Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder and a Cup of Criticism: Book Review
While I love books that incorporate baking, mystery, Sherlock Holmes, a new town and a dog, the book Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns wasn't my cup of tea. I was surprised and disappointed. The cover may be indicative of this. Maddy is on the cover, holding her phone for a selfie and several lopsided cakes surround her. While the cakes are symbolic of her inability to cook or bake, she is often on social media, posting pictures of food, her new dog and her new business. However, someone wasn't paying attention to her wardrobe; aprons are supposed to protect the wearer's shirt and, for some reason, it was drawn with very long drawstrings. If this was indicative of Maddy not knowing how an apron works since she's never in the kitchen, it's overkill. Maddy is intelligent and would know how to put an apron on.
I like the play on the series' title: "Baker Street" because it's a baking series and the characters talk about Sherlock Holmes while trying to solve their own mystery.
Summary
After being jilted by her fiancé, Maddy travels to New Bison, Michigan, because she learns her great-aunt Octavia left her an inheritance. Within a matter of days, she gains a large house, an English Mastiff and a bakery while three different men offer her propositions: Bradley wants her to sell her house so he can be her real estate agent, Jackson wants to buy her dog and the mayor wants to buy her bakery. After rejecting all three, her bakery is set ablaze one night and the mayor is found dead within it. As Maddy's new world is turned upside down, she also gains a group of friends Miss Octavia named her "Baker Street Irregulars," and it's up to them to solve the case.
-- Spoilers --
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Characters
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What I Liked
A Black Women's Perspective
I appreciated that the author had Maddy question the deputies when the first murder happens. She brings up real-world issues: "I've heard horror stories about bad things happening to minorities [...] And there were several articles [...] about killers who pretended to be policemen and then kidnapping women and selling them as sex slaves," (p. 62).
In addition to seeing things from Maddy's POV, I think the author wanted a narrative on race and the patriarchy. Very early on, we find out that three white men were harassing Maddy's great-aunt, a popular, strong and intelligent black businesswoman in the community. All three men also comment on Miss Octavia's sanity when she doesn't do what they want:
- Jackson Abernathy wants to buy Baby because he's a breeder of English Mastiffs.
- Paul Rivers wants to buy the bakery to expand his hardware store
- Bradley Ellison wants Miss Octavia and Maddy to sell the house so he can be the real estate agent.
Maddy's character develops from a traditional mindset of wanting to be a passive trophy wife to an independent woman. When Maddy is on her first date with Bradley, she realizes how alike he is to her ex-fiancé and he even goes as far as to order for her. Thankfully, Maddy is at the point where she no longer wants people making decisions for herself and she tells the waiter what she actually wants. And in French. We see her flaunting her skills, but doing so to show people that she is a capable woman.
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Michael Jackson?
I think maybe the author is a Michael Jackson fan since Maddy's slot machine at the casino plays a scene of Michael Jackson dancing when she wins a large amount of money. Then, I realized that two characters are named after him: Michael Portman and Jackson Abernathy. Interesting.
What I Didn't Like
There are a mix of writing style and story elements that just didn't do it for me.
Romantic Interest
The romantic interest, Michael, is made obvious as the romantic interest because he was in the army and she grew up on naval bases, so they have similar backgrounds as well as a bit of a rivalry. Their first conversation is a mix of politeness and jabs. I just find their meeting was unremarkable, and I don't get any chemistry between them as the story progresses. Michael irritated me since he calls her "squid" at various times as a way to annoy her. Then, one scene had me very much not liking him. Maddy is startled by Michael's presence and hits her head against a door frame. While he offers to look at the injury, Maddy refuses his help since he's a vet and not a human doctor. His response is, "I'm still able to take care of a little bump. Now, suck it up, sailor," (p. 133). After a comment like that, get lost! I don't want your help at that point. And this book is oversaturated in portraying controlling and misogynistic men (Maddy's father, April's father, Bradley, Paul, etc.). Sure, Michael is someone you want in a dangerous situation since he saves Maddy when they find Garrett's body and someone opens fire on them. But I just don't think he was written as a good love interest.
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Okay, We Get it
The author made a funny decision and repeatedly tried to be meta in one chapter where the characters say things like, "real people" this and "real people" that, "That might work in those detective novels [...] but that isn't going to work in real life," (p. 158).
Another element the author used more than once is the spit take/choking on a drink. The first time, Leroy is drinking something and does a spit take/chokes in response to April saying she wants a cigarette after having a slice of Miss Octavia's Chocolate Soul Cake, (p. 160). Okay, that is appropriate and funny, especially since he's interested in April. However, it's used a little later where Leroy (again) does the same reaction to Hannah thinking Uber is the name of one of Michael's friends (p. 202). It's not as funny and has become stale material.
Chapter Breakdown
The author decided to break up one scene/conversation into several chapters that last about two pages. It was very strange and unnecessary. I don't know why no one caught this and made them two chapters instead of about six.
Chapters 21-24 is a single conversation between Maddy and April about April moving and suggesting Maddy goes to the phone company to bribe a certain someone with cake to get the information, they both review details of the case and April thinks it's best not to tell Tyler, Michael or Leroy about their next steps in the case and Maddy argues then relents, Maddy voices her concerns about being the "brains" of the investigation and April boosts Maddy's self-confidence with a pep talk, then we learn Jackson is now mayor pro tempore. This conversation flowed well from chapter to chapter, so I find it should have been one chapter.
Chapters 27 and 28 is another instance where the conversation between two characters (and in this case, tension) is cut short, thereby disrupting the tension. Bradley and Maddy are in the car and we finally learn that he killed Garrett, shot Michael and plans on killing Maddy now to get her out of the way. There is no reason to divide this scene between chapter.
Missing Information
When the deputies call on Maddy about the fire and finding the mayor's body in her bakery, the author makes the deputies too suspicious. While they show their badges, neither of them states their name and Maddy never asks. If they were on the up and up (which they are), they would have said they were Officers So-and-So. It was a strange choice on the author's part, I find.
We're left with a cliffhanger of the third person involved in the group with Paul and Bradley. We don't know who killed Miss Octavia, but the characters in the book think it was Bradley just because he was a "killer and a liar" (pgs. 244, 258). I was so confused by the writing that I wasn't sure if there were only two culprits or three. There isn't even a mention of Maddy thinking the killer was still out there. Bradley would have definitely claimed that murder as his own if he had done it. So, I'm sure the third person is going to come back in Book 2.
There are only three recipes at the back of the book, none of which include croissants or Miss Octavia's Chocolate Soul Cake. Both of these had prominent spots in the story, so it is rather strange to not have recipes for either of them.
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Conclusion
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