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Cookie and Cream #1
How to Bake a Murder
“I can’t get a pulse. Cookie, call for an ambulance.”
Definitely not the words you want to hear when a man has just collapsed in the middle of your bakery.
A few minutes is all it took for Karen 'Cookie' Williams to be thrust into the center of a nightmare. A customer was dead and she was considered a suspect. Her beloved shop was a crime scene.
Things weren't looking so great for her.
If you add in the strange figure that was lurking around at night, the prominent businessman who was harassing her to sell up and an unhappy granddaughter who was spending the summer with her you had a recipe for disaster.
Can Cookie work out who killed her customer and save her bakery from ruin before she becomes a victim herself?
Definitely not the words you want to hear when a man has just collapsed in the middle of your bakery.
A few minutes is all it took for Karen 'Cookie' Williams to be thrust into the center of a nightmare. A customer was dead and she was considered a suspect. Her beloved shop was a crime scene.
Things weren't looking so great for her.
If you add in the strange figure that was lurking around at night, the prominent businessman who was harassing her to sell up and an unhappy granddaughter who was spending the summer with her you had a recipe for disaster.
Can Cookie work out who killed her customer and save her bakery from ruin before she becomes a victim herself?
194 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 26, 2016
873 people are currently reading
868 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews
June 10, 2019
Cookie had picked up her granddaughter, Clarissa, from her daughter Madison’s house as Clarissa was spending the summer with her in the small town of Widow’s Rest, but she was very against the idea. Her angst at her mother’s new husband was making itself felt and Clarissa was hurt, angry and disgruntled. But Cookie was determined to help her come to grips with the new situation in her life.
The morning a customer collapsed and died in her shop was like any other in that Jerry, the local sheriff was there for his morning coffee. But after that, nothing was the same. With Cookie being pressured to sell her bakery, the shop closed while it was a crime scene, Clarissa being contrary, the glimpses of a dark clad person outside in the middle of the night and the vandalism, Cookie wasn’t sure what Widow’s Rest was coming to. Would they get answers before Cookie’s business collapsed?
How to Bake a Murder is the first in the Cookie and Cream series by Aussie author K.J. Emrick, and I enjoyed it very much. A light, entertaining cozy mystery which was a quick and easy read, with a delicious scone recipe at the end. And the play on words is clever – Cookie and Cream – Cookie is the MC and Cream is her little dog 😊 Recommended.
The morning a customer collapsed and died in her shop was like any other in that Jerry, the local sheriff was there for his morning coffee. But after that, nothing was the same. With Cookie being pressured to sell her bakery, the shop closed while it was a crime scene, Clarissa being contrary, the glimpses of a dark clad person outside in the middle of the night and the vandalism, Cookie wasn’t sure what Widow’s Rest was coming to. Would they get answers before Cookie’s business collapsed?
How to Bake a Murder is the first in the Cookie and Cream series by Aussie author K.J. Emrick, and I enjoyed it very much. A light, entertaining cozy mystery which was a quick and easy read, with a delicious scone recipe at the end. And the play on words is clever – Cookie and Cream – Cookie is the MC and Cream is her little dog 😊 Recommended.
February 28, 2025
4.5 shiny stars rating from me! ✨✨✨✨💫
This was such a fun cozy mystery that kept me on my toes!! Cookie is the owner of the Kiss The Cook backery in Widows Rest. Cookie invited her granddaughter to visit during the Summer.
The next day, Julian, not such a nice guy, ends up dead in her bakery 🧁!! Oh no, what a mess! Cookie is now the prime suspect and she really likes the police officer, Jerry, who's trying to solve the mystery of Julians death.
Lot's of suspects in this case and I didn't solve the mystery until close to the end of the book!! So many twists and turns and just plain clean fun!! I really loved this book and highly recommend this one!!
Enjoy and Happy Reading! 🧁🧁
This was such a fun cozy mystery that kept me on my toes!! Cookie is the owner of the Kiss The Cook backery in Widows Rest. Cookie invited her granddaughter to visit during the Summer.
The next day, Julian, not such a nice guy, ends up dead in her bakery 🧁!! Oh no, what a mess! Cookie is now the prime suspect and she really likes the police officer, Jerry, who's trying to solve the mystery of Julians death.
Lot's of suspects in this case and I didn't solve the mystery until close to the end of the book!! So many twists and turns and just plain clean fun!! I really loved this book and highly recommend this one!!
Enjoy and Happy Reading! 🧁🧁
March 29, 2019
Well it started out interesting enough with a not quite so typical premise of a grandmother taking in her grand-daughter over the summer and where it all turns into a big mess very soon.
But then the book just loses itself in repetitions about who might be the murderer, who might have done this and that, with a cliché romance thrown in.
