How the Murder Crumbles is a cozy mystery set in Wingate, Connecticut. Mallory Monroe owns a cookie shop and things are not going very smoothly as her two employees don't get along, she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, and then she has an argument with cantankerous food blogger, Beatrice Wright. who accuses Mallory of stealing her cookie recipe. When Beatrice is murdered with a marble rolling pin, Mallory becomes suspect number one. This was a fun quick read with likeable characters and plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing til the end. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and to netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy.

I always love reading Debra Sennefelder cozies - full of funny protagonists and cute animals. This book was no exception - a cookie shop in Connecticut - how fun!

Loved reading this new series. Can't wait for the 2nd book in the series to come out. She is 1 of my favorite authors to read. Hope you enjoy her books as well

Mallory Monroe is a big city girl who returned to her small hometown to pursue a baking career due to a life-altering event. While it sounds like our favorite Hallmark Holiday movie trope, Mallory’s story adds *a little bit of spice* trading a cookie-cutter romance for murder mystery.

‘How the Murder Crumbles’ was a fun and enjoyable read that kept me guessing until the very end. I found Mallory’s character to be pleasant, and I even found myself wanting her to take a tiny break from detective work so she could stir up some other adventures with Kip, her enemy-frenemy-friend Aspen, or to show her cheater ex-boyfriend what he’s missing.

I did find the first couple chapters to be a bit slow, but I’m glad I stuck it out. With how detailed Mallory’s cookies were throughout the book, I would have liked to see the recipes intertwined with the story. I found the amount of potential suspects to be slightly confusing, and some of the characters seemed unnecessary which was distracting (like, nobody would notice if all of Claudia was cut out!).

Overall, I would recommend this book to a mystery-loving reader, especially those who want to be kept guessing without too much psychological thrill. It looks like this is the first part of a Cookie Shop series, so I’ll definitely give the sequel a read as well. This is my very first ARC, courtesy of NetGalley and the author.

This is all you want in a cozy! I loved the characters, plot and place. Mallory Monroe’s beloved Cookie Shop is a place that I would love to spend time in. The cookie shop is doing well, Mallory thinks she has a great boyfriend and the support of her cousin.
Its not that simple when her boyfriend is a cheater, cousin betrays her and she finds a dead body. This is such a great start to a fun series. I am looking forward to more adventures with Mallory.

Yet another fun, foodie, cosy murder, mystery. And I must say it is just that, A bit of fun and the cookie theme really got me going.

For me it started a wee bit slow but wasn't too slow that I stopped reading. I loved the characters and Mallory was so good with her cookies helping her to reel in people and make them talk. I loved it.

The story was good, it is very entertaining, the small town setting was perfect and the suspects..... Well there were more than a few and I did get a bit lost at times. Just about needed to make a list so I could keep them all straight.

Good book and look forward to seeing what comes next.

I liked this read but the whole time I kept making comparisons to Joanne Fluke. The similarities are glaring if you love the Hannah Swensen series. The author needs to find a way to differentiate her series.

In this first book in the A Cookie Shop Mystery, a woman dies in suspicious circumstances. This book can be read as a standalone.

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Mallory Monroe owns a bakery called The Cookie Shop in Connecticut, which she runs with her employee Kip Winslow, and Claudia Allen who used to work for Mallory’s aunt Glenna.

Mallory had moved from Manhattan to Windgate where she worked as an advertising account manager after losing her promotion following a merger, and getting backstabbed by a colleague.

When her aunt calls her with the news that she’s selling her bakery, Mallory takes the plunge and buys it. She makes delicious cookies with her customers can’t get enough of.

One day a woman named Beatrice Wright, a food blogger storms into Mallory’s shop to warn her to stop selling her Almond Meltaways recipe.

But Mallory insists that the recipe is from her aunt whereupon Beatrice accuses Mallory’s aunt of stealing the recipe from her.

Later in the day, when Mallory heads to Beatrice’s house to compare her aunt’s cookie recipe to Beatrice’s recipe, Mallory finds her lying dead in her kitchen.

Moments later the police arrive on the scene. A man Mallory met earlier at her coffee shop turns out to be a Detective Will Hannigan.

Soon after Mallory becomes a person of interest in the murder of Beatrice. So she tries to clear her name and decides to do some digging herself. As she digs dipper, she finds out Beatrice has a history of blackmailing people into doing what she wants.

Could one of her victims likely have killed her?

A very delicious read with lovely characters. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

Recipes include Almond Meltaway Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Thank you to Debra Sennefelder, NetGalley, and Crooked Lane Books for the arc of this book

Love the setting! A fun filled cozy that is delicious in many ways! Likeable characters. Good story plot with twists and turns to keep your interest. Thanks #netgalley and #Crookedlanebooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

This book was amazing. Love stories about small towns. This book had me on the edge of my seat. I read this to my girls they liked it.

