| Title | : | Killer Cupcakes (Lexy Baker, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 146 |
| Publication | : | First published October 31, 2012 |
B00A0NOF7G
Things are going great for Lexy Baker. She's finally opened her dream bakery, gotten rid of her cheating boyfriend and settled into her grandmothers house with her perky dog Sprinkles at her side.
But her blissful life doesn't last long. When her ex boyfriend is found poisoned with cupcakes from her bakery, Lexy finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation headed up by her hunky neighbor detective Jack Perillo.
With the help of a gang of iPad toting, would-be detective grandmothers, Lexy decides to take it upon herself to find the real murderer in order to clear her name and get her bakery back in business.
As things heat up on the murder trail, in the kitchen and between Lexy and the hunky detective, it's a race against time to put the real murderer behind bars and get back to baking.
Will Lexy get her man?
Killer Cupcakes (Lexy Baker, #1) Reviews
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Two-Point-Five (2.5) stars to
Leighann Dobbs's
Killer Cupcakes. I was browsing free books on iBooks on my iPad looking for an electronic cozy this afternoon when I stumbled upon a name that kept popping up... Killer Cupcakes. Well, given that I like
Diane Mott Davidson and
Joanne Fluke, I gave it a try. 58 minutes later, the book was finished. I'm still unsure of what just happened in the last hour.
Story
Lexy took an opportunity to change her life, leave her cheating boyfriend and open her dream bakery showcasing cupcake tops (don't ask where the bottoms go!). She meets a hunky new detective who lives next door to the house she takes over from Nans, her grandmother, when she moves into a retirement home. They flirt. Suddenly Lexy's ex-boyfriend Kevin is found poisoned after eating her cupcakes! The detective has to whisk (oops, I mean frisk!) her to see if she's gone rogue. Along with Sprinkles (her dog) and a few friends (Cassie -- her assistant and best friend), and the grandmother's roommates, they quickly solve the murder on their own. Then Lexy can date the detective.
Strengths
1. Cute premise
2. Quick read
Weaknesses
1. Was so very simple, basic and eventless
2. Writing comes across like it's for new or young adult readers
Final Thoughts
I read up on Ms. Dobbs... she was a former software engineer who quit her job to write. And now she has about 15 books published. So... I must either be missing something or she gets a lot better after her first book. While the mystery wasn't very exciting or ground-breaking, it meets all the traditional cozy requirements... thus I'm left suspecting the books and the author found their groove as the series continues.
It was just too quick... Of the 169 pages, 30 were recipes and a preview of the next book. In the remaining 139, the pages were only filled up 50% of the time. Essentially, the page count is barely 100... and so the first 30 pages introduce the background, the middle 40 pages theorize on suspects and the final 30 pages detail the confrontation, capture and summary.
Let's call it a short story intro to a new series and I can get behind reading another one! But that will be when I need a break from something intense and I have an hour of free-time. -
4 cozy stars! For this perfect cozy mystery!❇️
This is exactly what I want from my cozy mysteries ....fun characters, fluffy mystery, and yummy food! I mean those cupcake tops sound genius! Just the top of the cupcake and all that yummy frosting! (And I have a question why is there not a cupcake emoji?)....
Lexi is the owner of the new bakery in town.... so when her ex-boyfriend gets killed by some poisoned cupcake tops purchased from her bakery she is the number one suspect... fortunately for Lexi her new next-door neighbor just happens to be the hot sheriff in town.... so along with the help of him and her grandma’s posse they solve the crime of who killed her ex!
This was a good start to the series, short and sweet.... I really enjoyed the characters and I am looking forward to getting to know Lexi, her friend Cassie, her next-door neighbor sheriff Jack, and of course Grandma a little bit better! Absolutely love the setting of the bakery added to the cozy factor, and I definitely love the fact that her dog is named Sprinkles!
