Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns is the second book in the Baker Street Mystery series. It could be read as a standalone, but seeing as its only the second one & it’s an incredible cozy mystery series, I recommend reading both of them!

Maddy is back! As she continued to make New Bison her home & hone her baking skills, a new bakery is set to open near hers. The rival bakery’s owner is a shady businessman that also happens to have connections to the town. There’s plenty of drama, mystery, romance. small town goodness & baked good along the way!

It has delightfully short chapters, which I always appreciate. Maddy is a great heroine as she continues to come into her own along with her Nancy Drew-esque sleuthing the town’s various mysteries. Michael is such a lovely love interest & character as a whole. I also adore the Baker Street Irregulars.

My absolute favorite part is always Baby, the English mastiff, that stole my heart in the first book. In this book, we get another English mastiff, which means double the doggy delight!

There was a moment in Chapter 21 that compared a narrow space to that only small enough for “anorexic supermodels” to be able to fit it….I was not a fan of this line. In this day in age with the importance of mental health, body positivity & the seriousness of eating disorders, this seemed extremely unnecessary & shouldn’t be there.

Overall, I am a fan of this series. I hope that one moment gets corrected because this is a wonderful cozy mystery!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Kensington for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.


Trigger Warnings: This book mentions &/or contains murder, animal abuse, animal injury (spoiler: he’s okay!) & violence.

I think this book just wasn’t for me. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. It was just meh. It just felt lacking in a few aspects and it didn’t keep me invested enough in the story

A cozy culinary mystery set in a small Michigan town. I loved the first book in this series, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder.
Maddy is such a great character and I love learning more about the other characters too! Baby (an English Mastiff) makes the books more entertaining, and I love a dog character.
The first 50% is character development, background and set up. The second half is so well done, I was guessing the entire time whodunit!
Highly recommend!

This was a very fun book and the perfect sequel to Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder.

Maddie and the gang are back along with a few new characters. Once again she finds herself trying to solve a murder mystery and to save her bakery.

I’m not quite convinced the actual murderer was arrested so the next book is going to be very interesting!

This was a 3.5 for me, I usually don’t round up but I’m feeling generous today. Maddie has learned some from the time from the beginning of book 1 to book 2, but she needs more growth.

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for this eARC.

So glad this is a part of a series! Cosy mysteries are a favourite of mine! Great quirky characters that make me chuckle wrapped up in a murder mystery! Keep these coming!!

Love love love this one! You're going to fall in love with Maddy Montgomery. She is an excellent character. The mystery is solid and keeps you guessing. I couldn't put this one down! Thanks #netgalley and #Keningston for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

A fun young series set in the midwest in a bakery with a fun cast of characters and a great dog. Second entry in the series that doesn't need to be read in order.

The second Baker Street mystery has Maddy nervous when a man arrives to town announcing he is going to open a bakery across the street, with the intent to shut hers down. Even more surprising is that this is her friend April’s estranged husband. When he winds up dead, both Maddy and April are suspects. Maddy must find the culprit before she or April are locked up.

Another great entry in this series! Even though this is only book 2, I’ve really enjoyed this series so far. Can’t wait to read more!

multigenerational, murder, murder-investigation, amateur-sleuth, Mitten-State, small-business, small-town, bakery, situational-humor, verbal-humor, wealthy, influencer, pet-dog, English-Mastiff, inheritance, surprises, veterinarian, ex-military, law-enforcement, friendship, family-by-choice, recipes*****

She's got an overindulgent father who is a USN Admiral, a loving veterinarian boyfriend, and a big baby (and that's his name, too) of a protective English Mastiff who weighs 250 pounds. She inherited the dog along with the Baby Cakes Bakery when her aunt died and has made more real friends than ever. But now there's another murdered body in the bakery and she is one of the prime suspects. Let the sleuthing begin! Great fun! Fine whodunit! Loved it!
This can't be an unbiased review as I loved the first in series, too!
I requested and received an EARC from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I didn’t think it was possible but this book was better than the first. I was engrossed from the first page and this is definitely going to be in my top read for the year and it’s only January. I love the mystery element and Valerie’s writing style is ‘chefs kiss’. I don’t just want but I need more of this series

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book…it reminded me so much of Murder She Wrote! This was such a cozy easy mystery and I read it in one sitting!

I have never read this author but now I’m a fan! I will be following this series because I absolutely loved Maddy and Baby!

This is just a fabulous series that I stumbled on when it first came out and was hooked right out of the gate! Maddy Montgomery is a girl on fire! She’s a baker, an influencer, a girlfriend and a fur baby mama…in addition to trying to keep her Aunt Octaivia’s legacy going.

When her new competitor in town is found murdered with a knife from her bakers, Maddy finds herself trying to juggle even more as she tries to figure out who set her up for the murder. If she doesn’t solve this, she may very well be at the end of her shelf life.

Can’t wait for more in this series. Valerie Burns writes a great character, crafts a superb mystery and keeps you wanting the next book before you’re even finished with this one. One of the best newer series out there.

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and Kensington Books.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

The pressure of running a bakery is tough enough when you can not bake. Thrown in a murder with a knife with your bakery name does not look good for business. Someone wants to sabotage her business as she must find a killer so she van remain in business.

A quick paced cozy in book two of the series. Life isn’t a piece of cake

Murder is a Piece of Cake is even better then the first book, which amazed me.
Maddy is such a great character, there's something about her character that just makes me smile.
Maddy can't believe she's found herself in the middle of another murder investigation and this time one of her employees is the suspect.
This is quickly becoming my favorite series and I can't wait to read more!
Baby is a great dog, I love how the author brings his personality alive in these books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
#MurderisaPieceofCake #NetGalley.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

I'm in love!! I love this bakery so much and I'm so sad it's not a real place! I loved every character, the mystery, the plot, the dialogue was hilarious at times! This is one of the best cozies I've read!

ARC review for Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns
Publication date June 27th 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
OMG! This was a such a cute cozy mystery! I’m invested in the characters and their relationships. I’m jealous that I can’t go to her bakery 😂! I could imagine trying to run a bakery, promote said bakery, have a relationship, and deal with a killer! This was so fun, there were plot twists, and I was laughing out loud at some parts to! I’m in love and I’m reallllyyy hoping there’s another book after this!
🍰 🍰

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This is quickly becoming one of my favorite series. Baby is an absolute joy I love that all the characters love him so much. 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. This was a fun, twisting, and well developed mystery. I love the relationships between the characters in this series. I can't wait for the admiral in the next adventure to make his debut.
#MurderisaPieceofCake #NetGalley

this was a great sequel in the Baker Street mystery, it had what I was hoping for based on the first book. Valerie Burns has a great writing style for the mystery genre. It worked with what I was hoping for and am glad I got to read this universe again.

“I think Candy had an alibi last night.” I shared how I’d seen Chris Russell’s car parked outside her shop. A thought popped into my head and I turned to April. “Wait. You blocked off the building. How did she get upstairs?”