A review by theavidreaderandbibliophile
How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder

3.0

How the Murder Crumbles is a lighthearted cozy mystery. Mallory Monroe enjoys baking and decorating cookies. She has traded in the big city for a small town. Mallory has fond memories of summers spent in Wingate, especially the summer she received her first kiss. The cookie descriptions will have your mouth watering. There are recipes for a couple of them at the end including the controversial Almond Meltaways. The mystery has the unpleasant Beatrice Wright ending up dead and Mallory finding her body. Beatrice was a disagreeable woman who managed to annoy the majority of the town’s residents. This leads to a lengthy suspect list. It can be confusing trying to keep all the suspects straight. The guilty party can easily be identified and with the reason why long before the reveal. Mallory runs around town asking questions in a not-so-subtle manner. I thought someone who had worked in advertising would be a better schmoozer. Mallory manages to anger several people during her investigation (not good for a fledgling business). There are a couple of incidents along the way, but they do not deter Mallory. Personally, I kept hoping Mallory’s cantankerous employee, Claudia, would find herself in the killer’s crosshairs (there is always the next installment). The mystery is neatly wrapped up at the end. I had trouble getting into How the Murder Crumbles. The story is a slow starter. The pacing was choppy throughout the book. I also found there to be too much repetition of key details (the bakery, the cousin, details regarding the mystery). The majority of the characters are superficial and there are so many of them. There is some romance as well. Mallory breaks up with one fellow and soon has feelings for another. I thought it was a little quick. I liked Mallory’s cat, Agatha. Mallory’s best friend, Kip, is a friendly, upbeat individual as well as a good baker. He is a good friend and there for Mallory in her time of need. How the Murder Crumbles was just okay for me (as you can tell). How the Murder Crumbles is a cookie centric cozy with a mean Queen Bea, a cookie controversy, a lethal rolling pin, an unkind cousin, a two-timing suitor, a cuddly cat, an attractive detective, and a probing baker.