But then the book just loses itself in repetitions about who might be the murderer, who might have done this and that, with a cliché romance thrown in.
June 2, 2020
I really enjoyed this cute, clean and quick murder mystery featuring an older sleuth. Not only was she an older sleuth, but she was interested in a police officer around her age, which was just too darn adorable. No worries though, Jerry was very attentive to his job when he needed to be and insisted they do everything by the book after a murder took place in Cookie's bake shop.
At first, I didn't like Cookie's granddaughter Clarissa very much. She'd come to stay with her grandma for the summer and had a huge chip on her shoulder. But once Clarissa told her how things were going to be and that she'd have to live by some rules, I'm sure that was what made Clarissa come around. She even got to play a good part in the showdown. The killer was a great twist, and the showdown, well it did get a little drawn-out, was exciting. I was glad that Clarissa came around and was more civil to her grandma and even little Cream, the chihuahua. He had a part in the showdown as well proving that you don't have to be a big dog to help save the day!
I'm anxious to see what other kinds of adventures they might have while Clarissa's there for the summer!
At first, I didn't like Cookie's granddaughter Clarissa very much. She'd come to stay with her grandma for the summer and had a huge chip on her shoulder. But once Clarissa told her how things were going to be and that she'd have to live by some rules, I'm sure that was what made Clarissa come around. She even got to play a good part in the showdown. The killer was a great twist, and the showdown, well it did get a little drawn-out, was exciting. I was glad that Clarissa came around and was more civil to her grandma and even little Cream, the chihuahua. He had a part in the showdown as well proving that you don't have to be a big dog to help save the day!
I'm anxious to see what other kinds of adventures they might have while Clarissa's there for the summer!
July 25, 2018
A pleasant little read, but a story that seems to be told over and over - who owns or inherits a tea room, a cupcake emporium, a bakery, who has someone die in their shop by eating one of their products or some such thing - and, of course, all have that very handsome detective who they wind up falling in love with. Has everyone become so devoid of imagination, that they all must use the same type of storyline over and over ad infinitum. This is, and no lie, at least the tenth book I have read using the same theme. Perhaps it is time I stopped reading all these "cozy" little mysteries and look for something with a little more meat, depth and imagination in them.
March 13, 2022
Take a good, long look at the cover of this book. View the adorable, little doggo and the sweet-looking grandma. Absorb the fun, pastel colours and generally nice aesthetic of a bakery. Pay attention to the fact this claims to be a cozy mystery.
Are you done? Great. Now take everything you think you know from this book's cover and toss it aside, because you - like my past self - are entirely wrong. Whatever the visuals conjure in your mind is almost certainly not what you'll get from this book. (Unless it's just my brain that's broken... But y'know what? This is my review, so we're running on the assumption that I'm not an inept outlier.)
This book isn't what I wanted. I don't feel like there's anything "cozy" about a book which features a battered woman begging someone to save her, the main character breaking down in tears every other chapter, a gun-wielding psychopath taking hostages, a series of juvenile temper tantrums from a grown woman, and a funeral where people make disrespectful jokes about the dead guy. Many times, this felt more like a dark comedy or a mediocre 'normal' mystery, not something meant to be lighthearted and, y'know, cozy.
Am I just confused on what a "cozy mystery" is supposed to be? I don't know, but for me the genre conjures mental images of petty small town drama and jovial women wandering town playing sleuth in low-stakes scenarios while clues are laid out for the readers. It doesn't make me expect nonsensical relationship drama and high levels of violence beyond the initial murder... and especially not infuriatingly bad parenting skills. Or family drama in general.
Which, okay, I'll admit the family drama is a huge downer for me. I have to be in the right mindset to read about bad parenting and not come out the other end wanting to manifest fictional people into reality just so I can punt them across a football field. When one of the people partaking in bad parenting is supposed to be an adorable, old lady protagonist? Well, it makes me feel conflicted in ways I don't enjoy.
Every time I found myself trying to justify Cookie's mistakes with "her heart's in the right place," she'd turn around and make a bigger blunder, and the narrative almost always seemed to think what she was doing was fine. She wasn't abusive, but she did some cruel things like threatening to kick out her granddaughter for trying to sneak out (lol what) even though she knew the girl was feeling unwanted and unloved after being sent away by a mom who doesn't care about her enough to make sure she gets along with her stepdad before marrying the man and thinks evicting her child for the summer is the solution to the problem. She also had some backward views, such as thinking her granddaughter being forced to wash her own dishes when she'd already fallen asleep at the table after a long day doing unpaid bakery labour was making sure the girl "showed respect and pulled her own weight." Talk about an 'okay, boomer' moment! You'd think common human compassion would make her grab the girl's dishes too and let her go right to bed, maybe even thank her for all that unpaid assistance at work and apologize for having also dragged her to a stranger's funeral she didn't wish to attend earlier the same day. But nope! If she doesn't wash her own dishes, she isn't "pulling her weight"! 😡🤬
Honestly, I should have quit reading this book once I realized it wasn't cozy or fun at all. I shouldn't have wasted my time. But it reeled me in! Even though I kept being disappointed by Cookie's behaviour, I also couldn't look away. I had to know how the story ended... even when that meant wading through a boring, cliche 'romance' between characters with no chemistry who we're supposed to believe are falling in love.
