Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder
When Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their live stream wedding, it’s a disaster that no amount of filtering can fix. But a surprise inheritance offers a chance to regroup and rebrand, as long as Maddy is willing to live in her late great-aunt Octavia’s house in New Bison, Michigan, for a year, running her bakery and caring for a 250-pound English mastiff named Baby.
Maddy doesn’t bake, and her Louboutins aren’t made for walking giant dogs around Lake Michigan, but the locals are friendly, and the scenery is beautiful. With help from her aunt’s loyal friends, aka the Baker Street Irregulars, Maddy feels ready to tackle any challenge, including Octavia’s award-winning cake recipes. That is until New Bison’s mayor is fatally stabbed, and Maddy’s fingerprints are found on the knife.
Something strange is going on in New Bison. It seems Aunt Octavia had her suspicions, too. But Maddy will need a lot more than a trending hashtag to save her reputation, run a bakery and take care of a giant mastiff and her life.
The Details
Series: A Baker Street Mystery – Book #1
Author: Valerie Burns
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Culinary
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 1496738225
Page Count: 272
Rating: 
The Review
Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder is the first book in the new “A Baker Street Mystery” series from Valerie Burns. If readers have never read one of Ms. Burns’ books before, they should run and grab this one, along with all the others written by this tremendously talented author. In this new series, we have a giant Mastiff, an inherited bakery, a social media influencer who doesn’t know how to bake or cook, and a small group of people, better known as the Baker Street Irregulars. They spend their free time solving mysteries and getting results. There is nothing in this book that readers won’t like, except for perhaps the main character, but trust me, she grows on you.
Maddy has never had to work or do anything for herself except shop for expensive clothes and shoes and a future husband. She thought she had found everything she wanted for her future until her fiance dumped her at the altar. She never thought she would suddenly be living in Michigan with an English Mastiff, running a bakery, and solving a murder. None of her father’s military training prepared her for any of life’s mysteries, but she is determined to make things work and become the strong independent woman she should have been.
Maddy’s first day in her new hometown ends with the murder of a man she had a public disagreement with and the sheriff looking at her as the suspect. But this sheriff is no dummy and knows that Maddy had no motive to kill the mayor, and as part of the Baker Street Irregulars, she, along with Maddy and the rest of the group, set out to find the killer. Baby, the big goofy mastiff that Maddy inherited, along with the bakery and her great aunt’s house, starts finding ways to run the business and show her father that she can make it on her own without becoming the next victim.
The characters in Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder are new, but they already feel like friends. The sheriff, April is a delight; she is kind, compassionate, and happy to have help solving a crime. Other characters are equally outstanding, and the setting of the small town, the bakery, and Maddy’s new house, all make for a comfortable and entertaining read. Throw in the large mastiff, Baby, and you have a story that will have readers holding their breath and willing Maddy to succeed. The suspects are all local with hidden motives, and some motives are more disturbing than others. When the killer is unveiled, it will make perfect sense. However, I did not feel that all the questions posed in the book were answered, and some of the answers didn’t seem detailed enough or reasonable. But that didn’t stop my enjoyment of this story.
As for Maddy herself, at first, readers may not take to her; she appears to be an attention-hogging, self-centered, arrogant pain in the behind. But, keep turning the page because Maddy will become both likable and loveable. This story is in time with today’s society, but with a touch of old-world charm. I can’t wait to see how Maddy and her mastiff, Baby get along and she matures as a person and becomes a hard-working bakery owner who will bake her way into readers’ hearts.
The Author
Valerie Burns was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. She graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Urban Studies. Valerie later went on to get a Master of Science in Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.
By day Valerie is an Operations Manager at a call center for an appliance manufacturer. At night, Valerie writes cozy mysteries, children’s books, and screenplays. Valerie currently lives in Eastern Tennessee with her two poodles.
Valerie’s other series will interest readers as well. You should try the “Mystery Bookshop” and Bookmarked for Murder or the “A Dog Club Mystery” series with Paw and Order.
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