I absolutely loved How the Murder Crumbles! It’s the first book in the brand new Cookie Shop Mystery series by Debra Sennefelder. Isn’t it wonderful when you start a cozy mystery series with book one? Sure, lots of series have books that can be enjoyed as stand-alone books, and I’m sure this one will too! But still. Reading the first book gives you a chance to get to know the characters and the dynamics of relationships right from the start.

How the Murder Crumbles stars Mallory Monroe who is the new owner of her late aunt’s bakery, Cookie Shop. She sells cookies using her aunt’s recipes as well as her own new cookie recipes. The same customers have been coming for years, and Wingate’s tourists frequent the bakery in season. The cookies aren’t only delicious, they’re beautiful. Mallory’s specialty is decorating cookies which is something I’d love to do well! The only time I decorate cookies is at Christmas, and those just get frosting slathered on and sprinkles sprinkled on! They taste good, but they’re not going to win any contests. (It just so happens that my cookie recipe is from my aunt too!)

In addition to Mallory, there is a wonderful cast of characters that you will love getting to know! Mallory’s best friend, her cousin, her new friend who she meets in the most unpleasant way but I love love love her character, the long time cookie baker at the bakery, a journalist, police officers….I’m excited for you to get to meet them in this book! And, I’m so looking forward to seeing how the characters develop throughout the series. They’re so well-written, and I’m already super attached to them! I’m seriously invested in their lives and can’t wait to read about them again.

Though Wingate isn’t necessarily a small town, it has a small town vibe. The connections that people have give the town that cozy feeling. I definitely connected more with the characters than the setting, but I’m looking forward to “seeing” more of the town and its shops. I think that because a lot of the book takes place in the bakery, the bakery made the biggest visual impression. I can picture it and the cookies sold there very well. Speaking of the cookies….

Mallory’s aunt’s almond cookies are the catalyst for Beatrice’s murder in How the Murder Crumbles. Or are they? Since the big blowup at the bakery happens just before the murder, Mallory is a likely suspect in the case. Mallory has to clear her name. She’s losing cookie business! So, of course, Mallory becomes an amateur sleuth much to the dismay of the detective on the case. Though I was able to figure out whodunit before the culprit was revealed, it was still an enjoyable mystery to solve, and there are many viable suspects with strong motives to get rid of Beatrice.

How the Murder Crumbles gets five huge stars from me! Though I loved everything about the book, the characters totally made the book for me, and I cannot wait for the next book so I can see them again! I highly recommend it!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

How the Murder Crumbles is the first mystery in the new Cookie Shop Mystery series. Mallory Monroe has recently taken over and revamped her aunts bakery, turning it into the Cookie Shop. The start of the business isn’t going as smoothly as Mallory hopes and she can’t seem to catch a break. When Mallory has a fight with Beatrice Wright, who later turns up murdered, Mallory is the number one suspect. In order to clear her name and save her livelihood, Mallory takes it upon herself to search out the killer.

This is a great start to a promising new cozy mystery series by Debra Sennefelder. I have read some of her other cozy series and have loved them, this new series appears it will be no different. I really enjoyed the main character, Mallory, and the setting of this mystery. I found this to be another great cozy and look forward to seeing what comes next for Mallory and her Cookie Shop.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

Mallory has a beautiful bakery where she bakes the most exquisite cookies. She's having a hard time with her employees who are not exactly artistic. She also got into a shouting match with a food blogger Beatrice. She later turns up dead. This is such a cute and fun read. The characters are realistic in this well written light hearted cozy. I thought this book was wonderful.

Dollycas's Thoughts

In this first Cookie Shop Mystery, we meet Mallory Monroe who has taken over and updated her Aunt Glenda's bakery following her passing. The former ad exec is now featuring cookies and cookie bouquets and offering a variety of classes. She also plans to feature a cookie from her aunt's cookbook each month as a tribute to her. This month it is the Almond Meltaway. But it isn't long before food blogger Beatrice Wright puts her on notice that the cookie recipe belongs to her and if she doesn't stop selling them she will be contacting her lawyer. Later when Mallory goes to visit Beatrice to clear the air she finds the woman dead on her kitchen floor surrounded by flour and a marble rolling pin next to her body.

Now Mallory is the prime suspect in the murder and her business is a risk. Instead of clearing the air, she has to clear her name and fast and Detective Will Hannigan isn't making it easy.

______

Ms. Sennefelder has set this series off to a great start. I really enjoyed getting to know Mallory Monroe and the rest of these core characters. Mallory is dealing with a lot. Within the first few pages, she learns he boyfriend was two-timing her and that she is at the top of a suspect list for a murder. Her best friend Kip Winslow works with her at her bakery. He also happens to be the son of the Chief of Police. His sister Lauren is a police officer and a good friend of Mallory's too. Claudia Allen was an employee of her Aunt Glenda's who has stayed on even though she is clearly not happy with Mallory's changes. Mallory's cousin Darlene is very involved in all the happenings around town. Detective Will Hannigan enters the picture in an amusing way shortly before he has to investigate the murder. And I can't forget Mallory's cat, Agatha. All the characters are interesting, but Kip was my absolute fave with his cute little jokes and the way he always had Mallory's back.

I found the mystery to be quite captivating. Mallory really didn't want to get involved but she didn't have much choice with the way the evidence was stacking up. Her investigative style was a little clumsy and pushy at times but this is her first foray as an amateur sleuth so it was understandable. The same is true for her reactions when all the clues fell into place setting up an exciting showdown.

A lot of different things happened within this story. The author found a great balance between the main mystery and the subplots. I love the cookie shop theme and all the descriptions of the cookies and bouquets.

How the Murder Crumbles was a very enjoyable read and a great introduction to some entertaining characters. I absolutely loved the connection revealed on the final page that confirmed an inkling I had. I am excited for this series to continue.

I loved How the Murder Crumbles the first book in Debra Sennefelder's "A Cookie Shop Mystery" series. There is drama, romance and an absolutely expert mystery offering so many twists and turns that I was completely surprised by the ending. I really did not want this book to end, and can't wait for more!

I highly recommend it and I cannot wait to see what’s next for Mallory in this series and I look forward to reading the next book ...

I requested and received an Advanced Readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Not a favorite by this author. I have read almost all the books that Debra's written so far. I have been a huge fan of previous two cozy series. Unfortunately, this one didn't live up to my expectations.

I didn't like Mallory - she seemed very childish, amateur (behavior), stubborn, and coming to conclusions about things without any solid proof. Throughout the story, she keeps jumping from one possibility to another, some of which seemed out of nowhere.

The only niggle I had with this story was the main character and everything revolves around her (mystery, series plot setting, etc.). I hope the next book in the series is better than the debut.

2.5 upped to 3
I found the blurb attractive and like the writer. Unfortuntaly this cozy mystery starts strong and then didn't keep my attention as I found Mallory too reckless and with a wish death.
I think there's a lot of potential but I'm not a fan of this novel
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

"How the Murder Crumbles" by Debra Sennefelder is a scrumptious treat for cozy mystery lovers. Set in the charming town of Wingate, Connecticut, we are transported to Mallory Monroe's delectable Cookie Shop, where the aroma of freshly baked cookies tickles the senses. From the moment Mallory's life takes a nosedive, with a broken relationship and a public spat over a coveted cookie recipe, the suspenseful fun begins. When the food blogger she argued with turns up dead, Mallory becomes the prime suspect, sending her on a mission to clear her name while unraveling a web of secrets.

Sennefelder's recipe for success includes a delightful cast of characters and an authentic small-town ambiance that draws you in. Mallory is a relatable and strong-willed protagonist, with her determination and passion for baking shining through. The supporting characters add flavor to the story, including Kip, the loyal friend and employee, and the intriguing Detective Will Hannigan, who brings a hint of romance to the mix.