And I didn't skim, even when I wanted to!
So I forced myself to sit through every single time - and there are a plethora of them - when Cookie behaved more like a teenager with an obsessive crush than an adult woman with life experience. She's apparently the type to be mad at a man for not visiting or calling the day after kissing her... even though she wasn't home and never checked her missed calls. 🤦♀️ Tedious melodrama is not my cup of tea, and not what I want from a character who's supposed to be a sweet, cute grandma (nick)named Cookie who has an adorable dog named Cream.
I'd remark on the fact her name is Karen, but I actually kind of hate that meme. It did make me wonder if the bad behaviour was intentional as a parody sometimes, though. But it probably wasn't, judging by the narrative tone. I think the author just... absolutely failed to portray a sweet, old lady.
The author also failed to do the most basic of research and/or editing at one point, so I can't say I'm too surprised.
We get one scene where a man pulls a revolver and causes a hostage situation... and Cookie asks herself how many rounds an "automatic handgun" can hold while trying to decide if he's run out of ammo after four shots. Nobody who has the knowledge to recognize a revolver lacks the knowledge that they're stereotyped as six-shooters and are not 'automatic.' And considering Cookie probably grew up watching westerns, that's an especially egregious editing flub!
In addition, we get a mystery that... well, isn't a proper mystery. Cookie doesn't solve it by sleuthing and being clever. She jumps to wild conclusions about everyone and everything, stumbles around blindly chasing red herrings, and then gets the solution handed to her by a villain monologue! I knew the red herrings weren't the real killers fairly early on, but the author didn't do enough to place hints for the real bad guy, making the main appeal of a mystery novel fall flat. I figured out who did it, yes, but not why - and even then only through being convinced of the red herring status of other suspects and using process of elimination. That's no fun!
But I read the whole thing, as if compelled by some deeply-rooted need to know how it all came together. I stayed up four hours past my bed time (on a weekend, thankfully) and lost five hours due to the annoyance of time change, just so I could finish this book. The writing is weirdly compelling. Somehow, it managed to annoy me and keep me strung along at the same time! For all my complaints, I can't pretend the author doesn't know how to write a compelling narrative. Not one I care for, but compelling all the same. And even when deeply annoyed at Cookie, I still cared enough to want to make excuses for her to salvage the sweet mental image I felt she was intended to portray.
Hence, I'm giving this an extra star. For as much as the unenjoyable experience made me want to one-star the book, I can't pretend that it wasn't written in just such a way to keep me from DNF'ing it.
However, I didn't enjoy the book and I definitely won't be continuing the series. I just... feel weirdly conflicted about that. I guess I was so sold on wanting Cookie and Cream mysteries with the cute grandma and her dog to be a success that I refused to cut my losses when I discovered it was a poor fit for me. 🤷♀️ At least it's one more book conquered from my neverending pile of Kindle freebies...?
Are you done? Great. Now take everything you think you know from this book's cover and toss it aside, because you - like my past self - are entirely wrong. Whatever the visuals conjure in your mind is almost certainly not what you'll get from this book. (Unless it's just my brain that's broken... But y'know what? This is my review, so we're running on the assumption that I'm not an inept outlier.)
This book isn't what I wanted. I don't feel like there's anything "cozy" about a book which features a battered woman begging someone to save her, the main character breaking down in tears every other chapter, a gun-wielding psychopath taking hostages, a series of juvenile temper tantrums from a grown woman, and a funeral where people make disrespectful jokes about the dead guy. Many times, this felt more like a dark comedy or a mediocre 'normal' mystery, not something meant to be lighthearted and, y'know, cozy.
Am I just confused on what a "cozy mystery" is supposed to be? I don't know, but for me the genre conjures mental images of petty small town drama and jovial women wandering town playing sleuth in low-stakes scenarios while clues are laid out for the readers. It doesn't make me expect nonsensical relationship drama and high levels of violence beyond the initial murder... and especially not infuriatingly bad parenting skills. Or family drama in general.
Which, okay, I'll admit the family drama is a huge downer for me. I have to be in the right mindset to read about bad parenting and not come out the other end wanting to manifest fictional people into reality just so I can punt them across a football field. When one of the people partaking in bad parenting is supposed to be an adorable, old lady protagonist? Well, it makes me feel conflicted in ways I don't enjoy.
Every time I found myself trying to justify Cookie's mistakes with "her heart's in the right place," she'd turn around and make a bigger blunder, and the narrative almost always seemed to think what she was doing was fine. She wasn't abusive, but she did some cruel things like threatening to kick out her granddaughter for trying to sneak out (lol what) even though she knew the girl was feeling unwanted and unloved after being sent away by a mom who doesn't care about her enough to make sure she gets along with her stepdad before marrying the man and thinks evicting her child for the summer is the solution to the problem. She also had some backward views, such as thinking her granddaughter being forced to wash her own dishes when she'd already fallen asleep at the table after a long day doing unpaid bakery labour was making sure the girl "showed respect and pulled her own weight." Talk about an 'okay, boomer' moment! You'd think common human compassion would make her grab the girl's dishes too and let her go right to bed, maybe even thank her for all that unpaid assistance at work and apologize for having also dragged her to a stranger's funeral she didn't wish to attend earlier the same day. But nope! If she doesn't wash her own dishes, she isn't "pulling her weight"! 😡🤬
Honestly, I should have quit reading this book once I realized it wasn't cozy or fun at all. I shouldn't have wasted my time. But it reeled me in! Even though I kept being disappointed by Cookie's behaviour, I also couldn't look away. I had to know how the story ended... even when that meant wading through a boring, cliche 'romance' between characters with no chemistry who we're supposed to believe are falling in love.
And I didn't skim, even when I wanted to!
So I forced myself to sit through every single time - and there are a plethora of them - when Cookie behaved more like a teenager with an obsessive crush than an adult woman with life experience. She's apparently the type to be mad at a man for not visiting or calling the day after kissing her... even though she wasn't home and never checked her missed calls. 🤦♀️ Tedious melodrama is not my cup of tea, and not what I want from a character who's supposed to be a sweet, cute grandma (nick)named Cookie who has an adorable dog named Cream.
I'd remark on the fact her name is Karen, but I actually kind of hate that meme. It did make me wonder if the bad behaviour was intentional as a parody sometimes, though. But it probably wasn't, judging by the narrative tone. I think the author just... absolutely failed to portray a sweet, old lady.
The author also failed to do the most basic of research and/or editing at one point, so I can't say I'm too surprised.
We get one scene where a man pulls a revolver and causes a hostage situation... and Cookie asks herself how many rounds an "automatic handgun" can hold while trying to decide if he's run out of ammo after four shots. Nobody who has the knowledge to recognize a revolver lacks the knowledge that they're stereotyped as six-shooters and are not 'automatic.' And considering Cookie probably grew up watching westerns, that's an especially egregious editing flub!
In addition, we get a mystery that... well, isn't a proper mystery. Cookie doesn't solve it by sleuthing and being clever. She jumps to wild conclusions about everyone and everything, stumbles around blindly chasing red herrings, and then gets the solution handed to her by a villain monologue! I knew the red herrings weren't the real killers fairly early on, but the author didn't do enough to place hints for the real bad guy, making the main appeal of a mystery novel fall flat. I figured out who did it, yes, but not why - and even then only through being convinced of the red herring status of other suspects and using process of elimination. That's no fun!
But I read the whole thing, as if compelled by some deeply-rooted need to know how it all came together. I stayed up four hours past my bed time (on a weekend, thankfully) and lost five hours due to the annoyance of time change, just so I could finish this book. The writing is weirdly compelling. Somehow, it managed to annoy me and keep me strung along at the same time! For all my complaints, I can't pretend the author doesn't know how to write a compelling narrative. Not one I care for, but compelling all the same. And even when deeply annoyed at Cookie, I still cared enough to want to make excuses for her to salvage the sweet mental image I felt she was intended to portray.
Hence, I'm giving this an extra star. For as much as the unenjoyable experience made me want to one-star the book, I can't pretend that it wasn't written in just such a way to keep me from DNF'ing it.
However, I didn't enjoy the book and I definitely won't be continuing the series. I just... feel weirdly conflicted about that. I guess I was so sold on wanting Cookie and Cream mysteries with the cute grandma and her dog to be a success that I refused to cut my losses when I discovered it was a poor fit for me. 🤷♀️ At least it's one more book conquered from my neverending pile of Kindle freebies...?
August 30, 2020
How to Bake a Murder is a cute short cozy. First in a series featuring a grandmother who is hosting her very reluctant grandmother to give her daughter a break from some teenage rebellion time. The Grandmother, Cookie, runs a bakery which she lives above and is currently barely breaking even. A regular customer dies in the shop and now rumors abound, in the midst of all this a developer swans in with offers to buy up the shop. Cookie wants to clear her name, figure out who killed her customer, and try to hang on to her shop. There are also some romantic side plots. Cute cozy, on the shorter side, currently free as a Kindle book.
