Mallory (Mal) has left her high profile career in advertising and has purchased her aunt’s bakery. Her advertising knowledge is coming in handy as she has big plans to increase her customer base. That will come in handy as she was confronted by a bossy food blogger, Beatrice, who accused her of stealing her recipe for Almond Meltaways in front of the customers and Mal retorted back. Later that evening she stopped by Beatrice’s house with her recipe book that included her aunt’s recipe and finds Beatrice murdered in her kitchen along with the murder weapon: a marble rolling pin. This makes Mal a prime suspect so she sets off to eliminate the many suspects and find the real killer. Suspects were easy to find as Beatrice had made many enemies over the years. There were perhaps too many suspects in the book as it was hard to keep them straight. I enjoyed the novel idea of Mal’s novel idea of cookie bouquets for every occasion and the idea of adding whimsical characters painstakingly decorated by Mal. There are many similarities between Joanne Fluke’s books including Mal’s way of talking to her list of suspects thru her own delivery of cookies and not many of them were happy with her questions. So many characters in this new series whether the suspects, a two-timing boyfriend and his subsequent girlfriend befriending Mal. Handsome detective who is right behind Mal when she takes up her own investigation and her fellow baker, Kip; hmm, would like to see more development of those two in future books. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC book; the thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.

"Wingate, Connecticut, is famed as one of the top ten shopping destinations in the state, and home to Mallory Monroe’s beloved Cookie Shop—a place where patrons are greeted with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies that are as beautifully decorated as they are insanely delicious. But things aren’t going so smoothly for Mallory. Her two employees are a disaster in the kitchen, she catches her boyfriend with another woman, and she’s seen having a fierce argument with food blogger Beatrice Wright, who accuses Mallory of stealing her cookie recipe. Then Beatrice turns up dead in her kitchen, flour outlining her body and a bloodied marble rolling pin nearby. Mallory immediately becomes suspect number one, her sales plummet, and she desperately tries to clear her name—but that’s not the only murder the killer is baking up."
This is a good mystery. I definitely would buy it for myself.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced with just enough mystery and a little attraction. There were multiple tracks in the story which made the book more interesting. My only complaint was that there were to many characters to keep track of.

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder is a delicious, cozy mystery perfect for rainy summer afternoons or cold winter evenings. It's premise is a very basic baking cozy mystery premise featuring a woman (Mallory) who returns to a small town to run a cookie baking shop and ends up getting mixed up in the murder of a woman with whom she was seen having an argument earlier and who seems to have an issue with half the town (so plenty of suspects). Now Mallory must don her Nancy Drew gloves and start sleuthing to prove herself innocent and get her business back on track. But this is where Debra Sennefelder's genius comes in because the writing is really really good and I really enjoyed it. With names like Lilac Road and Old Lantern Road and absolutely beautiful descriptions of the architecture and small town life, this book manages to weave the small town vibe throughout the book. I loved the friendships , silly cookie jokes and the cookie references are definitely going to stir up some cravings.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc. All opinions expressed in the review are my own.

How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder showcases a new delightful cozy culinary mystery from Ms. Sennefelder.

Who killed Beatrice Wright?

Mallory Monroe
Mallory Monroe has made a big career change from working at an advertisement agency to owning her cookie bakery shop, where she bakes and decorates the cookies. I have to say that I love the concept of Mallory, and I enjoyed following Mallory around and trying to solve this mystery with her. Mallory has a strong reason for trying to solve this murder since it is impending her business in succeeding. If I met Mallory on the streets, I would love to be her friend, especially so I could try out her different cookie recipes. Talk about a win-win situation. I'd be getting a friend and free cookies.

The Victim
Beatrice Wright's nickname around the town of Wingate is Queen Bea. Beatrice liked to stir the pot and make a lot of enemies instead of friends. Or if they were her friends, they turned on Beatrice when she used them for her own gain. Mallory finds out a lot about Beatrice after she died. Like how she isn't the good person that everyone thought she was. I have to say that I actually crossed everyone off the list, and then once the killer was revealed, I was shocked. Keep your eyes peeled, everyone, and a plate of cookies next to you.

Five Stars
How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder has Mallory Monroe going around trying to solve a murder that pins her as the prime murder suspect. Ms. Sennefelder had me guessing until the very end. I am giving How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder five stars. I also recommend it to anyone who likes a fantastic cozy culinary mystery.

There are three recipes in the back for Almond Meltaway Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder.

Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

I thought this book is a well written story. The red herrings were clever and plentiful. This book is an engaging and satisfying read that will appeal to cozy mystery fans. I recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Cooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This was a very interesting who done it with tons of misdirection, twist and turns. It would have been a touch more fun if the cat had been more involved, but there's always the next one (I hope). The book keeps moving from the first pages to the last. We see a typical family, issues and all. Typical small town grapevine, everyone seems to know everyone, but not the deep secrets. We get to learn about about baking and decorating cookies without it being the focus of the book, a nice touch.

This first installment of the Cookie Shop Mysteries finds that Mallory Monroe has taken over her aunt's bakery in Wingate Connecticut and opened a cookie shop. She features some of her aunt's cookie recipes along with customized cookie bouquets. It's one of these recipes that brings "Queen Bea," one of the town's most difficult people, to her shop saying her aunt stole her cookie recipe. The disagreement was in front of customers and the local news reporter there to do a story on the Cookie Shop. Afterwards Mallory goes to Beatrice's house to work out the issue and finds her dead in her kitchen.

In order to save her fledgling business, her reputation and stay out of jail, she needs to find the killer. There are plenty of suspects, secrets, a cheating ex-boyfriend, lots of great side characters including a best friend who is comic relief and a cat named Agatha. Yes, she's named for THAT Agatha (Christie).

I feel like I have a new group of friends and I can't wait for the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the chance to read this story.

Mallory is working at her dream job, running the bakery left to her by her late aunt. But things are not going smoothly. Her two employees are bickering with each other, she catches her boyfriend with another woman, and a food blogger, Beatrice, has publically accused Mallory’s deceased aunt of stealing a cookie recipe from her. If things can’t get any worse, they do. On a spur-of-the-moment decision, Mallory visits Beatrice to try and smooth things over. When she gets there, Beatrice is dead, and Mallory is the main suspect (due to the argument earlier that day). With the police breathing down her neck and her reputation in tatters, Mallory decides to solve the mystery. But that is easier said than done because everyone in town had issues with Beatrice. Can Mallory catch the killer? Or is she next on that person’s list?

I had been on a cozy mystery download frenzy when I decided to download this book. I had decided that I needed to read more cozy mysteries, and I would follow that promise to myself. Coincidentally, Crooked Lane Books had a bunch that was read now. How the Murder Crumbles is part of that haul.

While I liked How the Murder Crumbles, I wasn’t a big fan of it. The characters didn’t cut it for me. Everything else (including the mystery) was well written. But will I read the other books in the series (when they are published), yes. I have become attached to the secondary characters and hope Mallory’s business catches a break.

The main storyline in How the Murder Crumbles centers around Mallory, Beatrice’s death, and Mallory’s investigation. I felt that Mallory was a little unstable from the beginning of the book. I don’t know if the author meant to write her this way, but it came across like that to me. And her mental state began to crumble once she found Beatrice dead, and the police started investigating her. The author did a great job of showing her heading toward a breakdown while hyper-focusing on Beatrice’s murder. She was able to pull up some great leads to give to the police during that time.

The characters in How the Murder Crumbles were well-written and multi-faceted. I liked that even the victim had multiple sides to her. Those dimensions of the characters fleshed out the storyline and made the characters feel lifelike.

I did feel bad for Mallory. She was trying her best to ensure her aunt’s business succeeds. But she had her work cut out for her. Then Beatrice blows into the story and publically accuses her of stealing one of her recipes, and Mallory loses it. I don’t blame her; I would have done the same thing. But Mallory’s stinky day turns even more so when she finds her boyfriend cheating on her and then she finds Beatrice dead. The glimpse of a happy but stressed out Mallory turns into a stressed out, anxious, heading towards a breakdown Mallory who is convinced she’s going to jail for murder. Again, I would have felt the same way. But I wouldn’t have done what Mallory did and actively hunted down leads. Maybe it was the stress or the mysteries she read, but she would clear her name. Adding to her anxiety, her cousin acted weird, her ex convinced his boss to withdraw a large order, and the other woman wanted to be her best friend. I have no clue how Mallory didn’t snap.

I loved the mystery angle of How the Murder Crumbles. This was a twisty mystery with so many red herrings that I was utterly bamboozled by who the murderer was and why that person killed Beatrice when it was revealed. The author had Mallory chasing dead-end leads or chasing leads that led to her becoming more prominently featured in the community (she joined a business committee). Some were boring, and others were interesting. But all painted a very unflattering of the victim and other town residents. I was also a little peeved at the police because in no way did they even tell Mallory she wasn’t a suspect until almost the end of the book. All that stress and anxiety could have been avoided if they were more open. But, then again, would they have gotten the results? Yes, but not with the flair that Mallory brought.

A very slight romance angle was kept almost one-sided until the end of the book. I understood why (conflict of interest), and I can’t wait to see where this romance will go!!