The murder mystery itself is cleverly woven and it kept me guessing until the very end. With numerous suspects and a touch of humor, Sennefelder delivers a satisfying whodunit. Additionally, the inclusion of mouthwatering cookie recipes adds an extra sprinkle of charm to this delightful cozy series. With "How the Murder Crumbles," Debra Sennefelder serves up a delightful concoction of engaging characters, delectable treats, and a twisty murder mystery that left me craving more.

Mallory was having a great time selling cookies in her store and enjoying lots of popularity…until she wasn’t because of someone apparently framing her for murder which didn’t sit well with her…at all. All I can say is if I was accused of murder, I’d sure want Mal on my side, lol. I loved her best friend Kip who’s from a police family but followed his dream of “I just wanna bake”—can’t blame him there, well at least up until now, baking was a safer choice. Although with Mal the target of a killer, all bets were off as to how safe it was now. Kip did have lots of police insight after years of hearing crime stories from the fam, but he never tried to weasel info from them. Might as well leave that up to Mal, right? 😉

That was one exciting showdown and good for Mal on how she managed it. During the course of the book, she’d gotten her dream squashed then brought back to life, made friends with the most unlikely person and hopefully was on her way back to a good relationship with her cousin. Oh yeah, and the cutest part was at the end! I’m not gonna give it away, but I betcha say “Awwww!” Don’t miss the start of a brand new series from the author of the Food Blogger series and Resale Boutique.

It’s available Tuesday, June 20, 2023.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Crooked Lane via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Per the author’s website, this book will be her twelfth published novel, and the beginning of her third cozy mystery series; however, it starts with the sort of heavy infodumping that used to mark debuts: we get the story of the heroine, baker-cum-amateur sleuth, from her own mouth as she introduces herself to a group attending a cookie decorating class at her shop.

Which would be bad enough, but then we are drowned in extraneous detail about the space itself–including wallpaint color changes–and the history of every piece of furniture in sight, how she uses them, and so on.

Factual error in the blurb: her two employees are both very good bakers; one worked for her aunt for many years, and the other actually took a pastry program at a culinary school and had previous experience working as a baker. The only ‘disaster’ with them is that they don’t get along.

On the other hand, this book is a mess.

I mentioned the excessive detail in the opening scene above; it’s constant throughout the novel. Every space Mallory enters, we get a lavish description of architecture, decoration, furniture. We learn what every character wears, down to the hair accessories–even for characters we only see once. We are also told how many minutes Mallory takes to drive from one place to another, and what turns she makes–and not one of these things has any relevance on the murder case.

On the mystery side, I knew who the murderer was the moment the character was introduced, and the motive was revealed shortly thereafter. And while there were red herrings galore, as Mallory flitted from one character to the next over the flimsiest of motives, what struck me over and over during the course of the book was her absolute lack of sense.

Seriously; it’s been years since I’ve used TSTL to refer to a character, but Mallory really is too stupid to live: it’s soon clear the killer is stalking her, and in fact at one point she is struck on the head and left for dead; then the next morning she arranges to confront one of her suspects, alone, without telling anyone what she’s doing.

And right after her best friend calls her on the utter idiocy of that, Mallory decides to confront another of the suspects–alone again, and again without telling anyone what she’s doing.

Too. Stupid. To live.

Never mind that she’s also instantly lusting after the detective in charge of investigating the murder and related shenanigans, within days of breaking up with her cheating boyfriend; or that she tells what she learns during her investigation to the same reporter who threw her to the wolves of public opinion, by writing the worst possible slant over the incident with Beatrice the morning of the murder.

Or that one minute Mallory suspects that Aspen, the woman her ex was cheating on her with, may be either the killer or a stalker trying to poison her, and the next evening she’s discussing how she’s conducting her murder investigation with the same woman.

Mallory’s personality can be summed as, “makes bad decision after bad decision, even while telling herself that she’s making a bad decision”.

