Book Review: Sprinkles of Suspicion by Kim Davis (Cupcake Catering Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Emory, strong story sets up series

Cons: Emory’s family

The Bottom Line:

Best friend is murdered

Emory’s life falls apart

Good series debut

Emory Finds Herself Caught up in a Murder

The instant I heard about Sprinkles of Suspicion, I knew I had to read it since it hits two of my draws to new series – culinary cozies and books set in Southern California.  I’m glad it caught my eye because it was a fun debut.

When Emory wakes up that particular Saturday morning, she can’t remember much about what happened the night before, only that she went out with her best friend Tori.  She suspects she was drugged, but her day is about to get worse when she goes to Tori’s to try to get some answers and finds her husband, Philip, and Tori have been having an affair.

After the very public fight that Emory and Tori have, Tori is murdered and Emory is the one who finds the body.  The police are quick to latch on to Emory as the killer, but Emory has no desire to go to jail for a crime she didn’t commit.  Can she find the evidence to clear her name?

As you can probably figure out from the teaser, Emory’s life is going to go through some massive changes as the book unfolds.  In many ways, this book felt like the pilot of a TV show.  Now, hear me out.  A pilot has a two-fold job of telling us a story while also setting up the characters and their relationships that we will follow as the series continue.  That’s definitely the case here, and some of that set up time took away from the mystery itself.  The entire book was entertaining, so I’m not complaining.

That’s not to say that this was a weak mystery.  It’s easy to see why the police considered Emory a suspect, but Emory uncovers secrets and motives that make her wonder how well she knew her best friend and keep us guessing about who the killer really is.  The ending could have been a little stronger, but it does answer all of our questions.

Wondering about the Cupcake Catering series title?  Trust me, it does come into play in this book, but I’m going to leave it for you to discover.

I could definitely sympathize with Emory was I read the book – possibly a little too much.  She is trusting of those she considers her friends and family, which is why she missed some of the things that turn her world upside down.  Of course, since she’s in a murder mystery, that also creates some wonderful complications and twists for us to read about.  Fortunately, in real life, you can trust people to be who they say they are.  Anyway, I really do like her and enjoyed rooting for her.

I actually had issues with some members of Emory’s family.  They came across as way too self-absorbed, and I really wanted to slap some of them around.  I’m sure it was supposed to come across as funny, but it just didn’t work for me.

You can’t have a culinary cozy without recipes.  There are 11 of them at the end of the book, and they aren’t all cupcakes.  We get some Western style recipes and a couple of cocktails with mocktail variations as well.  All of these recipes sound delicious.

This book is set in Orange County, a couple of hours south of where I live.  While I wasn’t as familiar with the areas where Emory’s adventures take place as I would be if I lived closer, I always get a kick out of seeing place names that are that close to me pop up in a mystery.

Sprinkles of Suspicion sets up a promising new series.  You’ll enjoy meeting Emory here and be anxious to find out where cupcakes and murder take her next.

Enjoy the rest of the Cupcake Catering Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

I am reviewing this book as part of a blog tour.  To visit the other stops, please visit this link.