A Baker’s Dozen of Delight
The ending of book twelve in the Cupcake Bakery series sent one of the series regulars off to a new adventure. I had a feeling we hadn’t seen the last of the character, and For Batter or Worse proved me right since they were front and center for the action.
Yes, so far, I’ve been vague on purpose. However, this is your final warning that I will be spoiling the events of the previous book as I move forward with this review. If you aren’t up to date, stop now and know that fans of the series will be delighted with book thirteen. If you are up to date or don’t care about series spoilers for previous books, keep reading for more details.
Mel Cooper is finally marrying Joe DeLaura. Their wedding is just a couple of weeks away, and they are having their reception at the resort where their friend Oz is now working as a head pastry chef. And Oz is baking the cake for their reception – more accurately, cupcakes, of course.
Mel and Angie, Mel’s best friend and soon to be sister-in-law, head out to the resort one day to go over wedding details, and pop in on Oz only to find Oz having a very public fight with the head chef. When Mel is back out there with Joe a couple of days later, they find Oz kneeling over the dead body of the head chef. Mel has too many things to do before the wedding, but with the finger of suspicion point to Oz as the killer, she adds one more thing to the list. Besides, being at the resort to plan the wedding gives her a great in to gather information. Can she find the truth before she walks down the aisle?
Not only does Oz drive the plot, but he gets plenty of time in the spotlight as well. There’s some good character development for him. Naturally, the rest of the crew is all present and accounted for. They don’t all get tons of page time, but they are present enough to make fans of the series smile.
This isn’t the first wedding we’ve had in the series, and in the earlier wedding book, I’ll admit I did feel the wedding planning was taking over at times. Not that I minded as a fan of the series. That wasn’t the case here at all. The mystery was always front and center. The suspects were strong enough to confuse me, and I only began to suspect what was happening right before Mel figured it all out.
That’s not to say that the wedding gets short changed. The final chapter is one that fans will absolutely love.
And fans will continue to enjoy all the hallmarks of the series. I laughed quite a few times, and there are some fun movie quotes sprinkled throughout the book. Plus, there are four cupcake recipes at the end. Someday, I need to try some of them.
There is a reason this is book number thirteen in the series. For Batter or Worse has all the hallmarks that make fans devour these books. If you enjoy light, fun mysteries and have yet to pick up this series, do so today.
Craving more? Here are the rest of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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