cozy mystery and is very comforting because of it. I know that the mystery is going to be solved, that I’m never going to be blindsided with extreme violence, and that the romance will work out.

I’m a little concerned about the introduction of a new detective, I think he’s going to have a thing for Mel and she’s already got Joe. Also Angie and Tate need to get on the same page ASAP.

Excited that my library has the next one in and I’ve got it sitting beside me waiting to be devoured.

4.5/5

Thankless in Death By: J.D. Robb

Thankless in death

Thankless in Death By: J.D. Robb

Plot:

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke’s big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it’s a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood. Other couples aren’t as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn’t made a great impression on the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him—but they didn’t think he was capable of this. Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next.

Review:

I’ve been reading cozy mysteries lately so this was sometime a gruesome shock. Not all of her books are this graphic,but because of my recent reading history it was made even more shocking.

I was pretty tense throughout and couldn’t understand why Eve was missing what I thought were obvious cues as to the bad guys motives and next victim. It was pretty rough.

Story was good, Eve didn’t seem as clairvoyant like she sometimes does, and bad guy was sick.

4/5

The Thin Man By: Dashiell Hammett

The Thin Man

The Thin Man By: Dashiell Hammett

Plot:

Nick and Nora Charles are Hammett’s most enchanting creations, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, The Thin Man is a murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners.

Review:

I was looking for a mystery solved by a married couple and Nick and Nora were what came up when I searched. I liked the Maltese Falcon, years ago when I read it, and I’ve always wanted to read more Dashiell Hammett, so decided why not? Sadly it didn’t quiet scratch that itch.

Nick was definitely the main character in this story, with Nora being barely more than a side character. She did overhear some information that helped solve the mystery, but I was disappointed in her small role in the story. Since it was written in the thirties I shouldn’t have expected anything more, but I was, I think I’m going to try one of the movies and see if they’re better.

The language was really interesting and at times confusing since I’m not up on my thirties slang. By the end of the book I understood what was going on, but there were some parts in the beginning where I thought I was reading in a foreign language. Times have changed a lot, at least where it applies to language.

For the most part I enjoyed the story, I wasn’t able to guess who done it, though I did figure out a part of the story involving the murder that wasn’t revealed until the end. My main complaints were the depiction of women in the story, but that’s just the way things were back then.

3/5

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland By: Lewis Carroll Illustrated By: Robert Ingpen

Alices Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland By: Lewis Carroll Illustrated By: Robert Ingpen

Plot:

One day, a young girl named Alice is sitting on the riverbank with her sister, when she sees a curious looking white rabbit. She soon after falls into the magical world of Wonderland, where she meets a series of strange creatures.

Review:

This is one of the books that’s been on my To Read list for a while. I’ve seen a few Wonderland movies/adaption’s so I didn’t feel a rush to read the source material. However, at a recent trip to Barnes and Noble, with my mother-in-law, we found this copy and it was so beautiful she had to buy it for me. So I decided to read it to my daughter. She’s only seventeen months old, but I wanted to have something that I could read out loud to her while she played. So every couple of days I read a chapter to her. She seemed to really like the pictures but couldn’t care less about the story, which is understandable for her age.

Story wise there were no surprises, everything was pretty weird, and I thought Carroll did an excellent job making me feel like I was in the dream of a child. The imagery was nice and random and occasionally I got bored. How long can you listen to someone tell you their dream? It was still a cute story.

Illustration wise I cannot recommend this edition enough. Robert Ingpen has done an amazing job bringing the story to life. The pictures are beautiful to look at and reflect the stories whimsical qualities. Love him!

4/5