Gingerdead Man is the 7th book in the Five-Ingredient Mystery series starring Val Denniston and her grandfather know as the Codger Cook. In this book they are home in Bayport, Maryland where the Dickens of a Holiday festival is in full swing. Val is holding a volunteer tea to thank the many costumed volunteers, in the cafe of the local bookstore. A person, dressed as the creepy Ghost of Christmas Past, arrives and leaves a bag for each person, before leaving out the back door. Each bag contains a gingerbread men with white icing skeleton bones. One of the volunteers, a drunken Santa Claus, immediately gobbles down his cookie and ends up dying on the floor. Once it has been determined that he was poisoned, Val, her grandfather and some others are on the case trying to find out who the murderer is and to make sure no one else is killed.

One of the things I love about this series is the relationship between Val and her grandfather. She moved to Bayport to help him, but once there, she decided to make it permanent. They work well together, love one another, tease, and even set each other up when investigating. There are several other great relationships in these books both family and friendships. The mystery was well-plotted with just enough suspects, red herrings and twists to keep me guessing. I enjoyed the Christmas theme and activities. I loved the Christmas killer dressed up as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. I enjoyed the humor that was well placed, most coming from Val's granddad. The final review was excellent and different from other cozies I have read. A wonderful addition to the series.

I didn't connect with this storyline and the characters as much as I do. Not sure why. I wasn't thrilled with how the mystery turns out, but the dots do connect. It just seemed a little unrealistic given that we just get an info. dump at the end.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Murder by a Christmas cookie! A cozy Christmas murder mystery set in Bayport, Maryland with lots of Christmas spirit and bakings. Val and her grandpa are in for a surprise at the yearly Dickens festival.

Val is hosting a private tea party when things go wrong. One of the volunteers ends up dead by eating one of the gingerbread cookies that were mysteriously served to the guests. It’s a complete mystery how this could’ve happened, so Val and her amateur detective grandpa go to investigate the unfortunate situation.

Val is working on her catering business, while grandpa is trying to fill up his retirement days. I can’t remember other books I’ve read where grandparents where part of the team, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Grandpas make everything cozier.

As with most murder mysteries, there’s a process of finding the right suspect. So we go through multiple suspects and eventually arrive at the real culprit. This middle part of the book felt long and I needed some time to get through that. While the middle part felt long, the first part and last part of the book where quick and compact. The characters beside Val and her grandpa are developed well. There’s no deep understanding of every characters life, but enough to be able to see their guilt or innocence. The suspects are clearly suspect for a good reason and don’t get away with innocence easy.

Val is a big fan of cooking, explaining her catering business. At the end of the book you will find some recipes from the book. A nice touch if reading the delicious foods in this story made your mouth water.

Gingerdead Man is the seventh book in the series, but don’t worry if you haven’t read any of the other books. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series and found no problem at all in understanding what was going on. This book can be read stand-alone as well. A pro for cozy mysteries, as they often don’t require to read a series from the beginning to feel indulged in the story.

Book seven of the Five-Ingredient Mystery Series, Gingerdead Man , finds Val hosting a tea party for the costumed volunteers for a Holiday festival in Bayport, Maryland. A costumed Ghost of Christmas present complete with black robe and bag on his head hands out santa cookies with white frosting that looks like skeletons. The costumed santa eats one of these macbre treats and drops dead. Val investigates and finds plenty of clues, but will she find the murderer in time to clear herself and friends from being locked up?

Readers of this upbeat series will welcome this seventh installment. The story is festive and fun and the characters are well-developed and believable. Val and her Grandfather are likeable and will remind readers of regular people they know. The small town of Bayport is quaint and typical of small-town America. The book is an easy and fast read; perfect for busy readers getting ready for their own holiday season Books/Gingerdead%20Man.jpg

Although there is a murder in the town, this is an cheerful culinary cozy mystery and is perfect for light reading during the holiday season. Even though there is no blatant sex, language, or violence, there is some building suspense, as well as surprise when the dénouement is reached at the end. A bonus is that the novel contains a few recipes that readers will want to prepare to eat while reading this fun novel.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Another fantastic mystery that is impossible to not enjoy. Mystery and suspense to keep you guessing.

One of my favorite authors, Maya Corrigan has done an amazing job in the telling of this story - Gingerdead Man.

The cozy characters are well crafted and delightful, and the overall story was fun to read and entertaining.

Kudos to Corrigan for a job well done!

