Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder

Maddy inherits a house and a bakery from her great aunt, but she must live there for a year before she can sell them. That’s fine with her. She is looking for a new start after her wedding ended just before it started. Though she can’t bake at all, she discovers that she likes the idea of learning. She has a couple of great bakers who can fill the shelves, so she isn’t worried and rather enjoys the challenge. And the best part of her inheritance is a giant mastiff named Baby. The townsfolk are friendly, even if the weather is not. Only one person is a problem, the mayor who wants her bakery and her dog. But he won’t be a problem for long, unless you count his murder with a knife with Maddy’s fingerprints a problem. Yeah, it show more kinda is. Maddy must go into detective mode to clear herself. But let’s hope she is better at that than she is at baking or she is in real trouble. This cute cozy is fun in so many ways. Maddy’s ineptitude at baking, her talent at social media, and her genuine niceness all contribute to her likable personality. The story is well written, and the mystery is interesting though not especially complex. The real joy in this story comes from Maddy herself. She is a delightful and sparkling character, and everything else takes a backseat to her. show less

I’ve heard so much praise for Valerie Burns’ Baker Street Mystery series, so I decided to dive into Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder—and wow, I LOVED it!
Madison “Maddy” Montgomery unexpectedly inherits her late great-aunt Octavia’s home, bakery, and a giant English mastiff named Baby—but there’s a catch. She must live in the house for a year and keep the bakery running. Hoping for a fresh start after her disastrous livestream wedding, Maddy moves to New Bison, Michigan, only to find herself the prime suspect in the mayor’s untimely death!
The plot had me hooked, Maddy’s newfound friends were charming, and Baby was an absolute scene-stealer. But what truly won me over was the humor—from start to finish, the book was show more an absolute delight. If you love cozy mysteries with heart, humor, and a lovable canine sidekick, this one’s a must-read! show less

I love a cozy mystery! And I am so glad that I have found a new must-read author in the genre. Valerie Burns’ novel, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder, checked all the boxes for me. I loved the small town setting of New Bison, a town on the shores of Lake Michigan, the colorful characters including influencer main character Maddie and a very drool-y, very huge dog, and a twisty mystery that kept me guessing. And with all the baking going on in the book, I was torn between reading and pulling out my Kitchenaid. 😉 Maddy is a fun character — a social media influencer who is determined to prove that she has a purpose and a plan. Inheriting a bakery from an aunt she barely knew, Maddie is challenged from day one. But with her show more knowledge of literary sleuthing and clues left from her deceased aunt, she is a formidable, if amatuer, detective. A light and easy read, this book was the perfect choice for a busy holiday season. I smiled and laughed and kept turning the pages as fast as I could. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder is the first in a series — there are currently two more books available. I look forward to the murder, mayhem, and pastry delights ahead!

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

I had a lot of fun reading this. When a livestream disaster strikes Maddy's life, she is grateful for the chance to try to fulfill the terms of her Great Aunt Octavia's will. New Bison, Michigan is small and a great place to unplug at her own pace, while taking over her aunt's popular bakery and home. The characters are wonderful, and I can't wait to learn even more about them as the series moves forward. Of course, Baby, Aunt Octavia's Bull Mastiff, is a character all on her own, and is a sweet addition to the story. Fans of Sherlock Holmes, Aunt Octavia's friends rally around Maddy after a body is found in her bakery, with her prints everywhere. In addition to the great characters and setting, the mystery was good too and wasn't too show more easy to figure out. show less

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns is the start to a new cozy mystery series, and while it had lots of good things, it also had some not so great things in it too. I can see some cozy readers really being put off by some of them unfortunately.

Let’s do the good first! I love the location of a small town in Michigan. Plus who hasn’t wished for a long lost relative to leave them a huge Queen Anne to live in and a lucrative business, in this case, a bakery. Those three things would be an ideal life for me. Throw in a huge dog that has a silly side and a protective side, and this makes for a great start to a new cozy mystery series.

The characters are well written and we get the tropes that are often found in a cozy. Older show more woman that knows a lot, but people don’t take her seriously. And with Burns having this character in the stages of early dementia, I feel like this will resonate with a lot of her readers. A sheriff that shares information and is on Maddy’s side (either the sheriff/police help the main character or there is strong animosity between the two), and an attractive love interest that happens to be a veterinarian and an Army Vet… so we get someone who can help out with her adopted dog, Baby, who is a huge English Mastiff and a fun “rivalry” between the Army and Navy, since Maddy grew up a Navy brat.

