Cook-off competitions can be crazy, engaging and engrossing but small time life can be hectic and homicidal!

Sherry Oliveri is finding out that she is becoming famous on the Cook-off circuit (selfies with fans anyone!) which leads to her being interviewed on the local radio for their food section Bites, before they get to the phone in section there is some breaking news as a body has been found in the community garden, now Sherry is being dragged hither and thither with some people wanting her to find out the truth, others blocking her (and in the case of Detective Ray Bease telling her to keep her culinary fingers away from the investigation!), but when she starts to get threatened and someone she might become close to accidentally ends up in the cross hairs, she takes off her chef's hat and puts on her deerstalker.

Whilst all this is going on she is getting ready for her next cook-off, arranging a cook-off for the 4th of July celebrations, oh and getting better at tennis. so keeping the plates spinning is what she needs to do (and she wishes people would stop asking her to taste test their offerings for the cook-off!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Yet again, I find myself reading a cozy series out of order but not having a problem keeping up. Sherry has an interesting life, between the cook off contests, the Ruggery and her work with editing the town newsletter. I liked how all of these things added up to being in the right place at the right time, or knowing someone who could help. It certainly made chasing down Poppy''s killer a little easier! It was also a little different to not have Sherry find the body herself, or even be around when it was discovered. It meant clues had to be ferreted out even more, and Sherry really had to be motivated to catch the killer (she explains previously she had success as her father had been a suspect)

As always with food mysteries, be prepared to get hungry while reading this! Thankfully we headed down to a local burger place for dinner last night, and that had to be enough to keep me going on all the delicious sounding food! I also wondered on the cook off idea, it's not really something done very often in Australia except on big TV shows, so it was fresh for me.

Can't wait to read more from this author. Five stars!

Sherry Oliveri has become a celebrity in the goodie world now that she has won America's Good Taste Recipe Contest. Even on the plane coming back home she attracts some attention with people asking for selfies with her. Once back in her home town of Augustin, Connecticut she starts to focus her attention on the upcoming 4th of July festivities and her work with the Augustin Community Garden. Best laid plans as the saying goes - while guesting on a local radio call in show, Bites, questions quickly shift from her contest win and food to who dunnit? The show is interrupted with the news that a local woman, Poppy Robinson, has been found dead in the garden. Sherry had worked with her on the Garden board and, even though she didn't know her all that well, people turn to Sherry to, once again, do some investigating. Investigating is one thing but trying not to become the killers next victim will be a challenge.
Overall this was a nice cozy mystery complete with some twists and red herrings. The characters were well drawn and I enjoyed my reading time spent with them. My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book was great - I like saying the name Sherri Oliveri in my head as I'm reading - I know, silly!

I liked that the characters are developing more as the series goes on and I'm happy that Amber has moved and stayed in town, I like her as a character.

This book was a big puzzle and I went back and forth as to who I thought the culprit was; I went back and forth so many times, I don't even remember if I had it right LOL.

Hopefully this series will continue as it is fun, funny, and a quick-read.

4.4 stars.

I voluntarily reviewed this book on Netgalley.

Sherry Oliveri has attained celebrity status after winning the America’s Good Taste Recipe Contest with her delectable New England Crab Cake Sliders. But now that she’s back home in Connecticut, she’s got to deal with something else fishy . . .

Sherry’s making a guest appearance on a local radio show when the news comes in: Poppy Robinson has been found dead in the town’s community garden. Sherry was supposed to be taking questions about her win in the national cooking competition, but instead the callers start dishing dirt.

Poppy and Sherry were both involved in the vegetable garden, and while Poppy may have been a bit priggish, it wasn’t anything that called for a shovel to the back of the head. There was already trouble brewing, with the owner of the land threatening to renege on their agreement, and this murder has taken tensions to a new level. Now while Sherry’s organizing a Fourth of July cook-off event, she’s also got a murder investigation on her plate .

It was fun to read about a New England based mystery, though Connecticut is one I'm less familiar with.

First this cover is absolutely outstanding. I love a great cover that contains clues for the reader.
This is the 3rd in the "Cook Off" Mystery series and I have read the prior books in the series. This book can be read as a stand alone. Thank you for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

In this next in series our savvy chef and talented protagnist Sherry Oliveri has won another cooking contest and has just arrived home. She finds that Poppy Robinson has been murdered in the community garden. Sherry and Poppy did not know each other well but she agrees when the town ask her to investigate. She is also fighting to keep the community garden as the owner wants to do away with it. At the same time she is helping plan the town's 4th of July bash and it seems everyone in town has a task for her to do . Sherry is wearing many hats in this next in series. I like that she respects her fellow townspeople and that people depend on her.

Soon Sherry is finding some distasteful details about the dead woman's life. When she is threatened by the killer she is as determined then ever to prove who the killer was and why. Sherry is a likable protagonist with ties to her community and gumption that drives her to solve mysteries. I love the sleuth which kept me guessing. I appreciate the author's well crafted story and the recipes included as always are divine. I look forward to the next in series

I really enjoyed this mystery. Enjoyed the setting and the characters. Thank you Devon Delaney for this delightful mystery read. Look forward to reading more.

Guilty as Charred by Devon Delaney is the 3rd book in A Cook-Off Mystery series. Sherry Oliveri, is excited after winning the American's Good Taste Recipe Contest with her New England Crab Cakes sliders. While appearing on a radio program to answer questions about her win, Sherry learns Poppy Robinson has been found dead. Sherry and Poppy were both involved with the community vegetable garden, and Sherry is determined to find out what happened. This book is a fun cozy mystery, but I am still not sure I like Sherry very much. If you like cooking and cozy's you might want to give this book a try. I love the cover!

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

This is the 3rd book in the series. Sherry works part time at her father's rug shop called the ruggarty and enters cooking contest and wins them with her cooking. This book was based on a garden member who gets murdered and sherry helps the police find the murderer. If you haven't read this series I recommend it.

Guilty as Charred is the 3rd installment in A Cook-Off Mystery series by Devon Delaney. Even though I haven't read the previous books in this series, it didn't cause a problem as this can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading the others first.

Sherry Oliveri has attained celebrity status after winning the America’s Good Taste Recipe Contest with her delectable New England Crab Cake Sliders. But now that she’s back home in Connecticut, she’s got to deal with something else fishy . . .

Sherry’s making a guest appearance on a local radio show when the news comes in: Poppy Robinson has been found dead in the town’s community garden. Sherry was supposed to be taking questions about her win in the national cooking competition, but instead the callers start dishing dirt.

Poppy and Sherry were both involved in the vegetable garden, and while Poppy may have been a bit priggish, it wasn’t anything that called for a shovel to the back of the head. There was already trouble brewing, with the owner of the land threatening to renege on their agreement, and this murder has taken tensions to a new level. Now while Sherry’s organizing a Fourth of July cook-off event, she’s also got a murder investigation on her plate . . .

Includes Recipes from Sherry’s Kitchen, but not ones from the story which was disappointing.

The protagonist Sherry is a strong woman, and the other characters are interesting. There are twists and turns, a few red herrings but I guessed whodunnit fairly soon in the story. The story moves at a steady pace but I did have trouble getting into the story.

I requested and received an Advanced Reader Copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fun, cozy read! This was set in in a little town of Connecticut. The Cook-off Champion returns home to a murder in the community garden. She joins in the search to catch the culprit, despite being warned off. Can she catch the killer before they catch her??

Sherry's back in town after winning a recipe contest but this doesn't mean her life is going to go smoothly. She finds herself investigating her neighbors when Poppy is found dead in the community garden. As veteran cozy readers know, there's always more to the victim than it appears on the surface and that's the case here. I've said it before - there's a better book in here and I do wish Delaney had used a detached reader to rework some of this. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Oh, and there are recipes.

What a fantastic addition to this already great series.
Sherry is a fun loving character and her tenacity for solving crimes and searching for answers will keep you guessing until the very end.
I enjoyed every page I read and cannot wait to read more in this series.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Kensington Books in return for an honest review. Sherry Oliveri returns home after willing the 'America's Good Taste Cook Off' and finds out that the local community gear is being sold by the owners, Poppy Robinson & her two siblings. As a member of the community garden board, Sherry's not thrilled and even less so when Poppy is found murdered in the garden Several characters ask Sherry to investigate, because of previous experience in solving crimes. In between preparing for a new town Fourth of July cooking contest, working at her dad's rug store and trying to create new recipes, finding time to solve a murder can be tough!

cozy-mystery, cooking, recipes, amateur-sleuth, murder

Cooking contests, recipes, small town, community gardens, and murder, what's not to like? Everyone in town expects contest celebrity Sherry to solve the murder of an irritating woman found in the community garden. How she goes about it and who she calls on for help makes this an interesting read.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley.

Once again I tried, but the characters in the A Cook-off Mystery series have not improved. I can't in any way identify with them and found them unlikeable and off-putting. The book was written as if I should already know all of the characters, and frankly I was confused. 'Guilty as Charred' was like a formula book with no real warmth.
The only redeeming quality for me was a recipe, otherwise I have no further interest in the series.

Sherry Oliveri has won another cooking contest and gets home just in time to find that Poppy Robinson has been murdered in the community garden. Being a woman of many talents, Sherry happens to also be a bit of a sleuth and solved two previous murders in which she and her father were suspects. Now the town comes to Sherry asking her to help finger the murderer to speed the case up.

As Sherry begins to dig into the life of the woman she barely knew, she finds not all of her neighbors are exactly what they seem. But Sherry seems to be cooking her own goose as the killer sends her warnings and she needs to heed those warnings before she’s burnt to a crips.

A cute cozy with a good mystery. Not sure I am totally in sync with the main character, but will read another to see how I feel after a second helping. The few recipes that were included didn’t connect to the story at all. It would have been nice if the recipes weren’t so random and tied into what Sherry made in the book. All in all, I’m glad I was able to experience a new author and series.

Guilty as Charred is the 3rd installment in A Cook-Off Mystery series. Sherry Oliveri is back home after winning America's Good Taste recipe contest and is being interviewed on the local radio station when news comes in that Poppy Robinson has been found dead in the community garden. Sherry knew Poppy as she was also involved in the community garden cannot imagine who could want her dead. The landowner wants to no default on the community garden and tensions are even higher with the murder. Sherry is also organizing the 4th of July cook-off contest and try and figure out who killed Poppy. This is a good series and Sherry is a strong character. This is a fast read and a solid mystery. Looking forward to the next installment.

This book is enjoyable, fun to read and engaging.
I liked the well written cast of characters, the good mystery that kept me guessing, and the setting.
I look forward to reading other books in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A really good cozy mystery with an easy to follow ,but not boring ,story and interesting characters i recommend for any mystery lover