Death Takes the Cake
Melinda Wells
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
Death Takes the Cake is the second book in the Della Cross Mystery
Series. Melinda Wells has created this set of mystery books starring
Della Cross, the middle aged star of a cable network cooking show.
The series had strong debut with Killer Mousse and this one continues
to prove her experience as an author.
After losing her policeman husband to a sudden heart attack Della is
learning to make a life without him. She has the company of her large
dog Tuffy and Eileen, the daughter of close friends who has grown up
living with Della. She also thought she was on her way to settling into
a new romance but then she discovers her man, Nick, with his arm around
another woman. Her best friend is also having man trouble when her
husband starts to lie and come home late. These difficulties are
compounded when Regina, an unwelcome acquaintance from the past,
reenters her life.
Regina and Della did not get along at all in college so Della is
appalled to realize that she is the owner of Reggi-Mixx, the inferior
cake mix company. Della had already reluctantly agreed to participate
in a cake competition that is to be aired as a TV reality style show.
Reggi-Mixx is the show sponsor so Della must find a way to use their
poor excuse for a cake mix to produce a prize winning entry. The
$10,000 first prize would be a much needed addition to her limited bank
account. But, when she finds Regina dead with her head in a bowl of
cake mix and the murder seems close to home, she must help to try to
solve it.
This book has multi mysteries- who murdered Regina? Is Nick the man for
Della or a cheater? Is her friend's husband an adulterer and/or a
murderer? And can Della create a winning cake? All these plot lines
come together and are solvedin a thoroughly
satisfactory manner. While the outcomes are predictable that does
not make it any less fun for the reader. Wells' varied background and
experience with the visual media enables her to deftly plot the story
and keep it moving. Also the characters feel honest and real which is
important to a cozy. They are well developed as three dimensional
people, not lifeless forms on paper. This adds to the fun of reading
this book, the reader does care what happens to Della and her friends.
Now we can look forward to the next adventurers of Della in The Proof
is in the Pudding in February of 2010. She also writes the
Daytime Mystery series as Linda Palmer.