"Muddled Matrimonial Murder" By Kim Davis: Review/Giveaway

Review by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to end to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Cupcakes, Puzzles, & Felonies!

Emory Martinez left behind a “9 to 5” career to pursue her culinary passion creating unique cupcake flavors as part of her twin sister Carrie Berger’s party planning and catering business. She also cook and provides companionship for octogenarian Tillie Skyler, which led her to met Tillie’s grandson, Brian, which led to a romance, which led to the shocking discovery she has a half-sister, Vannie Crawford, who oddly enough is her boyfriend’s half sister. It does make perfect sense. Her best buddy since high school, Brad Ruller, has always been great support when trouble pops up from ex-husbands to quirky family issues, and her two rescue dogs, Piper and Missy, are the best of roommates. Life may be sweet, but there’s also the bitter, as she’s been plagued with discovering or being implicated in a few suspicious deaths. She may find “amateur detective” a good ice breaker at a party, but it’s also dangerous.

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Image Source ‎ Cinnamon & Sugar Press

Muddled Matrimonial Murder Earns 5/5 “Galloping Gremlins” … Engaging Gem!

Em along with family and friends have gathered to celebrate the upcoming nuptials between her good friend Brad Ruller and homicide detective Gabe O’Neill. But, despite all the promises that nothing would delay his attendance, Gabe’s a no show, citing work. There are also issues with Gabe’s best man and former college roommate who has been instigating alone time with his friend. Despite Gabe saying there’s nothing to worry about, Brad has some serious pangs of jealousy.

The next morning, Em is feeling the effects of the pitchers of margaritas, a mechanical bull mishap, and only having had four hours of sleep, and Brad wasn’t feeling any better since Gabe had been out all night “tied up with a case.” Nonetheless, with two weeks left, there’s a wedding to finalize, so Emory and Brad are off to Gabe’s grandparents’ home, the site of the wedding. There they’re greeted with an unlocked door, disarmed alarm, and a dead body on the floor. Another incident proving Em just may be a “murder magnet,” but Brad is more visibly shaken. He recognizes the victim as the woman who had made his life a living nightmare, but why is she here? He hadn’t seen her for nearly two years. It becomes more problematic with both grooms having a legitimate motive and alibis hard to verify. Of course, this raises the question whether or not there’ll even be wedding, but more importantly, will either or both of the grooms be heading to jail?

“I do” Love this! Kim Davis has brought the twists and turns to this sixth book in her Cupcake Catering Mystery series creating a complex mystery with wedding angst, one groom MIA, one groom jealous, a stalker (worse for wear), an attempted bribe, an ambush, and a murder … that’s just the beginning! I was fooled as to who would be the victim; there’s a third wheel in the mix that seemed a perfect karmic choice, but the twist, in the form of a stalker, was an engaging element relying on some techno-magic (code for hacking) to track the stalker’s last known moments which provided curious clues and unknown figures. But, no one is safe from karma! The final reveal was a satisfying surprise, but an arrest was delayed by a few extra perilous moments. However, just desserts were served with an engaging punctuation … Got ya!

I greatly enjoy Kim Davis’ writing style. She doesn’t go overboard with descriptions of every little item; she mentions food and has scenes around food, but doesn’t overload the narrative; and the dialogue is witty, informative, and illustrates well multi-generational personalities. Emory is a delight, nosy, for sure, a must, but she goes about her search with realistic methods, clever planning, a mini break in, and a girl’s night, and she doesn’t go off alone, well mostly, enlisting family and friends in her plans and cooperating with the lead detective. The murder investigations isn’t the only dramatic issue to keep readers like me engaged: an awkward Skyler family reunion, wedding and Thanksgiving preparations, cupcake orders, and a … wedding?

WOW! Cranberry Enthusiasts’ Dream!

Enjoy Kim’s all day menu suggestions for a perfect Thanksgiving gatherings and easy-to-follow recipes for the cranberry enthusiast: Overnight Cranberry French Toast Casserole, Cranberry-Lemon Muffins, Cranberry Mojitos, Baked Brie with Roasted Cranberries, Cranberry-Pumpkin Rolls, Cranberry Stuffed Turkey Breast Roulade, Sweet Potatoes with Brown Better and Parmesan Cheese, Vegetarian Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash, Cranberry Cake with Lemon Glaze, Cranberry Orange Cupcakes with Cranberry Cream Cheese Buttercream, Cranberry Mojitos Cupcakes, and White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies.

Cupcake Catering Mystery

Sprinkles of Suspicion (2020) KRL Review HERE

Cake Popped Off (2020) KRL Review HERE

Framed and Frosted (2021) KRL Review HERE

Frosted Yuletide Murder (2021) KRL Review HERE

Buttercream Betrayal (2022) KRL Review HERE

Muddled Matrimonial Murder (2023)

PODCAST Sprinkles of Suspicion This episode on MysteryRat’s Maze podcast features the first chapter of book one, Sprinkles of Suspicion, in Kim Davis’ Cupcake Catering Mystery series. It is read by local actor Karina Balfour.

Be a Big Kim Davis Fan!

For me, Kim Davis, aka K.A. Davis, is a favorite book reviewer and blogger at Cinnamon, Sugar and a Little Bit of Murder, but she has taken some of her creativity and became a writer. In 2017, she wrote the suspense thriller A Game of Deceit (reviewed HERE) to rave reviews, in 2020, she introduced the now very popular cozy Cupcake Catering Mystery series, and she’s working to continue her Aromatherapy Apothecary Mystery first introduced with Essential of Murder (Reviewed HERE).

Facebook Like Kim Davis, Author

On the Web: Kim Davis, Author

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Enter to win a copy of Muddled Matrimonial Murder by Kim Davis (winner's choice-print US only, ebook worldwide) by making a comment below about: (1) your favorite cupcake flavor, (2) a wedding anecdote, or (3) are you a homemade fan or a pick up at the bakery? or simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "muddled,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen July 1, 2023. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode goes went up this week.

You can use this link to purchase the book or click here. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.