All of which is bad characterization from beginning to end, but then we have the hypocritical moralizing.

First, none of the characters swear; instead, we have the kind of cutesy substitutions that make grown ups sound like prim kindergartners, or Victorian spinsters, i.e., ‘darn’ for ‘damn’ and ‘witchy’ for ‘bitchy’. An entire town of adults where not one of them swears. Sure, that’ll happen.

Second, Mallory, who is digging around for dirt on Beatrice, in order to find out who may have had a more compelling motive than her to kill the most hated person in town, is shocked and aghast and horrified, every single time someone says something negative about the victim–who was, lest we forget, the most hated person in town.

Third, Mallory, who is basically accosting the people she suspects may have wanted to kill Beatrice, has the gall to think, about three women talking about recent events in her hearing, that “while she adored each woman, she detested gossip. Perhaps a slight interruption would sidetrack them from speculating on idle rumors.”

This is the same woman, by the by, who continues to think of Aspen as ‘Red’ (for ‘redhead’), for a good three quarters of the novel, well after the point they’ve shared food and conversation.

But the most tone deaf bit of self-righteousness comes as Mallory ponders her financial situation: “because she had been a fiscally responsible adult with a good credit rating, she had been approved for a loan”. As if perfectly responsible Black people weren’t denied loans regardless of their credit scores, and the problem wasn’t so prevalent that redlining is on the news ever so often.

Finally, we have the utter lack of sense with which Mallory handles her business. She sells cookies; the profit margin in food is slim; for a small item like cookies? It has to be even smaller. And yet, even as she frets about how she’s barely making ends meet, Mallory is constantly giving cookies away, and taking time off to pursue her cockamamie investigations, leaving her two warring employees to cover for her.

Did I say the book is a mess?

So, while this was not quite a hate-read (I neither have the time nor the spoons for that), I finished the book only because I wanted to see if I was right about the killer and their motive (I was). At any rate, I will not be reading anything else by Ms Sennefelder.

How the Murder Crumbles gets a 5.50 out of 10

I can already tell that this new cozy mystery is going to be on my must listen list! A smart, resourceful and curious bakery owner needs to figure out who murdered the town mean gal before her life and business are ruined by rumors. I love that our main character is portrayed as being intelligent, thoughtful and resourceful in her business and her sleuthing activities. A wonderful best friend and an unlikely new friend are added into the mix along with a few characters who may or may not turn out to be friends in the future. A well written plot and while I did figure out who the killer was early on, there were plenty of suspects to keep you guessing whether you are right or not. The plot is so well written that you feel like you are right there with the characters rather than just reading a book about them! I can't wait for the next book in the series!

3.5 Stars (for the recipes at the back)
One Liner: Interesting premise, okayish execution

Mallory Monroe’s Cookie Shop is a bustling place in Wingate, Connecticut. She had purchased it from her late aunt (who inspired her to bake cookies) and revamped the interiors and menu. Life should be going good for her, but alas!
Mallory finds her boyfriend cheating on her. The next day, she ends up having a faceoff with Beatrice Wright, aka Queen Bea (the local food blogger), about a cookie recipe. When Mallory finds Beatrice dead (murdered) in her home that night, she becomes a primary suspect.
People cancel orders and seem more interested in gossip. Mallory decides she needs to clear her name to save her beloved Cookie Shop. However, Beatrice ruffled many feathers, and the suspect list is long. Can Mallory prove herself innocent and catch the killer?
The story comes in Mallory’s limited third-person POV.

