Murder For Good Measure

A Cook-off Mystery #7

By: Devon DeLaney

Publish Date 13 September 2022

Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing

Cooking, Food and Wine/ Mystery and Thrillers

#MurderforGoodMeasure #NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

Book Review:

I enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars. This is the 7th book in a series. I haven’t read the other books before reading this one and I didn’t feel lost in the story or the characters. The author did a good job of giving enough back story on each character.

The story opens with the store getting an estimate for a clean up after a flood in the small town. They will have to close the store while the repairs are being taken care of. This gives the main character some extra time. Our main character is extremely busy with other things that she does for the small town.

She also like to cook and enjoys competitive cook-offs. She decides to join the family cook-off with her next-door neighbor because she needs a child to help her. The next-door neighbor has twins, so they decided to join also. Sherry, who is the main character chooses the recipes they will be using. They have a couple of practice sessions before the main date.

The neighbors have a nanny who is from Ireland, and she has some crazy ideas and is always telling some folklore from her country. This bothers the neighbor mom who is named Joy. Joy is so upset that she decides to call the agency and have her removed.

When the cook-off happens, the nanny is nowhere in sight and is later found murdered. Who did it and why? Sherry is on the case and the clues lead to one person but did he, do it? You will have to read the book to find out.

I love the family dynamic in this book. Also, the friendship between Sherry and the neighbor.

Thank you to Netgalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. This is the 7th book in this series but easily read as a standalone. As Sherry’s father deals with the aftermath of a significant storm causing havoc in the old building housing his rug business, Sherry is drawn into a local paired cooking competition. She also meets her neighbor’s nanny, a young Irish woman with a deep history of Irish folklore that concerns the parents of her charges. Between Sherry’s normal life, the situation with her dad and his shop, the cooking competition and a subsequent murder, there’s quite the storyline! Interesting characters and lots of both food and Irish folklore to enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely enjoyed this new entry in the Cook-Off Mystery series. Once again, Sherry, the main character, investigates a murder, that of an Irish nanny this time. The storyline is interesting and it was difficult to put the book down, as I wanted to know more. Also, the cook-off aspect of the book is a highlight, as with previous entries in the series. The character develops is another highlight. Highly recommended to readers who love a good cozy mystery, whether they are familiar the the series or not.

Sherry is a very busy woman. Between her cook-offs, time with friends and family and solving crimes it is a wonder she has any time to herself. When a neighbor's nanny is found dead and the last person to see her was her brothers cook, what is a girl to do but solve the murder. There are lots of myths and legends in this story and great cooking. It is a lovely fun read with lots of twists and turns in the storyline.

This is book 7 of the Cook-Off Mystery series. This is my first time reading this series and author. I really enjoyed it. The murder interwoven with old Irish folklore was very interesting. Look forward to more.

Cozy mysteries are always such fun, and I was excited to get approved for this family cook off themed mystery.

I hadn’t realized when I started reading it, that it was the seventh in a series, but I feel it stands on its own pretty well. We don’t get a lot of background information on the characters, but everyone gets introduced pretty well and the relationships explained so I didn’t feel too lost.

The descriptions of the food were delightful, and I ended up abandoning the book several times to research similar sounding recipes to try myself, although there are three included at the end I can’t wait to try. And I loved the bits and pieces of Irish folklore and tradition that was sprinkled in.

There were many twists and turns to the story that kept me guessing all the way up to the end. The end scene of the confrontation gets a little confusing when there are so many people present, and I’m a little disappointed with the final solution.

My only real issue was the dialogue. It all felt very descriptive and formal, and there seemed to be no differences in tone or style, even between such different characters like the stay at home mom, her two young twins, an Irish nanny, or an elderly shop owner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for this ARC!

I received a free epub copy from NetGalley!

This was a fun read with a lot of interesting facts and the Irish lore was entertaining. The characters were well written and the story moved at a good pace. The twist at the end was unexpected and made the story all that much better!

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of MURDER FOR GOOD MEASURE (Book 7 of the Cook-Off Mysteries) by Devon Delaney in exchange for an honest review. A recent severe storm has caused tremendous damage to Sherry Oliveri's family store. As such, her father is struggling with whether to repair and upgrade the structure or to sell and move the family business, a beloved historic town attraction, to a site outside of town. As such, Sherry is delighted by the opportunity for distraction. Sherry invites her neighbors to join her in competing in a local team cook-off. Sherry will pair with the neighbors' son while the mother and daughter compete as a separate team. When the neighbors' nanny is murdered, a friend of Sherry's becomes the only apparent person of interest, so Sherry will use her connections to winnow out the real culprit. I liked this book and enjoy the series. I recommend this book and series to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring food and competition themes.

