Book #9 in this lovely series. I love that you can read these books in any order but if you get to read them 1-9 you can really see how Siobhan O'Sullivan has come into her own. I have read all the books in this series and I love them. I love where Carlene O'Connor takes this book and if you are a fan of British cooking shows you will really enjoy it too. At times I thought the story was going over the top but then I watched a cooking compaction show and could see Carlene's plot working for real life. A hug thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishouse for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Carlene O'Connor's stories always make me wish I could trave to Country Cork and visit the great places.
This is another great story that kept me guessing and entertained. I was glad to catch up with the characters and liked the plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

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 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.

Siobhan and her husband add the humor and zest to the follow-up to Murder on a Irish Farm. Fans of competitive baking shows or Amy Patricia Meade's cozy mysteries will enjoy it.

This is book 9 in the Irish Village Mysteries and is based in the fictional town of Kilbane in County Cork. The author does a wonderful job of creating a setting that immediately draws the reader in. Excitement mounts as word spreads that a reality show is going to be filmed at the old flour mill which is the site of a bakery. But when the reality show gets underway, the top contestant is found murdered and Garda Siobhan springs into action to apprehend the killer. Another terrific release in this gripping series! Highly recommend, I look forward to every release and hope this series goes on forever.

I enjoy this cast of characters and the author's style of writing, I also , once again enjoyed the relationships amongst the main characters. The complex nature of family is evident throughout and yet this dimension moved along most satisfactorily in this episode.

This particular story didn't resonate as much as some of the others, the commitment to keeping the series going despite the 'happenings', hmmm. It did have a very interesting reveal at the end.

With thanks to #Netgalley, Kensington Books and the author for my advanced reader copy.

Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O'Connor is an amazing cozy mystery that is the ninth book in the wonderful series: An Irish Village Mystery. Picture a bake off with a taste of murder. Thank you Net Galley!

This series in Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland with Siobhan and Macdara are always a fun read.
Siobhan is watching her siblings becoming adults with mixed feelings. She is proud about what they archive but also a bit sad that the children she has taken care of for so many years are coming into their own and going into various directions but at least everybody is staying close to home.
The key story in this book is a baking contest with some well-known bakers. The baking contest is set up a bit as a reality show productions where the producers are trying to get the contestants to sabotage each other. Not surprising we find one of the key contestant been electrocuted at her cooking station.
There’re plenty of twist and turns with l lots of lies and misleading. You might have to stock up on sweets after reading about all the deserts craving between Siobhan and Macdara.

Another great installment in this series!

I love the relationship between Siobhan and Macdara, and the whole brood! I also love Siobhan and Macdara’s love of sweets.

Such a fun setting with Great British Bake Off vibes and big personalities. The mystery definitely kept me guessing and was hard to put down.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Can’t wait to see what’s to come next!

Murder at an Irish Bakery is book nine in this wonderful series, set in County Cork, Ireland. The local residents are very excited, as a reality cooking show is filming a baking contest at a local flour mill. On the first day, a protester who was against the filming, is murdered. Then on the second day, one of the six contestants is murdered during filming. It's up to married couple Garda's Siobhan O'Sullivan and Macdara Flynn to solve the murder. There is no shortage of suspects as there was a lot of rivalry between the contestants, a mysterious backer of the show, and the backers suspicious lawyer. This was another fun read that kept me guessing til the end! Thank you to the publisher and to netgalley for providing me with an advance readers copy. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

This book made me crave so many yummy sweets! A wonderfully written and beautifully descriptive cozy mystery about baking, fame, and of course murder!
The town of Kilbane , Ireland is the perfect place for a televised baking competition.
The contestants gather at the old flour mill, and the townsfolk are excited for the contest to start- and of course the samples. The first bake of the competition is coming to an end when one of the contestants is found dead- her face planted right in her signature dish.
Garda Siobhan and her husband start their investigation into this death. With so many contestants and rivals - whats the motive? and who is the killer? They start unraveling clues right away to find out.
The story flows very well and is a perfect cozy read for any day, just make sure to have some sweets on hand!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this newest installment in O'Connor's lovely cozy mystery series. If you are not familiar with the series, Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan and her large family live in Kilbane, and she is married to another Garda. Their honeymoon stage is far from over, and while their domestic life is bliss, and her family is making plans to open a new restaurant, Siobhan gets enmeshed in a double homicide case that happens at a reality baking competition. O'Connor's writing gets more polished and beautiful with each new book, and reading about the O'Sullivan family never fails to make me smile. This is a definite recommend for any cozy mystery/police procedural fan!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for a copy of "Murder at an Irish Bakery" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is book #9 in the Irish Village Mystery series. Gardaí Siobhán O'Sulllivan and Aretta Dabiri have an interesting assignment - overseeing a baking contest at Pie Pie Love, a bakery located in a historic flour mill owned by Fia O'Farrell. Siobhán is totally obsessed with getting pastries so much so that she is distracted to the point that she has 2 unidentified people, 1 fake ID that she totally missed and a dead baker.

