Murder Half Baked
An Ellen McKenzie Mystery by Kathleen Delaney
Review: A holiday season full of festive plans, including a wedding on New Year's Eve for real estate agent Ellen McKenzie and her fiancé, Chief of Police Dan Dunman, are interrupted by two murders and a suspicious fire that destroys a half-way house for women, in Murder Half Baked, the fourth mystery in this series by Kathleen Delaney.
Ellen's wedding preparations -- her gown, the caterers, floral arrangements, the cake -- are taking up her every waking minute when she's asked to find a new home for the former occupants of Grace House, which burned to the ground consuming all the residents' possessions. Not than husband-to-be Dan isn't busy as well: in addition to the fire investigation, an old doctor has been found lying over his wife's grave, his head bashed in by the broken arm of a fallen angel in the cemetery. Then the baker, who keeps insisting on making changes to Ellen and Dan's wedding cake, is suddenly found dead. (No, Ellen is not a suspect!) Can each of these crimes be connected?
At the center of Murder Half Baked, itself a delightful mix of humor (wedding plans going astray) and crime (murder and arson), are Ellen and Dan, two people who seem ideally suited for each other and really make this mystery so enjoyable. The Grace House women, who are all suspects in the fire that burned down their residence, are a diverse group of characters, and interesting in their own way. Despite all the diversions that are presented to Ellen and Dan (and, by extension, to the reader), the storyline is easy to follow making this overall a fast, entertaining read.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Murder Half Baked.
Acknowledgment: Camel Press provided a copy of Murder Half Baked for this review.
Review Copyright © 2011 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
And Murder for Dessert
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), July 2007
ISBN-13: 9781590584231; ISBN-10: 1590584236
Location(s) referenced in Murder Half Baked: California
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Murder Half Baked by Kathleen Delaney
Publisher: Camel Press
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-10: 1-60381-828-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-60381-828-5
Publication Date: May 2011
List Price: $17.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Old Dr. Sadler is dead in the cemetery, his head bashed in by the arm of a marble angel. Ellen McKenzie has to find the killer soon ... before another death puts a stop to her wedding. Dan Dunham, the groom, is Santa Louisa's Chief of Police. The guest list is growing and Ellen's dreams of an intimate candlelight ceremony are rapidly disappearing.
When Grace House, a halfway house for women, goes up in flames, Ellen invites them all -- including a newborn -- to move in with her and Dan. As a real estate agent, Ellen hopes to find a new building, yet every suspect is connected to Grace House. Are Ellen and Dan in danger? Will they ever solve the murders and get their lives back?