And Then There Were Crumbs: A Cookie House Mystery, Book 1

After losing her job, condo, and fiancé all in one day, Kate McGuire decides to get as far away from Manhattan as she can and Coral Cay, Florida seems as good a place as any. Even though she is a trained and talented pastry chef, she is still having a hard time find a job until Sam Hepplewhite, owner of the Cookie House, reluctantly hires her. Kate is just getting used to her job – including the fact that San won’t let her bake cookies – when Steward Lord, a real estate developer, is murdered. Lord wanted Sam’s property and Same is soon considered the number one suspect in his death. Kate and her new friend Maxi Mas-Buchanan are convinced that Sam is innocent and set out to clear his name but can they convince the police of Sam’s innocence?“And Then There Were Crumbs” is the very nicely done first book in Eve Calder’s Cookie House cozy mystery series. I was hooked on this book from the very first pages. I loved everything about this book starting with the characters – Kate, Maxi, Sam (who isn’t as crusty as he seems), Oliver the dog, and the various townspeople. I also love the setting – not just Coral Cay but the Cookie House itself. And the food – there is so much food in this book and it all sounds yummy! (a nice feature in this book is Kate’s ability to figure out the favorite cookies of various characters in the book seemingly just by looking at them). The mystery aspects are very well done and very cleverly plotted – I was completely surprised at the identity of the killer which was one of the best solutions I have read in a cozy mystery and I read a lot of cozy mysteries!“And Then There Were Crumbs” is a wonderful debut in what looks to be a great cozy mystery series!

Started this series after not being able to get in to another book I was trying to read. Just wanted to let you know this was exactly what I needed. Thanks for the uplifting and continuing belief that we are still trying to be good to one another.

It isn't too often that a cozy mystery will have my eyeballs leaking happy tears at the end, but this one sure did! I loved everything about this book! To me, it was the perfect cozy mystery. Instead of one person having a dog, the adorable poodle mix Oliver had adopted the whole town. He really did belong to everyone, and they all pitched in for his care. The mystery was a stumper and had an awesome twist toward the end which resulted in sweet justice.I enjoyed all the human characters a lot (well, except for one obvious one), and even though some of them weren't mentioned a lot, I still felt like I knew them. I just loved the curmudgeonly Sam who owned the bakery. He was a little short with people and set in his ways, but it all built up and made for the most amazing ending. I enjoyed this so much that I preordered the second book and I can't wait for it to come out. This was another book that made readers care about the characters. It told about other things that they were doing in addition to investigating, which is more realistic too. I really got a kick out of Kate staying with her new friend Maxi and family, and her three kids going nuts over Kate's baking. It's great how the people of Coral Cay took care of their own and opened their arms to adopt Kate into their town family. I'd love to visit a place like that! (who knows, I might stay!)

Last week I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reader copy of the second book in the Cookie House Mystery series by Eve Calder. Having never read anything by her before, I was excited to find a new to me author. After reading through the first few chapters of the ARC (Sugar and Vice), I was enjoying it so much that I decided to read this first book in the series before reading the ARC. I had no idea what I was missing! This series is the perfect cozy and checked all my favorite cozy boxes!And Then There Were Crumbs is filled with characters that made me giggle and warmed my heart. Set in a beautiful small coastal town in Florida, our main character Kate (aka the cookie whisperer) finds herself starting life over after fleeing her almost wedding in Manhattan and putting her pastry skills to work at the towns famous Cookie House Bakery. Not long after she lands in town does she find herself making good friends and helping her boss prove his innocence in a murder. In addition to trying to keep the bakery afloat while it’s owner is behind bars, Kate thinks she has a stalker, and unofficially adopts the cutest stray who is considered the towns dog.The story was so charming and engaging that I had to make an executive decision to blow off adulting for the afternoon to finish reading. Did I mention that there is lots of talk of various homemade cookies and delicious assortments of coffees being consumed throughout the book? I highly recommend reading with some yummy goodness treats and a cuppa joe.Can’t wait to read the next book, Sugar and Vice.

Should have bought a new version (this is dated 2019). Small pages with spine so tight I have to crack the book to see the end of sentences. Clean & unmarked but uninviting before reading the first page. Enjoying story though

Value for money

this author writes great books. Very enjoyable.

Delightful book and perfect for summer reading at the cottage or beach.The characters and dialogs are a bit thin but entertaining nonetheless .Warning- You may be compelled to eat a fresh piece of sourdough bread before finishing. I did.... ..