The bakery has barely opened when its biggest order goes wrong. Five hundred custom cupcakes, instead of a wedding cake, were meant for fashion designer Christie Stevens, who is getting married. Then Mel Cooper finds the bride-to-be dead in her studio, a sample wedding cupcake in her hand. Jenn McKinlay‘s novel is the first of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, published by Berkley Prime Crime in March 2010.
What Is Sprinkle with Murder About?
Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are childhood friends who have just become the owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. They could open a bakery only because their third friend, Tate Harper, put up the money. Their friend Tate is also the one marrying Christie, a bridezilla who insists on original recipes.
When Christie is found dead, the police look at what was in the cupcake, and Mel becomes the prime suspect. To save herself and the shop, she sets out to find the real killer. A rival baker, resentful competitors and Christie’s own circle all get a look. We won’t say who did it.
Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura: The Main Characters
Mel is the baker and the sleuth. Angie is her partner in the cupcake shop and in the snooping. Tate’s money and loyalty hold the trio together, and his engagement to Christie is what puts the bakery at the center of the case.
Besides Angie and Tate, the fourth important character is Joe DeLaura, Angie’s brother, who works in the district attorney’s office. Mel likes him and is not sure she can trust him, which gives the book a light romance. Mel and Angie‘s friendship is the heart of the series, and it is the reason most readers keep going.
Our Review: A Warm Cozy Mystery With Plenty of Sugar
This is a cheerful first mystery novel. The dialogue moves quickly, the bakery feels like a real small business, and the descriptions of frosting will make you hungry. Publishers Weekly called it “a tender cozy full of warm and likable characters,” and praised a victim more sympathetic than usual. Not every reader agreed, and many found Christie easy to dislike.
The puzzle is the weaker part. Experienced readers may spot the answer early. The Arizona setting helps: sunshine and desert heat make a nice change from the snowy village of most culinary cozies.
Recipes: Tinkerbells, Mojito Cupcakes and Buttercream
Yes, there are recipes. They are printed at the back of the book and include Death by Chocolate, Mojito and Blonde Bombshell cupcakes. One favorite is the Tinkerbells, lemon cupcakes with raspberry buttercream, rolled in pink sugar. The recipes from the whole series were later collected in a cookbook, Fairy Tale Cupcakes: Recipes from the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries (2022).
How Many Books Are in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series?
There are 16 books in this mystery series, from 2010 to 2024. The newest is Fondant Fumble (2024), and no book 17 has been announced. Each case stands alone, but it is worth reading them in order, because the friendships and romances move forward from book to book. The full list in order, with years, is on our series page.
What Cozy Mysteries Has Jenn McKinlay Written?
Jenn McKinlay worked as a librarian at the Phoenix Public Library and wrote on the side for about ten years. Besides the cupcake books she writes the Library Lover’s Mysteries, which start with Books Can Be Deceiving, and the Hat Shop Mysteries, set in London. She also wrote the Decoupage Mysteries as Lucy Lawrence and the Good Buy Girls Mysteries as Josie Belle. More on McKinlay’s books is on our author page.
Sprinkles Cupcakes and Murder, She Baked: Two Common Mix-Ups
Sprinkles Cupcakes is a real bakery chain, unrelated to this book. Candace Nelson and her husband opened the first shop in Beverly Hills in 2005, and the company became known for its cupcake ATMs. At the end of 2025 it announced that its shops would close. The bakery in the novel is the fictional Fairy Tale Cupcakes.
Murder, She Baked is not a McKinlay series either. It is the Hallmark film series with Alison Sweeney, based on Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen books. The fifth film, Just Desserts, adapts Strawberry Shortcake Murder. McKinlay’s cupcake series has never been filmed.
Quick Facts
| Title | Sprinkle with Murder |
|---|---|
| Author | Jenn McKinlay |
| Series | Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, book 1 of 16 |
| First published | March 2010, Berkley Prime Crime (paperback) |
| Setting | Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Sleuth | Melanie “Mel” Cooper, baker and co-owner of Fairy Tale Cupcakes |
| Audiobook | Narrated by Susan Boyce, 6 h 24 min (Dreamscape Media, 2016) |
| Recipes | Yes, at the back of the book |
| Next book | Buttercream Bump Off (2011) |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some good bakery-themed mystery books?
Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series, starting with Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, is the classic. Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop Mysteries start with Meet Your Baker, and Olivia Matthews’ Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries start with Against the Currant. Browse our culinary cozy mysteries for more.
Is there an audiobook?
Yes. The unabridged edition from 2016 runs 6 hours 24 minutes.
Is it a clean read?
Yes. There is no graphic violence and no sex, and the romance stays light.