A hot detective and a deadly cupcake make for a fun cozy mystery

I didn’t plan it that way, but my most recent light reading selections have featured cupcakes or similar yummy treats. This week I read “Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker” by D.E. Haggerty. It is book one in her “Death by Cupcake” series.

Dr. Callie Muller lost her parents when she was 17. Callie’s Aunt Gretchen stepped up by letting Callie live above her bakery while she attended a nearby college. Callie threw herself into her studies and ended up with a doctorate in German literature. Hoping for a full professorship, Callie divides her time between teaching and running the bakery, Callie’s Cupcakes, left to her by Gretchen. She couldn’t do it without the help of her diminutive best friend, Anna.

Anna creates the cupcakes, Cassie keeps the books and together they have a successful business. For about two years, Cassie endured an unhappy relationship with a man who constantly ridiculed her about her weight. Anna is eager to push her to celebrate her curvy figure and start living again.

Our story opens when Police Detective Ben arrives. At the bakery he is known as Detective Hottie and with good reason; he’s over six feet tall with lots of muscle, dreamy brown eyes and a gentle touch. For almost a year he has been asking Cassie for a date, but she steadfastly refuses. How could a man that hot ever be attracted to a size 14 German literature nerd? No matter how she tries to discourage him, Ben insists she is beautiful and sexy enough for him.

In an attempt to make Cassie feel sexy, Anna enrolls them in a pole dancing class. The tall, perfectly built instructor, Dolly, takes an instant dislike to Cassie and makes class miserable. At the next class, Dolly berates Callie and announces that Callie’s Cupcakes are disgusting. Callie can handle insults but not ones to her beloved business, so she visits the manager. Dolly’s behavior would have gotten her fired, but her classes are always full.

The next morning, Anna arrives with the news that Dolly is dead. In minutes, two detectives show up to arrest Callie for Dolly’s murder. She was poisoned by one of Callie’s Cupcakes. Callie is stunned that they’d even consider her guilty, but they refuse to look for any other suspects.

Anna and Callie decide to investigate on their own, and they must hurry as the university has said Cassie will lose her job if the case isn’t solved before the semester begins. Ben’s a cop and he knows the dangers, but he must agree that the police are doing nothing.

Anna and Cassie learn that Dolly was a prostitute and one of her customers was a doctor. Soon afterward, a cupcake is delivered to the bakery with a sweet note from Ben. Who would send a cupcake to a bakery? They must assume it is poisoned, too. The real killer is out there, and Cassie is in real danger.

Ben announces that he’ll be staying with Callie until the killer is caught. That decision turns out to be a life-saver when Callie decides to slip downstairs to the bakery for breakfast goodies. Just as she’s about to open the door, a car races down the alley toward her. Callie is able to escape when the car crashes into a building. In minutes they learn that the woman is the doctor’s wife. She was in love with Dolly, but killed her when she found out that Dolly was just using her.

Somehow, she blamed Cassie for her troubles and decided to frame her. Now Callie can return to what she loves, teaching German literature and running a popular bakery. Having a super-hot boyfriend is OK, too.

It is fun to take a break from the real world and hide in a book. Your public library has every genre you could want. Now’s a good time to check it out.

AT A GLANCE

BOOK: “Never Trust a Skinny Cupcake Baker”

AUTHOR: D.E. Haggerty

PUBLISHER: Amazon.com Services LLC

PUBLISHED: April, 11, 2016

PAGES: 164

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