A review by katiya
How to Bake a Murder by K.J. Emrick

4.0

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.