BAKE OFFED

A mystery fanfest makes the perfect place for murder.

Cafe manager Val Deniston is helping her best friend, organizer Bethany O’Shay, as a volunteer at the Maryland Mystery Fan Fest. Also on hand is Val’s grandfather Don Myer, known for his five-ingredient recipe column and his sleuthing abilities, which have often gotten both of them in trouble. A rare Nero Wolfe recipe collection Granddad finds in his attic includes the perfect recipe for him to use in the festival’s baking contest. Everyone attending is a mystery fan, and many dress in costume. So of course, lots of them think it’s part of the festival when a real murder occurs. First, bake-off contestant Cynthia Sweet gets a vaguely threatening note. Then, someone steals Granddad’s recipe box. Finally, Val’s awakened by a whistling teakettle. When she enlists a security guard to check on Cynthia, they find her dead in her bed. Cynthia wasn’t exactly universally beloved, and the family of her late husband had a particularly good reason to want her dead before the date on which she would inherit a pile of money. The beautiful family poison ring Cynthia flaunted makes Val wonder if poison was what killed her. The sheriff’s deputy assigned to the case, knowing that Val is a bit of a sleuth, mentions that Cynthia is the second person to die alone in the hotel—the first murder remains unsolved. Once murder is confirmed, there’s no dearth of sleuths seeking to solve the complicated case.

Granddad is a hoot, and a clever method of faking an alibi adds to the fun.