Reviewer: Connie Payne
Title: Death by the Dozen - 3rd in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-24405-0
Release Date: October 2011
Genre/Sub-genre: Cozy/Romantic Mystery
Year/Setting: Present day, Scottsdale Arizona
Overall Rating: 4.25
Sexual Content Rating: None
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: None/Very Mild
Violent Content Rating: Minimal/Moderate
Jenn's Website: www.jennmckinlay.com
Entering the baking completion at the Scottsdale Food Festival was supposed to be fun and challenging. Using a mystery ingredient would help Mel (and Angie) stretch their baking creativity.
What surprised Mel was the fact that she knew three of the four judges from culinary school; Vic, her mentor and friend. Bertie, an instructor whom Mel felt some acrimony for and the feeling was reciprocated. And Dutch, fellow culinary school student who had an ego the size of the Grand Canyon and felt he was irresistible to the opposite sex. It was going to be an interesting competition.
Mel would have been happy if it was just interesting. No such luck. Vic was uncharacteristically missing during the first round of the competition. After the first round was completed, Vic was found dead, by apparent suicide. She was crushed and angry.
NO. She wasn’t buying the suicide theory; there were too many people who wouldn’t be devastated at Vic’s demise. In fact, you could say there was some that despised Vic.
Conferring with her Uncle Stan of the Scottsdale police force, Mel puts in her two cents and gives him some background on Vic and those who he made life difficult for. The investigation is in good hands. Now she can concentrate on the competition.
Dividing her time between the Food Festival and Fairytale Cupcakes was taking its toll, as was her grief over Vic’s death. His murder.
The icing on the cupcake (that was sarcasm) was the rotten egg in Mel and Angie’s batter…Olivia Puckett. She was a baking rival of Fairytale Cupcakes and abhorred Mel and Angie. The cupcake pan of Mel’s life runneth over.
It’s war, however, for the person who killed Vic when Angie’s life is literally on the line. The killer better beware because Mel won’t rest until all the ingredients are in place to reveal a murderer.
This reader donned her detective’s apron and attempted to stay one sleuthing step ahead of Mel. But the spatula pointed to too many potential suspects with multiple deep grudges for me to do so. The thing was, dear reader, I had multiple suspicions and couldn’t decide (until close to the reveal) who actually did the dirty deed.
It’s always a mysterious pleasure to visit Fairytale Cupcakes and those who are closely associated with it. I did miss Marty but Oz (a new addition) was a hit with me. It would be quite the cacophony of an investigation if they both were involved as Mel and Angie attempted to track down clues in any subsequent mysteries. Perhaps picture the Three Stooges plus two trying to solve a murder…well, maybe not quite to that extreme.
Just as Mel expands her culinary and investigative skills, Jenn McKinlay sifts through her cunning mind to deliver the reader a sweet and savory mystery. Jenn creates one-of-a-kind characters and blends them with unusual, deadly circumstances amidst a comfortable setting.
A winning recipe for a series.
Happy reading!
Connie
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