This is my first Debra Sennefelder’s book and a first of cozy mystery fiction.
At first, I was taken aback a bit by the writing style, it’s little odd and simplistic with short sentences and unnecessary details. But then I got pulled into the plot and characters and started enjoying more.
I had some aspects I didn’t like, for example the detective seems to be more attractive than clever. I really expected to get his perspective a bit, but it seemed the police did nothing to solve the crime. Also for a good portion of the book the main heroine just talks to people without getting any insights or following any theory. The thought process is important! I felt like it lacked a strong narrative, rather having reader’s attention spread thin on absolutely unnecessary details unrelated to the crime or character development. Also there is too many suspects.
Now to the things I liked - the book is pretty light, nice and sweet with bakery, cookies, gardens and small town atmosphere. I enjoyed the romance too, although it’s merely the start of it. The murder plot line was solid too, I didn’t guess the murderer up until ¾ of the book. I liked the side characters – especially Claudia with her moody disposition and remarks. Mallory was a good main character.
Overall I’ll read the next book in the series and will check out others of the author. For me the book is around solid 3 starts, it doesn’t have any major turnoffs but also doesn’t hook your attention so that you can’t put down he book.
#HowtheMurderCrumbles
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via #NetGalley.*

Yummy cookies and cookie bouquets are products in the cookie bakery in a small town. Mallory bakes cookies from her aunt's recipes. The town Queen Bee says the best selling cookie is her recipe then she dies. Mallory takes it upon herself to clear her name when she becomes the prime suspect. Meanwhile her boyfriend cheats and her life story is told. The story is interesting. I liked it.

I loved the idea behind the cookies from Mallory Monroe's cookie shop, which might be described as cookie bouquets or floral type theme arrangements, only with cookies, not flowers. The cover photo looks delightful and is what first drew me to the book. As with most first books in a new series, however, it tended to build slowly as we were introduced to the various characters in Wingate, Connecticut, as well as their relationships with each other. Some were intriguing, some barely sketched out, leaving us much to learn in future books. 

For me, unfortunately, I found it difficult to connect with Mallory/Mal initially. We do learn her background in advertising, a skill that should prove helpful in navigating the promotional world of baking, but other than that she misses her aunt and that her boyfriend, Gil, was cheating on her, that was my foundation. Ironically, "Red", real name Aspen, the "other woman" comes across as much more interesting. Although Mal did grow on me as the story went along, I hope Aspen sticks around. She might be a good friend to have with her legal, albeit not criminal law training. Detective Will Hannigan shows promise, too, as someone who will not only be the romantic interest but someone who can help Mallory find her true self and inner strength. 

Of course, if there is a detective involved, it's a pretty good indication that there has been a crime. In this case, the question if "Who killed the Queen Bea, aka Beatrice Wright?" Who would kill over a cookie recipe? Although Mallory and Bea are overheard having an argument in her shop by no less than not just a local reporter but the detective himself, it turns out that the potential list of suspects is lengthy. Are you surprised to hear that Mallory sets out to clear her name by asking questions? Of course you aren't. This is a cozy mystery, after all, and it just wouldn't be the same if the main character doesn't somehow put a target on their own back. That's part of the fun. Heck, Mallory even has to try and probe why one of her cookie decorating class members seems so unhappy. Mal is just that kind of person. 

Needless to say, there are lots of twists and red herrings. I never really managed to tie it all together neatly in my mind before the reveal but all the clues are there. While I was slow warming up to Mallory, I will definitely be checking out the next book in the series to see how those tantalizing teasers at the end play out. Thanks #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for introducing me to those "they look too pretty to eat" cookies. Looking forward to seeing how this series develops.

I received a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

This is a sweet, pun intended, cozy mystery set in a bakery. Mallory has inherited her aunt’s business, and taken on baking cookies, teaching classes, and making custom cookie bouquets. Cozy fans will enjoy this addition to the genre. It would also be an appropriate book for advanced readers who enjoy mysteries, since it is a clean book with romance limited to “gee, he’s cute".