Sometimes I just need a little break from all those psychological thrillers,angsty romances, and family dramas, and escape into a fun cozy mystery! And this series will move towards the top of my list of ones to go to! -
This is quite funny but the way of writing feels childish to me.
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I picked this up because it was free and I rather enjoy fun 'light mysteries' as bedtime reading. This wasn't even up to the relatively low standard of the genre.
The characters were rather unrealistic and made ridiculously stupid decisions (the main character goes shoe shopping mere pages between complaints of going bankrupt while her business is closed, for example!), and the 'mystery' was anything but. Within 10 words of the introduction of the killer, it was supremely obvious that the person in question indeed killed the victim. Even the so-called "twist" with the love interest that kept the main character away was patently obvious.
On top of the flaws in the plot, the proofreading was horrendous. Misplaced commas and apostrophes (no, not apostrophe's! UGH!), poor word usage, awkward sentences... even if it had been well-written, the atrocious copy editing would have sent me screaming for the hills.
All in all, *not* what I had in mind for a relaxing read! -
When Lexy Baker’s ex-boyfriend was murdered using cupcakes from her bakery, Lexy was horrified. But more so when she was number one suspect with the local police. When they closed down her bakery to complete the forensics checks, then removed her baking ingredients for examination, Lexy knew she had to find the killer or her business would go under.
Lexy’s grandmother and her elderly friends decided to help Lexy – and Detective Jack Perillo warned them to stay out of trouble. But would Lexy take any notice of the detective?
Killer Cupcakes is the first in the Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery series by Leighann Dobbs and I was disappointed in the book. I’ve read others by this author that I’ve enjoyed, but this one wasn’t up to those standards. It desperately needs editing, was cliched, poorly written and quite silly in places. I will read others, but not in this series. -
Like everyone else who made the mistake of reading this, I got it free from amazon. Ugh Lexy is the most vapid heroine I've read in years. And I read Twilight.
One of the most vile sentences the author forced was "she ran her perfectly manicured nail across the book..." WHAT? She's a baker who's being framed murder, she's apparently so distraught over her bakery being shut down by the VERY unprofessional cops (what kind of officer makes out with a suspect??) that she goes off to solve a murder BUT she keeps a perfect manicure? I break a nail making pancakes. No.
And she suspects the secretary of theft bc she's wearing nice heels yet she, a small business owner mind you, has a closet full of Manolos? No.
I haven't seen an author more in love with her protagonist since Charlaine Harris. -
The only way I made it through this book is by pretending that it was satire. Poorly written and thought out, typos all over the place, zero knowledge of police procedure. The characters were all one-note, if that. Sprinkles the dog, with her cat-like tendencies, was the most interesting of the bunch.
The author also does not seem to have done her research. Lexy brings the coded notebook to an amateur cartographer. It might just be me, but I'd think a cryptographer would be more useful than a mapmaker. Also, a truffle bowl is not a thing. A trifle bowl however is.
And trust me, you would not wear designer stilettos to bake unless you are independently wealthy. Because, even if your feet aren't a mangled mess at the end of the day, your shoes WILL get ruined. A small business owner really couldn't afford that. -
Not so interesting fact - The word 'Lexy' is mentioned 475 times in this novella. 146 pages of eye rolling, brain cell wasting writing. Lexy gets herself in the middle of an investigation, knows she is being followed and decides to go get some new shoes. Shoes, cupcakes, and the name Lexy. Repeatedly. I really don't know why I read books like this. I like the concept, but they are literally all the same. If anyone has a good bakery mystery book let me know please
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Hilariously bad. I almost want to give it a higher rating because I couldn't stop laughing the whole way through. I can't believe a grown adult wrote this. The whole thing comes across as a story invented by a little girl playing with dolls at her grandmother's house. The protagonist is living a Barbie-doll life - she does adult things, but in the way a child might understand them, like a child pretending to be an adult. Even the way she dresses (jeans, a pink t-shirt and pink platform stilettos) and what she eats is childish; throughout the book she's always eating cakes and biscuits and pastries and the one exception is when she goes out for burgers - and gets sauce all over her face.
On top of that, the writing is incredibly unsophisticated - everything is explained, characters say what they're feeling, nothing is just implied or demonstrated through dialogue and action, and this extends even to the actual mystery. The author doesn't seem to trust her audience to be able to figure out or understand anything not directly spelled out for them. It's like the book was written for its own characters, because they actually are that dim - not to mention one-dimensional and, again, childish.
Though I'm certainly not recommending this book, if you want to see how bad it is you can
get it free from Amazon, so at least it won't cost you anything. -
I got this book for free as a bit of light reading. It wasn't at all what I expected. I don't know why, but I had in mind that it would be along the lines of Sophie Kinsella novels - a little silly, but fun.
This book was actually ALL silly and NO fun. Everything about the book was ludicrous - the characters, the plot, the writing, the pacing, the motive... And the fact that the killer was a "psychopath" or whatever was SUCH a cop out. There was no character development, and the protagonist was the silliest person imaginable. For example she complains about being broke, but then goes shopping for expensive shoes... after she's already bitched about another girl having expensive shoes on a secretary salary.
And the piece of evidence that eventually led to her (not the police of course) catching the killer? A button? Serious? How did he manage to lose a button rummaging around her house? And why would he wear a coat with a button missing to a broadcasted official event? Especially when he knows that he would be a suspect and Lexy would've notified the police that she had been attacked and her house ransacked.
This novel failed on every level I'm afraid. -
Ok for a cozy mystery. The lead character makes a couple of stupid decisions, of course, but hey, they seem to be mandatory in cozy mysteries.
I did have a laugh when the author described Lexy as being 5"1, and how she had to balance on the counter to reach the far side of the display counter. This brought back a lot of memories..
I'm 5"1, and worked in a couple of butcher shops and bakeries during my student years. It's tough to reach the front of those display counters if you're not that tall. It's one thing the author got right ;) -
2.5*
This novella is was a very quick read. It is an OK cozy (though I thought it was fairly obvious who the culprit was) and the writing is decent. The main reason I didn't give it 3* is because of Lexy's incredibly foolish
I think that I would have enjoyed this book more earlier in my life but currently I am "off" cozies of this particular style, in which the main character's personal and love/sex life are the focus rather than the mystery. -
This book literally took me like 30 minutes to read. Thank goodness it was super fast, because it was ridiculous. First of all her last name is Baker and it's just so adorable that she owns a bakery and it's her dream and it's awesome and she has a cute little dog with a cute little name, Sprinkles. Not only that but she loves designer shoes and wears stilettos to work every day. How does this even make sense? First of all she's a small business owner so it's not like she has a ton of extra cash. Second of all you're really gonna stand on your feet and stilettos baking all day? No way. So ridiculous. Don't bother.
Also, some definite grammar issues. Thank goodness this was free. I didn't have high expectations, because this is not the type of book I usually read, but I am way behind on my Goodreads challenge and I legitimately might not reach my goal of 250 books this year. So I'm reading nonsense like this to try to help get caught up. Again, thank goodness it was free. -
I really couldn't like the protagonist, Lexy. Her life is too perfect. In her early twenties she owns a bakery, wears high heels while working in her bakery, shows up about 1/2 hour before opening (not sure when baking gets done) and by far the worst is able to eat all her day old product without gaining an ounce. She is worried about her bakery being closed because her ex was killed with poisoned cupcakes from her business and worried about money and then goes and buys multiple pairs of shoes. The book was a freebie and I had already picked up the sequel as well, so I will probably give it a go at some point. There were also grammar issues here and there.
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A light and fluffy mystery - with cakes and a pet dog called sparkles - what more can I ask for. Is the first in a series and will certainly chase up the next one. Lexy bakes cakes for her bakery and the murder victim is her ex-boyfriend – murdered by eating some poisoned cupcakes made by Lexy. Throw in a hunky detective and some elder retirement sleuths’ and you have the perfect mixture for a sweet mystery..
