Just finished reading...

Buttercream Bump Off (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #2) by Jenn McKinlay.*

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura own Fairy Tale Cupcakes with their friend and not-so-silent partner Tate Harper. The three of them grew up together in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the bakery is located.

It's just before Valentine's Day, and Melanie is teaching a couple's class, featuring such creations as "Kiss Me Cupcakes" and "Cupid's Bliss Cupcakes" (recipes included). During the first class, Mel's mother Joyce bursts in to announce that she is going on a date for the first time since Mel's dad passed away ten years earlier.

A few days later, Mel's evening is interrupted by a desperate call from Joyce with the news that her date Baxter Malloy is dead. They eventually learn that Baxter has been strangled, and as the only person present, Joyce is the prime suspect.

Mel is determined to prove that her mother is innocent, and when it's revealed that Malloy was running a Ponzi scheme, all of the investors come under scrutiny.

This book was a quick and fun read, though it often strained the limits of believability. (How did those two women manage to run a successful bakery when they kept closing down so they could run personal errands?) Despite this, the further adventures of Mel, Angie and Tate should prove interesting.

*FTC Full disclosure - Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.