My Thoughts:
I love food cozy mysteries as they combine delicious food and murder. This one is no different and has loads of cookies, a dead body, and several suspects. The cover is super cute with a cookie bouquet, which features multiple times in the book.
All the scenes involving cookie baking and decorating are my favorite. Unfortunately, I’m not good at both (sigh!), but I sure enjoy reading about the process.
The mystery has an intriguing premise, with a cookie recipe as the possible cause of rift and murder. However…
My biggest issue is with the main character, Mallory. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t connect to her or even feel sad for her. Since the story comes from her POV (in the third person), it’s hard to enjoy her sleuthing. Never mind that she manages to antagonize almost every person she meets in the process. I know amateur sleuths are clumsy, but she takes it to the next level. Many of her interactions make me wonder how she worked in the advertising industry for so long before a shift in careers.
As someone who enjoys this genre, I go into the first book in the series with fewer expectations. That’s because these books mostly focus on establishing the setting and characters and tend to have weaker mysteries.
Here, there are quite a few issues with execution and character development. Except for Kip and Aspen, the rest feel artificial and one-dimensional (too many characters too). The only difference is that K & A manage to create interest despite the lack of depth.
The chosen POV did not help. Mallory doesn’t make it easy to empathize with her. I don’t mind flawed MCs, but she isn’t engaging enough to carry the book on her shoulders. She should have been with her love for mysteries and a cat named Agatha, but nope.
The mystery is actually well done. The red herrings are justified, and the reveal makes sense. It could have been better if the pacing was consistent instead of being clunky.
The ending is rather cute and is immediately followed by three recipes for the most mentioned cookies in the book. Now, that’s enough for me to add 0.5 to the rating. ;)

To summarize, How the Murder Crumbles is a fairly decent cozy mystery but could have been better with a different POV and better execution. I’ll read book two to see if things get better (I hope they do).
Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Mallory Monroe had purchased her aunt's Cookie Shop and enjoyed the task of baking her cookies and decorating them for gift baskets and individual cookies, all good for sale and great for gifts. Of her two employees, she'd inherited Claudia from her aunt, and Kip was a good friend, and a good worker. Having recently discovered her boyfriend in the arms of another woman, Mallory was sworn off men, but it was when the food blogger, Beatrice Wright, marched into the Cookie Shop in the midst of an interview, and accused Mallory's aunt, and subsequently Mallory, of stealing a particular cookie recipe, that things started going downhill. Mallory decided the following morning to visit Queen Bea at her home to make amends for the argument the day before, but when she discovered Beatrice's body in her own kitchen, the police were immediately on the scene - and Mallory became suspect number one.

Mallory had to investigate the murder to clear her name as she was losing business; the knowledge she was gaining about Beatrice made her shudder. She knew not many people had liked her, but she was worse than Mallory could ever have imagined. There were plenty of people with the motive to kill her - how would she work out who the killer was?

How the Murder Crumbles is the 1st in the Cookie Shop Mystery series by Debra Sennefelder and I quite enjoyed it. Fun and entertaining, the characters were a mix of nice and not so nice! I would love to see the decorated cookies Mallory created, and taste some as well! Looking forward to #2. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is a charming new series I recommend for all cozy lovers. This is the first in the Cookie Shop Mystery series. Mallory is our protagnist moving back to her small town to take over the family bakery. She has had challenges of late with a cheating boyfriend and changed her life to do the baking she loves. She has good friends with her to help and loveable townspeople that respect her. With the onset of a argument with one women accusing her of stealing a receipe Mallory is defending herself after their argument when the women is found murdered. Now Mallory must investigate to find out who the rightful suspect is and save her business. All foodies will love this series with fabulous baking .

I enjoyed this cozy and look forward to the next in series.
Thank you to the publisher, the author and to Net Gallley for the oopportunity. My review opinion is my own.

Nice start to a new series. Interesting characters. Small town. A hint of romance. Clever murder mystery that kept me guessing. I look forward to the cookie baker's further adventures. I also was an account executive at an advertising agency. Don't think I would ever switch to making cookies. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Good start to a new series, but our MC is a bit…not so loveable? However, the mystery and the side characters have me wanting to give the next book a try and see if things firm up for the better.

Four stars!