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Sweets
I really enjoyed this book. It was just the right length to keep you interested . I love mysteries and this was a terrific example -
Lexy opens a bakery named The Cup and cake and finally living her dream. She has a fantastic house that her grandma gifted her when she moved to retirement home because all her friends were lived there. Sprinkles is her adorable dog. Everything was going as planned but one day it all changed. When her hot neighbour/ Detective John informs her that her ex boyfriend Kevin was murdered and someone used her famous cupcake tops that were poisoned to kill him. Her bakery gets searched and shuts down for further detailed investigations. She turns to seek advice from the one person who always has a solution ready, her grandma. When she arrives at the retirement house,she finds out that her grandma and her clique were clue finders in various criminal investigations which was a surprise to Lexy. And with the combined efforts of these ladies she finds the real motive behind the murder and the culprit behind all the nasty business.
Killer Cupcakes was surprisingly good read. A short but enthralling book. I really enjoyed reading about all the characters and romance that was weaved in. -
This appalling book neatly illustrates how not to do writing. It has practically ever fault there is, starting with the amateur writer's hat trick - adjectives hanging off every substantive like goldmark jewellery on a bogan, 'lay' used intransitively, and endless pointless descriptions of the minute details of trivia such as people eating their food, taking showers and so on. Miss Dobbs appears to have no idea of the purpose and function of the apostrophe, and as far as the story itself goes it is ill-conceived, unrealistic and unbelievable.
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Cute and quick
A very fast read, cute characters, easy to follow mystery. I liked the elderly lady detectives- unique twist there. Enjoyable -
2020. aastal esimene raamat, mille jätan pooleli.
Sain loetud 59% ja lihtsalt ei talu enam seda jaburust. Oleks see siis paroodia, aga ei. See on autori ettekujutus "hubasest krimkast".
1. Peategelane Lexy on pagar ja väikeäri omanik, kelle kapp on täis kuulsate disainerite kingi ning tööl kannab naine iga päev tikkkontsi.
2. Loo alguses läheb ta hommikul tööle, imestab, et sõbranna/töökaaslane on nii varakult kohal, tõmbab lapiga leti ja klaaskapi üle, paneb värskelt küpsetatud toodangu välja ja avab uksed. Kas pole veider? Kes kurat need küpsetised valmis tegi? Ja milline pagar põõnab hommikuni? Tavaliselt lähevad nad siis tööle, kui enamus inimesi alles teist külge pöörab.
3. Sel hommikul on esimeseks kliendiks peategelase naaber Jack, kes on ametilt politseinik. Too teatab naisele, et tolle ekspeigmees Kevin on tapetud - mürgitatud naise firmamärgina tuntud küpsetistega. Äri suletakse, et politsei saaks kõiki toiduaineid testida. Kuna neid on aga liiga palju, siis toiduained konfiskeeritakse ning Lexy peab kõik uuesti tellima. Kas politsei tõesti käitub nii? Et proovi võtmise asemel vinnavadki aga 20+ kg suhkru- ja jahukotid autosse, et neid laboris testida?
4. Lexy üks mõte on, et keegi ta konkurentidest on otsustanud temast lahti saada lavastades ta Kevini surmas süüdi. Paar peatükki hiljem poetab Lexy vanaema, et Lexy pagariäri on linnas ainuke.
5. Lexyst on saanud peamine kahtlusalune ja ta läheb vanaemalt, kes elab vanadekodus, nõu küsima, mida edasi teha. Tuleb välja, et vanaema ja ta sõbrad on supernuhid, kes paralleelselt kohaliku politseiga mõrvalugusid uurivad, jälgides uudiseid ja otsides internetist infot. Kusjuures vanurid on juba mitu lugu politseinikest kiiremini lahendanud. Lexy murest kuuldes kougivad penskarid oma igivanadest käekottidest välja tuttuued IPadid ja kukuvad googeldama. Kui aga Lexy mõni aeg hiljem raamatulehekülgedest pilte teeb, siis selle asemel, et need vanaprouadele saata, läheb ta kohale, et kohalik krüptoloog saaks üle ta väikese telefoniekraani pomiseda ja oletusi teha.
