Mariella Mystery Investigates A Cupcake Conundrum

Mariella, Violet and Poppy are the Mystery Girls: there is no mystery too mysterious and no puzzle too puzzling for this team to take on. But even super-sleuths need time off from solving mysteries, so when Mariella and Poppy decide to use their detective skills to help fellow Mystery Girl and all round amazing baker Violet Maple get into the TV finals of the ‘Bake or Break’ competition they seem like an unstoppable team. After all, ‘detectives have to be calm and level-headed in all sorts of tricky situations’. But mystery is never far away, and when the competition is sabotaged by a cupcake criminal it’s up to the Mystery Girls to find out who is causing baking mayhem.

Mariella’s case book is a fabulous little read for aspiring sleuths. The trendy topic of a baking show is a smart move on Pankhurst’s part and the familiar format of a Great British Bake-Off style scene works well as the playground for this nifty mystery. Little bakers will enjoy the delicious details of the contestants’ creations and the mystery saboteur will keep everyone guessing until the final pages. Luckily for younger readers, Mariella is on hand to explain all the detective lingo, so words like ‘saboteur’ won’t be a problem either. Smart, cute and fun, this new series could run and run.