I found this book really fun to read. It's a cozy introduction to this series, and it's all about cookies! If you're a fan of cozy mysteries I recommend reading this book. The characters and story was wonderful to read. You can't go wrong with cookies and a cozy mystery!

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGallery for a digital copy of this book for my review.

This is the first in the Cookie Shop Mystery series. Mallory Monroe has moved to Wingate Connecticut after purchasing her Aunt Glenna’s bakery after leaving after leaving her job in advertising. She has 2 employees her friend Kip, and her aunt’s long term employee Claudia who doesn’t seem to approve of any of her changes to the bakery. Mallory has always loved baking and decorating cookies so this was a perfect opportunity for a fresh start. Mallory’s fresh start is starting to hit a few snags, first she decides to surprise her boyfriend Gil with dinner and she is the one surprised seeing him with another women. So, add a break-up to her latest life changes. As she is trying to promote her new business, she arrives for her interview with the local reporter Dugan only to end up in a very vocal disagreement with Beatrice Wright a local food blogger, former friend of her aunt and known in the community as Queen Bea. Bea accuses Mallory of using her aunt’s stolen recipe for Almond meltaways and threatens legal action if she continues to make them. Mallory doesn’t back down and tells Bea there are consequences to her words and she will regret accusing her aunt of theft. Her Aunt is recently deceased and she can’t bear the thought of people thinking badly of her. She decides to prove Bea wrong but also feels bad about the harsh words and decides to go see Bea to try and call a truce. Unfortunately, she is too late because she finds Bea dead in her kitchen and because of their argument she becomes a prime suspect. Enter one attractive detective Will Hannigan and she begins to try and prove her innocence and keep her business from failing before it every gets off the ground. Her cousin Darlene is thinking of selling the building the bakery is in, she rents the upstairs apartment to the women Aspen who her boyfriend cheated on. Could her life get anymore complicated. Yes. The murderer is sending Mallory threats to stop investigating. The handsome detective is telling her to stop and she has to clear her name and not become the next victim. This was a great debut and I look forward to the next in this series.

I initially dropped this book, because I couldn't get into it. But, then I saw the audiobook was available on Netgalley, and I had a feeling it might turn my experience of this book around.
And I'm glad I gave it another chance, because the immersive experience of listening to the audiobook while reading the book was really great.
The narrator has such a pleasant voice, it was wonderful to listen to her. She did an amazing job bringing the story to life, and giving a "voice" personality to each character. I thought Aspen's Legally Blonde voice was spot-on.
As for the content of the story, the author developed a Wisteria Lane-kind of community. It was flabbergasting to see so many hidden skeletons in that smalltown. I agree with other readers and found that the women in Wingate were a difficult bunch, to say the least.
Near the end, I was dreading an underwhelming finale, but an unexpected twist proved me wrong. Spoiler alert: The ending sounded as though it could easily have been an episode from the series "Why Women Kill".
All in all, I'm glad I found the audiobook, and I hope they'll put up more of them on netgalley to accompany the mystery category. It's really helpful sometimes when you have a hard time concentrating on a book.

This is a first book in series. I would put this at 3.5 stars. I rounded up. I like the story. There are some great twists and turns.
Things I liked: the cookie shop sounds delicious and fun; all the dangerous things that happen keep the story moving forward; the detective; Kip and his friendship with Mallory
Things that had to grow on me: Mallory. Mallory seems likable enough but the author gave her too many things to overcome right out of the gate - cheater boyfriend, chance of losing her business, huge business loan, issues with cookie recipe, disloyal newspaper report, problematic cousin, tension between coworkers and the other woman. Mallory jumped in to investigate very quickly and made a number of too stupid to live decisions. The only reason she survived the dumb things she did is because she is the main character and you can’t kill them in a cozy mystery.
Remember I did say I liked the story, and I did. The murder turns out to be a complicated matter. There were plenty of red herrings.
I listened to the book. I liked the narrator.
I had access to both the ebook and the audiobook. Thanks to Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review this book.