December 10, 2019
When one of Cookie’s regular customers dies after eating a crème puff from her bakery, Detective Jerry Stansted and Detective Mason Kent are called in to investigate.
Cookie on the other is still trying to bond with her granddaughter, Clarissa.
Well-crafted mystery with interesting characters and engaging storyline
Cookie on the other is still trying to bond with her granddaughter, Clarissa.
Well-crafted mystery with interesting characters and engaging storyline
January 3, 2024
I’m mixed between 2.5 & 3 stars. The mystery store and the sleuthing were but when it came to the romance between Jerry and Cookie it was more teenage puppy love than middle aged romance. Too me cookie was acting like a jealous teenager when Jerry didn’t show up for a day than a grown adult.
Not sure if I’ll read the next one
Not sure if I’ll read the next one
February 11, 2021
A small town bakery comes under scrutiny when one of its loyal patrons comes in for his daily treat and ends up dead. Can a baking grandma solve the mystery while trying to helps her teenage granddaughter deal with troubles from home?
Lovable characters make this story one I wanted to know how it would end up.
Lovable characters make this story one I wanted to know how it would end up.
September 21, 2016
Well, if I could, I would...give this series more than a mere five stars!
Karen "Cookie" Williams, owner of a medium sized bakery, is a pre-senior citizen, who has several issues to deal with, not to mention a murder right in her beloved bakery!
Cookie was so well developed a character that I fully empathized with her. She is a divorcee who raised her daughter and created a business that, up to now, had supported them both through the decades. Cookie, wonders if a woman that is 61yrs old is too old for a true romantic relationship, yes she has a person in her sights.
Cookie takes on her Granddaughter, complete with her attitudes and fears regarding her Mother's remarriage, for the Summer.
Cookie has to solve the problem of her Bakery losing money and being sought for purchase to replace with a strip mall.
Add to all that...that pesky murder from Lactose=Free Cream Puff!
This book hit all the correct tones with me. I truly found myself empathizing with Cookie. Rooting for Cookie, and celebrating with Cookie at the conclusion. Not only does she solve all the above, she discloses a 'hidden' crime that is all too real in our communities.
Yes, I will be headed to Book #2 with relish.
Karen "Cookie" Williams, owner of a medium sized bakery, is a pre-senior citizen, who has several issues to deal with, not to mention a murder right in her beloved bakery!
Cookie was so well developed a character that I fully empathized with her. She is a divorcee who raised her daughter and created a business that, up to now, had supported them both through the decades. Cookie, wonders if a woman that is 61yrs old is too old for a true romantic relationship, yes she has a person in her sights.
Cookie takes on her Granddaughter, complete with her attitudes and fears regarding her Mother's remarriage, for the Summer.
Cookie has to solve the problem of her Bakery losing money and being sought for purchase to replace with a strip mall.
Add to all that...that pesky murder from Lactose=Free Cream Puff!
This book hit all the correct tones with me. I truly found myself empathizing with Cookie. Rooting for Cookie, and celebrating with Cookie at the conclusion. Not only does she solve all the above, she discloses a 'hidden' crime that is all too real in our communities.
Yes, I will be headed to Book #2 with relish.
August 7, 2017
A good start to a new cozy series. Cookie is a nice grandmother with her own bakery. Her grouchy teen granddaughter is visiting, Cookie is flirting with a handsome police officer and a customer dies in her bakery. There is sweetness, potential heat and the start of some interesting relationships. I found that solving the murder was a little slow as I prefer quick action but I still enjoyed the story.
December 15, 2020
The book was pretty short, but an interesting read. Getting to know Cookie was very enjoyable, especially being a not so young woman myself. I loved how she relates to her granddaughter.
I laughed out loud in a few places and felt her pain in others. All in all, it was a good book to take my mind off the outside world.
I laughed out loud in a few places and felt her pain in others. All in all, it was a good book to take my mind off the outside world.
Read
October 2, 2018Great series and it was free.
July 13, 2018
When an unlikable bully suddenly dies after eating a pastry in Karen “Cookie” Williams’ bakery, she finds herself the center of a murder investigation. Cookie already has a ruthless businessman harassing her to sell her property, and a strange nightly visitor lurking outside the bakery. Cookie is determined to get to the bottom of everything, while keeping her visiting granddaughter Clarissa out of harm’s way. Good thing handsome cop, Jerry, is on the case.
