Cupcakes and Casualties by Agatha Frost
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
The residents of Peridale don’t like change, so when the famous actress, Candy Bennett, rolls into the village to demolish a historic cottage, things don’t go as smoothly as she would have hoped. With the ‘Peridale Preservation Society’ protesting her plans to build a modern home on the land, things quickly turn sour. Days into the project, Candy’s lead builder, Shane, is murdered and the task to solve the mystery once again falls into Julia’s lap.
Did one of the protestors kill the builder to make a statement, or was he murdered by someone from within his own team? With the preservation society, the actress, the architect, and the builders all keeping secrets, Julia soon has her hand’s full gathering evidence, but it’s a familiar-looking new arrival in the village that commands her attention.
Julia’s life is torn apart when she learns of the stranger’s true identity, but will she be able to focus on the challenging case before another body turns up? The only certainty is that Julia’s life will never be the same again.
We are already 11 books in the series and without being exaggerating the books are getting better and better.
This time we have a celebrity visiting Peridale which causes a hazy buzz in the small village.
The crime case was well delivered and I loved how the characters were fleshed out. They had depth and you could relate to their different relationships. It had a nice twist when it came to the discoveries and for a while you had a different suspect.
I especially loved that – again – we had a new layer added to the daily life of Julia, Barker & Jess.
It was so charming to get new information but to see how they are with each other. Barker and Julia are super cozy together but also Jess and her boyfriend Billy are a nice sight. :3
I’m always in awe how a book which isn’t that long can captivate you totally and I am engrossed when I start the first lines. :3 Agatha Frost always adds interesting and controverse topics in her books, making them realitic.
With Julia as the baker who is investigating and Barker who is the (skilled) inspector but is more relying on her and her stills – in fact accepts he can’t stop her – it’s funny and sometimes hilarious how the dynamics are shifted between the two but how well they complete each other. 😀
I really can’t wait to read the next books, I bet book 12 won’t be the last. 😉
Mikku-chan 