Buttercream Bump Off: A Cupcake Bakery Mystery by Jenn McKinlay

               While I don’t know if I would want seven older brothers myself, I certainly get a kick out of Angie’s, a character from the Cupcake Bakery mystery series.  With so many brothers, it will be interesting to see how they each appear in future books and storylines.

                Cupcake bakery owner Melanie “Mel” Cooper isn’t quite sure how she feels about her mother, Joyce, going out on a date.  It has been a while since her father died, but she’s still uneasy about her mother moving on.  To make the situation even more uncomfortable, Joyce insists that Melanie go dress shopping with her for the date.

                Despite Mel’s concerns, Joyce’s date happens, and it does not at all go as planned.  When she comes out of the pool changing room, instead of finding her date, Baxter Malloy, waiting for her, Joyce finds him dead.  Since she is the one who found him, this makes Joyce one of the main suspects.  

              Her name is on a list that is not exactly short.  Baxter cheated a lot of people when he was alive.  Some of them lost everything they had.         

                Knowing her mother couldn’t be guilty of murder, Mel has her own list of suspects to work with.  One of her top ones is Baxter’s son, Brian.  He is a rock star who goes by the name of Roach.  When he comes to town following his father’s death, he charges into the bakery and confronts Mel about what happened.  Not one willing to stand by as her friends are being attacked, Mel’s friend and business partner, Angie, goes after him.  Intrigued, the confrontation Roach planned turns into him asking Angie out on a date.  This does not go over well with their friend Tate or Angie’s brothers.  Mel isn’t too thrilled either, but not out of jealousy or overprotectiveness like the others.  Her concern is that her best friend may be going out with a murderer.

                While Mel investigates the murder, a new character is introduced to the book that I really enjoy.  His name is Martin Zelaznik and he is an older gentleman who comes into the bakery to win a contest.  He ends up helping in the bakery as Angie continuously arrives late, and even helps Mel with the investigation.  Martin is a really funny character and I hope he continues to appear in future books.

                A character I can really do without is rival baker Olivia Puckett.  The rivalry between Olivia and Mel and Angie is obnoxious.  The antics they all get up to because of it are ridiculous.  As much as I have enjoyed these books so far, I must say getting rid of the Olivia rivalry element would make them even better.