Sugar Plum Poisoned

September 1, 2023
When an up-and-coming singer comes to Scottsdale, Arizona, with her controlling manager, murder tags along. Fairy Tale Cupcakes, which Melanie DeLaura owns along with Angie and Tate Harper, is set to provide a luscious assortment of treats for the VIP events surrounding Shelby Vaughn's Christmas show. Angie met Shelby when she was opening for the Sewers, a band whose drummer was Angie's then-boyfriend, Roach, and she loves her. Melanie, who's married to Angie's brother, is protective of her best friend but is slowly won over to Shelby's side. Not only does Shelby's manager, Doc Howard, try to run every aspect of her life, but he seems to be holding back her career by insisting that she sing only Christmas songs instead of the wildly popular numbers she wrote herself. Shelby's only true friend seems to be Cheryl, her stylist. She has an enemy in Doc's wife, singer Miranda Carter, whom he dumped as a client to manage Shelby. Also, the daughter of her former manager, Diana, who died in a fire, has accused Shelby of killing her. Asked by her mother to host Christmas dinner, Mel never imagines it will morph into an extravaganza that expands to include more and more guests, including Shelby and Cheryl. When Doc is found dead clutching a cupcake, Mel and her entire circle of friends and family, who've had plenty of previous experience solving murders, have every reason to spring into action. Multitudes of motives make it difficult to catch the killer in this sweet tale.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2023
Although swamped with holiday orders, Melanie DeLaura and Angie Harper, owners of Fairy Tale Cupcakes, agree to provide cupcakes for the VIP area for Angie's friend, singer Shelby Vaughn. When Shelby's manager, the controlling Doc Howard, is found dead with a sugar-plum cupcake in his hand, Shelby quickly becomes a suspect, and Melanie and Angie investigate to clear Shelby and protect their business, against the wishes of Melanie's uncle Stan, a Scottsdale police detective. Suspects they consider include Doc's ex-wife and a local loan shark who may also have reasons to want Howard dead. They know they are getting close to the killer when Melanie is attacked in her own backyard. Complicating matters, Melanie is panicking because she is expected to provide Christmas dinner for a rapidly expanding guest list. This baking-framed holiday cozy includes recipes, a large cast of well-delineated characters, and warm family relationships that will appeal to fans of Joanne Fluke, Darci Hannah, and Ginger Bolton.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2023

McKinlay's 15th installment of her "Cupcake Bakery Mystery" series (following Strawberried Alive) demonstrates her cozy mystery chops. The story follows bakers Mel and Angie as they solve another murder while dishing out their delicious-sounding cupcakes (recipes included, of course). Shelby Vaughn, rising country music star and friend of Angie, comes to town to do a Christmas song showcase and falls under suspicion when her overbearing manager, with whom she recently quarreled, ends up dead. Mel and Angie swing into action to clear their friend. While savvy readers may figure out the case more quickly than Angie and Mel do, the story is compelling, with smooth dialogue and fleshed-out main characters, allowing readers to be fully engaged. The supporting cast is large, and trying to figure out their connections and motivations could be distracting if this is a reader's introduction to the series. VERDICT Readers of cozy mysteries, fans of McKinlay, and anyone looking for a fun Christmas-themed novel will enjoy.--Jenny Shonk

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