#MurderforGoodMeasure #NetGalley

Murder for Good Measure is the 7th book in the Cook-off Mystery series. Sherry Oliveri is the main character along with the characters of the town. The new characters add to the story. She works for her father, Erno whose store sells hooked rugs. The store was damaged in a nor'easter. He has to close the store for repairs. They live in the town of Augustin, Hillsboro County,

Joy and Max Wanner are Sherry's new neighbors. Cara Flannery is the nanny for their twins Tori and Wynne. She is from Ireland and is a big believer of Irish folklore. Betsy Reid is their friend and realtor who sold them their house also has an Irish nanny, Roisin. Vera Gilmore runs the Nanny Replacement Agency which placed them. Max works for Media Pie to find his company a new place to location for their business.

Pep is Sherry's brother who owns and runs a food truck. Angel is his sous chef. Sherry thinks that it would be nice to pair up Angel and Cara for a date which they go on. Detective Ray Bease is a good friend of Sherry. Officer Sedgeman is training their new K9 Dog, Trooper.

A Family Fun Festival is having a cook-off with the prize of $2500.00.. Sherry who has won many cooking contests tells Joy that she and her children should participate in it. They decide to do it. Max is not able to participate so Sherry takes his place. She and Wynne are one team and Joy and Tori are the other. Joy and Tori win 3rd and Sherry and Wynne win 1st. After the contest Ray comes to them and tells Joy and Max that their nanny has been murdered. Because Angel was on a date with her he is a suspect.

Roisin wants to do an Irish cooking class. She decides to have another cook-off. She has Sherry and Vera against Joy and Betsy. Her meal is salmon and potatoes. Her prizes are postal stamps, a ring and stationery. She also mentions the folklore about Finn McCool.

Erno tells Sherry and Pep that he has decided to sell the Ruggery Building as repairs are more than he can afford. Media Pie has offered him a good price for the building, Sherry and Pep tell Max and Betsy that they need a few days to go over the proposal before they give an answer. They are told to make sure all their things are out of the building for the repairs. Sherry goes up into the attic to check to make sure nothing is up there. She finds a handwritten recipe book, She wants to find the family whose book it could be. She also finds a piece of paper with a symbol on it. While up there she fells strange things happening. She thinks it is haunted. She shows the paper to Ray but Ray tells her that he has seen it before. Cara wore a necklace with the Triskele symbol on it. It represents the number three. It represents physical, celestial and spiritual worlds.

There is too much happening for me to try to relate. Will leave the story to the reader to find out. The climax of the story takes an unusual turn to surprise the reader,

I really enjoyed the book. I plan to read the series from the beginning, I look forward to the next book to find out what is in store for the people of the town of Augustin.

Thank you NetGalley and Beyond the Page for this ARC.

It is always a fun time "visiting" with Sherry and the other characters of this series. Like the other books, this is a fast paced, fun cozy mystery, that had me guessing. This may actually be my favorite so far in this series!s This book can be read as a stand alone as well. Highly recommend.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Sherry Oliveri works in The Ruggery, her family store, and spends her off time with her hobby of entering cook-offs, which she invariably wins quite often. But the store has been highly damaged in an unexpected nor'easter, and the repairs might be more than her father Erno is willing to spend.

She also thought it was a good idea to set her neighbors' young Irish nanny up with her brother's sous chef, since she hopes they might have a lot in common. That idea, however, gives her second thought when her neighbor Joy Wanner tells her that Cara won't stop spouting Irish folklore, which is beginning to give her children nightmares. Now Sherry wonders if she did the right thing. Especially when Cara turns up dead the day after the date...

This is the seventh book in the series and I have read them all. I loved this one as much as the others. Sherry is an interesting character who loves to cook, and is adept at making up recipes that turn out to be winners. In this book, she's paired with one of the Wanner twins, in her first ever two-generational cook-off.

But she's also worried about her brother Pep's sous chef, who is on Detective Ray Bease's radar for the murder of the young girl. Sherry is adamant that he couldn't be a killer, but more and more evidence points to the young man, who's at times lying about his whereabouts and others holding things back. Sherry begins to wonder if her faith is misplaced.

It also doesn't sit well with her when her new neighbor Max decides he wants the Ruggery and is willing to do whatever to achieve it. She can't imagine not coming to this building every day; it's been in her family for nearly forty years. She also knows it would break her father's heart to lose it.

So what will Sherry do? With so much on her plate, will she be able to save the business and find out who killed Cara? With all her suspects, which one had the most motive to kill the young woman, and why?...

I would rather not say any more about this book so as not to ruin it for those who are looking forward to reading it. So no real spoilers here. What I will say is that I found the book delightful, and the Irish folklore interesting. I love the main characters, as none are whiny and all add to the book, which is how it should be. The mystery is done well, the clues aren't plentiful, but you can draw your own conclusions and hope to come to the same as Sherry. Not an easy task in this book, and the murderer is surprising, the reason for the murder even more so. This is a book that is definitely worth reading, with the journey to the end highly worth it. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

Sherry Oliveri is having a no good very bad time as of late. The family’s rug store has been closed down for repairs after a bad storm, which will cost quite a bit to repair. Then the next door neighbors’ nanny is murdered and the police believe her friend Angel killed the young woman.