The end of How the Murder Crumbles was interesting. I did not see how the murderer was and why that person killed Beatrice. It took me entirely by surprise.

I recommend How the Murder Crumbles to anyone over 16. There are no sexual situations, mild to moderate violence, and mild language.

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and Debra Sennefelder for allowing me to read and review How the Murder Crumbles. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder

Wingate, Connecticut, is famed as one of the top ten shopping destinations in the state and home to Mallory Monroe’s beloved Cookie Shop—a place where patrons are greeted with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies that are as beautifully decorated as they are insanely delicious.

But things aren’t going so smoothly for Mallory. Her two employees are a disaster in the kitchen, she catches her boyfriend with another woman, and she’s seen having a fierce argument with food blogger Beatrice Wright, who accuses Mallory of stealing her cookie recipe. Then Beatrice turns up dead in her kitchen, flour outlining her body and a bloodied marble rolling pin nearby. Mallory immediately becomes suspect number one, her sales plummet, and she desperately tries to clear her name—but that’s not the only murder the killer is baking up.

This was a good start to a new cozy mystery series, and I would likely pick up the second if I was in the right mood. It's fairly predictable (expected in a cozy), but I enjoyed the cast of characters and the setting. There is potential for a lot of storylines with the various characters in future installments.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a free copy of How the Murder Crumbles. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own. #NetGalley

This is the first in the Cookie Shop Mystery by Debra Sennefelder. I was drawn into the book by the description, cover, and promise of “perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke.”

I thought this was a well-written story. It’s not usual to see the demise of the protagonist’s relationship at the start of a series. The reader usually comes upon it as an after the fact occurrence.

The characters were not milk toast and added variety to the story. I especially enjoyed the ending, we learn a little about the detective and Mallory’s first meeting, how the recipe became a staple at the bakery, and Darlene and Mallory’s relationship seems to be improving.

I am looking forward to the next installment and will try making the three cookie recipes at the end of the book.

I was given an advanced readers copy by Netgalley. I am not required to leave a positive review.

How exciting is it to see "first in a new series" on a cozy mystery. Definitely get in on the ground floor with this cookie shop mystery. Mallory is a entertaining new character in the cozy world. She has a charming small business that she abandons frequently to take investigate, even though her life is being threatened. Exactly the type of cozy leading lady we love! This mystery was very intricate with a few clues I thought would help me figure out the murderer. In the end, it was someone I suspected but to be fair, I suspected everyone! The red herrings were clever and plentiful. I'll be reading more in this series, I hope.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This is my first time reading a book by Debra Sennefelder, but I don't think it'll be my last! I was intrigued by the title on NetGalley because it was a food cozy that took place in a cookie shop. How can one possibly go wrong with that. There are even delicious cookie recipes included at the end of the book!!!

Anyway, Mallory Monroe bought the Cookie Shop from her Aunt Glenna because she loves to bake and create cookie bouquets and she needed a new direction in her life (city life just wasn't right anymore). Suffice it to say, Mallory doesn't seem to have the best of luck while she's building her business. Her boyfriend cheats on her, her cousin is trying to sell the building the bakery is in and the tenant upstairs is none other than the lady her ex cheated on her with. Boy howdy! Then to make the cookie even crumblier, her aunt's former friend is accusing Mallory of stealing one of her cookie recipes and later that evening turns up murdered...what?!? Talk about bad for business since Mallory is a person of interest and in order to save her name decides she must sleuth to find the real killer. A mess, and not just in the kitchen, ensues as Beatrice, the lady killed with a rolling pin, has made many enemies over the years for various different reasons including blackmail and Mallory is determined to clear her name with hot coffee guy (aka Detective Hannigan) at the risk of harm being done to her. Seriously, when it rains, it pours...not sprinkles! This cozy mystery is filled with suspects, many who have secrets (hello blackmail), but one person carries the biggest secret of all and that person will do anything to stay out of jail!

How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder is the first book in the Cookie Shop Mystery series. This was an intriguing read. Wingate is a small town but a murder there got the media's attention. The Cookie Shop owner, Mallory Monroe found herself a person of interest in the case. Since Mallory knew she was innocent she set out to prove it. I really liked Mallory. She is determined, smart and courageous. Even after some warnings she didn't stop asking questions. Actually I liked all the characters in this book. This is a great first book in the series.

Mallory Monroe used to love visiting her Aunt Glenna's cookie shop as a child and now, amazingly, it's hers, and she gets to bake amazing delicacies every day. It's not all smooth sailing though, with her two assistants not quite seeing eye to eye most of the time, and her cousin having trouble accepting someone else running her much missed mom's store.

