Valerie Burns Books In Order

Publication Order of Baker Street Mystery Books

Publication Order of V.M. Burns Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Bailey the Bloodhound Mystery Books

Publication Order of Mystery Bookshop Books

Publication Order of Dog Club Mystery Books

Publication Order of RJ Franklin Mystery Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Valerie Burns
Valerie Burns is a mystery author whose short stories and novels have been finalists for the Anthony, Agatha, Edgar, and Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Valerie is a member of Sisters of Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, and the Crime Writers’ Association.

She’s an adjunct professor in the Writing Popular Fiction Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. She was born and grew up in northwestern Indiana.

She also writes under the pen names of V. M. Burns and Kallie E. Benjamin. As Kallie E. Benjamin she writes the “Bloodhound Mystery” series and as VM Burns she writes the “Dog Club Mystery”, “Mystery Bookshop Mystery”, “RJ Franklin Mystery”, and “Baker Street Mystery” series.

“Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder” is the first novel in the “Baker Street Mystery” series and was released in 2022. Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their livestream wedding, and it is a disaster that no amount of filtering is able to fix. However one surprise inheritance offers her a shot to regroup and rebrand, just so long as she’s willing to live in her late, great-aunt Octavia’s house in New Bison, Michigan for one year, running her bakery and caring for Baby, this 250 pound English Mastiff.

Maddy does not bake, and her Louboutins are not made for walking gigantic dogs around Lake Michigan, however the scenery is beautiful and the locals are quite friendly. With help from her aunt’s loyal friends, aka the Baker Street Irregulars, Maddy feels like she’s ready to tackle any challenge that comes her way, which includes Octavia’s own award winning cake recipes. That is, up until New Bison’s mayor gets stabbed fatally, and Maddy’s fingerprints are found on the knife.

There is something odd going on in New Bison. Seems that Aunt Octavia had her suspicions, as well. However Maddy’s going to need so much more than just a trending hashtag in order to save her reputation, as well as her life.

“Murder is a Piece of Cake” is the second novel in the “Baker Street Mystery” series and was released in 2023. New Bison’s Spring Festival is coming soon, and the pressure is on for Maddy to keep her late great-aunt Octavia’s legacy alive. This means scoring the top prize and transforming Baby Cakes into the must visit bakery of Southwest Michigan, even though her own inexperience in the kitchen brings her nightmares of scathing reviews and humiliating tagged pictures.

There is another reason for her lost beauty sleep. There’s a second bakery opening up in town under the ownership of CJ Davenport, this shrewd investor that has a reputation for sabotaging those that get in his way. And flashy and savvy Maddy is at the top of his list. It is a sticky spot for her to be in, more so once Davenport winds up dead with a Baby Cakes knife having been stuck in his back.

Maddy’s entire life went from thriving to hardly surviving. Now, being supported by those crafty Baker Street Irregulars and her new boyfriend, she has to find enough courage to face a murderer that could very well get her name trending for the first and final time.

“A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death” is the third novel in the “Baker Street Mystery” series and was released in 2024. Maddy’s turned the bakery she inherited into a destination. But there is just one thing that she will not post about. The body that is in her freezer.

Thanks to Maddy’s social media savvy, Baby Cakes Bakery has become a major success, so much so that she has attracted the attention of her old nemesis, the fiance stealing Brandy Denton. Brandy blows right into New Bison like some ill wind and disrupts this vlog that Maddy is trying to film, their argument goes viral. After Brandy’s corpse is discovered in the Baby Cakes freezer, Maddy quickly goes from viral sensation right to a murder suspect.

While Maddy is still reeling from this murder, this stranger arrives in the bakery claiming that he was a friend of Octavia’s. He believes that Maddy’s in danger. When this second body washes up on the shore, it seems obvious that somebody is out to kill in order to keep a secret, and it could have something to do with Octavia somehow.

Maddy rallies Sheriff April Johnson, her aunt’s friends (the Baker Street Irregulars), and Michael, as well as Baby, in order to do a bit of digging and try and figure out who it is that is behind these killings.

“Icing on the Murder” is the fourth novel in the “Baker Street Mystery” series and was released in 2025. Maddy Montgomery (an influencer turned bakery owner) has sold plenty of wedding cakes in the past, however before she turns out one for her and her fiance’s own wedding, she will need to solve this little case of murder.

Aunt Octavia would be so very proud. Maddy has turned Baby Cakes Bakery, which is named for Baby, her 250 pound English Mastiff, into a runaway success, and she is marrying a veterinarian named Michael Portman, who is the love of her life. It’s a dream wedding. Plus the timing just could not get any better: the country’s largest bridal expo has arrived in New Bison, Michigan, and Maddy’s secured this spot for Baby Cakes to showcase some of their cakes. She has also entered into this contest for an all-expenses paid wedding extravaganza that is being offered by Serafina, a world renowned wedding planner.

But unfortunately, Serafina (who’s actually supremely nasty) truly takes the cake, making the worst bridezilla seem a lot like a shy flower girl by comparison. However there is one thing that the wedding planner never planned on: getting impaled by one of the skewers that Baby Cakes uses on their tiered wedding cakes.

As Maid of Honor Sheriff April Johnson rounds suspects up at the expo, Maddy and all of her aunt’s friends, the Baker Street Irregulars, and Baby too join up to unveil this killer that’s hiding in plain sight, all before wedding bells can start chiming.