Emory Martinez bakes cupcakes for her sister Carrie's catering company. While catering a strange dinner for a nasty hostess, Carrie's employee Sal is harassed by the host. Then the man accosts Emory and pulls her down on his lap. Determined to finish the job for her sister, she doesn't want anything to do with Mr. Jorgenson again. But later, while the fireworks are exploding, the drunken host accosts Sal and threatens him; throws cupcakes at him, then dies after eating one. Naturally the police suspect Sal of being the murder, but both sisters refuse to believe it.

In her second job as accountant to her octogenarian employer Tillie's son David, she discovers some strange goings-on at David's home. She reports these to Tillie, and it opens another can of worms for Tillie's family. Meanwhile Tillie is still trying to set up her grandson Brian with Emory, and for Emory's part, she has unfinished business with her boyfriend Randall. With three things on her mind, she knows solving the murder is first and foremost. But neither the police nor the killer see it that way, and Emory is being stalked and targeted...and if she doesn't figure out who's behind it, she might just be the next victim who's permanently baked...

I have read all of the books in this series, and I have to say that this is my favorite so far. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and Emory is an interesting person. However, I do have issues with how she constantly describes herself -- as having red 'clown' hair, for one; (there are products out there that handle frizz, and using them would tackle this perfectly) and being chubby. Nothing wrong with that; but she has low self-esteem, and perhaps more than one walk a day with her dog would take care of some of this. I really hate it when protagonists describe themselves as lesser to their siblings. I have four and we are all shapes and sizes, but I never compare myself to them and hope they do the same. People can be beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Emory needs to stop denigrating herself.

When Emory starts investigating, a man named Will Trenton, an attorney, offers to help her free Sal. Touched by his kindness, she agrees. But Will has secrets of his own, and though he is a good man, she can't help but notice his pallor and wonder why. Still, they come to help each other in different ways, along with Tillie, and they discover clues to the murder.

When the murder is closing in, Emory's clues are leading her to one person. But more than that, her life is shaping up to be different from what she expected, and all the clues tie more than one mystery together, leaving Emory with decisions to make that will change her life.

All in all, the murderer wasn't so much a surprise as it could be, nor the motive for the killing, but I did like this tale because of twists that brought everything together. The ending left us something to look forward to in the next book, and I will be reading it soon. There are also quite a few recipes in the back of the book also. Recommended. ( )

This is a fun series, with a story arc about family that continues while a new murder occurs. Emory and her octogenarian landlady Tillie continue to be quite the pair. The action begins right away with a death during a catering event for sisters Emory and Carrie. Sal, their new assistant, takes a lot of, well, crap, from the drunk host who remains obnoxious right up to the delicious cupcake dessert, and his death. The police hone in on Sal right away, causing Emory and Tillie to use their ties to the guests at the party to find out what really happened. Tillie is a wonderful partner for Emory. She's a bit of a character, and I love how vibrant she is in her 80's. It ended with a great cliffhanger, and I am looking forward to more of that story. ( )

Framed and Frosted by Kim Davis is another fantastic addition to the Cupcake Catering Mysteries!

I’ve enjoyed all the books in the series because of the way Davis can write about food and desserts and make them so tempting. And her characters are just as detailed and delightful. Mix in a rich, society set and you are in for a fantastic read.

Emory’s love life gets a bit of a shake up and I’m happy about the new direction it may be going. Tillie continues to be an amazing role model for Emory, and her and Emory’s combined sleuthing is so much fun to read. Tillie’s family has some major issues in this book and Davis did a great job combining that storyline into the book. The killer was a bit easy to figure out in this one, but did not take anything away from the excellence of the book.

Looking forward to the next book in the Cupcake Catering Mysteries, and this is a cozy mystery series that I highly recommend. ( )