The Cupcake Conundrum

A Lena Merritt Cozy Culinary Mystery

When cupcake critic Vanessa Sweet drops dead, Maggie Harper takes the heat—unless Lena can prove who really had an appetite for revenge.

Lena Merritt just wanted a cupcake. What she got was a front-row seat to murder.

Vanessa Sweet, the town’s most feared food critic, took one bite of Maggie Harper’s new signature cupcake - Midnight Mocha - then dropped dead.

Right there, in the middle of Buttercup Bakery.

Now, Maggie’s the prime suspect.

The cops are convinced it’s an open-and-shut case.

But Lena knows Maggie would never hurt anyone.

With the help of a sharp-eyed retired detective and her opinionated cat, Whiskers, she digs into Vanessa’s past—and it’s not pretty.

There’s Samantha Grant, a disgruntled baker with a bad review, and the man in the black SUV, always watching and waiting.

The truth is buried under layers of deception, and time is running out.

The real killer isn’t done yet. If Lena’s not careful, she might be next on the menu.

And Maggie will go from serving cupcakes to serving time.

The story kept my interest and moved along at a nice pace.

I enjoyed the twists and turns as the plot cleverly unfolded. There were plenty of light moments throughout, with Whiskers and Dot, and a few genuinely scary ones as well!