As stated in the description, this is a true cozy murder mystery, which is always something I appreciate. This is a nice way to introduce Cookie and her little Chihuahua, Cream, to readers. It’s fun, fast and entertaining. I liked Cookie’s character and warmed up to her snarky, oppositional granddaughter after a bit. The developing relationship between Cookie and Jerry looks very promising, which is nice since I find there are so few books where mature characters deal with dating and romance.
I had just one very minor criticism… I could have done with a little less of Cookie’s adolescent “will he, won’t he” ruminations over Jerry. I wouldn’t say it was overdone, but almost.
I look forward to reading more books in the Cookie and Cream mystery series!
5 of 5 Stars, Susan Barton, https://ebookreviewgal.com
July 12, 2022
Cookie's errant granddaughter, Clarissa, has a home at the bakery for the summer. It will take their combined patience to get along with each other, especially with the added stress caused by the death of a customer who keels over in the store after one bite of his special treat. Throw in a menacing lurker, a threatening businessman, and an unstable livelihood - Cookie's got her hands full.
I'm not sure how to land on this one. The story was different enough from other mysteries set in bakeries that I didn't feel like I had picked up a book I'd already read, but I wasn't convinced. While Clarissa did behave poorly, her grandmother's reaction to her was more warden than doting relative. Clarissa, meanwhile, was not likeable. And, to be honest, I wasn't as enthralled with Jerry, the love interest who also happened to be a police officer, as Cookie was. I did like the story (though it may sound as though I don't) and feel that many of my objections will be overcome as the series progresses.
August 5, 2018
HOW TO BAKE A MURDER BY K.J. EMRICK
Cookie did not plan on this day going so very, very wrong. But then who does? This amateur sleuth is about to lose her bakery if the police don't catch the killer. People won’t come into the bakery if they think they could croak.
Cookie also dreaded having to tell her daughter that her granddaughter was in the same building, only feet away from all this chaos. Cookie is trying so hard to get to know her teenage granddaughter. Her granddaughter seems to have an attitude problem. Her daughter was not going to be happy. This story is very entertaining, and the characters are a hoot. HOW TO BAKE A MURDER is well written, and the characters are well developed.
This story is very entertaining, and the characters are a hoot. K.J. EMRICK writes a well-written book, and the characters are well developed. I enjoyed this ebook on my KOBO very much. I downloaded this for free from a book site.
Cookie did not plan on this day going so very, very wrong. But then who does? This amateur sleuth is about to lose her bakery if the police don't catch the killer. People won’t come into the bakery if they think they could croak.
Cookie also dreaded having to tell her daughter that her granddaughter was in the same building, only feet away from all this chaos. Cookie is trying so hard to get to know her teenage granddaughter. Her granddaughter seems to have an attitude problem. Her daughter was not going to be happy. This story is very entertaining, and the characters are a hoot. HOW TO BAKE A MURDER is well written, and the characters are well developed.
This story is very entertaining, and the characters are a hoot. K.J. EMRICK writes a well-written book, and the characters are well developed. I enjoyed this ebook on my KOBO very much. I downloaded this for free from a book site.
September 19, 2019
“Sweet” Little Story
How on earth have I managed to read two books in a row where a grandmother has her grandchild living with her and murders happen? And, both grandmothers run a bakery and become interested in a police officer! Now what are the odds?
So Grandma Cookie agrees to take her granddaughter for the summer while her daughter has time with her new husband and time away from a teenager with an attitude. Of course, Clarissa the granddaughter keeps the attitude but grandmothers know how to deal with them. Of course, in the other book, the grandson had the attitude which grandma handled.
This book did have Coolie in harm’s way as all the action culminated in the middle of the night in her bakery. A little far-fetched but it worked.
Couple typos where a word had been left out, but this seems to happen with self-published books.
How on earth have I managed to read two books in a row where a grandmother has her grandchild living with her and murders happen? And, both grandmothers run a bakery and become interested in a police officer! Now what are the odds?
So Grandma Cookie agrees to take her granddaughter for the summer while her daughter has time with her new husband and time away from a teenager with an attitude. Of course, Clarissa the granddaughter keeps the attitude but grandmothers know how to deal with them. Of course, in the other book, the grandson had the attitude which grandma handled.
This book did have Coolie in harm’s way as all the action culminated in the middle of the night in her bakery. A little far-fetched but it worked.
Couple typos where a word had been left out, but this seems to happen with self-published books.
January 23, 2024
A story goes that Alfred Hitchcock was asked to direct a movie, a drama I believe, I can't recall which one, but he said he couldn't because everyone will be looking for the dead body.
Meaning that people will miss the main point of the movie because they will be looking for something that is not there.
After reading 27 books by KJ Emrick I think I was looking for ghosts when there did not seem to be any there.
Is this is the same universe as her other books?
