Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns

Book 3 of 2024

I am a sucker for a cute mystery featuring an animal sidekick. Give me a fluffy magical kitty or a slobbering large dog to go along with a murder mystery set in an idyllic cute town with a surprising amount of novelty and specialty stores and I am hooked. In the Baker Street mysteries, it’s an adorable mastiff named Baby, and his new owner, intrepid Maddie, once an influencer in LA and now a bakery shop owner in New Bison, MI.

With small town New Bison’s Spring Baking 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 Southwestern Michigan’s must-visit bakery, even though her inexperience in the kitchen brings nightmares of humiliating tagged photos and scathing one-star 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 . . .

Summary from Goodreads

My Review

Maddie grew up under the watchful eye of an Admiral of the Navy and became an influencer in LA. After the devastating and viral incident where she was left at the alter, Maddie suddenly inherited a house, a bakery, and a very large dog from her Aunt Octavia, whom she had never met. Desperate for a new change, Maddie agrees to the one-year stipulation of living in New Bison and taking care of Baby, the giant mastiff, and her Aunt Octavia’s bakery and home.

In book two, Murder is a Piece of Cake, Maddie has found herself a life in New Bison, MI, and just as she’s revving up to reopen her bakery, another murder puts her in the crosshairs of an irate, though, honest State Trooper.

Now, with a faithful boyfriend, Michael, a vet, both of the animal and military kind, and good friends April, Leroy, and Miss Hannah, Maddie isn’t alone in solving the mystery.

This second book in the series reveals some interesting secrets about Maddie’s friends and continues the mystery from the first book which caused Aunt Octavia’s passing. The book remains as funny as the first, and the characters are not only engaging but also relatable.

Baby, of course, is the star of the show in every scene he’s in. Burns writes animals in a delightfully funny way, but also with obvious real-life knowledge.

The murder mystery, is, as always, interesting and directly impacts Maddie and her friends. The interactions between the characters are at times funny, heartwarming, and in a few cases, scary.

Oddly enough, though I usually don’t experience this with cozy mysteries, one of the antagonists at the beginning of the book triggered some childhood trauma - but just a little bit. Let’s just say, I was a little too pleased about one of the deaths. I’ll pray about that later.

Otherwise, the Baker Street mysteries are free of any grotesque violence or too much melodrama. They’re easy to read and a fun way to spend a few hours. I am anticipating the third novel and aim to try Valerie Burns’ other series, which she wrote under V. M. Burns.