Going, Going, Ganache

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura hope that being featured in Southwest Style Magazine will bring some more business to Fairy Tale Cupcakes. They thought it would be just a one day photo shoot; they weren't expecting to have to spend a week with the staff of the magazine but end up doing so, making cupcakes with them for a charity event. Things are tense from the start and become even tense or when a member of the magazine staff is murdered. Once again Melanie is involved in a murder case but this will prove to be the most dangerous case yet.

"Going, Going, Ganache" is the nicely done fifth book in Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery cozy mystery series. There is a lot going on in this book that makes it especially fun to read. The first thing show more I really like about this series are the characters. Melanie, Angie, Tate, and the others are all richly written characters who care for each of the matter what happens. I don't want to give away too much of what happens but I do want to say that Melanie's insecurities are especially well done in this book (even if I did want to shake her a few times!) There are many complicated relationships in this book (and series) and a surprise one - I look forward to see what happens to them in the next book. The interactions can be childish at times (a cupcake fight really?) but there is a nice bit at the end that may change that. The second thing I like is the Cupcake Bakery setting. Having the magazine staff work there is a nice touch and gives a good behind the scenes look at the work involved in owning a bakery. And finally I loved the mystery aspects of the book. The book is well plotted with plenty of suspects and I had fun trying to figure out who the killer was. There is also a real sense of danger in the book and there is a particularly tense scene near the end of the book.

"Going, Going, Ganache" is another nice cozy mystery by Jenn McKinlay. show less

When a photo shoot at Fairy Tale Cupcakes goes awry for the popular SWS lifestyle magazine, I was intrigued by the results. Angie and Mel, disgraced after letting arch enemy Olivia get the best of them, have to host the magazine staff in their own kitchen for the week to make a thousand cupcakes for the magazine's community outreach gala. Ian Hannigan, owner of the magazine, feels the teamwork will be beneficial for his employees. From the crusty seasoned reporter, the fashionista social editor, an overzealous newbie and others, the characters all come together when one of their own is found dead. McKinlay does a great job at keeping the series fresh, by introducing new quirks to our favorite characters and re-introducing a former show more character, newly moved to Scottsdale. These are well-written mysteries and the characters make it all worthwhile. show less

Mel and Angie are doing a photo shoot for a magazine, but things goes haywire, and cupcakes start sailing through the air, wielded by Mel and Angie at their mutual enemy. To avoid a lawsuit or having to pay damages for the wasted shoot, they agree with the demands of the magazine’s owner. For a week, they will run a cupcake bootcamp, and supervise the baking of a thousand cupcakes for a charity affair, baked by the magazine staff. The owner hopes this will foster camaraderie among his staff, but it ends up with one of them murdered. This engaging tale is peopled by delightful characters, and some not quite so charming villains. In this well-written cozy, the interaction between the characters adds as much enjoyment to the story as show more following the clues to solve the mystery does. show less

A magazine staff is "bonding" by working on cupcakes for a gala together. Mel discovers the body of one of the writers outside the bakery. His head has been bashed in. Uncle Stan responds to the call. Detective Martinez transferred to the Scottsdale police where he's now her uncle's partner. It's clear he is interested in Mel, but Mel is secretly engaged to Angie's brother Joe. In the meantime Tate quit his job, moved out of his upscale penthouse, and is nowhere to be found. When he's finally discovered, he's trying to prove himself worthy of Angie. The book is as much about the romantic relationships and triangles as it is about the mystery. Still it's an enjoyable read, even if it got off to a sluggish start.

I listened to the audio show more version of this in 2022. I thought it sounded like a familiar plot. I think I liked it a little better than I did in 2017, possibly because I'd read more installments between. I'm upping my stars from the 3 stars I gave it in 2017 to 3.5. show less

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are doing a photo shoot for Southwest Style magazine. If only the photo shoot didn't involve high heels, bouffant hair, and an invasion by Olivia Puckett. Olivia's intrusion unfortunately causes Angie and Mel to get into a food fight with Olivia which causes damage and gets them in trouble with the magazine to the tune of thousands of dollars. Luckily, Tate is able to help smooth away the trouble with the owner, Ian Hannigan. The magazine staff will come to Fairy Tale Cupcakes for a cupcake boot camp to make cupcakes for a charity gala. Not everyone is cooperative or happy about the boot camp . Brigit MacLeod, editor-in-chief only wants to run the magazine and Amy Pierson has an uncooperative chip on her show more shoulder and features director Sam isn't too thrilled with the idea of cupcakes at all. When Sam ends up dead right outside the bakery, Mel's convinced it has to be one of the boot camp participants, but which one and why? Meanwhile, Tate has been acting strange just as he and Angie are finally realizing their feelings for each other and Mel's boyfriend Joe wants to get married really soon! Mel finds herself trying to find the killer before she loses her bakery or her life.

The author makes the characters in these books come alive, and they continue to grow and we learn new things about them in every new book. The magazine employees are all a piece of work, the back stabbing and infighting put every one of them on the suspect list. The twists and turns keep you guessing until the very end when the killer is revealed. show less

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are doing a photo shoot for Southwest Style magazine. If only the photo shoot didn't involve high heels, bouffant hair, and an invasion by Olivia Puckett. Olivia's intrusion unfortunately causes Angie and Mel to get into a food fight with Olivia which causes damage and gets them in trouble with the magazine to the tune of thousands of dollars. Luckily, Tate is able to help smooth away the trouble with the owner, Ian Hannigan. The magazine staff will come to Fairy Tale Cupcakes for a cupcake boot camp to make cupcakes for a charity gala. Not everyone is cooperative or happy about the boot camp . Brigit MacLeod, editor-in-chief only wants to run the magazine and Amy Pierson has an uncooperative chip on her show more shoulder and features director Sam isn't too thrilled with the idea of cupcakes at all. When Sam ends up dead right outside the bakery, Mel's convinced it has to be one of the boot camp participants, but which one and why? Meanwhile, Tate has been acting strange just as he and Angie are finally realizing their feelings for each other and Mel's boyfriend Joe wants to get married really soon! Mel finds herself trying to find the killer before she loses her bakery or her life.

The author makes the characters in these books come alive, and they continue to grow and we learn new things about them in every new book. The magazine employees are all a piece of work, the back stabbing and infighting put every one of them on the suspect list. The twists and turns keep you guessing until the very end when the killer is revealed. show less

(4.5/5)