Mel may be about to get her big break, though; Tate is marrying local designer Christie Stevens and the couple would like Mel to create their wedding cupcakes.  Christie is a bit demanding and very difficult to work with (neither Mel nor Angie can see what Tate sees in her) and wants Mel to create five new cupcakes in the couple’s honor and then sign over the exclusive rights to these flavors to Christie.  Against her better judgment Mel agrees, knowing that this event will go a long way to establishing Fairy Tale Cupcake’s name and reputation. It does, just not necessarily in the way Mel had hoped.  

When Mel arrives at Christie’s design studio one morning to finalize the flavors, she finds Christie dead.  The death is ruled a murder and Mel and Angie are likely suspects in a love triangle gone wrong theory.  Mel knows she didn’t kill Christie and that Angie didn’t and decides she must find more people toward whom the police should look. 

Her best suspects are Christie’s assistant designers, Goth Alma and perky Phoebe, but only one of them is publicly harboring a grudge against Christie and she’s the one with the airtight alibi.  The more Mel looks, the more people she finds that didn’t like Christie; now she must find the one who didn’t like her enough to commit murder.  

Sprinkle with Murder is a fun cozy that is not too cute and has a well-plotted storyline.  The pace is good and background details explaining how Mel, Angie and Tate ended up as best friends are neatly woven into the plot.  The writing is descriptive without being overdone and the scene in which the police arrive to investigate Christie’s death is vividly described (without, of course, being gory) and more details are included making the scene feel authentic. 

As Mel’s investigation slowly evolves, she does not let it become the primary focus of her life, nor does she let her mother’s hysteria over the possibility that Mel killed Christie out of love for Tate, cloud her judgment.  Angie is a good friend to Mel and, even with his loss, Tate does not forget the friend who has stood by him for over twenty years.  The trio’s penchant for quoting classic movies adds a light note and reinforces their closeness. 

Sprinkle with Murder is one of the better recent cozy debuts and a few cupcake recipes in the back are, well, icing on the cake.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry