“A watertight alibi if I ever heard one.”

The Codger Cook and his granddaughter are at it again, only this time they take their sleuthing on the road. When their killer weekend at a mystery fest comes with an actual dead body they can’t help but investigate. With a new setting Val wasn’t the only one feeling slightly discombobulated. A story fill with twists and turns that left me feeling like that special ingredient usually found in one of the Five Ingredient Mysteries was missing. ( )

Loved the voice, the characters, the prose. Talia Hibbert makes me laugh. ( )

Bake Offed by Maya Corrigan is the eighth A Five-Ingredient Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. Val and her grandfather are fun characters. I find Granddad to be a hoot. He is a lively character. You never know what he will do next (always has something up his sleeve). Val and Granddad are attending the Maryland Mystery Fest where they are hoping to have a fun weekend. Unfortunately, the woman in the hotel room next to Val ends up dead. Don Myer, Val’s grandfather, is hired by the victim’s stepdaughter to investigate the crime. The victim was not well-liked (that is putting it mildly) so there are several suspects. Val and Granddad ask questions and search for clues. They share their intel with Detective Roy Chesterfield. There is a red herring or two as well as a twist. It was a fun mystery to solve. I like how the mysteries mentioned in the book were incorporated into the whodunit. There is humor scattered throughout the story especially regarding a missing recipe box. I enjoyed reading Bake Offed. I am looking forward to Val and Granddad’s next adventure. There are five ingredient recipes at the end of the book. Bake Offed is a sweet treat with an anomalous note, a penetrating noise, a curious crime, mystery mania, a pilfered recipe box, and a caught crook. ( )

Val Deniston and her grandfather Don Myer, who is a recipe columnist for “Codger Cook”, are looking forward to having a merry time at the Maryland Mystery Fan Fest! To add to the excitement, Don is one of the contestants of Deadly Desserts Bake-off competition!

However, not long after, one of the competitors turns up dead! The jovial bake-off event takes a turn for the worse, or maybe even is being cursed.

I was intrigued by the BAKE OFFED book cover, which illustrates appetizing desserts that are the clues to the story, and its mystery essence has drawn me into the deadly atmosphere of the baking competition!

Maya Corrigan creatively portrays her BAKE OFFED, a Five-Ingredient Mystery, as a deliciously cozy mystery that I savored very much! ( )

Allow a day for this delightful family-friendly cozy mystery set at the Maryland Mystery Fun Fest convention in a hotel in Frederick County, Maryland where Val Deniston and her Granddad Don Meyer have traveled from Bayport on Maryland's Eastern Shore. I had an ARC from NetGalley and this is my voluntary review. ( )