The ninth in Carlene O’Connor’s Irish Village mystery series, Murder at an Irish Bakery, is my favorite in the series. There are several reasons. First, I didn’t feel overwhelmed by all of the members of Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan’s family. And, the baking competition will be popular with anyone who watches baking competitions on television. In this case, it’s often the garda who provide the humor during the contests, and it’s fun to watch Siobhan and her husband, Macdara Flannery, drool over the treats.

Ireland’s best bakers gather at the historic flour mill in Kilbane to compete in a bake-off. Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan considers herself lucky. Maybe she can sample treats while having easy duty providing security. But, even before the competition opens, there’s trouble. There’s a protestor outside shouting sugar is poison, trying to shut down the show. Soon after the queen of Irish bakers, Aoife McBride, appears to powder the protestor’s face for the cameras, the young man collapses. Siobhan suspects poisoning, but the show must go on. The protestor is rushed to the hospital, and filming begins with a full slate of excellent bakers and judges who play up the rivalries.

Then, the anonymous sponsor sends in a lawyer with secret twists for the competitors. Siobhan is horrified when those twists are nasty, and one ends in the death for a baker. Something sinister and coordinated is happening right under Siobhan’s nose, and it’s up to her and the other garda to set a sweet trap for a mastermind.

As I said, Siobhan and Macdara add the humor and zest to this particular mystery. But, anyone who has followed the series will enjoy seeing the efforts going into the opening of the new farm-to-table restaurant on Macdara’s new property. That’s where the O’Sullivan six, the siblings, are putting their efforts. I may have felt overwhelmed with some of the books in the series and so many O’Sullivans, but they’re integral to the success of these books.

If you’re a fan of cooking competition shows, or a fan of O’Connor’s series, this one is a treat.

Carlene O’Connor’s website is https://carleneoconnor.net/

Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O’Connor. Kensington, 2023. ISBN 9781496730817 (hardcover), 320p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I downloaded a galley from NetGalley to review for a journal.