Well perhaps it is too early to say, but in one respect it was a long way from Darcy Sweet, in another way, well they both make outlandish accusations instead of just working through the evidence, and both are fond of a copper.
Anyway it was a decent enough story, and the second one is next, and I'm still wondering if there will be ghosts in that.
Meaning that people will miss the main point of the movie because they will be looking for something that is not there.
After reading 27 books by KJ Emrick I think I was looking for ghosts when there did not seem to be any there.
Is this is the same universe as her other books?
Well perhaps it is too early to say, but in one respect it was a long way from Darcy Sweet, in another way, well they both make outlandish accusations instead of just working through the evidence, and both are fond of a copper.
Anyway it was a decent enough story, and the second one is next, and I'm still wondering if there will be ghosts in that.
August 6, 2020
How to Bake a Murder is the first in the Cookie and Cream Cozy Mystery Series by K.J. Emrick. Karen Williams, better known as Cookie, is the owner of a small bakery in Widow Rest. Cookie's granddaughter Clarissa is spending the summer with Cookie to have some time away from Clarissa's mother and her new husband. There is an unexpected death in the bakery, and customers avoid going there. Cookie decides she better help find the person responsible or else she could lose her business. It also appears that someone is trying to scare Cookie into selling her business. There are several twists in the story, and is a fast read. I always enjoy reading the recipes included in this kind of story. I will read more in this series.
May 26, 2022
Baked Goods and Murder
Cookie runs a bakery and is successful until the weekend she brings her granddaughter to live with her for the summer. A regular customer comes into the shop for his cream puff and drops dead. In her bakery. Police officer Jerry is romantically interested in Cookie. So, he leads the investigation while wooing her.
There are complications with her granddaughter, Clarrissa. Her friend, Jamie. And the people around town. The person responsible for the murder is someone none would've guessed.
With an offer to sell her bakery and break ins, Cookie struggles with the decision. But in the end, she decides to keep her bakery. She worked hard for it.
Great story with interesting characters, a cute romance, family relationships, and a murder mystery.
Cookie runs a bakery and is successful until the weekend she brings her granddaughter to live with her for the summer. A regular customer comes into the shop for his cream puff and drops dead. In her bakery. Police officer Jerry is romantically interested in Cookie. So, he leads the investigation while wooing her.
There are complications with her granddaughter, Clarrissa. Her friend, Jamie. And the people around town. The person responsible for the murder is someone none would've guessed.
With an offer to sell her bakery and break ins, Cookie struggles with the decision. But in the end, she decides to keep her bakery. She worked hard for it.
Great story with interesting characters, a cute romance, family relationships, and a murder mystery.
July 17, 2018
"Cookie " is tasty!
Really liked "Cookie" and her small town bakery. A woman of a certain age, Cookie is not your typical 'older' character. She has spent most of her life raising a daughter, running a business in a small town in her own without losing her sense of humor or her belief in the goodness of life or her town. Until...her grumpy daily customer drops dead in her shop after tasting his daily pastry. Add her snarky granddaughter staying for the summer, Cookie's friendly policeman (or maybe more than friends), the guy really pushing to buy her barely getting by biz.... and well, there's a lot to deal with!
LOVED the cast of characters and will read more.
Really liked "Cookie" and her small town bakery. A woman of a certain age, Cookie is not your typical 'older' character. She has spent most of her life raising a daughter, running a business in a small town in her own without losing her sense of humor or her belief in the goodness of life or her town. Until...her grumpy daily customer drops dead in her shop after tasting his daily pastry. Add her snarky granddaughter staying for the summer, Cookie's friendly policeman (or maybe more than friends), the guy really pushing to buy her barely getting by biz.... and well, there's a lot to deal with!
LOVED the cast of characters and will read more.
March 9, 2019
How to Bake a Murder was a book I found in the free Nook book section. Since I was in the mood for a cozy mystery and it had an adorable puppy on the cover I went for it. Sadly I was not overly thrilled with the story and found myself skimming parts.
Cookie owns her own bakery and decides to help her daughter out with her stubborn teenage daughter Clarissa. I wanted Cream, the adorable dog, to play a bigger role. He just seemed to show up to bark at the wrong or right moment depending on how you looked at things. The overall mystery was pretty generic and no real twists or turns I saw. While it fixed me hunger for a cozy mystery I have no intention of reading more of the series.
Cookie owns her own bakery and decides to help her daughter out with her stubborn teenage daughter Clarissa. I wanted Cream, the adorable dog, to play a bigger role. He just seemed to show up to bark at the wrong or right moment depending on how you looked at things. The overall mystery was pretty generic and no real twists or turns I saw. While it fixed me hunger for a cozy mystery I have no intention of reading more of the series.