I absolutely loved the setting of this book. The characters are very likeable. The mystery was engaging. I didn't figure out who the murderer was until the very end. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

The author gives us a mystery filled with suspense, plenty of suspects, lot of clues, lots of red herrings to lead you astray, and some surprising twists and turns. The characters are well developed and seem very life like.

I liked how the suspects weren't hard to find, but the motives were not easily distinguishable to keep you on your toes. I also liked that the evidence is at the forefront of the story and are not just shoved away repeatedly like they are in some mysteries. I did miss all of the activity that can usually be found at Val's cafe since she does some of her best mystery solving work there without realizing it. If you are new to the series, you may have difficulty getting to know all the characters and understanding their roles in the big scheme of things I would recommend starting at book one and reading the books in order.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

This is the 7th book in the Five Ingredient Mystery series. Val and her grandfather are back, this time participating in the Dickens of a Holiday festival. Unfortunately, Santa is found murdered and Val wants to know what happened. Good plot and a great cast of characters, especially Grandad! I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fun holiday tale as a Victorian Christmas celebration comes to life in Val's town of Bayport. The Dickens themed costumes are varied, however one in particular is a bit dark. Val provides the treats for a private tea party and when one recipient of ginger cookies winds up dead, she knows she needs to figure this out. Nice atmosphere for the time of year!

I liked the book the mystery was interesting and I really like the characters, Val is a favorite of mine, the recipes are a plus.

Val is hosting a tea for the volunteers of the town's Christmas festival. The Ghost of Christmas Past makes an unexpected visit which results in the death of Santa. Val and her grandfather are quickly caught up in solving another mystery. I enjoyed the twists and turns and how the different story lines combined. This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series, and this book is a good addition.

Gingerdead Man by Maya Corrigan is the 7th A Five-Ingredient Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. This is the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it! Found the closeness between Val and her grandfather so sweet and touching. I liked the mystery. .The recipes in the back look interesting (5 ingredients is my kind of recipe).

While I love the characters and setting of this series, I struggled with this entry. The mystery was strong (I didn't guess the ending), it took a while to get to the action for me. I kept drifting off. I will continue to read this series even though this one was a bit of a miss for me.

This is such a fun series, and I had a great time with this cozy mystery. I loved the plot, the twists and turns, and the characters!

I was a stranger to Corrigan's Five Ingredient Mystery Series until Gingerdead Man. (Book 7). I was quickly pulled into her cozy world. As many know, the author limits her culinary plots to five suspects, five clues, and recipes made with five ingredients. Corrigan's previous experience as an educator teaching American Literature, crime fiction, and writing (!) proves that skilled teaching can bring about skillful writing. While the book does work as a stand alone, I wanted to know more about Val, and promptly reserved her first two adventures. The eastern shore of Maryland, is not as well known as some of the other cozy locations, Corrigan's vivid descriptions of Bayport MD make we wish I were able to visit and tour this fictitious bit of landscape.
As cued by the title, Gingerdead Man is a holiday entry. Without spoiled to much, I was very happy that this sour Santa came to an abrupt end. Val is a charming sleuth, the clues are challenging and the puzzle is fair. I look forward to more adventures from the streets of Bayport.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC from netgalley and Kensington Press in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for this opportunity.

Although it did not grab my attention, fans of cozy mysteries may enjoy it.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

This is the 7th book in the Five-Ingredient Mystery series but the first one I've read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had no problem whatsoever quickly getting up to speed on the characters. Val and her crusty codger Grandddad make for a delightful crime solving duo and there's a wonderful supporting cast as well.

In this installment, there's murder at the town's Dickens Christmas festival and soon, more murders/attempted murders. It's a very cleverly-plotted puzzler.

Very highly recommended!! In fact, as soon as I finished, I picked up a copy of the first mystery in the series so I can get up to speed on it.

Another fun book in a totally enjoyable series. I love the fact that our sleuths are a Grandpa/Granddaughter team, their relationship is special. I loved the Dickens Festival, and the setting of Bayport. The characters in this book are a lot of fun and the storyline is well written. I did figure out the villain was but I didn't know why. There are great recipes included in the book as well. I made the gingerbread, it's fabulous!

What a fun story! Three poisonings and two murders. This had some interesting elements to it. I liked the vpVictorian festival; it was a nice set up for the first murder. I liked the protagonist a lot. She was clever without being overly nosy. She worked with her Grandad on solving the murder. The end was nicely wrapped in a bow and the author continued the story afterward, which isn’t my favorite way to wrap things up.

An enjoyable read with fun characters. My Rating: 4 stars