Book Review: Death in the Dice

Death in the Dice

Death in the Dice has a fun double hook, a strong friends and family theme, and a delicious mystery.

• Series: Donuts and Dragons Mystery (Book 1)

• Written by: Sarah Hualde

• Publication date: March 26, 2025

• Mystery type: Cozy mystery

Newly widowed Remi just moved home to Deadhorse to go all in on a gaming-themed donut shop with her friend Hazel Glaze. The stakes are high and only get higher when a dead man is found outside the shop with a solitary game die in his hand.

Death in the Dice is a wonderful start to a fun new series from author Sarah Haulde.

The book has a really neat double hook: donuts and games. The donut shop, called Donuts and Dragons, has rows of long tables and shelves packed with board games, dice, card games, and role-playing games.

Remi is doing the admin and marketing, and Hazel is contributing her donut-making talent. Both of them love games.

Author Sarah Haulde does a nice job of balancing coziness with mystery. There are lots of tasty food descriptions, gaming references, and recognizable pop culture references mixed in with the mystery.

There is also a prominent friends and family theme in the story Remi and Hazel have been best friends for thirty years. Remi is a caring mom who is trying her best to rise from the ashes after the death of her husband while helping her 15-year-old daughter, Maple, work through her grief. Maple is a sweet and sympathetic character with her own subplot.

The mystery is cleverly plotted and fun to solve along with the sleuths. Death in the Dice concludes with two yummy (and doable) donut recipes from an award-winning chef.

I loved Death in the Dice and look forward to reading more from this author and series.

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