Review & Giveaway: Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay

Paperback, 286 pages

Published October 4th 2011 by Berkley

more details...

ISBN: 0425244059 (ISBN13: 9780425244050)

primary language :English

series Cupcake Bakery Mystery #3

In this year's Scottsdale's Food Festival, Angie DeLaura and Mel Cooper, owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery, are bound and determined to beat out their rival, Olivia Puckett. Olivia, not one to play nice,  runs a rival bakery and has been a thorn in their side since they opened the doors to their own bakery.

Even though one of the judges, Vic Mazzotta, is an old mentor to Mel, the competition will still be a tough one. How can one prepare for the bake off  when the mystery ingredient could be just about anything? As it turns out several of the other judges are known to be rivals in their own right which really heats up the competition but when Vic is found dead in a freezer truck, the competition takes on a whole new dimension. Mel and Angie can't help but be involved as Vic was a close friend to Mel and they found the body. They'll have to keep their wits about them to stay several steps ahead of the cold-hearted killer and help solve the crime; not to mention winning the bake off.

Jenn Mckinlay has become one of my favorite cozy writers in the last year due to her well plotted mysteries and loveable characters. The newest addition to the bakery is Oz, a character I just fell in love with and hope he is here to stay. I like the way she introduces the characters/suspects and their possible motives in an orderly fashion. No oddball killer comes out of left field; Jenn plays fair with her readers. The witty dialogue, romantic plot threads among the mystery, and some of the hilarious situations the characters get themselves into are the icing on the cake, or should I say cupcake!

Although there is a continuously running relationship thread from book one, it's still easy to pick up any of these mysteries and dive right in.  Death by the Dozen is the 3rd in the Cupcake Bakery series. At the end of the book is an excerpt from Red Velvet Revenge, the next in the series, along with some scrumptious sounding recipes featured in the story.  4****

To celebrate the release of Death by the Dozen, Berkley is allowing me to host a giveaway for one copy of the book. Open to US only and the deadline to enter is October 19th at 5 PM (est). Please be sure to leave an e mail address in your comment. Bonus entries available for this contest are as follows:

+1 for posting on your facebook page with link to giveaway
+2 for being a follower, old or new. Just remind me how you follow and under what name.
+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Leave me a link, please.

Good luck!

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Berkley in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you cannot comment you can still enter by sending me an e mail with Win Death by the Dozen in the subject line. Include your name and e mail and send to florida982002[at]yahoo.com