When Mallory discovers the dead body of one of the locals, who is on all the most important committees and isn't above airing grievances in public it seems things can’t get much worse. Unfortunately, the victim had just accused Glenna of stealing the shop’s most popular cookie recipe and suddenly Mallory is the number one suspect while noticing a distinct drop in sales. Determined to clear her name Mallory begins her own investigation much to the dismay of the local police department but has she underestimated the danger she is putting herself in?

The first in the Cookie Shop Mysteries by Debra Sennefelder promises much with well imagined main protagonists and interesting back stories. I'm sure this will soon become another successful cosy series for me to look forward to. It is definitely a good start.

First off, I loved the debut installment in this new cookie shop series so much that I absolutely need to know when the second one is slated to be released. This is a read that I'd be more than happy to read more than once.

Mallory, owner of The Cookie Shop, bought her aunt's bakery shortly after she learned she wouldn't be receiving that promotion in advertising. Mallory immediately gave the central Connecticut bakery a facelift with fresh paint and character rich pieces from an area tag sale.

Mallory specializes in fabulously orchestrated cookie bouquets, but she also features a cookie of the month from her aunt's tried and favorite cookie recipes. Things take a turn though when she's accused of using a stolen recipe for her featured cookie, the Almond Meltaway. Reeling from a public confrontation, Mallory ties on her newly pressed sleuthing apron and goes out to clear her name.

I just love how the author painted the description of the town. The descriptions were so vivid that I was able to quickly draw up a mental map of the town of Wingate. I can still picture Mallory biking to her cottage, her bakery and all over town. I got a warm sense of community from Mallory's interactions with people in the town and all the businesses the author wrote about. My favorite was the coffee shop that was so conveniently located to The Cookie Shop. It made me think of place attachment and how lovely it would be to interact with the community as Mallory does.

My heart is so warmed from reading this book. I cannot wait to hear of the release of the second. I hope we won't have to wait too long. Until then I've ordered another book of Debra's. Thank you Debra for such a wonderful reading experience!

In "Cookie Shop Mystery," author Debra Sennefelder delivers a delectable cozy mystery that is sure to satisfy readers' sweet tooth. Set in Wingate, Connecticut, Mallory Monroe's Cookie Shop is a beloved destination for locals and tourists alike, serving up mouth-watering baked goods that are as visually stunning as they are delicious. But when Mallory's life takes a turn for the worse with the discovery of a dead body in her rival food blogger's kitchen, Mallory finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation, and her once-thriving business starts to crumble.

Sennefelder weaves a captivating whodunit that will keep readers guessing until the very end. The plot is well-structured, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the story engaging. As the investigation unfolds, secrets are revealed, and suspects are eliminated one by one. The tension builds steadily, and the pacing is just right, allowing readers to become fully invested in the story.

Mallory is a relatable and likable protagonist, and readers will root for her as she navigates the treacherous waters of a murder investigation. The supporting cast of characters is well-developed, each with their own motives and secrets. The interactions between the characters are realistic and add depth to the story.

The setting of Wingate is charming, and Calder's vivid descriptions of the town and its inhabitants paint a vivid picture of small-town life. The baking scenes are especially delightful, and readers will be able to almost taste the delicious treats that Mallory creates.

Overall, "Cookie Shop Mystery" is an engaging and satisfying read that will appeal to fans of cozy mysteries and foodie fiction alike. With its delightful characters, mouth-watering descriptions of baked goods, and well-crafted plot, this book is sure to leave readers craving more.

I received this book for free for an honest review.

So much fun and a really excellent mystery. I love the cover as well. Gorgeous 😍

Setting the Scene: After being passed over for a promotion, Mallory Monroe left her high salaried job as an account executive at a big city Advertising Firm to buy her aunt's bakery in the small town of Wingate and fulfill her dream of owning her own cookie/cookie bouquet shop. Things are going well until a series of unfortunate events: Mal discovers her long-term boyfriend is cheating; Mal has a public argument with the town's Queen Bea over a cookie recipe; Mal stumbles upon said Bea's body outlined in flour and bludgeoned with a rolling pin; and Mal becomes suspect #1. Now things are going downhill fast as Mal tries desperately to find the killer. Who knew one woman could have so many enemies?

What I Thought: Debra Sennefelder's first in her new cozy mystery series is an entertaining addition to the culinary cozy genre. She has built a delightful world in Wingate with quirky and well-developed characters who are likeable and interesting, with the promise of lots of stories to tell. Yes, there is a hot detective, and yes, it does appear there may be a slow burn relationship ready to ignite, and yes, I am okay with that. The mystery is solid, with an abundance of suspects, and it kept me guessing through a good portion of the book. I look forward to the next book in this series.