Soon her husband Macdara Flannery is called back from meetings in Dublin to help in this case where all the bakers seem to be suspects and there are more dead bodies turning up. Who has it in for famous baker Aoife McBride? Why would anyone hire actors to portray protestors and bakers? Why are these people being killed? Who is the mysterious benefactor who is offering up a lot of money?

The O'Sullivan Six some to the rescue and a fabulous food-fight breaks out in the new farm-to-table restaurant that Eoin is on the verge of opening. Will Siobhán put all the clue together before the real murderer leaves Kilbane? A wonderful addition to the Irish Village Mystery series.

How can you not love a cozy mystery set in a lovely Irish village that ends with a recipe for a chocolate Guinness cake? Book nine in the series has the husband and wife team of Garda, Macdara and Siobhán investigating murders at an old flour mill that is being used for a baking contest. With plenty of suspects and plenty of uncertainty, I had to remind myself of some of the many theories being considered sometimes, but overall enjoyed the book. The dialogue between the couple, the changes in Siobhán’s family circumstances, and all of the food references kept me reading past my normal bedtime to find out who the killer was.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy that kept me happily engaged for several hours.

An enjoyable read. Fiction certainly gives the author the freedom to create a story that surrounding events would be unlikely to play out in reality. While the story revolves around murder at the bakery, it seemed a little far fetched that the investigation would be left in the hands of the local Gardaí without bringing in outside investigative expertise from HQ/Dublin and that a highly public event would proceed “as normal” when foul play was in the air.

This addition to the series is perfect for foodies in that there is to be a reality baking show just outside Kilbane where the locals are expecting to sample the specialties of the contestants in a show held at the old flour mill.

Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan is just slightly distracted by all the delightful smells, the beauty of the confections, and the heavenly tastes she manages to wrangle. And there is another distraction—that of a sugar protestor “sugar kills!” Not until the second day when a very suspicious “accident” happens to the lead contestant does it begin to look as if they have a murderous baker in the group.

Garda O’Sullivan must decide if she should shut it down or keep it going and risk another fatal mishap. Garda Flannery joins the fray and they begin examining all the possible scenarios.

It seems Garda O’Sullivan is still leading the posse with speculation but defers somewhat to hubby—building consensus. It’s easy to draw your own assumptions among the theories, but not so the culprit this time so I just let it roll out to the conclusion.

One of my favorite go-to series. I always look forward to the author’s sense of humor, spicing the dialogue, particularly between herself and Macdara with wit and couple speak.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. 4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley! I have loved this series from the beginning and wasn’t disappointed with this book. It’s a bake off with a side of murder. Sweet!

With a baking reality show being filmed in Kilbane, Siobhan manages to get herself assigned to the filming location. With dreams of pastries dancing in her head, she never saw a murder coming right in front of her. With the star baker being murdered during filming, Siobhan and the guards have to consider that it might have been an accident, but her gut tells her differently.

With so many suspects, all involved in the shooting of the baking contest, the best thing they can do is let it continue and keep them all there until they can figure out who the killer is. If they don’t serve up another murder that includes Siobhan.

I adore this series and the growth of the characters over the course of the books. It makes you want to take a trip to Kilbane and check out the small town. After all, you know just where to find Siobhan and the gang, when they're not solving a murder. The whodunit is always well done and full of enough red herrings to keep you guessing…often right up to the very reveal itself.

The ninth cozy in this series, and easily read as a standalone. We return to Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland and the adventures of Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan, her family (the Six O’Sullivans) and her husband, Garda Sergeant Macdara Flannery. This time, there’s an Irish baking show being filmed at the former flour grinding mill in Kilbane. Every contestant and an outside heckler have issues with the ‘Queen of Baking’ who is also participating. When a contestant is found dead during filming, Garda O’Sullivan is determined to solve the mystery before the last cake is baked. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

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

Perfect addition to the established cozy mystery series.

Murder at an Irish Bakery by Carlene O'Connor is a wonderful cozy mystery that is the ninth book in the amazing series: An Irish Village Mystery. I just love this series.

We get to visit the rural, ideal, and stunning landscape of Kilbane, County Cork in Ireland again. I always love hearing about the village, its inhabitants, and the comings and goings. It is also home to our main character Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan, her family, and her husband Garda Macdara Flannery. This time they are roped into a murder mystery when a reality baking show arrives to be televised at their village’s own bakery. The excitement and drama that then ensues is not just about the contest, but about solving the crime…especially before the culprit strikes again.

I love the character development within this series and how they have evolved throughout the books. There is wit, sass, humor, banter, and love. I literally laughed out loud several times. I have read every book and novella within this series and most certainly will continue to do so.

Highly recommend!

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington Publishing for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 2/28/23.