Between trying to find a way to save the store and find a killer, Sherry also has to figure out the ending of some Irish tale the young nanny was telling her. Could the ending help Sherry figure out the murder or will it just lead to her own demise if she’s not careful?

Another solid entry in this series has two Sherry involved in two cook offs along with her sleuthing. Just when you think things are going well for the Oliveri family, life hands them some lemons. Being a cooking family, the question is why they’ll make with those lemons…and it’s always an interesting outcome! Fun series for foodies and cooks with recipes.

Enjoyed the latest instalment of the series. It was fast paced and was enjoyable to read! Loved the characters and the mayhem that happens.

Murder For Good Measure is the 7th novel in this Cook-Off series. This is the second of Devon Delaney novels that I have read, and this novel is certainly much better than her predecessor in this series. Many of the same characters are still present, but what has improved is Delaney's ability to pull her plot together more effectively.

Murder For Good Measure focuses on murder, fraud, and the usual cook-off competition. The inclusion of children in the cook-off made this element of the novel far more interesting. The development of some characters remained weak, especially so in the author's characterization of Angel, which lacked depth and was often repetitive. Most readers are smart enough to understand Angel's fear, without so much repetition. Cara was also single-minded and less well developed. Overall, though, this novel worked well.

I thank the author and publisher who provided me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. And thanks also to NetGalley for including this novel on their list.

Murder for Good Measure is by far my favorite of this series.
Sherri Oliveri is such a wonderful character. I had an immediate connection with her since book one, and each new book impresses me even more.
This story revolves around severe damage at The Ruggery, the Oliveri family business, with repair estimates exceeding their worst nightmare. While struggling with the damages, Sherri becomes involved in an odd murder investigation, featuring Irish folklore, when her neighbors nanny is killed.

Everything about this story was intense and exciting and I loved every minute of it.

I'm excited to see what wild adventure Sherri becomes involved in next.
#MurderforGoodMeasure #NetGalley

Fun, Fast Moving Plot…
The seventh Cook-Off Mystery finds Sherry knee deep in murder and mayhem as she juggles food, cook-offs and life in general. The mysterious death of the young nanny from Dublin gets her thinking and it’s not too long before the sleuthing begins in earnest. Amidst clues, red herrings and folklore Sherry needs to act fast to find a killer. A well crafted and eccentric cast of characters populate a fun and fast moving plot. Recipes included.

Connecticut, recipes, law enforcement, K-9, amateur sleuth, cooking contest, friendship, families, family business, nanny, Irish folklore, cozy mystery, pets, small business, small town, ****

The publisher's blurb is pretty good, but the characters are way more interesting, and the plot has enough surprises to keep my attention to the end. There is a lot of interpersonal drama that takes it to a whole other level.
All in all, I really liked it, but was glad that I'd read some of the others.
I requested and received a free e-book from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley.. Thank you!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Beyond the Page Publishing and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A cozy for lovers of the genre, Devon Delaney is no novice and haas another hit wit Murder for Good Measure. Lovely characters, a fun plot, make time to read it all at one time.

This one will make you hungry. Lots of food talk and you'll learn a bit about cooking contests, too. There are also some hints (the author is a well-known winner of quite a few of these very contests) on how contestants prepare for them beforehand, not to mention some hints on how best to present yourself in front of judges. And, oh, yeah, there's a murder. There is also a phenomenal dog named Trooper, a new member of the K-9 Unit. These dogs are absolutely amazing.

Although at first I was thinking this was slow-going and the dialogue seemed a bit stilted at times, at some point I realized I was really getting into the mystery, relationships, characters, and all the tales of Irish legends, including pookas, the wee folks, and a Giant Baby. Gotta love Irish lore. There is even a mysterious book found in the attic to whet the appetite of us book lovers. We even get to see some amateur efforts to peel apart stuck pages.

In between, Sherry Oliveri is dealing with the heartbreaking idea of her father selling the long-owned family store, walking the dog, neighbor Eileen diligently doing her neighborhood watch, another neighbor running into her brand new mailbox, and trying to find evidence to prove Angel, her brother's food truck sous chef didn't kill another neighbor's nanny, Cara. Oh, and clocks and pictures falling mysteriously off the walls at her dad's shop.

So, who killed Cara? I'm not telling but it was a fascinating tale, zipping comfortably between everyday life and Irish lore. There's even a modern-day twist, so to speak, at the end, so be prepared. And, it goes without saying that you should have plenty of goodies on hand to munch on as you read. Like me, you will suddenly find yourself fully invested in the book, I bet.

Thanks #NetGally and #BeyondThePagePublishing for introducing me to Sherry and her family and friends, not to mention Trooper.