I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. This is the first I've read in this series, but I never felt lost. I liked the characters and the setting. The mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death is a fantastic addition to the Baker Street Mystery series from Valerie Burns. While this is part of a cozy mystery series, this one leans a bit more into the romance side of things. Yes, there are a couple of murders, but a couple of romances are being cooked up. (Sorry for the pun, but I couldn’t help myself!)

This is one of the few cozy mystery series I recommend starting with the first one and reading them in order. If you don’t, you may not understand some of the interactions between characters. And you will also find yourself with spoilers for the earlier books. But don’t worry, this is only book three, so you aren’t too far behind!

While I knew who was behind everything, I wasn’t 100% sure about their motives. But the more you learn about them, the more you understand their motive.

Another thing I didn’t like about this book was the fact it felt like it was the end of the series. Please tell me that we are getting more about Maddy and Baby! And what about Baby and Daisy? Don’t they deserve their happy ending?

Do you enjoy reading books set in small towns? What about books that feature food, especially baked goods? Or nods to classic literary detectives? Then you should read the A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death! Or better yet, just read all of the Baker Street Mysteries! I, for one, can’t wait to return to New Bison soon.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Kensington Publishing and V.M.Burns for the E ARC of this book. This is book 3 in the A Baker Street Mystery.

Maddie is happy with the growth that has happened with Baby Cakes Bakery, she is enjoying living in New Bilson, having fun with her friends and of course Baby her English Mastiff. However, the growth of her business has attracted the attention of her social media nemesis Brandy Denton. Her arrival in town is not good and she is trying to make things as hard for Maddie as possible.
When Brandy’s body is found in the bakery Maddie is the prime suspect. Why is Maddie’s ex-fiancé in town, along with a Russian lady, also who is the man following Maddie and what does he want?
To answer all these questions Maddie needs the help of her friends and her late Aunt’s friends the Baker Streer Irregulars plus her father.
I really enjoyed this book. It was good to see the growth of Maddie and I liked the interplay between herself and her father. The plotline was well paced and believable. I enjoyed seeing Maddie’s Dad stand up for her against the policeman. I did work out who was behind the killings, it was a character I had not liked from the beginning. I am hoping that there will be more books in this series. I would recommend the whole series.

Readers, is your summer reading list looking a little ordinary? Do you need something to curl your toes and warm up your sleuth-ish heart? Well today's review is just for you. Valerie Burns has a new book coming out in her Baker Street Mysteries, and if you've been around here for a while you know how much I love this series! The next one, A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death, is not to be missed!

Maddy is enjoying her life in New Bison, with her beau and vet, Michael, and her adorable English Mastiff, Baby, and running her bakery, Baby Cakes. However, things start to go awry when an enemy from her old life arrives in town, set to cause trouble.

Story arc, progression, characters you want to root for, the need to want more, more, more. This is what Valerie Burns always delivers in her books and her newest is no exception. I'm just thrilled to be back in New Bison. I read the first two books in this series last year [on audio - if you get a chance they are a must listen!] and I couldn't wait to pick up the next in the series.

What I love about modern cozy mysteries is they are about turning your life around. Re-inventing yourself. Finding your own hidden talents. Found family. This is Maddy's life now. Yes she's still the queen of social media #awesome, but she's found a new life in New Bison and she has clearly changed from the woman we first met in Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder. These changes include her found family in the "Baker Street Irregulars" that help her solve the mysteries, and I was so happy that I got to spend more time with them!

The mystery involves someone from Maddy's past, in the way of Brandy Denton, who stole Maddy's fiancee, and it is with Brandy arriving in New Bison that we see how far Maddy has come. As Maddy faces the demons of the past she finds a well of inner strength, and I was cheering her along every step of the way.

"Hey! We need to get this party started before Barney Fife arrests Maddy."

A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death is my favourite read of the summer. It delivers a well plotted mystery with humor and endearing characters. If you are looking for a smart, wonderfully delightful sleuth then you can't go wrong with this book. I really hope this series will be around for a long time because it is fast becoming my favourite series!

Maddy Montgomery's nemesis is in town, Brandy Denton. Brandy stole her fiance and is constantly insulting her on social media. Maddy hates her and is constantly threatening to kill her. When Brandy is found dead in her bakery. Maddy is the prime suspect. Maddy and her crew decide to investigate.

