Mel and Angie would normally never provide cupcakes for a beauty pageant, but Mel's mother asks them to as a special favor. They just can't say no. Plus, there is the added benefit of the additional publicity.

Everything is going along great. Their friend, Lupe, has been roped into being a contestant. Lupe is a beautiful young woman, but she feels uncomfortable with that fact and does her best to hide it from the world. Only the scholarship draws her into competing, and then Lupe gets into an argument with another contestant and her mother. One of the judges is out to get her as well. When the judge is found dead, the police focus on Lupe as the most likely suspect. Mel and Angie know she couldn't have done it and they start their own investigation.

Once again, Mel and Angie will find themselves in danger as their need to know overcomes common sense. When someone throws a brick through the bakery window and Mel is injured, she will come to realize that Joe means more to her than she knew. The person throwing the brick doesn't realize that threats don't sit well with Mel and Angie. They just make them more determined.

Besides the delicious recipes, Jenn McKinlay delivers a top notch story in SUGAR AND ICED. Her characters become like friends, no matter which series you are reading. Mel and Angie together make an unbeatable pair. SUGAR AND ICED fits in nicely with the rest of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries.