Synopsis
“Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura’s Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery is gearing up for Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately someone has iced Baxter Malloy on his first date with Mel’s mother. Now Mom’s a suspect, and Mel and Angie need to find time around frosting to dig into the man’s shady past and discover who served him his just desserts.”
-Synopsis from StoryGraph
Review
Buttercream Bump Off is book two in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series by Jenn McKinlay. It’s been a few months since I read the first book in this series, but there was enough of a recap at the beginning of this book for me to familiarize myself with where the character’s storylines left off.
Mel and Joe DeLaura are now dating, though their relationship isn’t moving along quite as fast as Mel had hoped. Joe is very busy with an important case at the DA’s office and their “dates” mostly end up with both of them falling asleep early on the couch. Angie is still nursing her crush on their best friend, Tate. She has pretty much resigned herself to never being able to be with him since Tate has sworn off dating ever since his fiancé was murdered.
Mel’s mother, Joyce, surprises her by announcing that she has a date and promptly asks Mel to help her pick out a new outfit. As the synopsis mentions, the man she is going out with dies on their date and since Joyce is the only one who was there, she becomes a sort-of suspect even though it’s clear to everyone that she didn’t do it.
Just like with the first book, this story was told in such a witty way that I was laughing out loud many times. The characters all really come alive on the page. I wish that Mel, Angie, and Tate were real people!
I also wanted to mention that her descriptions of Scottsdale, not just the places but the people, are so spot on, it is uncanny. I suppose that someone who has lived here for decades would be able to accurately describe what it’s like to live here, but I still find it amazing that she has been able to do it so perfectly!
I listened to this book on audio through Libby, both at work and while commuting. Several times while driving, I would pass different locations around downtown Scottsdale and Phoenix that were mentioned in the book which was fun.
Overall I really enjoyed this and will be prioritizing the third book now that I’m really getting into the series.
Hannah's Library 