Saturday, May 19, 2012

Red Velvet Revenge-Jenny McKinley

Red Velvet Revenge


Jenny McKinley

Berkley, Jul 3 2012, $7.99

ISBN: 9780425251386



For several weeks the temperatures in Arizona have hovered in the hundreds. People remain indoors only going out into the oppressive heat if they have no choice. Businesses like the Fairy Tale Cupcakes are hurting with few customers. Owners Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLauro borrow a refrigerated truck so they can deliver their baked goods to their customers. When the vehicle breaks down, legendary cowboy Slim Hazard rides to the rescue as he hires them to sell cupcakes at the annual Juniper Pass rodeo, an event 20,000 people will attend.



Silent partner Tate Harper (see Sprinkle With Murder for his wife’s murder) has been friends with the bakery owners since grade school and he quietly loves Angie. He helps them with the rodeo gig. However, at the opening ceremony, someone shoots Slim in the shoulder while the star bull rider Ty Stokes is overtly hostile towards Mel and Angie. When Ty is murdered, Angie, unable to resist the urge to investigate, begins an inquiry since the local police seem incompenant.



The latest Cupcake Bakery Mystery (see Buttercream Bump-Off and Death by the Dozen) is an entertaining amateur sleuth due to an engaging mystery and plenty of humor especially the wager between the bakers and a redneck food vender on who sells the most food. Mel makes her investigation seem reasonable (for her that is); as a profile of her behavior leads to the conclusion that her DNA contains the sleuthing genome.



Harriet Klausner



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