Review: And Then There Were Crumbs by Eve Calder

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
Audio/E-Book

Publisher:
St. Martin’s Press

Release Date:
July 30, 2019







Synopsis from Goodreads:

She’s a talented pastry chef—with a secret recipe for solving crimes…

WELCOME TO THE COOKIE HOUSE
Kate McGuire’s life was sweet in Manhattan before she lost her restaurant job and fiancé both. But sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, and soon she finds herself starting from scratch in the island town of Coral Cay, Florida. It has everything she’s looking for: sunny beaches, friendly locals, and a Help Wanted sign in the bakery shop window. Once she convinces the shop’s crusty owner Sam Hepplewhite to hire her, Kate can’t tie on her apron fast enough. Little does she know that trouble, like warm dough, is on the rise. . .

WHERE CRIMINALS GET THEIR JUST DESSERTS
Stewart Lord is a real estate developer with a taste for a different type of dough: the green kind. He knows that he could make a killing by purchasing the Cookie House from Sam, who flat-out refuses to sell. But when Stewart turns up the heat on Sam—then turns up dead after eating a fresh batch of Sam’s cinnamon rolls—all eyes focus on the town’s beloved bakery. When the police arrest Sam for murder, Kate must somehow prove that her curmudgeonly boss is innocent. Enlisting the help of a team of lovable locals, Kate sets out to catch the real culprit with his hand in the cookie jar…before someone else gets burned.

My Review

Things are not looking good for Kate McGuire. The pastry chief used to have a great job in Manhattan and a fiance. Now, she has nothing - no job, no fiance, no place to live and even her car breaks down. She ends up in the beautiful tourist town of Coral Cay, Florida. Lucky for her, there happens to be a job opening at the local bakery shop, The Cookie House. Unlucky for her is the man who owns the shop, Sam Hepplewhite, is a grump who doesn’t want any sweets, least of all cookies, in his bakery. All he sells is bread.  He wants Kate to stand behind the counter, help customers, and nothing more.  Not exactly the career move she is looking for, but it will suffice for now.

When real estate developer Stewart Lord stops by the shop, he tries to strong arm Sam into selling his bakery. Sam refuses, but Stewart is not taking no for an answer. The two argue. Later, Stewart turns up dead and Sam is the prime suspect in the murder.

Suddenly Kate is left keeping The Cookie House open while her new boss is in jail.  She vows to prove his innocence. With the help of her new friend, Maxi, they try to find the real killer.

This is a sweet (no pun intended) cozy mystery with delightful characters. They are quirky and jump right off the page. I’d love to spend time in this cute town.

The storyline kept me guessing. There were so many possible culprits. The author took it in a direction I wasn’t expecting, so I was totally surprised at the end. It is very cleverly written.

I started this as an audio book, but due to a lack of listening time, I ended up reading the e-book. I gobbled this right up. I already have the second book on my wishlist and looking forward to catching up with Kate and her crew. I suddenly have a craving for cookies - all kinds of cookies :)

For reading challenges:
Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2020
Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge 2020
Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2020

Disclosure: I borrowed the audio through Audible and the e-book through my library. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own