chez_jae

Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I can't recall if it was Wednesday or Thursday (doesn't matter) when I finished reading Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay. This is the second book in the "Cupcake Bakery" mystery series. Story is told in third person pov via the main character, Melanie "Mel" Cooper. Mel and her friend Angie own and operate Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery, and their friend Tate is a financial backer.

Mel and Angie are busy getting ready for Valentine's Day when Mel's mother, Joyce, informs her daughter that she has a date with wealthy Baxter Malloy. The date ends in disaster when Joyce finds Baxter floating in his hot tub. Once the police determine it was homicide, Joyce becomes their prime suspect. Suddenly, Mel finds herself embroiled in trying to clear her mother's name, but she'll stop at nothing to protect Joyce. As if she didn't already have enough on her plate, Angie begins dating Baxter's son, who is also a suspect in the man's murder. It's not going to be a sweet Valentine's Day if Mel doesn't get to the bottom of things.

The story was enjoyable, and it made me long to try some of those cupcakes. Characters were believable, even if some of their antics weren't. There were different things that annoyed me:

- It seemed the bakery was closed more than it was open for business, as Mel was always closing up shop to go haring off on one scheme or another.
- Why is everyone hassling Mel about her sex life? It's none of their business. I know the author meant it to be funny, but I found it crass and unamusing.
- Mel has been in love with her boyfriend, Joe, since the age of 12; therefore, I was a bit taken aback that handsome Detective Martinez set her to tingling. Why was this part of the plot?
- Angie's brothers needed to be lined up and bitch slapped for their ham-handed attempts to interfere in Angie's love life.

Favorite line: "I'm not really the fairy godmother type. I'm more the surly dragon who flames people."

I did like the book, but it's getting no more than an average score, due to the points that stuck in my craw.