Reviews - Sugar Plum Poisoned

79 reviews for:

Sugar Plum Poisoned by Jenn McKinlay takes us to Fairy Tale Cupcakes where Mel, Angie, and the gang are getting ready for the holidays. I always enjoy my visits with the bakery crew. A blast from Angie’s past, Shelby Vaughn is in town to perform Christmas concerts and she wants Fairy Tale Cupcakes to provide holiday cupcakes for the VIP guest lounge. The descriptions of holiday cupcakes will have your mouth watering. Unfortunately, Shelby has a controlling manager that brings out the mama bear in Angie. When the manager ends up dead, Shelby ends up a suspect. Mel and Angie don their sleuthing caps so they can solve the crime before Santa rides into town. I was able to solve the whodunit early in the book. I did enjoy following the duo as they asked questions and searched for clues. I kept hoping, though, that there would be a twist (something unexpected to surprise me). The crime is wrapped up in time for everyone to have a happy holiday. I enjoyed the humor sprinkled throughout the story. I had no idea that Marty knew how to twerk, and Ray should never be allowed near the Christmas decorations. Of course, they should have known better to involve Ray. We only get to see a smidgen of Oz. I miss him being in the bakery. There is some repetition (preparing the cupcakes, the VIP lounge each night, details regarding Shelby as well as her former manager and the dead manager’s ex-wife). Of course, it would not be A Cupcake Bakery Mystery without movie quotes from Mel, Angie, and Tate. I felt bad for Mel who is going to host Christmas dinner for the family for the first time. I believe Mel understood by the end of Christmas day why her mother was willing to give up the hosting duties. Sugar Plum Poisoned is the fifteenth A Cupcake Bakery Mystery. The author provides enough background information that it can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. Sugar Plum Poisoned is a sweet treat with a sociable singer, a manipulating manager, killer cupcakes, a swaying Santa, a decoration dilemma, a burgeoning dinner, and Christmas cheer.

thephdivabooks's review

4.0

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).

Christmastime is busier than ever for the two bakers. Things are made even more hectic which an old friend of Angie’s and famous singer named Shelby Vaughn arrives in Scottsdale for a two-week holiday concert.

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. 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.

melmo2610's review

5.0

Another hilarious adventure with Mel, Angie and the rest of the gang. This mystery was great and it had Jen’s trademark humor-with characters like Ray, Marty and Oz, humor is a given. Loved everything about this book!

klutzykat's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

kimdavishb's review

5.0

SUGAR PLUM POISONED is the fifteenth book in the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries by Jenn McKinlay. From the darling Christmas-themed cover to holiday-flavored cupcakes to the carols of the season, this newest release radiates the spirit of the holidays. Fairy Tale Cupcake bakery owner, Mel, and her best friend and business partner, Angie, have been hired to provide cupcakes for Angie’s famous friend, Shelby, for her concert VIP attendees. But all isn’t merry and bright when Shelby’s overcontrolling manager is found murdered with one of Mel’s cupcakes in hand. This is one of those series where the characters become friends and it’s always a pleasure to catch up with them. While this can easily be read as a standalone, starting with the beginning allows the reader to fully know the characters and all the changes and growth that has occurred over the series. The stories are easy and laugh-out-loud entertaining reads and are perfect for bingeing on.

While the mystery isn’t exactly complex, there were enough suspects to consider and clues to follow. And the flow of the story is well-plotted, which kept me turning pages to see what happened next. Between baking all the cupcakes for the two-week-long event, getting ready to host her first Christmas dinner for family and friends (a hilarious subplot!), Mel isn’t sure how to fit in a murder investigation. I love how Mel enlists the help of her close friends and family, and with her trademark humor, Ms. McKinlay weaves in scenes to keep the story light. If you enjoy Christmas-themed cozy mysteries with lots of fun moments filled with mouthwatering cupcakes, then you’ll enjoy Sugar Plum Poisoned!

I listened to the audio version of the book. Narrator Susan Boyce brings the characters to life with all the inflections of humor I’ve envisioned when reading the print version. She expertly captures the voices of both female and male characters and I never felt unsure of which character was speaking.