A Catered Bake-Off

A Mystery with Recipes #19

by Isis Crawford

When sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons bring their culinary prowess from A Little Taste of Heaven catering company to a baking competition in Upstate New York, it’s murder that takes the cake . . .

What’s the worst that could happen on a reality show bake-off filmed at a picturesque estate? As it turns out, a whole lot. Thrown into the fray against four seasoned competitors, the Simmons sisters face more than just cameras broadcasting their frosting mishaps on local TV. Right from the get-go, their small screen debut sours with suspicious ingredients and malfunctioning appliances. Then there’s the inexplicable invasion of goats that sends the entire production into a tailspin, followed by a flurry of ominous notes delivered anonymously to the cast and crew.

Tensions really reach a boiling point when one of the judges meets a grisly end—death by exploding espresso machine!  With a dangerous mystery solidifying, Bernie and Libby whisk through the vast property on a mission to uncover who could have taken down the show’s discerning food critic. But when the bake-off serves another victim, the sleuthing siblings find themselves racing to catch a mixed-up killer before the final timer dings . . .

Includes Original Recipes for You to Try!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

320 pages, Hardcover

Published June 24, 2025

About the author

Isis Crawford was born in Egypt to parents who were in the diplomatic corps. When she was five, her family returned to the States, where her mother opened a restaurant in Upper Westchester County and her father became a university professor. Since then Isis has combined her parents’ love of food and travel by running a catering service as well as penning numerous travel-related articles about places ranging from Omsk to Paraguay. Married, with twin boys, she presently resides in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, where she is working on the next Bernie and Libby culinary mystery.

A pseudonym used by Barbara Block

Reviews

[The Cozy Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 19th book in the series. The sisters are competing in a bake-off, and there are shenanigans afoot. Murder finds its way into the ingredients, and the judging may be faulty. Bernie and Libby have their hands full when the competition goes wrong, and they can’t help baking up an investigation to catch a killer.

You either love or hate these characters; there is no in between. From the start of this series, I have alternated between severe dislike and absolute delight. This book is no exception. The setting is excellent, and the suspects are inspiring. The clues were everywhere, and the unveiling of the killer was enjoyable.

I enjoyed the book for the most part, but this story shows how increasingly challenging it is to keep a long-running series fresh. As with many series that have many books, it is almost impossible not to repeat plots. Unfortunately, I have seen the plot in this book many times from various authors, and I am reaching the point where I won’t read a book if I know it has a basis in a baking competition.

[Mary Weikum · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first read of 2026 was absurd and if I took a drink every time someone brushed away a bug or had a drop of sweat get in their eye, I would be highly inebriated 😳

[Gina Schade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The motive for the murders was confusing, and there were basically no clues that would help the reader come to the conclusion.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The squabbling sisters have taken their show on the road to enter into a Bake-Off, but someone keeps performing nasty pranks and seems to want to sabotage the bake-off completely even to the point of killing one of the judges via exploding espresso machine. Teen style humor and an interesting approach to the almost constant need for investigation.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Kensington Publishing | Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Pub Date Jun 24, 2025
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#womensfiction #amateursleuths #murders #locallaw

[K.A. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A CATERED BAKE-OFF is the nineteenth book in the Mystery with Recipes series by Isis Crawford. This is the first I’ve read in the series (and now I want to read the remaining 18!) but it easily read as a standalone. The author does an admirable job in giving the reader just enough backstory so I never felt lost, yet kept the plot pacing on target. I enjoyed the sisters working together not only at their catering company, but as a team at a baking competition, and solving mysteries together. Their banter adds some humor and their skills—baking and investigating—brings great results. There was a lot of action going on as the baking competition is sabotaged on multiple occasions, and lots of suspects on who could be the culprit. All in all, a delightful read with great characters!

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Taryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Simmons sisters are going to be on a new baking reality television show couldn't be more excited. It is being filmed at a lovely estate and they will be competing against people who have done this before. Things start off bad and only get worse from there. Mishaps in their kitchen keep happening like they are given the wrong ingredients and their appliances don't wok properly. They keep moving forward but aren't happy and things really turn sour when a judge dies. The two are determined to figure out who has been causing them their problems as well as who murdered the judge. They start to make some headway and then another death occurs can the sisters find a killer before they end up on the chopping block?

[LittleRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this series for a long time now. Gosh, I didn’t realize just how long until I realized this is book 18! Each and every entry in the series has been a fabulous read. The author waves together a solid mystery refilled with twist, turns, red herrings, and two sisters, who always managed to figure out who done it before the killer ends them. If you haven’t read one in the series yet, feel free to dig in and start here because each one reads fine as a standalone. But heck, you’ve got 17 more to go back and binge on when you’re done. And you will want to, for sure!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read every entry in this series and have enjoyed them all. This one seemed a bit off. There was alot of running back and forth between places along with more characters than usual to keep up with. However, I enjoy the relationship between the sisters. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eArc.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sisters Bernie and Libby join a baking contest. They are caterers in update NY. Things go wrong, really wrong. A judge dies........by an exploding espresso machine. Bernie and Libby solve the case

Cozy. Many in the series. No clue why I checked this one out of the library but it was an easy read for a rainy afternoon

[Lori Bonkoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A local bake off has the sisters busy until accidents and then deaths delay the actual competition. Needless to say, they find themselves mixed up in trying to find the culprit. A good read and an interesting plot.

[Jennifer Dombrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story, but I could not give it 5 stars because the main characters, Libby and Bernie, don't appeal to me. They don't seem like kind-hearted people who want to spread love to the world, as I want to do.

But the story was a good one!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a pretty good culinary mystery, love the setting and definitely liked this book. Would recommend

Thank you to Isis Crawford, NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for the arc of this book

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/6/2025 2.5 stars rounded up. Weird pacing; not one of her best. Full review with recipe photos tk at CriminalElement.com.

[Theresa Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed all of the previous books in this series, this installment was disappointing.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf too silly

[Betsy]

got about 1/3 in and decided to move on.

[Patricia Farrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t bother.

[Cozy Champagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Catered Bake-Off is the 19th book in the Mystery With Recipes Series by Isis Crawford. The amateur sleuths are Bernie and Libby Simmons, a pair of catering, crime-solving sisters who frequently take their skills on the road.

In this installment, the Simmons sisters are taking their culinary prowess from A Little Taste of Heaven catering company to a reality baking competition on a picturesque estate in Upstate New York. But their screen debut goes horribly awry with incidents of sabotage and a murdered bake-off judge.

I'm a big fan of baking competitions and culinary cozies, so this book was right up my alley. A Catered Bake-Off has a picturesque setting, a fun baking competition, two sleuthing sisters who can always count on each other, and a mystery with plenty of twists to keep you guessing until the end. The book finishes with three recipes for dishes I have never eaten, let alone made. I'm looking forward to trying them.

Besides all of the food stuff, I enjoy the interactions between the two sisters. They squabble a lot but are ultimately there for each other and make a very good team.

Overall, I enjoyed this mystery and look forward to more recipes and catering adventures from the sleuthing Simmons sisters.

I received an advance reader copy from Net Galley and Kensington. This did not influence my review.