Provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

An excellent start to the series! I loved the main character from the beginning. Bree is a great chemist and logical, so sleuthing comes a little naturally to her. Working out puzzles is part of her daily job. She's very human and very relatable. It was easy to empathise with some of her feelings of inadequacy and self doubt, but she got over those pretty quickly and marched forward to the conclusion of the book. Definitely would recommend and can't wait for the next instalment!

This was a very enjoyable and refreshing mystery. A brilliant chemist with great cooking/experimenting abilities, a dead boss, a mysterious sexy colleague, an irresistible detective and a grumpy cat. What more can we ask for! Oh yes, someone also wants her dead!
The mix was so good and the result was a very interesting story.
And once i started reading, i couldn't stop. I finished it in a day which is not very usual for me!

Dr Bree Mayfield-Watson is a fascinating character. I really liked her and it was funny to follow her with her own investigation of the murder, her hypothesis and her almost failed attempts to improve her social skills. I found that most of the character were very interesting and we have an insight on most of them, which would be helpful for the next books of the series i guess.
I can't wait for the next one.

I also liked very much the final touch of the Author. Putting some of the "invented" recipes of Dr Bree was a very good idea. Can't wait to try them.
I recommend this book to my friends.

I received the unpublished The Cupcake Caper by Kelle Riley for free to read and review. I have not read anything by author Kelle Riley before I like the author style of writing. I find this is going to be an interesting series. Scientist that is a detective. The series is Undercover cat I am excited to see where they take this series and how it ties into the name of the series. The book started a little slow but a quarter of the way through picked up. Some of the science terms and explanation was a little over the top at times but I think it needed to be explained on how the answers came to be. I am curious to read the next book in the series to see where they take it from there and how Bree handles her career change. And if there is going to be any romance between Matthew or James O'Neil. I would recommend this book to bakers, crime solvers and anyone up for a new series!

This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author.

Science is about solving puzzles. Why should solving a murder be any different? Dr Bree Watson is comfortable solving chemistry problems. She isn't comfortable finding her boss dead and being a suspect in his poisoning.
The Cupcake Caper is the first in the Undercover Cat series by Kelle Z Riley. This is a cozy mystery book and a change from the style I have been reading a lot of lately.but a welcome change of pace.
Bree is your typical scientist who loves solving problems however when she turns up to work for a meeting with her boss it sets her off on a murder investigation that ultimately puts her life in danger. Her analytical mind goes into overdrive and she starts making notes on all her observations on the crime scene and the staff present at the company. She has a couple of friends in the company that she can trust but once she becomes a prime suspect she keeps what she is doing to herself. She finds herself in line to take over the position once held by her boss and she uses this to talk to people in the hopes of finding the murderer. What she does find is a lot of gossip and secrets that point to any number of people being the culprit.
I did wonder to start with why this book had the title of The Cupcake Caper and why it was classed as an undercover cat mystery. Apart from being a top Scientist Bree likes to bake as she sees this as another type of experiment (one where she gets to try out different flavour combinations). The cat belonged to her boss and after his murder Bree takes it upon herself to look after him (aptly nicknamed Sherlock by one of the Detectives on the case). In the end both Cupcakes and the cat have clues that lead to the identity of the killer.
I enjoyed this book as the main character in the story was both intelligent and analytical, dealing with everything in a methodical manner while not deliberately putting herself of her friends in danger with her investigations. She also made sure that she provided the police with any information that she found despite being the main suspect rather than hindering their investigations by keeping this information to herself. I look forward to further books in the series to see how Bree deals with her new career in the aftermath of the company she worked for being sold.
There is a lovely bit at the end of the book too where you can try all the recipes that Bree uses for her cupcakes...they sound so nice even a lazy baker like me is tempted to try them....maybe I could try them out on my colleagues at work......

Princess Fuzzypants here:
When I saw the cover and write-up, I expected this to be a very lightweight cozy. It turned out to be so much more. That is not to say the book is not frothy and fun but the characters have more substance. It's the first of a series and I think it has lots of potential. Bree is a brilliant chemist and fascinating character.
It doesn't hurt that she is adopted by Sherlock, the cat who previously owned the murder victim. I was purring at the interaction between those two as they got to know each other.
What sets this book apart is the quality of the mystery and the skills used to uncover the bad guy. I did wonder if he might be the one earlier in the piece but not for the reason he did it. It's a fast read yet satisfying. It might be a cupcake caper but it is meaty as well.
I give this five purrs and two paws up.

<b>Interesting characters and a good start for a series</b>

This was a fun read and reminded me why I like cozy mysteries. I found the characters interesting and well-developed. The main character, Bree was likable and I was happy the author included enough details about her that her job as a scientist worked well with the plot while also coming through in her personality and reactions. The plot itself was believable and the pacing kept me interested throughout the book. Sometimes with cozy mysteries, the killer is readily apparent. While this novel followed the typical plotline with many cozy mysteries, the solution was unexpected, which is nice. I wished the author hadn't done the two competing love interests angle that so many in the genre tend to embrace, but the men are both interesting, so I'm sure it will be a good story arc throughout the series. I hadn't read a cozy mystery in months, but this was the perfect palate cleanser and I certainly wouldn't mind reading more from this author or series in the future.