June 13, 2021
How To Bake A Murder by K.J. Emrick was a short and sweet cozy mystery that kept you guessing who the killer was the whole time. I didn’t see the killer coming, nor how the killer would be revealed. There were plenty of interesting characters besides Cookie too. I really wanted to know more about Clarissa, the granddaughter. I did feel like the chemistry between Cookie and Jerry was a bit forced and that would be better off as friends instead of lovers.
Overall, I enjoyed the mystery and setting of this story. I definitely want to know more about these characters and can’t wait to read the next book in the Cookie and Cream Cozy Mystery series.
Overall, I enjoyed the mystery and setting of this story. I definitely want to know more about these characters and can’t wait to read the next book in the Cookie and Cream Cozy Mystery series.
July 9, 2018
Cookie overhears a conversation, with her granddaughter calling her an old bat. Her daughter and Cookie thought a summer away, from friends, and working might be good for Clarissa. Conversation was null due to ear buns and her texting. The highlight came the next morning for Clarissa to rise and shine at four am. She maybe 61,but has a soft spot for Clarissa, and maybe even love again with a certain policeman. Nice cozy story, the characters and what she faces day to day, were very real. Definitely a good start for a series.
August 15, 2018
Entertaining the whole way through
An older and wiser woman running her own bakery in a small town, struggling to make ends meet, and a feisty chihuahua determined to take on anyone who messes with his home or his humans, agreeing to give her emotionally troubled granddaughter a safe place to spend the summer, a handsome cop and the hidden feelings he and the baker had for each other, a money hungry weasel with an eye on the somewhat faltering bakery, and a Mayor's wife with a dark secret. All of this combines into a cozy mystery that you won't be able to put down.
An older and wiser woman running her own bakery in a small town, struggling to make ends meet, and a feisty chihuahua determined to take on anyone who messes with his home or his humans, agreeing to give her emotionally troubled granddaughter a safe place to spend the summer, a handsome cop and the hidden feelings he and the baker had for each other, a money hungry weasel with an eye on the somewhat faltering bakery, and a Mayor's wife with a dark secret. All of this combines into a cozy mystery that you won't be able to put down.
April 25, 2019
Love the story...but found a problem.
I enjoyed the storyline very much. I would love to read how the rest of the summer went for Cookie and Clarissa. However, towards the end of the story, one thing is glaringly wrong. A gun was first introduced as a long-barreled revolver. Then, a few pages later, a character was wondering how many bullets an automatic weapon holds. A revolver is not an automatic weapon. A revolver discharges one bullet with one trigger pull. Automatic means many bullets for as long as you hold down the trigger.
I enjoyed the storyline very much. I would love to read how the rest of the summer went for Cookie and Clarissa. However, towards the end of the story, one thing is glaringly wrong. A gun was first introduced as a long-barreled revolver. Then, a few pages later, a character was wondering how many bullets an automatic weapon holds. A revolver is not an automatic weapon. A revolver discharges one bullet with one trigger pull. Automatic means many bullets for as long as you hold down the trigger.
November 10, 2024
Cookie (aka Karen) is in her 60's and running her own bakery. Her daughter who has remarried is struggling with her teenage daughter Clarissa, so Cookie agrees to take her for the holidays. It's quickly apparent that Clarissa is rebelling against everyone and Cookie begins to regret her decision.
On top of this she has a developer pressing her to sell her business, a crush on a local police officer and then a customer is rude enough to die in her bakery.
A quick and light read, but somewhat lacking in substance.
On top of this she has a developer pressing her to sell her business, a crush on a local police officer and then a customer is rude enough to die in her bakery.
A quick and light read, but somewhat lacking in substance.
July 19, 2018
Mixed messages
An exciting storey writer has come to my attention K.J.Emrick as well as an exquisite new series, the storey starts in giving you an array of caracters so diverse in a gentle sweep then carries you away on a mysterious plot that keeps you jumping,laughing ,then almost weeping. A true credit the turm cozey mystery, thank you for sharing your hard work and talent with us readers. Kat
An exciting storey writer has come to my attention K.J.Emrick as well as an exquisite new series, the storey starts in giving you an array of caracters so diverse in a gentle sweep then carries you away on a mysterious plot that keeps you jumping,laughing ,then almost weeping. A true credit the turm cozey mystery, thank you for sharing your hard work and talent with us readers. Kat
August 2, 2018
When a snarky, difficult customer dies in Cookies shop, the timing couldn't be worse with Cookie's temperamental granddaughter staying for the summer. Add the murder to the stranger lurking about after dark and a ruthless businessman making threats in order to convince Cookie to sell her shop, and you have one upset bakery owner. The only upside is the events allow Cookie to spend more time with a certain policeman she has feelings for.
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