Contempoary culinary cozy
Ms. Sennefelder crafts an amusing culinary small town cozy with lots of different types of characters, some with believable reasons to have committed the murder. Fingers pointed to Mallory, enough though her only interaction was the day before when the victim created a scene in her bakery in front of a lot of people, including a reporter. This lead Mallory to snoop all over town to clear herself, finding many other suspects with motive. The characters are well defined and can invoke different reactions, depending on their current interaction.
It moves along quickly and I would recommend to any cozy lover as I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

This book is a great start to this new series. Mallory Monroe is the owner of a cookie shop that used to belong to her Aunt Glenna. She has made changes to the shop since taking it over, much to her cousin's chagrin, like brightening it up and offering a cookie decorating class. It all really goes south after Mallory goes to Beatrice's house to clear up Beatrice's earlier accusation of Aunt Glenna stealing her recipe for Almond Meltaways but finds her dead on the kitchen floor. Everyone saw them argue at the bakery and now she's a person of interest and needs to get herself off the suspect list. She soon finds there is no shortage of people who disliked Beatrice but the ending was surprising for me. There was also an added bonus at the end.

Looking forward to the next book in this series. The cast of characters are very relatable and excited to see how they develop.

#NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks #HowtheMurderCrumbles #DebraSennefelder #Cookies

How the Murder Crumbles is the debut of the Cookie Shop Mystery series set in the small town of Wingate, Connecticut and featuring Mallory Monroe, ex-advertising executive now owner of the Cookie Shop. Passed over for a promotion at the Manhattan ad agency, Mallory decides to purchase her Aunt Glenna's beloved bakery and uproots her furry feline Agatha, and moves to Connecticut. Mallory is adjusting to her new life, playing middleman between her two employees Kip and Claudia, who can't seem to get along, and trying to find time to spend with her boyfriend Gil.

Mallory suddenly finds things crumbling around her when a surprise visit to Gil's house unveils that he's been cheating on her instead of working late as he's been claiming. Then, during a much anticipated interview with the local newspaper, food blogger Beatrice Wright bursts in and claims that the Almond Meltaways that Mallory is serving is a recipe that her Aunt Glenna had stolen.

Trying to figure out what is going on, Mallory makes a visit to Queen Bea's home and discovers the woman bludgeoned by a rolling pin and surrounded by a flour outline with the initials MA written. Was Queen Bea trying to identify her killer. It's no surprise when Detective Will Hannigan points a finger at Mal and she's determined to clear her name before she looses everything.

A fun mystery with plenty of suspects and delicious sounding cookies (the recipes in the back are fairly easy even for the baking challenged). With the hint of romance, and a rival turned friend now figuring prominently in Mallory's life, I look forward to another stop at the Cookie Shop.

I received an advanced copy of How the Murder Crumbles from NetGalley via Crooke Lane Books.
While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

I genuinely feel bad about how my review is going to sound, but as an ARC reader, I want to be honest with both myself and the audience.

This book was incredibly difficult for me to read and get in to. I chose this book because it was advertised to fans of Joanne Fluke's books. I've read many of her books, and I was excited to see someone else tackle the same type of story.

However, this book, to me, seems like blatant plagiarism of Joanne Flukes' works. Not only are most of the characters the same but with different names, but even some of the places within the book are only a stones throw difference in name. It was really upsetting for me, because it felt like someone was trying to write characters I love but didn't know them.

Overall, the story line itself was original, but I think it was just not well put together. It was choppy and frankly most of the characters were pretty catty and self righteous. Mallory was a good main character, and I like how much she cared for everyone around her. I wish we got more in-depth interactions between her and a few characters, rather than meeting everyone in town, but only for a few lines.

I also enjoyed Kip and I think he brought a lightness to the overall stormy plot. Aspen was also an interesting addition. I hope that she sticks around, because I think the dynamic between Mallory and Aspen would be fun to play out.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can read more of this author's works, but I hope her other books do well.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.*

Kindle copy for Review from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

Mallory did not expect her cookie bakery to come crumbling around her.

Her two new employees are a disaster at the bakery and she catches her boy friend with another woman. Then she gets into a fight with a food blogger over one of her recipes who accuse her of stealing it who manages to die in her kitchen.

She becomes number one suspect and son business starts to drop. Can she clear her name before her business goes bust? A charming cozy with cookies and murder to indulge in.

Mallory Munroe has taken over her late Aunt’s bakery and making a go at her second act after working at a successful ad agency. The bakery opens, she finds her boyfriend has been two timing her, then she has a very public fight in the bakery with one of the town’s bullies, then she finds said bully dead. Why a way to start her new business.

With her name on the suspect list, Mallory decides she MUST find out who killed Queen Bea if she’s going to save her business before it even gets off gets off the ground. With so many suspects can she narrow it down before her business goes six feet under? Not if the killer can prevent it!

A good start to a new mystery series. I’ve like Debra’s work for quite a while and read her other series. She’s a talented writer as is evident in this new series with well developed characters, a solidly crafted mystery with red herrings and plenty of suspects to keep you guessing until the final reveal. If you haven’t read any of her books, get it on this series with the first entry and discover a new favorite cozy author.