About

Baking Bad is the first book in the Beaufort Scales Mystery series written by Kim M. Watt. Can be read as a standalone too.

Baking Bad book cover

Blurb

A tranquil village.

A poisoned cupcake.

A murdered vicar.

A simple case - or it should be. But all clues point to the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute, and Detective Inspector Adams is about to discover there’s much more to the W.I. than bake sales and jam making.

This investigation is about to take on dragonish proportions.

Best put the kettle on.

A funny cozy mystery (with dragons), for anyone that likes their mysteries gentle and well-stocked with cake, tea, and friendship. And dragons, obviously.

Review

Overall, I enjoyed this mystery fantasy aided by 🐉 dragons. Said dragons are pet sized and I loved the snippets of their history and current relationship with some of the humans.

The pacing picked up in the second half, but I didn't mind the slower start as the main characters were all interesting in their own ways.

I wasn't expecting big twists and turns given the blurb. I'd say it was interesting enough and worked well in this setting.

The book is marketed as "funny cozy mystery" and that'd probably be the experience for most readers. However, I was very uncomfortable with the sheer number of slapstick accidents. I'd have enjoyed the book even better without them, though some of them did get a laugh out of me.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From Daydreamer's review on goodreads:

The story is lovely and entertaining. Some scenes are truly chaotic, others more predictable. The ending doesn’t come in such a big twist, but then again, I’m not here for an awful lot of suspense and thriller vibes. I wanted to read on and see what happens next, which kind of disasters would be brought upon the women by the dragons this time. And I wasn’t disappointed.

From Jacqueline Rohrbach's review on goodreads:

Overall, Baking Bad is a wonderful story of friendship and finding the courage to help those in need. Recommended for people who enjoy whimsical cozy mysteries with dragons, smart dialogue, charming scenery, and a dash of snark.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2021 bingo categories:

  • New to You Author
  • Mystery Plot
  • Self-Published
  • Genre Mashup
  • Debut Author