Review and Giveaway: Dark Chocolate Demise

Dark Chocolate Demise (Cupcake Bakery Mystery - Book 7) by Jenn McKinlay

Publication Date:  04/07/2015
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
ISBN-10: 0425258939
ISBN-13: 978-0425258934

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Prime Crime)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes

Jenn McKinlay on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: 

Cupcake Bakery Mysteries

1. Sprinkle With Murder
2. Buttercream Bump Off
3. Death by the Dozen
4. Red Velvet Revenge
5. Going, Going Ganache
6. Sugar and Iced
7. Dark Chocolate Demise

Coverart: 

Excerpt from, Dark Chocolate Demise, courtesy of the author's website. 

Synopsis:

The New York Times bestselling Cupcake Bakery Mysteries bake up sweet surprises, but as the series continues, Mel and Angie are in for a fresh batch of trouble…

Scottsdale, Arizona, may not be the liveliest place on earth, but it’s never been as dead as this. Hundreds of fans have gathered together for the first annual Old Town Zombie Walk, and Mel, Angie, and the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew are donning their best undead attire to sell some horror-themed desserts to the hungry hordes.

But the fun turns to fright when Mel finds a real dead body in a prop casket outside of the bakery’s truck—and the corpse looks alarmingly like a zombie of their own. Knowing that Joe, Angie’s brother and Mel’s former flame, has been working on a dangerous mob case, Mel worries that the murder is a hit gone wrong and that someone near and dear was the real target. To keep any of her friends from winding up six feet under, Mel will do whatever it takes to find a killer—no matter how scary things get...

Thoughts:

Jenn McKinlay fans are sure to love her latest book in the Cupcake Bakery series. Do you like zombies? Are you ready for the zombie apocalypse? In Dark Chocolate Demise, the zombies get a little out of control and one ends up really, really dead. Readers who love this series will find this mystery just as tasty as the recipes in the back of the book. McKinlay never disappoints with her well rounded characters and sinister plots. This involves everything from zombies to mobsters and then some... A great addition to the series!

Jenn McKinlay is such a versatile author. She can write about just about anything and make it good. She has several different cozy mystery series' and every one of her books is so unique and different from the last. I like the fact that she doesn't rehash old plot lines and she gives her readers a fresh and original take on everything she does, even zombies as in the case of her latest book.

I will be the first to admit that I love any kind of paranormal elements in a book. The Cupcake Bakery series isn't really known for that sort of thing and the zombies in this book aren't supposed to be considered 'real' zombies. But believe it or not I don't like zombies, not in any sort of book, so I was very skeptical about whether or not I would like this one. McKinlay uses the zombie theme and it works well here. It hasn't changed my mind on the stupidity of zombies really, but I do think the people of this small town were having fun with it, until murder spoiled the party.

The mystery elements are well thought out. I couldn't put my finger on the killer until the big reveal and that tends to be fairly rare for me. I thought each clue was well placed and Mel's form of investigation was as usual pretty spot on. The one thing I did have issue with was Mel's attitude toward this particular investigation. She had a 'you can't tell me what to do' thing going on that was a bit distracting from the case. But we all get like that from time to time, why not a good heroine as well?

Bottom Line:

For a zombie type mystery, not too bad!. Certainly not my favorite paranormal character but I liked the fact that the town was getting into to it. I liked the casket prop and the ties to the mob in this mystery. I wanted Mel to be a bit more responsible and less obnoxious, but I'm sure in the next book she will have some other sort of attitude. That's one of the good things about an ongoing series! A great addition to the series.

Dark Chocolate Demise is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Jenn is the New York Times 
bestselling author of 
several mystery series. 
She lives in sunny AZ in a 
house overrun with kids, 
pets and her husband's
guitars.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Dark Chocolate Demise by Jenn McKinlay.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, May 1st.

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