I have been a fan of Valerie Burns since she wrote the first book in her Dog Club mystery series and then her Mystery Bookshop series. (as V. M. Burns) I couldn't wait to read her newest mystery and I wasn't disappointed. The humor, the character development and the dog won me from the first page.
Maddy inherits her great-aunt's bakery and her Mastiff, Baby and the deal is she must reside in the small town of New Bison for one year with Baby and run the bakery. Talk about a major life style change. But Maddy rolls with it and with help of Leroy (who does the baking) and the wonderful group known as the Baker Street Irregulars (who help in any way needed) she will make the deal work. She never in her wildest imagination saw a murder in her future, her fingerprints on the murder weapon and the police trying to fit her out in prison orange.
I liked everything about this debut mystery from the small town setting, the well plotted mystery, the well drawn characters and, of course, Baby. The bakery treats sure got my attention and I may have to try the included recipes at the end of the book. I have a serious sweet tooth. Needless to say there is now a spot on my TBR list for future mysteries.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This likable cozy is light distraction. If you require the plot to always hang together, or logical behavior or total accuracy, it might not be for you.

Young Maddy Montgomery has fled being dumped at the altar to escape to rural Michigan. She is entitled, shallow, self-centered and mostly devoid of common sense and useful skills. And yet, there is something appealing about her. She has inherited her great aunt's house and bakery, with stipulations. It doesn't take Maddy long to identify her character flaws and vow to do better.

She is brilliant at social media and sets in to make her bakery ownership successful. Along the way she meets her late great aunt's interesting circle of friends and trips over a couple of dead bodies. There are a lot of unexplained side detours but mostly a quick and fun read. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this new series reminded me of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries, which I love. In fact I preferred this because of the humour and zany secondary characters. My only issue was all the hashtags and social media references, which I found a bit distracting. I loved the concept of the heroine making a fresh start in a small town and trying to run her great aunt’s bakery and I think this has the makings of a great series. Maddie does seem to soften and become more likeable as the book goes on and I was happy to see she has a potential love interest too. I will look forward to book 2 in this very promising series.

I loved this book - the small town setting, the characters, the bakery, and especially Baby, the humongous dog! The story was easy to follow and set the stage nicely for a new series, introducing characters well but not over describing everything. The hash tags took a little getting used to but waned as the story went on so they weren't too distracting after awhile. Maddy started out pretty annoying also but softened as the mystery progressed. Really looking forward to more in this series.

I really enjoyed this cute cozy! I thought the ending was going to come at me like a freight train but actually… it all settled quite nicely. I go into cozies gently bc I am used to a rapid timeline… this one sped a long pretty quickly and gave enough clues to lead you a long but not answer the riddle until you were reasonably well into the novel- at that point you hope the main character figures it out. I also love the foundations this book has set for future books in the series. Though the premise of an amateur detective can get old after a while (which is why I don’t do cozies often) this one may have legs.

I absolutely loved this! Maddy might've been a spoiled daddy's girl, but I had to hand it to her for her determination to break that mold and prove she could take over Aunt Octavia's bakery. Once I learned who all I could trust, I was totally drawn into the key characters along with Maddy. And that sweet, slobbery dog Baby! He was such a good boy and like Maddy, I trusted him to ferret out the killer. Baby did end up playing a heroic part in the showdown too.

The Baker Street Irregulars group was too cool and it reminded me of Nana Jo's friends' group in the author's Mystery Bookshop series. Miss Hannah was one of my faves! She didn't let dementia stop her one little bit and was sharp as anything most of the time while being one of Maddy's best advocates. It was great how Maddy's new friends took her under their wing and tried to make her feel more at home. And Maddy sure did a nice job of promoting the shop even when they needed to be closed after the murder.

That showdown was a tense one and I wasn't sure how Maddy was gonna get herself out of this mess! But with some friendly help, the perp definitely wouldn't be bothering anyone again.

The ending of the book was great, and I loved how Maddy didn't waste time in going after what she wanted! If you've read and love this author's other cozy series, you're in for another treat! I can't wait for the next book! This one releases this coming Tuesday, August 30, 2022.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Kensington Cozies via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

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.

