Cozy Mystery

Dark Chocolate Demise (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #7) By: Jenn McKinlay

Dark Chocolate Demise

Dark Chocolate Demise (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #7) By: Jenn McKinlay

Plot:

Scottsdale, Arizona, may not be the liveliest place on earth, but it’s never been as dead as this. Hundreds of fans have gathered together for the first annual Old Town Zombie Walk, and Mel, Angie, and the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew are donning their best undead attire to sell some horror-themed desserts to the hungry hordes. But the fun turns to fright when Mel finds a real dead body in a prop casket outside of the bakery’s truck—and the corpse looks alarmingly like a zombie of their own. Knowing that Joe, Angie’s brother and Mel’s former flame, has been working on a dangerous mob case, Mel worries that the murder is a hit gone wrong and that someone near and dear was the real target. To keep any of her friends from winding up six feet under, Mel will do whatever it takes to find a killer—no matter how scary things get…

Review:

Lots of relationship stuff with this one, which I loved. In fact it was most of the book. There was, of course, a mystery but it wasn’t like the others. It had more to do with what’s going on with Joe and his case against a mob boss.

I love the relationships and characters in this series. The side characters bring as much to the story as the main character.

Lots of sugar and I find myself wondering how these people don’t have diabetes the amount of cupcakes they eat. Anytime something happens let’s eat two cupcakes. Ummm… I’d love to do that but I’d be the size of a house and shooting up insulin. Oh to live in a book world.

Anyway, I’m caught up with the series and now must wait like everyone else. Waiting sucks, but at least the cliff hanger on this one isn’t as big a deal to me. I mean it’s a big deal, but I can set it aside and not die a little bit everyday while waiting.

4.5/5

Murder is Binding (A Booktown Mystery #1) By: Lorna Barrett

Murder is Binding

Murder is Binding (A Booktown Mystery #1) By: Lorna Barrett

Plot:

The streets of Stoneham, New Hampshire are lined with bookstores…and paved with murder.

Stoneham, New Hampshire, was a dying town until community leaders invited booksellers to open shop. Now, its streets are lined with bookstores – and paved with murder…

When she moved to Stoneham, city-slicker Tricia Miles was met with friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met with friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased – and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries – and hunt down someone who isn’t killing by the book …

Review:

Wow Tricia Miles, the main character, comes off as a real bitch in the first few chapters. She’s judgmental, blames her sister or her mother for why she feels certain ways, and is about as boring as a stick in the mud. Things just get worse from there.

I didn’t like the way Barrett wrote, she was overly descriptive about the surroundings, and seemed to be forcing things to go a certain way. A lot of her terms and word choices seemed really dated and I was surprised to see the book was published in 2008. None of her characters were compelling. The setting and premise were interesting, so interesting in fact that I already have the second book (thankfully it was only $.99) but I do not plan on reading it.

So disappointed in this book and will probably never read anything from this author again.

1/5

Side note: I really think this book was some sort of wish fulfillment for the author and a way for her to live the life she wants. She gets to solve mysteries, own an amazing bookstore, and have men love her. Too bad the character comes off as a c!@#

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