CARAMEL CRUSH is book nine in Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery cozy mystery series. As with other books in this series, Jenn McKinlay provides a plausible reason for cupcake maker and businesswoman Melanie Cooper to get involved in a murder investigation. While Mel is biding her time until she finally ties the knot with her longtime sweetie Joe, and quietly going crazy helping her bridezilla friend Angie plan her upcoming wedding, in walks the kind of trouble out of a Dashiell Hammett novel. What starts out as a straightforward, if extremely odd, favor for an old college friend takes a deadly turn when Mel discovers a dead body. Jenn McKinlay superbly balances laugh-out-loud slapstick humor with sinister shenanigans and moral depravity.

Despite her own misgivings, as well as those of her friends and co-workers, Mel sets out to prove that Diane Earnest didn't murder her estranged fiancé Mike Bordow. As Mel's investigation progresses, it becomes evident that there are just as many reasons for Diane to want her fiancé dead as there are other suspects. This healthy amount of doubt makes this mystery even more interesting for readers to try to puzzle out. It's usually a given, in detective novels, that the suspect who comes to the detective looking for help is not the murderer. However, in CARAMEL CRUSH, Jenn McKinlay evokes the same kind of uncertainty that is present in the classic film ANATOMY OF A MURDER. Prickly Detective Tara Martinez and Mel's uncle - Detective Stan Cooper -- make an entertaining good cop/bad cop routine, coming in and out of the story at opportune moments without stifling Mel's investigation.

CARAMEL CRUSH has many elements -- humor, mystery, and a dash of romance -- that work together to make an exquisitely balanced cozy mystery. The themes of friendship and family are skillfully woven throughout CARAMEL CRUSH. Mel's friends and co-workers make an entertaining and loyal extended family. I love the relationship between Mel and her fiancé Joe in CARAMEL CRUSH. Joe listens, supports, and offers suggestions to Mel without acting in a condescending way toward her, or bossing her around. Joe's slightly sketchy, yet lovable, brother Ray is a quirky character and I'd like to see more of him in future books. Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery books are delectable cozy mystery confections for readers, and I can't wait for the next one!