This was such a fun series debut by Valerie Burns! A good portion of it was because the main character, Maddy, is not your conventional wholesome amateur sleuth you find in most cozy mysteries. Maddy’s a spoiled adult who is used to having everything done for her. I enjoyed the character growth Maddy displayed throughout the story. The red herrings were great and I love that there is this alternative continual mystery that was still not solved after the murder of the main mystery was figured out by Maddy.

Overall, this was a delightful, funny and entertaining read.

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns is a book one in a new Baker Street Mystery series.

This is a lighthearted cozy mystery, in my opinion a cross between a chick lit and a cozy. I have to say even knowing it, the story was still not mystery enough for me.

While I didn't dislike the main heroine I found her reasoning, her thoughts process and a constant picture taking and # more than little annoying. It really put me off the story.

I like the premise of a story, I also liked the setting, that small town vibe and a set of side characters who were just so delightful. The introducton was in my opinion too long, and eventhough I like a longer introduction at the beginning of a new series, as a way of getting familiar with the characters and the setting, this was just too long.

Main heroines superficial behavior masked her quite nice personality and it made it impossible for me to take her too seriouslyl.

All those things made reading quite a chore and a struggle and didn't provide the enjoyment I was expecting.

I’m a big fan of this author’s books, and as soon as I saw the cover of Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder I knew I had to read it. Isn’t it fabulous? And as I dove between the pages, I saw how perfectly the cover fits the story, and I loved it even more.

Maddy comes barreling on the scene with her phone in one hand and her heart in the other. She’s spoiled, yes, and she’s been sheltered her whole life by her overprotective Admiral father. But she also has a good head on her shoulders and a sincere spirit that makes her savvy, approachable, and almost-instantly likable. When you match her big heart with that of her newly-inherited English mastiff, Baby, you have a lovable team that makes you smile at every turn. The supporting characters that make up the Baker Street Irregulars (an amateur sleuthing ‘ring’ that represent a variety of ages and personalities) are just as easy to love and I’m eager for future books to spend more time with all of the above.

The mystery is really well done in this first book – with some elements that I suspect will carry on into at least the next book and maybe the whole series (something I really enjoy). Don’t worry, the main murder is solved by the end of Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder but there is at least one ‘background’ murder that I don’t think we’ve solved yet. And another highly suspicious death that I think Maddy won’t easily let go – both of these additional deaths could be accidents but, since this is a cozy mystery series after all, I don’t think they are. To me, this was an ingenious plot decision by the author because it keeps we readers on our toes and keeps us uncertain of who we can trust (including characters that are Maddy’s new friends & a potential romantic interest) as we go into the next book. Something I need to read, like, right now.

Bottom Line: Take one spoiled-but-big-hearted social media expert who can’t cook or bake; mix together with an inherited bakery, an inherited house, and an inherited 250-pound dog with a 1000 pound personality; toss all ingredients with a cast of diverse & likable characters, and sprinkle with a good dose of humor & a gaggle of amateur sleuths … and you’ve got the recipe for another delightfully entertaining and layered cozy mystery by Valerie Burns. Even though one particular murder is solved by the end of this first book, there are still two deaths that remain mysterious and I’m still not entirely sure who to trust. Make room on your TBR pile for this new series – you don’t want to miss it!

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

Two Parts Sugar is a super easy read, which is what one expects with a cozy mystery. What I mean is that this book is easy to sink into and devour. Along the way, you want to solve the mystery as well. Want to try some of the treats mentioned in the book as you read? Guess what? You’re in luck; there are a few recipes at the end of the book.

When the mayor is stabbed, you instantly have multiple suspects. But you can probably figure out who the guilty party is. That said, it doesn’t take away from the experience; doubts are sprinkled throughout as you read, which is a sign of a good cozy.

The cast of characters, especially the Baker Street Irregulars (yes, just like Sherlock Holmes), is fantastic. There’s Leroy, the baker at Baby Cakes; April, the sheriff; Hannah, Miss Octavia’s best friend; and Tyler, the knitting shop owner. Even Michael, Hannah’s grandson, and Baby’s vet is a fun character to meet.

If you enjoy reading food-based cozy mysteries, you will enjoy reading Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder. I, for one, am looking forward to returning to New Bison in the future!

