I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Icing on the Murder
by Valerie Burns
Series: Baker Street Mystery #4
Series Rating:
Published by Kensington Books on July 29, 2025
Setting: New Bison, Michigan
Genres: Cozy Crafts and Hobbies Culinary Mystery
Pages: 262
Format: Audible Audiobook, Kindle, Paperback
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Also in this series: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder , Murder is a Piece of Cake, A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death
From Agatha and Edgar Award nominated author Valerie Burns, influencer-turned-bakery-owner Maddy Montgomery has sold plenty of wedding cakes before, but before she turns one out for her and her fiancé’s wedding, she’ll have to solve a little case of murder first…
Aunt Octavia would be so proud! Maddy has turned Baby Cakes Bakery—named for her 250-pound English Mastiff, Baby—into a runaway success, and she’s marrying the love of her life, veterinarian Michael Portman. #DreamWedding! Plus the timing couldn’t be better: the country’s biggest bridal expo has come to New Bison, Michigan, and Maddy has secured a spot for Baby Cakes to showcase their cakes. She’s also entered a contest for an all-expenses-paid wedding extravaganza offered by world-renowned wedding planner Serafina.
Unfortunately, supremely nasty Serafina truly takes the cake—she makes the worst bridezilla seem like a shy flower girl. But there’s one thing the wedding planner didn’t plan on—being impaled by one of the skewers Baby Cakes uses on their tiered wedding cakes.
While Maid of Honor Sheriff April Johnson rounds up suspects at the expo, Maddy and her aunt’s friends, the Baker Street Irregulars, and even Baby join forces to unveil a killer hiding in plain sight . . . before wedding bells start to chime.
Icing on the Murder by Valerie Burns has Maddy freaking out over planning for her wedding with Michael, so she decides to hire a wedding planner.
Can Maddy figure out who killed Serafina?
Maddy Montgomery
Maddy is attending the bridal expo, which is being held at the casino near New Bison. She and the rest of the Baker Street Irregulars have gotten together to solve the mystery. This one is to keep Maddy from going to jail instead of down the aisle. Maddy is a fantastic character and one that I enjoy reading about. The biggest thing I like about her is that when she knows what she wants, Maddy will go after it. Even if that means convincing Michael that solving a mystery is for the best, and who cares if some people disagree. I would love to be friends with Maddy as she has good fashion sense and always has a supply of baked goods. Except there is the small issue that she attracts dead bodies. I love how mature she got from the beginning and how she actually loves living in New Bison instead of in Los Angeles or anywhere like that.
The Mystery
Maddy and Michael were competing to win a chance to have Serafina plan their wedding for free, with all costs included. They both decided that they didn’t want Serafina to do it after seeing what Serafina is really like. Instead, Serafina got killed. The two of them, plus the Baker Street Irregulars, have only four hours to solve the mystery before the FBI comes in and takes over. I must say that I got this one, and I couldn’t help but wonder how that person could have done it despite the strong red herrings. The main reason is that the culprit just kept standing out to me, and I’m glad to see that I was right.
Five Stars
My rating for Icing on the Murder by Valerie Burns is five stars. I am in love with this series by Ms. Burns, and I definitely recommend it. It feels like I’m coming home to old friends every time I pick up one of these books.
Ms. Burns included recipes in the back of the book. The recipes are Bob’s Apple Cake, Apple Cider, Spicy Ginger Cookies, Grandma Fischer’s Apple Walnut Cake, Bourbon Apple Cider Cake, and Caramel Apples. They all sound so good. She even has notes at the back about the apples.
Baker Street Mystery Series
Giveaway
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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Icing on the Murder by Valerie Burns.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
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About Valerie Burns
Valerie (V. M.) Burns is the author of the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. Her first book, The Plot is Murder, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Debut Novel. She is the author of the Dog Club Mystery Series, the RJ Franklin Mysteries, a three-time finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and an Edgar Award-nominated short story. Her newest series, Baker Street Mysteries, will release later this year, and her Pet Detective Mystery series will release in 2023. Valerie is on the board of Sisters in Crime and the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a member of Dog Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, and International Thriller Writers. She is a manager for a Fortune 100 company and a mentor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie currently lives in the southeastern United States with her two poodles. Readers can visit her website at vmburns.com.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 Cloak and Dagger
- 2025 Craving the Cozies
- 2025 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
- 2025 Finish the Series RC
- 2025 Goodreads RC
- 2025 Medical Examiner Mystery RC
- 2025 Six Shooter RC
- 2025 Traveling the World
Sounds like a great book.