My name is Hannah Portman, but everyone calls me Miss Hannah. I’ve worked at Baby Cakes Bakery in New Bison, Michigan almost as long as the current owner, Madison Montgomery, has been alive, and long before she inherited it from my best friend, her great aunt Octavia. Some folks think I’m senile. But just because I’ve had a few memory lapses, doesn’t mean my elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor. Lots of people can’t remember why they went into various rooms. And, I’m not the only person who has gotten distracted and misplaced my keys. The remote control. Or two dozen sweet potato tarts. After all, we spent hours cleaning the egg-splosion after Maddy, my soon-to-be-granddaughter-in-law, got distracted and left eggs boiling in the kitchen until the water evaporated. There were eggs everywhere, but nobody accused Maddy of having dementia. I have had a lot of memory lapses lately. There’s time I can’t account for. Still, there are some things that I can’t forget no matter how much time has passed or how hard I try. My cousin Dorothy’s betrayal is one of them.
At one time, Dorothy and I were close. More like sisters than cousins. I never dreamed she would steal Lincoln Wilson, the love of my life. But that’s exactly what she did. I swore I’d never talk to her or Lincoln again. I’ve kept that promise for over forty years. But when I heard Dorothy’s shrewish voice raging over the phone about hotel accommodations for my grandson, Michael and Maddy’s wedding, I saw red. Dorothy Evageline Wilson may still be on the family tree, but she was persona non grata at any events that included me. I threatened to skip the wedding, but that would have devastated both Maddy and Michael. So, I sucked it up and muscled through the family meet and greet. When Dorothy was found the next morning, murdered at Baby Cakes Bakery with my rolling pin covered in her blood, my memory went blank. I may have wanted her dead, but surely I would have remembered if I’d killed her, right? Fortunately, most people don’t believe me capable of murder, but the new detective handling the case wants a quick arrest. And I’m the most likely suspect. Maddy and Michael’s happy ending, and my freedom depends on Maddy and the Baker Street Irregulars figuring out Whodunit.
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MURDER AT FIRST SLICE
Series: A Baker Street Mystery, Book 5
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: July 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
Social media queen-turned-small-town baker Maddy Montgomery, her feisty friends, and her faithful English mastiff know you have to break a few eggs to solve a murder. . .
As Maddy’s wedding day approaches, friends and family descend on the little town of New Bison, Michigan, to celebrate—so much so that Maddy wonders if there might be another happily-ever-after in store for her widowed father and innkeeper Mrs. Law. Unfortunately, she also has to deal with an unhappy couple: feuding cousins Hannah and Dorothy, who haven’t spoken in decades. Maddy can only hope the spectacular wedding cake crafted by her head baker doesn’t wind up as ammunition in a food fight.
But she doesn’t have to wait long for a wedding disaster to strike. When the imperious Dorothy crashes the rehearsal dinner—with several uninvited guests in tow—and starts battering everyone with constant complaints, the drama reaches reality-show levels. And the next day, Dorothy is dead . . . with Hannah standing over the body, bloody rolling pin in hand.
Nobody in town believes Miss Hannah could commit murder. But a detective newly relocated from New York doesn’t know the sweet, memory-challenged Hannah the way the locals do—and the evidence seems open-and-shut as an oven. Now, with her sous-sleuths the Baker Street Irregulars, the bride-to-be is busy digging into Dorothy’s past to catch a killer before she cuts the cake . . .
About the author
Valerie (V.M.) Burns is an Agatha, Anthony, and Edgar Award-finalist. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, Baker Street Mystery series. Valerie is a member of Sisters in Crim, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Crime Writers of Color. She is also an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. Born and raised in northwestern Indiana, Valerie now lives in North Georgia. Readers can keep up with new releases by following her on social media. Connect with Valerie at www.vmburns.com, on Facebook, Instagram, and on Bookbub.