Praise for Jenn McKinlay’s New York Times bestselling Cupcake Bakery Mysteries
“[A] real treat . . . I gobbled it right up.”
—Julie Hyzy, New York Times bestselling author of the White House Chef Mysteries
“[McKinlay’s] characters are delicious, and the dash of romance is just the icing on the cake.”
—Sheila Connolly, New York Times bestselling author of the County Cork Mysteries
“Jenn McKinlay delivers all the ingredients for a winning read. Frost me another!”
—Cleo Coyle, New York Times bestselling author of the Coffeehouse Mysteries
“[A] spirited heroine, luscious cupcakes, and a clever murder . . . [A] sweet read.”
—Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of the Paws & Claws Mysteries
“Pops with fun and great twists . . . It’s better than icing on the tastiest cupcake.”
—Avery Aames, Agatha Award–winning author of the Cheese Shop Mysteries
“[A] tender cozy full of warm and likable characters and a refreshingly sympathetic murder victim . . . Readers will look forward to more of McKinlay’s tasty concoctions.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Good plotting and carefully placed clues make this an enjoyable, light mystery, made a little sweeter with recipes for the cupcakes Mel’s team creates.”
—The Mystery Reader
“[A] charmingly entertaining story . . . [A] deliciously thrilling mystery!”
—Fresh Fiction
Titles by Jenn McKinlay
Cupcake Bakery Mysteries
SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
BUTTERCREAM BUMP OFF
DEATH BY THE DOZEN
RED VELVET REVENGE
GOING, GOING, GANACHE
SUGAR AND ICED
DARK CHOCOLATE DEMISE
VANILLA BEANED
CARAMEL CRUSH
WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE
Library Lover’s Mysteries
BOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING
DUE OR DIE
BOOK, LINE, AND SINKER
READ IT AND WEEP
ON BORROWED TIME
A LIKELY STORY
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
DEATH IN THE STACKS
Hat Shop Mysteries
CLOCHE AND DAGGER
DEATH OF A MAD HATTER
AT THE DROP OF A HAT
COPY CAP MURDER
ASSAULT AND BERET
Bluff Point Romances
ABOUT A DOG
BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE
EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY
BERKLEY PRIME CRIME
Published by Berkley
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2018 by Jennifer McKinlay Orf
Excerpt from Every Dog Has His Day by Jenn McKinlay © 2018 by Jennifer McKinlay Orf
Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
BERKLEY is a registered trademark and BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the B colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
Ebook ISBN: 9780399583841
First Edition: April 2018
Cover art © Jeff Fitz-Maurice
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.
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For my very favorite girl, my niece Kiersten. Bright and beautiful inside and out, you are one of the shining lights in my life, and I’m so glad I get to be your aunt. I can’t wait for our next adventure together—try not to get hit by a bike next time! Love you forever!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When I started the cupcake series, I was sure that I would get three books out of it and then the party would be over. Cupcakes were a fad, I thought. Surely, it couldn’t last. But now here we are at book ten! Ten! Can you believe it? I want to thank all of the readers who have been along for the ride since book one. Without you, Fairy Tale Cupcakes would have closed a long time ago. I also want to thank my team—the people who help me and nudge me and give me pep talks when required—Kate Seaver, Christina Hogrebe, Roxanne Jones, and Jeff Fitz-Maurice, the terrific artist, who gave this book such a wonderful cover. I couldn’t do what I do without all of you. Thank you all so very much.
Contents
Praise for Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery Mysteries
Titles by Jenn McKinlay
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Recipes
Author’s Note
Excerpt from Every Dog Has His Day
One
“Here comes the bride,” Melanie Cooper sang as she held a bouquet of multicolored snapdragons in front of her as if she were walking down the aisle.
“Practicing for your own wedding?” Angie DeLaura asked her.
“No, just yours,” Mel said, then she smiled. “For now.”
They’d been best friends since they were twelve years old, so it was no surprise that Mel would be Angie’s maid of honor when Angie and their other childhood friend Tate Harper tied the knot in just one week.
Today, Mel and Angie had left Fairy Tale Cupcakes, the bakery they co-owned, in the capable hands of their employees while they ran around town, finalizing payments to vendors and making sure everything was a go for Angie and Tate’s big day. At the moment, they were paying for Angie’s flowers, calla lilies, with their stems wrapped in aqua and pewter ribbons.
“Annabelle? Hello!” Angie called. She rang the bell on the counter and peered at the back room. “What do you suppose is keeping her?”
“No idea,” Mel said. She admired the brilliant yellow petals on a huge sunflower. So pretty.
“Okay, so after we pay the florist, who’s next?” Angie asked.
Mel put the snapdragons back in their display bucket and checked her smartphone, where she kept her to-do list updated.
“We need to pay the photographer and the caterer.” She glanced at Angie. “Are you really having them make Jell-O? ‘Because crème brûlée can never be