This was such a good mystery. I had no idea whodunnit. The writing catches you right away. I really enjoy this series and can't wait to read more and see what happens next.

I love this series. I mean dogs, baked goods, murder? What’s not to love?

And the small town charm with the quirky side characters. Perfect,

1. I did not love the insecurity of Maddy in this one. I get where it was coming from and why. It just for me seemed off.

2. But I loved Michael stepping up! Also. Weird his ex is the new vet? Eh. Yeah.

Anyway. Loved it. And the recipes in the back?! Can’t wait to try them out 😍

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

A great addition to a terrific series. Another entertaining visit to the Lake Michigan area. This one can be read as a standalone, but it will be much more enjoyable if the other two are read first. Interesting characters and a couple of enormous dogs. One may end up with a craving for Blondies. I hope the series will be continuing. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Thank you to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

This is a fun series. I think of them as potato chip books. As is common with the genre, you might not necessarily think they’re good but you also don’t want to stop consuming them. A fun, quick read you can enjoy without thinking too hard about it.

As someone who has owned a mastiff and lived with the drool I have a lot of problems with the realism of bringing a mastiff everywhere, especially into a commercial kitchen. But you know what? It’s fun, so who cares.

Fans of the first two books will not be disappointed by the third part of the Baker Street series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Valerie Burns, and Kensington Publishing for providing me with an e-ARC.

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up to 4⭐️ for NetGalley and GoodReads.

When I first requested this book on NetGalley, I didn't realize it was part of a series. However, I truly believe that it can be read as a standalone.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. The overall cast of characters was funny and likable, and who doesn't love a book where a dog is portrayed as a distinct character? I loved Baby. If I'm honest, some of the characters (Maddy, April, Brandy, and more) felt a bit caricatury at times, but honestly, it just added to their quirkiness and likability.

I also really enjoyed the short chapters. It helped with the story pacing and complemented the quirky aspect of the characters well.

Was the mystery aspect of this book mind-blowing? Nope, but I still enjoyed it and found myself giggling at times.

BEWARE though, you will want to snack while reading this book! ☺️

Maddy Montgomery is a young influencer who ends up in a Michigan town after inheriting her great aunt's bakery and massive dog.

In the first series book, she showed up totally tone deaf in her hot California car and Jimmy Choos, not quite fitting the ascetic of the rustic town. But she seemed to adjust and mature and I had hopes.

She has quite a cast of helpers, starting with her father the Admiral, her hunky ex-Army veterinarian boyfriend Michael, her co-workers, and her roommate and police officer April. Additionally, the man who left her at the altar and his other two ex-girlfriends show up.

Maddy is likable but I found the plot confusing and sometimes without a supporting back story to bring new readers up to date. And, I did get weary of Maddy's coping strategies of tears, sobbing, and flirting. Readers more interested in social media might do better with this one. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have really come to love this series so much. Maddie, who started out as such a fish out of water, is so finding her place and herself. Besides the wonderful cast of characters and the very interesting mysteries, the thing I love the most about this series is the sense of humor and laughter that flows throughout. People who can laugh at themselves are good people. In this lastest story, Maddie has her hands full when the woman who broke up her wedding, literally at the alter, shows up in New Bison. Needless to say, these are not happy circumstances. To add to the drama, Maddie feels like she is being stalked by a blue-eyed man she can never catch up with. When Brandy Denton is found murdered in Baby Cakes, all heck breaks lose. As the main suspect, Maddie's life is total chaos. Is her business attorney the best person to represent her? What does this mean for Baby Cakes? What is her ex-fiance doing in town with yet another woman? How are Michael and the Admiral going to handle all of this? What follows is an interesting, long played mystery, with many misunderstandings, zany situations, and all the Baker Street Irregulars working together to figure everything out. It's such a satisfying read on so many levels! Bravo Ms Burns! Thanks to #NetGalley, #Kensingtonbooks, and the author for a chance to check in with our friends in New Bison. #ACupofFlour,APinchofDeath, #ValerieBurns, #bookideas, #retiredreader, #bookreview

Maddy is more than a little unhappy to learn that Brandy Denton, the woman who stole Maddy’s fiancé, has found her way to New Bison... and Maddy can’t figure out why the woman has come to town. A loud argument between the two has gone viral, so Maddy is at the top of the suspect list when Brandy’s body is found – in Baby Cakes Bakery. When another body turns up days later, Maddy and the Baker Street Irregulars set out to find out what’s really going on.

The more I read from this series, the more I enjoy it. Maddy has changed so much since the beginning of the first book, she’s almost unrecognizable. She has a great group of people around her for help and support when needed, and as evidenced by one part of this story, has won over most of the town of New Bison. I love that the Admiral was such a significant part of this book, and the way he didn’t try to hijack the Irregulars’ investigation but worked with them instead. However, I think Baby is still my favorite character, although I’m not sure I would want to live with a 250-pound dog :)

The murder victim, Brandy, was a real piece of work, so looking into her life resulted in adding the names of several people to the suspect list. My list kept changing as the story progressed, and one character seemed suspicious to me relatively early in the story, although I couldn’t figure out their motive. My suspicion turned out to be correct, and the motive was something I should have figured out. The confrontation scene made me angry, but it all worked out in the end.

I hope there will be more books in this series, as I can’t wait to read about more adventures with Maddy, Baby, April, Michael – yes, and even Trooper Bob – and the rest.

4.75 stars

Book 3 in the Baker Street Mysteries is as fun and silly as the first two (aside from the murder part).

This book is all about Maddy's past barging in on her current life. The woman who stole Maddy's fiancee shows up in town, and it looks like Maddy is the number one suspect when the woman is murdered. Can the crew come together to solve the crime before Maddy gets put away for a crime she didn't commit?

I love that this book keeps the lightheartedness from the previous two while also showing some regression in Maddy's progress when people from her past show up. I enjoyed the mystery and am glad the overarching plot from the first two books finally got a resolution. Overall, the ending felt a little rushed, and I'm still left with some questions. The villain monologue when it was 4 on 1? Disappointing.
Still, I hope this isn't the end of Mandy's adventures and would love to read more!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Valerie Burns for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death coming out July 23, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I love this author’s Mystery Bookshop series, so I was excited to check out this book. I haven’t read the first two books, but I was interested in the bakery aspect. I’m obsessed with cozy mysteries. I think Maddy is a strong, fun character. I love that she solves mysteries with her dog. There was definitely some crazy drama with her nemesis. I loved it though. It had the sweet, small town vibes. The ending was amazing and I’m excited to see what happens next. I definitely want to check out other books in this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy baking mysteries!

This one was a great cozy culinary mystery. It's nice to see that culinary cozies are becoming popular again. Though I didn't love it I would read more in this series.

Highly recommended. Very entertaining and I got to solve the mystery right along with Maddie and friends. This read like the end of the series. I loved these characters and now I'm craving blondies.

Maddy is up to her elbows in being a suspect in the murder of her old nemesis Brandy when yet another body is found. Valerie Burns is highly skilled at putting together a most delightful cozy filled with excellent characters and lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Love the mastiff!! Thanks #Netgalley and #Kensington for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

My favorite reads revolve around small towns and closely knit friend groups, so I was delighted to read A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death, by VM Burns. Maddy Montgomery is doing well with the bakery and she has found her groove with small town life. All seems perfect when her nemesis breezes into town and life starts to go sideways. When a body shows up in the bakery freezer the mystery takes off with a bang. Readers of the series will also see progress in the thread that started in book one.

The Lake Michigan setting descriptions are so beautiful, and have the added allure of past history. Maddy and her Aunt's friends are people with heart, caring and supporting each other---the type of people you'd like in real friends. V M Burns has a gift of mixing humor in her stories that lighten the serious and leaves me with feel-good vibes.

Thank you #NetGalley and #KensingtonPublishing | #KensingtonCozies #VMBurns for sending me an e-ARC in consideration of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I review books I enjoy for friends and followers.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

I loved this whole series, absolutely devoured it in days! Not sure what I’m going to do now that they’re over, so sad. Will definitely check out more from this author!

I just KNEW it was going to be that dick-bag lawyer and I was right! Valrie Burns hits it out of the park again with this latest installment! I love the relationships in this book and watching Maddy grow into her own woman. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

#ACupofFlourAPinchofDeath
#NetGalley