6. Mõrvaohver maetakse paar päeva pärast mõrva maha. Jääb vaid öelda, et kiired on need va ameeriklased.
7. Ärasaatmisel kohtab Lexy kuuma naabermaja politseinikuga, kes ta alguses õhtusöögile viib ja siis teda veel parkimisplatsil natuke kabistab ja ka kuumalt suudleb. Tuletan meelde, et Lexy on ikka veel peamine kahtlusalune ja too ponks naabermaja poiss on uurimise eest vastutav politseinik.
8. Lexy otsustab lõpuks oma postkasti kontrollida ja leiab sealt paki, mille Kevin on talle saatnud. Politseisse teatamise asemel, kasutab naine oma "perfektselt maniküüritud" sõrme ja avab paki. Pärast paki sisu põhjalikku näperdamist otsustab ta siiski naabermajas ära käia ja Jackile pakk üle anda. Naine pressib ennast läbi taras oleva augu, kuid näeb siis Jacki majas naisterahvast, teeb järelduse et mees petab teda ja läheb vihaselt koju tagasi. Järgmisel päeval peidab ta paki sisu ära, räägib sellst töökaaslasele ja penskaritest nuhkidele, kuid politseid pole ikka veel informeerinud.
9. Kuna viimased päevad on olnud nii stressirohked, otsustab Lexy, kes muretseb pidevalt, kui palju ta äri suletuna hoides (politsei määrus) raha kaotab, et on aeg oma kingakollektsioonile lisa hankida ja põrutab šoppama. Poes, kus kingade hinnad ulatuvad kuni 1000 dollarini imestab naine, kuidas aselinnapea assistent (Kevini sõbranna, keda Lexy nägi ärasaatmisel) suudab oma plaga juures lubada endale nii kalleid kingi. Kusjuures mina imestasin, kuidas väikeäri omanik, kes sai äri avamiseks vanematelt laenu, suutis endale lubada tervet kapitäit disainerite tikkkontsi.
Pärast sadade kingapaaride proovimist veab naine oma saagi koju ja ...
... siin sai minu jaks ja kannatus otsa.
Ma ei suuda ära imestada, et selles sarjas on 14 raamatut ilmunud ning sel aastal tuleb veel lisa. Samuti peaks autor vabandama kõigi politseinike ja pagarite ees, et ta neid nii ebaprofessionaalses valguses kujutas. -
Fun and quick mystery
I'm getting more used to the shorter mysteries which don't have tons of details about the characters and their lives but sometimes it's nice to just read a mystery and see it solved in an hour, give or take. I got a kick out of Nans's detective group and how they solved crimes using their iPads, just a fun addition. And I didn't guess the killer either. -
Quick enjoyable cosy mystery.
Lexi’s ex-boyfriend was poisoned using Lexi’s cupcakes. Naturally, she ends up as the number one suspect. The police close her bakery for forensic tests. So with the help of her dog – Sprinkles, her friend – Cassie, and a few of her grandmother’s friends, Lexi decides to solve the mystery.
An enjoyable cosy mystery with perfect elements of romance. -
Quick read
I enjoyed this first book in the series. It was a quick, fun read. I look forward to the rest of the series. -
This was basically an adorable neighbourly romance that happened to involve a murder.
A fun read. -
Short, sweet....light, fluffy mystery. Just what I was looking for.
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This was a great start to the series! I really liked the characters and Lexi’s cupcake tops sound really good. The mystery was good. I really liked the characters and am looking forward to more adventures with them. Just wish these were longer than novellas.
