Death by the Dozen

Cupcake Bakery Mystery, Book 3

By: Jenn McKinlay

Narrated by: Susan Boyce

Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Melanie and Angie are determined to win the Challenge to the Chef cooking competition to promote their Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Mel's mentor from culinary school, Vic Mazzotta, may be one of the judges, but Mel and Angie will have to bake their best to win fair and square. But when Vic's dead body is found inside a freezer truck, Mel and Angie will need to use their best judgment to find the cold-blooded killer or they may lose more than the contest; they may lose their lives.

©2011 Jenn McKinlay (P)2017 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Wonderful Cozy Mystery

This story doesn’t disappoint!! I Enjoyed it from beginning to end. Made me want to listen to the next story!

Olivia is insane

Of course I loved the story. The whole crew at Fairy Tale Bakery is so much fun. I really like the addition of the new kid and Capt Jack. They both add a fun new flavor to the mix. (See what I did there?) also, the new new jukebox is perfect. Elvis makes EVERYTHING better.

What is wrong with Olivia. She really is psychotic. Someone needs to slip some Lithium in her cake mix.

Charming story with a gifted narrator!

McKinlay writes charming cozy mysteries with great storyline and character consistency and enough panache to keep the reader second guessing, “whodunnit”.
Susan Boyce is one the finest audiobook narrators in the field. I will often choose a book simply because she is the narrator.
This is a fun series without too much unnecessary, glurgy romance. The female protagonists are written as intelligent, talented, and delightfully average. The reader feels as though she can relate to the thoughts and motivations.
The end of this particular story tied up nicely without a deus ex machina conclusion so common in cozy murder mysteries.
I am hopeful the rest of the series is as captivating.

Better than the last two?

It was way better than the last two. Hopefully the next one will be better.

predictable

the review says optional yet it forces a reader to leave a comment. right

I love listening to it on the way to work , Yea!

I drive a long ways and it really fills the time and makes the commute really nice.

Fun Cooking Competition I Want to Join!

Where does Death by the Dozen rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is one of my mid favorites. Not as good as Joanne Fluke's, but still lots of fun. It is a nice, cute, lighthearted read.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I think the plot did keep me on the edge of my seat. Did I know who the killer was? I had my thoughts, but I could see how someone could be fooled up until the end.

What about Susan Boyce’s performance did you like?

I loved the energy she brought to the characters. She makes them fun, and you want to keep hearing about them.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not have an extreme reaction other than just happiness. I loved the storyline of the cooking competition and it made me enjoy it even more.

Any additional comments?

Yes! I have an additional comment... Finally! There was an explanation as to how they were able to keep the store open and make money while they were not there, even if at times I wondered how those people were able to do their own jobs.

Great Story!

I like this series of books a lot. I actually like the voice of the person reading it as well but, man, the way she says certain things drives me nuts. It's as though she has never heard a normal conversation because the cadence in her speech is all off. I wish I had a good example of what I mean, but she emphasizes the strangest parts of a sentence. As one small example, in this book she says the famous "As you wish" line from Princess Bride all wrong and it loses its potency in the scene the author has painted for the reader. That's a famous line! You have to get it right if you are reading for a book where the author is a move buff! Anyway... All of that aside, I really do love this series.

Entertaining

The narrator's pauses in her speech take a bit to get used to, but is not bad. Mysteries are never great when you figure it out 6 chapters before the protagonist but it was still entertaining. Wish Mel were smarter, but at least her dimness is funny.

This series needs a better sound editor.

The narrator for this series of cozy mysteries is not altogether bad. However, the pacing is odd and the ends of many words (especially at the ends of sentences) are cut off. It is noticeable to begin with but becomes increasingly so as the book goes on.

The stories are pretty good, and I enjoy that they take place in Scottsdale, Arizona. Not the traditional setting.