From USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns comes another tantalizingly tasty culinary mystery…In need of some quick dough, full-time baker and sometime sleuth Sally Muccio decides to rent the vacant apartment over the bakery to a friend of her grandmother’s. Allegra Fiato is nothing like Sal’s darling Grandma Rosa, though. She’s mean, dishonest, and harboring a deadly secret.When the … secret.
When the elderly woman is mowed down in a hit and run, it quickly becomes obvious this was no accident. Grandma Rosa asks for Sal’s help to find the killer which involves a last minute trip to Vegas crashed by Sal’s crazy parents, stolen fortune cookies, and a mysterious missing locket. To add more spice to the mix, a loved one makes a startling admission to Sal that shocks her to the very core. Suddenly, Sal’s world is in danger of crumbling around her. Can she put the pieces back together in time before the killer makes her the next victim?
Recipes Included!
The Cookies & Chance Mysteries:
Tastes Like Murder (book #1)
Baked to Death (book #2)
A Spot of Murder (short story in the “Killer Beach Reads” collection)
Burned to a Crisp (book #3)
Frosted With Revenge (book #4)
Silenced by Sugar (book #5)
A Drizzle Before Dying (short story in the “Pushing Up Daisies” collection)
What critics are saying:
“Catherine Bruns has whipped up another delicious treat with this delightful cozy. If you like your mysteries to taste sweet this one is a good choice.”
–Night Owl Reviews, Top Pick!
“I want to visit more with all of the quirky characters just to see what crazy and outrageous things they will do next!”
–Fresh Fictionmore
I enjoy Ms Bruns characters. I’ve read others of this series and I like the progression. Quirky characters, some of whom I might consider murdering myself. I love Sally’s Italian grandmother who helps keep her grounded with her misquoted clichés. I want some of those fortune cookies – only the ones with good messages, though.
The book is an easy read but the action doesn’t keep the reader involved in the story line. The twist at the end is good, it was just hard staying with the story to get there.
Love this series of books and this one did not disappoint. Sally is happy married to the man she’s loved for a very long time and wants nothing more than to add to the family. But it is her sister that drops the bomb shell. But what family does for each other is amazing. Through thick and thin and tons of tears they are there for each other and again, they are there for each other as well.
Gotta love her Grandmother though. Love how she mixes up her sayings and when family corrects her, she replies, “that works too.” But it’s Sally’s parents that drives everyone crazy. Mom doesn’t want to admit to her age and acts like she’s 20 or so years younger. Her dad wants to write a book and keeps coffins around the house for business.
They are are all stand alones, but I recommend that you read them in order for continuity purposes.
Everyone else tells you about this story. I want you to know the entire series is awesome!
Sally’s and Josie’s adventures never disappoint. The supporting characters bring there own excitement. The stories are very well written and the mysteries keep you reading until well past bedtime. You will not be disappointed!!
Each book in this series just gets better and better and this one is no exception! If this is your first book in this series, that’s okay, because the characters are well developed enough for you to pick up right here and fall right into the story. This book keeps the reader engaged with the right amount of twists and turns, some humor, and overall an enjoyable cozy that will be difficult for you to put down. The story gives you a character of every imaginable personality, with those you love to love and those you love to hate, and, Ms. Bruns does a wonderful job of providing an entertaining whodunit to us that is captivating and fun! No spoilers in this review, but I will let you know there are recipes included at the end. That in itself should be enough! GET THIS BOOK NOW! I received an ARC from the publisher for purposes of an unbiased review.
I have enjoyed all the books in the Cookies & Chance series. Sal’s family is a real hoot – wonderful grandmother, size 4, sexy dressing mother, death obsessed father who wants to write a book based on his successful death blog, etc. The characters are amazingly real. Sal rents the apartment above her bakery to a real witch of a woman who steals the bakeries recipes, uses the bakery ovens, and sells the knock offs cheaper than Sal. She also harasses Sal’s husband. When the renter turns up dead, Sal is embroiled in another mystery. There is a mad trip to Las Vegas where Sal finds her parents, many red herrings and finally a satisfying conclusion. Plan to spend some time with this because you will not be able to put it down!
“Crumbled to Pieces” earns 5+/5 Sweet Karma Bites…Delightfully Satisfying!
Sally Muccio Donovan is giddy about her own message inside her shop’s signature fortune cookie which have proved to be both “a curse and a blessing.” But, remember with the good comes the bad. Allegra Fiato, the woman renting the rooms upstairs from the shop, has become the renter from “hell.” Evidence of her using BFF Josie’s kitchen, fortune cookies gone missing, harassment of Sally’s husband, and surprise…she is selling cookies oddly familiar to Josie’s own recipes. So after confronting her, the threats fly and Allegra storms out into an oncoming car…dead! What does the fortune cookie say about that?
I am always entertained by Catherine Bruns’ Cookies & Chance series, and the sixth book doesn’t disappoint…karma is always on high alert with her books. Although several events have transpired and relationships developed over the five books, newbies need not shy away from munger six because there are more than enough references to keep budding fans engaged. Bruns does very well with a first-person narrative including informative and delightful descriptions of settings, characters, and her shop’s sweet cuisine, and the twists and turns, secrets revealed, and final solution, which often puts someone in peril, are always clever. But she also provides entertaining dialogue, too. The banter is very entertaining from her conversations with her husband, BFF Josie, and other quirky family members, and thanks to her writing style, I always have a visceral response to her interactions with “thorn in her side” Mrs. Gavelli, and the victim made me cringe. But all of that kept me turning the page. And my two favorites words? No, not “it’s murder,” but “recipes included.” Catherine provides easy-to-follow recipes straight from Sally’s Samples kitchen: Double Chocolate Chili Cookies, Chocolate Cheesecake, my favorite Snickerdoodles, and Fudgy Delight Cookies. Yum all the way!