As for the mystery, there were lots of suspects and some really good red herrings. There were even some twists and turns and a huge question that will be a continuation point for the series, which I enjoy.

Now for the not so good… although some of these things I enjoyed, I know others will not.
For the things I enjoyed, the social media bit with constantly taking photos and leaving #hashtags could help bring in a younger reading audience. And the photos were another great way to describe the town and the shops. But I can see how this can be jarring for some readers and take them out of the story. I liked reading her tags and hope that Burns makes them even wittier in the future, if she decides to continue them.
Love it or hate it, social media has such a huge presence in our world today, and it’s not going away.

The second thing that I enjoyed, but I know some will not, is the open ended question (aka cliffhanger) at the end of the book as to what really happened to Great Aunt Octavia. I read a lot of fantasy series which are known for having multiple storylines that rarely get finished in one book. But for those who are used to reading mysteries, thrillers, suspense, or romance there is usually a conclusion and the reader is not left with questions… so this may not be something a cozy mystery reader is used to.

And in this day and age, where books are so easy to acquire and some authors put books out monthly, authors do need as many ways as possible to get readers to come back to their series… and a cliffhanger is a great way to do that.

As for the things I didn’t enjoy, it comes down to a couple of the characters, the first being Maddy, the main character. I really didn’t enjoy how bratty she was at the beginning. For me it was very off putting to read in a cozy. By the end Maddy is a much better person, which is wonderful.
But, even that had me feeling a bit off too. You come to a small town and have been a jerk for many years, but spending a couple of weeks there and you're like someone from a Hallmark movie. Now even as I write that I’m thinking to myself… why are you complaining… the character went from a jerk to being nice and aren’t cozies like Hallmark movies. I mean there’s a Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel, for goodness sake.
I know, but it just was off to me.

And the sheriff, who is a woman, which I love, also has lots of confidence, which I love, but she also has horrible self-esteem when it comes to her intelligence. It’s a weird combo of being self-assured, but then thinking you’re stupid and that Maddy can solve the case, but you can’t… and you’re the sheriff. Sure, this is your first murder case too and you ran for sheriff on a whim, but I really hope in future books that Maddy and friends are able to lift up the sheriff’s thoughts on her intelligence.

Okay, this is way longer than I thought it was. So if you like cozies, I say to give this one a chance and you might really like it even though it’s not as traditional as some other cozy mysteries. I know I’m looking forward to the next one in the series! show less

multigenerational, murder, murder-investigation, Michigan, small-business, small-town, greed, bakery, arson, inheritance, situational-humor, verbal-humor, cooking-lessons*****

The social media guru wearing Louboutin's shoes was left at the altar in front of all of YouTube. Raised by her father the admiral and never having any kind of limits she was recovering from this when she discovered that she had inherited from a great aunt. In Michigan. In a small town. Where she had to live and run the bakery (and doesn't even know how to turn on a stove) for a year. With a massive English Mastiff (worth big bucks in stud fees) who gives "droolworthy" a whole new meaning. She gets propositioned to sell the bakery by several slimy locals, but she show more doesn't really meet a lot of new true friends until the mayor gets killed after hours in the bakery and arson is also involved and she is taken to the police station. In a lily-white rural community. But not to worry, the chief and most of the community are totally in favor of her aunt (and by extension, Madison herself). Especially since aunt and select others read Sherlock Holmes and do sleuthing on real life cases. And that accounts for only the first third of the book! Great fun! Fine whodunit! Loved it!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

Thanks to Kensington for the book! Delightful! When Maddy moves to New Bison on the shore of Lake Michigan because her great-aunt Octavia left Maddy her house, bake shop, and Baby - a 200 lb English Mastiff. Maddy is recovering from a break-up, and has an overbearing Navy Admiral dad, so she is determined to make this work. However, once there, she finds out that her aunt suspected that there was something sinister happening in the town, and one of Octavia's friends believes Octavia was murdered. Then, more people die, and Maddy and her new friends come together to continue the bakery and solve the murders.
This is a great start to what I hope is a new series! It is funny - with all of Maddy's social media posts and Baby's innate sense show more of who is good. There is an unsolved mystery - so I hope that Ms. Burns writes more about Maddy and her friends. show less