3.83 AVERAGE

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
leopard_113's profile picture

leopard_113's review

5.0

I really enjoyed reading this book in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series, and to be honest, I think this may just be my favorite one in the series from what I have read. It is the third book in the series. It's a nice twist to see that Mel and Angie enter themselves into a baking competition which they are given a mystery ingredient which they have to include in their baking. Not only do the girls make some great recipes on the fly, they are all included in the back of the book so those at home are able to try them for themselves.
I really enjoyed the addition of two new characters, one being an intern who they normally wouldn't employ at the bakery and in a way ends up saving the girls bacon at one point & becomes a favorite. There is constantly something happening in this book, which was nice compared to the second book and frankly I did not figure out the killer until the very end! Found it to be a great mystery as well as a cozy read. Love the Cupcake Bakery books! :)

wildflowerz76's review

3.0

I enjoyed this one. I like the uncertainty with Angie/Tate/Roach for now. I don't want it to drag out TOO long, but I'm liking that there's some slow progress, though they're still mostly unsure. I like that Mel and Joe's relationship seems pretty healthy. He's not stifling and constantly ordering her to stop butting into these mysteries. I really liked Oz and I liked how Mel handled him. I even liked their initial hesitance over him, prejudging him, only to get over that and give him a shot, realizing their mistake.

I don't get Olivia. We need some background on why she's a big nutball. It's too over the top to really be very believable. I like the brothers too, though, except Joe, none of them really have their own identity. To be fair, there are an awful lot of them.

And then there are a few relatively small things I didn't get. Who hold a cooking contest outside, especially, and then not even under a type of tent? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Then, there's this: *SPOILER* Say there's a rumor that a chef has a secret ingredient that he specifically won't tell anyone about but always makes his food taste better. Say you then get your hands on this ingredient. Why would you NOT try what you'd made with the ingredient? I mean, you would, right? Not these people.

sarahfett's review

5.0

A fun, light read. The best in the series so far.

sgmlilja's review

4.0
adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Yes

memull17's review

4.0

Who doesn’t love a baking competition with a side of murder or two? Mel and Angie enter the Scottsdale Food Festival against their rival Olivia only to find one of Mel’s old cooking school mentors dead in a freezer truck on day one. Death by the Dozen is full of old acquaintances with high tension from Mel’s cooking school days, a fierce baking competition, lots of DeLaura siblings, a new intern, and the ever solid friendship between Mel, Angie and Tate.
daybreak1012's profile picture

daybreak1012's review

4.0

After previously working my way through a nearly thousand-page epic, a quick, engaging cozy mystery was *exactly* what I needed. Stick me on a plane for a couple of hours, and I was easily over halfway through by the time we landed. I wasn't sure, at first, if the baking competition was going to feel trite as at least one other book in a series I read of this genre had already used this setting, but I didn't need to worry. Once I got going with this one, it wasn't long before I was wrapping this one up.

What I enjoyed about Death by the Dozen:
The characters - Initially, when I started this series, I was afraid they were going to go a direction too often taken in cozy mystery series: ridiculous caricature. I expect characters to be a little bit exaggerated, but I want to feel like they are still people and not cliches. I find Mel, Angie, Tate, Joe, Uncle Stan, Joyce, and many others to be eminently likable. Olivia and occasionally the brothers-not-named-Joe borderline ridiculousness, but I like the others too much to care.
The addition of Oz - Spinning off the former point, I really like our newest bakery employee. I am hoping that we'll get more time with Marty, because I'd love to see these two meet.
The mystery was well-constructed - While I did have my (correct) suspicions who was the responsible party by the midway point in the book, I found the unwinding of the case quite entertaining, and I remained curious how it would play out and be revealed. Did not disappoint in this!
The movie quotes - Most of these series have a schtick of one sort or another, I particularly like this one. I've loved recognizing favorite movie quotes...and getting ideas for movies I need to put on my to-watch list!

What I didn't care for:
Olivia Puckett - I get that we aren't supposed to like her, but she is over-the-top annoying. I feel like she could appear a little less cartoon-like without losing her villain status.
This waffling romance - Without risking spoilers, I'll merely ask (with the accompanying eye roll): we're going to do this, aren't we? I understand that it's designed to create an ongoing tension in the series thread, but ugh. Ugh!

Overall, my complaints are minor and nit-picky, with no danger of deterring me from continuing with this series. Any book that can keep me turning the pages willingly (captive audience or no, what with the air travel) for two solid hours is a winner in my book (I wish I was sorry for that...but I'm not -- heh).

lilyelement's review

4.0

Death by the Dozen is book 3 in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series. I had such a good time with the other book I read in this series I knew I had to get more. I'm reading these way out of order since I started with book 4 then hopping backwards to book 3 but it actually seems to be okay doing so. The major plot points are going to be different in each book since they're investigating new things. The overall series story arc however will have a few spoilers if you read these out of order. That being said, the author gives enough details of the characters that you can read any as a standalone novels if needed.

In this installment, Melanie and Angie decide to enter their bakery, Fairy Tale Cupcakes, into the Challenge to the Chef competition. It's basically like one of those reality cooking competition shows, where the judges have a challenge then cut out people each round. Melanie and Angie have been preparing by waking up early and having a friend bring a mystery ingredient and their chances look promising. That is until they find out some of the judges are Melanie's former professors/classmates from culinary school. One of which doesn't like her and the other, Vic Mazzotta, was her mentor and had a fatherly attitude towards her. Of course, Vic winds up dead pretty quickly and Melanie suspects foul play. We get to guess whodunit throughout the novel as we see the suspect list narrowed down with each page and it really kept me guessing.

Death by the Dozen is full of mystery with a little dash of romance and lots of humor tossed in. This installment confirmed that this is going to be a must read series for me since I already adore the characters. I haven't been able to guess the mystery in either book before it's revealed which I'm glad, especially when the clues line up and make sense. Oh and just know if you plan on reading this series that you're going to be seriously craving sweets. If you're a fan of mystery novels or books involving food/baked goods you'll adore this series!

jerseygirl2912's review

5.0
lighthearted mysterious fast-paced