Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder is the first book in a new series by Valerie Burns. I was able to read an ARC from NetGalley. The story takes place in a small town in Southwestern Michigan right on the shores of Lake Michigan. This is a charming area of the United States and a good place to set a cozy as there are many cute towns that cater to tourists with picturesque little downtowns and many people visit throughout the year. Tourists are always helpful in cozy mysteries when you don't want to kill off all the townspeople.
The star of this series is Baby the Bull Mastiff. Baby is left to Maddy in Aunt Octavia's will along with Aunt Octavia's "BabyCakes Bakery" and Aunt Octavia's gorgeous lakefront house. Maddy is pretty annoying at the beginning of the book, very self-centered, and materialistic. She is very smart though and quickly realizes she is at a crossroads, she can continue to live off her father or she can be her own person. I liked her growth in this book.
I look forward to seeing where things go in book two. There is a setup for more murders and betrayals ahead --and that's putting it mildly!
4 stars
#NetGalley #TwoPartsSugarOnePartMurder
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Harvest Cookies
I used the Tastefully Simple Ah Sugar! Sugar Cookie mix--just add butter and milk and topped the cookies with candy corn. Candy Corn is, of course, very controversial--but I will go out on a limb and just let you know I do like Candy Corn in the fall. How about you?
The cookies came out flat because I used almost melted butter instead of just softened butter. Live and Learn!
