Two best friends, one bakery and a surprising number of dead bodies. Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery Mysteries follow Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura, who run the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery in Scottsdale, Arizona. The series has 16 books, published from 2010 to 2024.
Below: what the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries are about, the book list, the newest title and where to start.
What Is the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series About?
Mel Cooper is a trained pastry chef who left a corporate career to follow her real passion. Her best friend Angie runs the Fairy Tale Cupcakes shop with her. Their childhood friend Tate Harper helps with the business side.
The bakery is always busy with weddings, parties and happy customers. Unfortunately, the customers keep ending up in trouble. In each book, Mel and Angie land in the middle of a murder case. They have to sort out the suspects between batches of frosting. Many of the books include recipes, so readers can bake along.
The tone is light and funny. The friendship between Mel, Angie and Tate is the heart of the series. Readers often call it one of its best features.
Meet Mel and Angie and the Fairy Tale Cupcake Crew
- Melanie Cooper: the head baker. Mel and Angie have been best friends since school, and Mel is the calm, careful half of the pair.
- Angie DeLaura: Mel’s business partner, loyal and quick to jump into an investigation.
- Tate Harper: the third childhood friend and the bakery’s business manager.
Around Melanie Cooper and the bakery crew, the shop fills with regulars, family and the occasional suspect. As the books go on, the bakery grows too, and later cases take the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew beyond Scottsdale.
Who Is the Author of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries?
Jenn McKinlay is a New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of mystery and romance novels. She worked in libraries before she became a full-time writer. She lives in Arizona, the home state of Fairy Tale Cupcakes. Read more on our Jenn McKinlay author page.
Cupcake Bakery Mysteries in Order: All Books in the Series
Here is the full book list in reading order, with the first US publication years:
- Sprinkle with Murder (2010)
- Buttercream Bump Off (2011)
- Death by the Dozen (2011)
- Red Velvet Revenge (2012)
- Going, Going, Ganache (2013)
- Sugar and Iced (2014)
- Dark Chocolate Demise (2015)
- Vanilla Beaned (2016)
- Caramel Crush (2017)
- Wedding Cake Crumble (2018)
- Dying for Devil’s Food (2019)
- Pumpkin Spice Peril (2020)
- For Batter or Worse (2021)
- Strawberried Alive (2022)
- Sugar Plum Poisoned (2023)
- Fondant Fumble (2024)
Fans can also try the recipes at home: Fairy Tale Cupcakes (2022) is a real cookbook based on the series.
How Many Books Are in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series?
There are 16 books in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery book series. The first came out in 2010, and from 2011 on Jenn McKinlay delivered a new one almost every year. Every case starts at, or near, Fairy Tale Cupcakes. That steady pace makes it one of the longest-running culinary series in the genre.
The Newest Cupcake Bakery Mystery and 2026 Releases
The newest book is Fondant Fumble, published on June 4, 2024. A group of professional football players wants to open a Fairy Tale Cupcakes franchise, and Mel and Angie are thrilled. Then their team owner is found dead in the bakery, and the players become suspects.
No seventeenth book has been announced as of September 2026. Jenn McKinlay‘s 2026 release belongs to her library series. Booking for Trouble, a Library Lover’s Mystery, came out in February 2026.
Where to Start: Sprinkle with Murder
Start with book 1. Each mystery is solved within its book. The friendships, the romances and the bakery’s growth build from book to book. Book 1 introduces Mel, Angie and Tate, and shows how Fairy Tale Cupcakes got started. It opens with a demanding bride who turns up dead at a wedding tasting, with the bakery’s cupcakes at the center of the case. Our review of the first book covers it in detail.
Jenn McKinlay’s Other Series
If you like the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, Jenn McKinlay has plenty more. The Library Lover’s Mysteries follow library director Lindsey Norris on the Connecticut shore. The Hat Shop Mysteries are set in a London hat shop run by two cousins. She also writes romantic comedies.
Cozy Mystery Series Like the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries
If you love Mel and Angie, these series offer the same mix of baking, friendship and murder:
- Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke: a baker in Minnesota, with recipes (see our Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder review).
- Bakeshop Mysteries by Ellie Alexander: a pastry chef in Ashland, Oregon.
- Domestic Diva Mysteries by Krista Davis: parties, food and murder in Old Town Alexandria.
- Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs (see our Death by Darjeeling review).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to read the series in order?
It is not required, since each case is complete. Reading in order is more rewarding, because Mel and Angie‘s lives change over the 16 books.
Are there recipes in the books?
Yes. Many of the books include cupcake recipes, and the Fairy Tale Cupcakes cookbook by Jenn McKinlay collects them.
Is the series finished?
Not officially. No new book has been announced since Fondant Fumble in 2024, but the series has not been declared over.