A Baker Street Mystery: Book 4
Publication Date: July 29, 2025
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.
Maddy Montgomery has earned a coveted spot in the biggest bridal expo coming to New Bison, Michigan, which could win her and her fiancé an all expense paid wedding extravaganza in Icing on the Murder, the fourth book in the Baker Sweet Mysteries series by Valerie Burns. The author provides sufficient backstory to enable the reader to understand the plot, rendering each book in the series a standalone.
Maddy Montgomery is a strong character. She’s smart, funny, and a social media influencer. Though she is not sure about the decisions she has made in her life, and second-guesses herself at times.
I liked the secondary characters that helped move the story along. The writing was solid and realistic, and the plot was fast-paced. The story was also very entertaining and kept my interest throughout. I enjoyed the relationship between Mattie and her friends and how they worked together to help solve the crimes as a team.
Icing on the Murder is engaging, humorous, and just a really good time. Join Maddy and the Baker Street Irregulars as they solve the murder of a truly horrific bridezilla.
Valerie (V. M.) Burns is a mystery writer whose novels and short stories have been finalists for the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Baker Street Mystery series, as well as the Bailey the Bloodhound Mysteries under the name Kallie E. Benjamin. Valerie is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and the Crime Writers’ Association. She is also an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in the southeastern United States with her two poodles.
