Rabid Reader's Reviews

Publication Date: November 8, 2010 | Audio Release Date: November 12, 2013

In Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys: An Annie Graceland Mystery by Pamela DuMond, Annie’s move to Los Angeles from Wisconsin with her up-and-coming actor husband seems perfectly timed. Her life is falling into place as her business succeeds. If only she didn’t feel the emotions of others. Who needs to know about someone’s foot fetish or struggles with weight loss and insecurity? Annie’s perfect life shatters when she discovers that her husband has been cheating and when the paramour dies, Annie is the prime suspect. To add to the problem of her telepathy, Annie now has a super annoying ghost hanging out with her. Can Annie solve the murder and save her sanity?

There are many things that bothered about Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys. I received the audio version of this book and struggled to stay awake listening to it. Now, right off of the bat, this is not a sign of quality. Billions of people worldwide are obsessed with the television show “Seinfeld” but to me, turning it on is akin to taking a prescription grade sleeping pill. The main character, Annie, is a baker and recipes are tacked onto the end of each chapter. If you love a cozy with a definite identity that highlights the obvious interests of its author.

Annie Graceland is a fairly typical cozy character. She kind of falls into her mystery and as she’s the main suspect in a very personal case (the death of her husband’s lover). Annie receives photographic proof of her husband’s infidelity while on the table in her doctor’s office. Not just any doctor, of course, the Gynocologist! Wacky, right? To add to the fun, her husband isn’t just cheating on her, he’s cheating on her with a man. The real twist is when her husband’s thong-clad lover, Derrick Fuller, shows up to haunt and annoy (emphasis on the latter). He’s visible only to her as a result of her empathetic ability, which is not consistent. Annie may be in a unique situation but her methods in finding the killer aren’t original by any stretch of the imagination. She’s a police botherer that plunges in without really thinking about what might happen when she inevitably loses control of the scene. She very openly talks to Derrick and, as no one else can see him, looks completely crazy. Her comments are seldom guarded which may not be good for self-preservation but can be sometimes entertaining for the reader.

In actuality, I probably would have liked Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys if I hadn’t been constantly trying to find the point at which I fell asleep. I’m sure, as a read, it’s light and fast. The narrator, Celia Aurora De Blais, has one of those standard-issue, Midwestern voices and her read was very professional. To the point of reading the novel, there were sentence structures that probably made better sense in written form while this listener was given pause along with a “what was that?” moment.

So is Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys a worthwhile read? If you’re looking for light, sometimes funny and characters that can’t be called one-dimensional, DuMond’s novel could be your ultimate read. It is certainly within the parameters of its genre and ticks all of the usual boxes with an added light paranormal element by way of Annie’s abilities and Derrick’s ghost. The story is complete and while not tightly written, there are few story lines not tied when it finishes.

If light and funny is what you like to read, give this one a shot but pass on the audiobook and go for the paper version. Be sure to check out our review of Part-Time Princess: Ladies-in-Waiting Book by Pamela DuMond.

Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys: An Annie Graceland Mystery by Pamela DuMond on Audible.

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