Maddy has been coddled her entire life. It didn’t prevent her from being dumped at her wedding and her fleeing to the Midwest to assume ownership of her great aunt’s house and bakery. Plus Baby, the giant dog.
Maddy fumbles around, which is funny to read, but quickly makes friends and stumbles into a bowl full of trouble.
It’s a fun read with interesting characters and an endearing dog who knows his worth.
Fling some flour around and put this on your baking read list.

Loved it. A delightful start to a new series. Thrilled to see there will be more of her adventures in baking and sleuthing. Good variety of characters, including the drooling dog. Nice small-town atmosphere. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

What is this about?
Maddy has been jilted at the altar, and discovers she’s been left a bakery in a small town, very far from her social influencer life. Once she’s there, however, she discovers small towns, have their own share of murderous secrets.

What else is this about?
If you’re a cosy mystery fan, you’ll probably see MAddy’s character growth coming a mile away. But don’t let that stop you — Valerie Burns has written a savvy heroine, moreso than even she realises, a small town with charm and mystery and a big dog called Baby! Also, there’s the New Bison Street Irregulars, which are a treat!

Blurb
In a brand-new culinary cozy series with a fresh edge and a charming small-town setting, acclaimed author Valerie Burns introduces Maddy Montgomery, social media expert who’s #StartingOver in small town Michigan after inheriting her great-aunt’s bakery…and a 200-pound English Mastiff named Baby.

When Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their livestream 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 200-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’s going to need a whole lot more than a trending hashtag to save her reputation—and her life.
I asked for permission to read Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder on Netgalley for two reasons: the cover and the dog (who is on the cover). I think my instagram is more Ziggy than books these days, but I’m working on changing that!

Maddy is embarrassed when her groom leaves her at the altar, and for a social media influencer, who was livestreaming their wedding, it’s dead by social media in way. So when she discovers her Aunt Octavia left her Baby Cakes in a small town away from the fiance that jilted her, Maddy seizes her change to gain some distance from her embarassment.

As I said above, with a premise like this, you can see that part of this journey is Maddy falling in like wit the town and its people. To Burns’ credit, she writes Maddy as open to her new inheritance and town, and determined to make the most of it — to show her Admiral father who doesn’t think she can, and to make her Aunt proud.

It’s everything else that made this such a charming read: Maddy is a social influencer, and the text is peppered with social media references, and Maddy using instagram to make Baby Cakes even more of a success than her Aunt could have imagined.

Sure, there are characters that have perceptions of Maddy once they realise what she does, but more than that, Maddy wields her social media presence superbly, using it to her advantage, and gets appreciated for it — and it’s a nice change from the social-media-demonising, I expected when I started reading this.

So before I head into discussing the secondary characters, and the other charming bits of this, I should probably say something about the plot: Aunt Octavia was a bit of a busybody, but a busybody with a nose for real trouble brewing in New Bison. The town is changing, and developers want to ger their hands on properties, and it seems they will do anything do so. How does Maddy know this? Because her Aunt Octavia left her tapes and clues, and the more she finds, the more Maddy comes to accept her aunt may just have been murdered.

Which means when two murders are committed and/ or discovered in Baby Cakes Bakery, Maddy becomes embroiled in an inmvestigation to find out just what happened, so she can open her bakery again for one, and it’s not a crime scene, but also to figure just what happened to her aunt.

There is a cast of charming secondary characters that round out this cosy, and I fell in love with them. There’s April, the sherriff, for whom Baby the bull mastiff will truly play dead in an EPIC fashion, and Leroy, the sous baker at Baby Cakes Bakery, who takes over baking bc Maddy well, doesn’t know how to. There is a romantic interest, but not one that take over the story, and is left simmering in the background as Maddy figures other mysteries out.

It turns out too, the secondary characters were Octavia’s Irregulars, turning up to her house to discuss crimes and solve them. I Loved that Burns showed off Maddy’s love for mysteries, her sharp mind for investigations through the book.

I also didn’t expect the cliffhanger in this first book and am busting to see what’s next for Maddy! This was such a gem that made me laugh and gave me a sneakily complex mystery.