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So, to be fair, I'm not published (yet), but as an MFA student, I'm really hoping this is Leighann Dobb's first book. There were so many amateur mistakes and issues that almost every basic writing book tells you not to make that I was completely distracted. That's why I could only give this one star. And from some of the other reviews, I read after I finished the book, I can see I'm not alone.
Dobbs states, at the end of the novel, that this book went through many edits, but clearly, they were only for proofreading and not by professionals. I found grammar issues, formatting issues, and just plain lazy writing. And while I get that errors can be missed, am I the first person to catch the phrase 'face eyebrows' in Chapter Two? Clearly a shift from one draft to the next.
And the number exclamation points drove me mad!
So, what else bothered me? Where do I begin?
Lexy wears stilettos to work in food service. This little detail about Lexy doesn't really ever come back as important in the novel (yeah, she admires and shops for shoes, but it's not integral to the story) and no self-respecting food service worker would wear this kind of shoe. Additionally, she's a baker "with perfectly manicured nails". Living with a food service professional, I find that a little hard to believe.
The novel opens with Lexy picking up her dog's poop in her neighbor's backyard, but then the little girl (the dog, Sprinkles, not Lexy) doesn't get let out again until Chapter 11. I found this detail annoying since I also have dogs and feeding and walking them is an integral part of our lives. Furthermore, towards the end, Lexy is going in through her back door and the dog is barking, but when she gets attacked and the house is ransacked, Jack, the hunky backyard neighbor, and police detective, doesn't hear anything amiss - and only comes to her rescue when he sees her prone body. Something's not right about that.
Lexy is way too frenetic, in my opinion, she's jumping, diving, bouncing, hopping and running throughout the novel. Maybe it's all the carbs and sugar she's ingesting from her bakery.
Dobbs tells too often, rather than shows; she states the obvious, over explains and repeats information she's already told the reader.
Her dialogue isn't natural; filled with stilted/formal wording and just poor syntax. An example is Jason, the Deputy Mayor, who is supposed to be educated speaking the following words: "...she was pretty broke up about it..." I believe the present perfect of "break" would be "broken." Don't read this novel aloud. You'll be appalled.
Moreover, she uses too many adverbs to describe her dialogue and in place of dialogue tags, she provides beats, which gets old quickly. Mixing this up a bit would alleviate the constant use of the word "said", but I fear we'd only get more adverbs.
She overuses characters full names, Lexy Baker, Jack Perillo, and references relationships when identifying characters. This seems unnatural, awkward and patronizing.
She provides too many play-by-play sequences, that is, detailed descriptions that read like stage direction.
She uses cliches more than once, which seemed careless. (Lexy gets up "at the crack of dawn" more than once.)
And that's just the mechanical issues.
When I look at the story itself, the mystery is fine - no particular issues, but there are details that just ripped me out of the story:
- Lexy leaves the police at her bakery, unattended, while they execute a search warrant. That doesn't seem like a good idea.
- If Lexy's is the only bakery in town, then where did the cookies and the croissant come from? And speaking of croissant. One should never shove a croissant in one's mouth and then speak.
- Lexy sighs, blows and groans, which is fine, but we're told she does this through her lips. It seems redundant. From where else would she be doing these things? I have a few thoughts, but they'd be rude to identify here.
- Lexy has a smartphone with which she takes pictures. Okay, but then she closes it. Last time I checked, smartphones don't close. Everyone else in the novel closes their phones, too, but this was published in 2012. Smartphones have been around since 2006. I can understand is all the little old ladies at the home have flip phones, but really, everyone else, like Lexy and the police, should have smartphones.
I have a few other thoughts, I've spent too much time with this novel already, today. I'm sorry if this comes across as nitpicky, but if I were to submit this to my classmates for critique I'd be torn apart and the pieces would be handed back to me in a bag. These are only the things *I* found. I can't imagine what others would find.
Not sure I'll read anything else by this author. First impressions and all.
