Death Takes the Cake by Melinda Wells

Published: 2009
Pages: 304
Genre: Mystery
Series: Della Cooks Mystery book 2

Della, the host of a new cooking show called "In the Kitchen With Della", decides to enter a cake creating competition to help boost her ratings. She struggles to come up with the best-tasting cake she's ever made, but that soon proves to be the least of her worries! Regina Davis, the coordinator of the competition, is suddenly murdered one night in the studio. When Della's best friend's husband is the prime suspect, she digs up the past to try and solve the mystery.

This is the second book in this series by Melinda Wells. I read and reviewed the first one, Killer Mousse. It was a fun and addictive read, so I was excited to continue with the second installment!

Seriously, throw me a book with a bit of mystery tied in and I'm almost guaranteed to love it. So needless to say, Death Takes the Cake was one of those books! It was cute, cozy, and (ironically enough, considering it was about murder) seemed to lift my spirits each time I picked it up to read. I definitely saw an improvement in character development and description over her first book, so I guess Wells just needed experience. Just like Killer Mousse, I found the plot to be unique in comparison to all the other murder mystery books I've read in the past. It was about food! It was about a cooking TV show! It was about cake! Who wouldn't like that?

Of course, there were some aspects of the book that weren't so great. Melinda Wells definitely isn't an author who will stick in my mind for her sheer artistry and eloquence, but her style isn't terrible. It is a mystery, after all - the writing isn't the most important thing to focus on. Another thing that bothered me was the ending. It felt like the author didn't give many hints throughout the story, so she could have made anyone the killer and I would have been equally surprised in the end.

Final say: Looking to be entertained? If you're someone who enjoys a good mystery once in a while, I'd recommend this book to you. It's not one of my favourites in the genre, but it was cute! Death Takes the Cake is a light read that will help you relax and unwind at the end of the day.