I’ve always been a fan of books that include food. It just feels so homey and down to earth; makes the characters more relatable. Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns, is no different except it adds in a Black woman protagonist. Madison Montgomery is a spoiled entitled military brat who loves designer clothes, shoes, etc. She just so happens to inherit a house and bakery from her great aunt, in which she hasn’t seen since Madison was a baby. Needing an escape, Madison decides to embrace the small town life after being left at the altar by her doctor fiancé. She wanted to continue to be taken care of but being in New Bison helps her realize that she is smart and capable of doing things on her own and making her own decisions. Which she learns just in time to deal with a murder, a 250 lb prize winning mastiff named Baby, and a bakery. She makes new friends and joins them in solving the crimes in New Bison with the help of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. Because of course you can’t solve mysteries without some help along the way, even if they are fictional sleuths.

The baked goods in the novel are the icing on the cake. They talk about buttery, flaky 🥐; award winning chocolate cake; how to make the best scrambled eggs; apple turnovers and thumbprint cookies. I’m just sad that we only get three recipes and none of them are the chocolate cake or croissant. However, we do get the Apple turnover, thumbprint cookies, and lemon zucchini bread (which is only mentioned in passing).

After reading this book in three days, here is what I’ve taken away:

People can change only if you let them and give them the opportunity to change.
Small towns can be fun and charming. I grew up in a small town and it’s something nice about everything being close together and knowing your neighbors.
A Black woman not knowing who a First Lady is in the church is mind boggling even if she is fictional. (Maybe that’s the Southern church going girl in me).
I dislike that some of the characters have ambiguous descriptions. It’s hard to paint a picture of who the characters really are.
Baked goods can solve almost anything.
Anyone can learn to cook or bake as long as they have a good teacher and are open to making mistakes to get to perfection. I will say, no baked good is perfect but it should come pretty darn close.
Some questions in the book are never answered. I suppose that’s how life is so I can’t be too upset about that.

This book had me hooked from the first page and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.( the chocolate cake recipe will be in the next book!) I also have to mention that this book has a Black protagonist who is Ivy League educated along with the guy she is diggin. As a Black woman, we don’t really find cozy mysteries where we are the main character. It is important that we celebrate all types of people and the shenanigans they can get into. You can pre-order the book at the following retailers:

Amazon-Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder: A Delicious and Charming Cozy Mystery (A Baker Street Mystery) https://a.co/d/hcuIl78
Walmart-Baker Street Mystery: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder : A Delicious and Charming Cozy Mystery (Paperback)https://www.walmart.com/ip/354381441
Target-https://www.target.com/p/two-parts-sugar-one-part-murder-baker-street-mystery-by-valerie-burns-paperback/-/A-85385916
Bookshop.org-https://bookshop.org/a/18978/9781496738226

Valerie Burns can't write a bad or boring book and this one is the highly entertaining and solid.
I fell in love with the story since i met Baby, I'm a very huge dog lover, and had a lot of fun at Maddy antics.
The plot is tightly knitted and fast paced, the mystery is solid and kept me guessing.
An excellent debut for a new series, highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A huge thanks to the author and Kensington books for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are entirely my own .

The book follows obsessed with Jimmy Choo and never baked in her life Maddie Montgomery whose life takes a turn when her groom doesn’t show up to their Livestream wedding. Of course it’s gut wrenching but her life takes a turn when she finds out she has inherited a house and a bakery from her great Aunt Octavia. Her life quickly becomes interesting in the small town but when people start dying not even her 200 pound mastiff named Baby could keep her away from investigating. What a book! I loved everything about this book-the plot, the characters and of course the recipes. If you need a mystery that will leave you on the cliff then this is the one for you.

Actual rating: 4.5

Really enjoyable book, set in a town I'm familiar with, so it made it doubly enjoyable. Love the characters and look forward to getting to read the next one. Hopefully, we'll find out who murdered Aunt Octavia. I hope it' s no one close to Maddy.

This is a wonderful first in a new series, set in New Bison, Michigan. The story is well-plotted and Maddy is a delightful main character. I did find the hashtags to be rather interrupting to the flow of my reading, but this is not a big deal. I am looking forward to the next installment.

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 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!