Cozy Mystery Review: Sugar Plum Poisoned | Jenn McKinlay | Cupcake Bakery Mystery #15

It’s time to continue with the Christmas cozy mysteries! I know some readers only like to read holiday cozy mysteries in the right season, but I’m someone who enjoys them at any time. There is something festive, though, about reading them in December! I’ve read a few of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay over the years, but certainly haven’t read them all or even in order. I was easily able to jump right into the fifteenth book, Sugar Plum Poisoned, in which the bakers at Fairy Tale Cupcakes are on task to supply cupcakes for a popular singer and her concert crew. So festive and fun!

If you are new to the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, they center around two friends and business partners—Melanie “Mel” DeLaura and Angie Harper—who own a cupcake bakery named Fairy Tale Cupcakes. This series can really be read in any order because they are generally good about not spoiling the culprit from prior books (though occasionally you may learn if someone was cleared). In Sugar Plum Poisoned, Christmastime is busier than ever for the two bakers. Things are made even more hectic which an old friend of Angie’s named Shelby Vaughn arrives in Scottsdale for a two-week holiday concert.

Shelby is a successful, well-known singer, but she’ll never forget her humble beginnings and the friends and loved ones who supported her journey. While she’s in town for her two week concert run, she contracts Fairy Tale Cupcakes to provide an array of delicious cupcakes for the VIP guest lounge. Things are off to a tense start right from the beginning, when it becomes clear that Shelby’s manager Doc Howard is controlling and may even be taking advantage of Shelby.

Mel and Angie are concerned that Doc may be stalling Shelby’s career when he insists she sing only Christmas songs instead of including some of her new album (full of original songs). Doc’s wife, Miranda, also seems to have a grudge against Shelby since he stopped representing Miranda to take on Shelby as a client. Shelby is in an even worse spot when the daughter of her former manager, Diana, accuses Shelby of murdering her mother.

When Doc is found dead holding one of Mel and Angie’s cupcakes in his hand, the duo spring into action to help get to the bottom of what’s going on before Christmas (and Shelby’s career) is ruined!

There were plenty of characters who had motive to murder Doc, and Shelby tops the list. But there was also the possibility that Doc wasn’t the intended victim, which made the case more complicated. Motives ranged from jealousy to hatred to revenge, but the challenge was figuring out which person had the motive, means, and opportunity to commit the murder.

The characters in this series are always fun, and I always enjoy their relationships. In addition, the new cast of characters and suspect list added a lot of intrigue, even the ones I didn’t like. For a holiday-themed cozy, this had the right amount of Christmas spirit, without making it so Christmas-y that it would be hard to enjoy at other times of the year.

I liked that the murder didn’t occur until about halfway through the book, because it allowed us to learn about all of the characters and motives in advance. Once Doc is found dead, Mel is able to jump right into sleuthing—a skill honed over a series of murders she happens to come across in her day to day life (it wouldn’t be a cozy mystery series without this!).

I felt like it was easy to identify the killer fairly early, though I was never completely sure about it. The ending is fast but it works because there is so much build up earlier in the book. Scottsdale isn’t the traditional snow-y landscape we expect from Christmas cozies, but it still had plenty of holly jolly Christmas joy to go around. Mel and Angie always delight me when I jump into this series, and this was no exception.

A fun holiday-themed cozy mystery that will have you craving cupcakes and holiday cheer!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Book | Sugar Plum Poisoned

It’s Christmastime, and this holiday season, things are heating up for the bakers at Fairy Tale Cupcakes, in the newest Cupcake Bakery Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.

When up-and-coming singing sensation Shelby Vaughn arrives in town for two weeks of concert dates, she hires her old friend Angie and the rest of the bakery crew to supply cupcakes for the VIP guest lounge every night.

After overhearing Shelby in a heated argument with her manager, Mel is concerned, but she and the crew decide to make the best of their time working with the star. Just as the bakers fall into the rhythm of the job, Shelby’s manager is found dead, clutching a bit of fabric from a Santa suit and a cupcake. With the bakery crew and Shelby’s backup dancers all dressed in similar Santa costumes, it’s impossible to say who is the killer. When all suspicions lead back to Shelby, Mel and Angie stand up for their friend, determined to prove her innocence before she’s frosted for a crime she didn’t commit. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

About the Author | Jenn McKinlay

Jenn McKinlay is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of several mystery and romance series. She is also the winner of the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for romantic comedy and the Fresh Fiction award for best cozy mystery. Her work has been translated into multiple languages in countries all over the world. A TEDx speaker, she is always happy to talk books, writing, reading, and the creative process to anyone who cares to listen. She lives in sunny Arizona in a house that is overrun with books, pets, and her husband’s guitars.

Jenn went to Southern Conn State University, where she studied English Literature and Library Science. She has worked full time as a librarian in Connecticut, before moving across the country to Arizona. Her writing career began by writing romance books, and later found her love for writing mysteries. She now has several best-selling mystery series, and has also gone back to her romantic comedy roots.