A Berry Festival Fiasco: A Kylie Berry Cozy Mystery

Kylie Berry Mysteries #13

by A.R. Winters

A Killer is Lurking… and the Proof is in the Pie!When Kylie Berry agrees to bake pies for the town’s biggest food festival, she’s hoping to impress the crowd—not become the center of a murder investigation.

But when the contest takes a dangerous turn—with sabotaged pies and a dead contestant—all eyes are on Kylie. Someone at the festival has a secret to hide, and they’ll do whatever it takes to keep it buried.

With her café’s reputation on the line and the police sniffing around, Kylie teams up with her fearless best friend, Zoey Jin, to track down the truth.
Who tampered with the pies? Who had a reason to kill? And just how far will the murderer go to cover their tracks?

The clock is ticking, and if Kylie isn’t careful, she might be next on the menu…

A fast-paced, unputdownable cozy mystery full of twists, secrets, and mouthwatering desserts. Grab your copy now!

Praise for A.R.

"The perfect balance of being lighthearted, but still a serious page-turning mystery." - Jaycie D, Amazon.com

"A fun cozy mystery with engaging and entertaining characters" - lq, Amazon.com

"A cute light read with a final twist at the end." - Stacey Puleio, Amazon.com

A Berry Festival Fiasco is the thirteenth book in the Kylie Berry Mystery Series and is a standalone novel.

This is a light-hearted story featuring a strong female protagonist, some unusual friends and family, and a mystery that needs solving! It has no graphic gore or love scenes, or bad language.

343 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2025

About the author

A.R. Winters is a cozy mystery writer who loves writing about crazy characters and vibrant locations. And food, lots of delicious food!

When not writing, A.R. Winters is usually busy eating too much cake...

You can also find her on Facebook

Reviews

[Julie Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book but it seemed very long winded. A lot of talk about making or eating food, yes I know the clue is in the title that there was going to be a lot of food but still. Also the mystery didn't really get anywhere, they would no sooner eliminate a suspect, then they were straight back on the list. There was a few funny moments to keep me reading, especially liked the antics with the animals and I did want to know who it would turn out to be, I just wish it had moved a little bit faster. There was a number of suspects but despite that I had guessed who it would be. The uncertainty of how he was killed and when it happened was another reason I kept reading. I did like the characters, although how the main character could go off on her own so much and still be alive is a mystery. This is the first book in the series I have read but I had no problem following along with the relationships. I will read the next book.
When Patti needs some alone time, it's down to none baker Kylie to make the pumpkin pies for the eating contest, what could go wrong? Apparently a lot, the contestants all leave the stage in a bit hurry. All except one and that's only because he is dead. Did Kylie kill the famous celebrity pie eater? Worried she might have, she sets out to investigate and clear her name. Nobody else died after eating her pies, so was he murdered? It seems the man made enemies wherever he went and there is no shortage of suspects. Kylie and Zoey will need to work quickly before the suspects leave.
I was given this free review copy book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to The Berry Home, where the food is to-die-for!
When Kylie Berry bakes the pies in a pie-eating contest, she hopes her baking will turn out well…
… but someone sabotages the pies.

Even worse: one of the contestants is murdered.

Now Kylie Berry and her friend Zoey Jin are on a mission to uncover the truth. Who sabotaged the pies, and why?

Who killed the food festival contestant… and who will the killer go after, next?

This contemporary Kylie Berry cozy culinary mystery is page-turning with exceptional world-building and characters that are an amateur sleuth, Kylie Berry, and her friend Zoey who are witty, intelligent, unusual, captivating, and realistic. Their journey is enthralling with a berry festival fiasco, a light-hearted story featuring a strong female protagonist, a murder mystery that needs solved, suspense that will leave readers on the edge of their seats, readers will laugh-out-loud, fun, humor, drama, heartfelt emotions, an abundance of delicious food and desserts, a race against time to solve the murder mystery, action, adventure, and more. I recommend reading this book by an extraordinary author who knows how to captivate her readers' hearts and attention with a berry festival fiasco and a Kylie Berry cozy culinary mystery that is sure to transport readers into a world that is wildly dangerous, sweet, and unforgettable.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I read in the Kylie Berry mystery series. It follows Kylie Berry who owns a cafe but is the worst cook. She has a staff that not only keeps the cafe running smoothly but are extended family as well. She is known around town as a bad chef but a good sleuth. This mystery started with a contestant in the pie eating contest drowning in the pie that Kylie made. She works to clear her name and find the killer. It is a cozy mystery, no excessive descriptions or super scary scenes. This mystery kept me guessing, just when I thought I knew who done it, another twist. I look forward to reading the next one and plan to go back to read the previous ones also.

[Sabrina Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 13 of Kylie Berry Mystery Series. This one goes right to the next event from the other books. Kylie is in another murder and this time people aren't just accusing her. Pie competition goes wrong, someone is sabotaging her pies and then one contestant is murdered. I laughed with what was happening. The way this book is right you feel like you are right in, you can't put it down because you want to know what is going to happen next.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kylie who isn't much of a baker bakes the pies for the pumpkin pie eating contest and she's got the contestants foaming at the mouth. Someone has sabotaged the pies with soap that has them running to the bathroom while another is found face down in the soupy pie.

On the mission to uncover the truth, is it just a child prank gone wrong, sabotage, murder, or all of the above?.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cyndi Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and well written. I love this author. None of her books have steered me wrong yet. This is the first Pic this series that I've read and it was very easy to catch up. There were a few characters that I didn't know the back story of which always bugs me, but the rest were easy to figure out. The mystery was intriguing and I cared about the characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Deborah Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kylie is baking pies for the fair at the pumpkin patch pie eating contest. The competition just starts when a contestant collapses face down in a pie. Kylie decides to find out who killed him and to clear her name. She overheard an argument before he died and decides to question his friends. This was exciting and had a lot of twists and turns and lots of danger. I enjoyed this book and I recommend it

[Margery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyle owns a bakery/diner combination. She has no baking skills and her employees will not let her bake. She enters a pie contest One contestant dies from a pie that has been sabotage. This has Kylie and her friend Zoey trying to find the one responsible. With many laughs and wonderful characters the intrigue makes this a book one I could not put down.

[Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and Fun

A Berry Festival Fiasco is an easy entertaining read starting with the first page. The ending had me smiling big with how entertaining it was. Through a couple of spelling issues the reader could guess the ending however can be seen to question it based on other things going on in the story. Hard to put down!

[Ela La1978 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gotta say Kylie Berry is one funny, unlucky individual. Reading the Berry Festival Fiasco definitely had me smiling through the book. It’s incredible what the author came up with. So many things happening one more chuckling than another. And Brad and Greyson are wow.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

a winning dish turns lethal, in more ways than one.

can reputations, lives and livelihoods survive lethal tampering and gosdip?

culinary and small town creativity, closeness, and killing.

colorful characters and creative action and drama make fun reading.

[Laura Murrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not enjoy as much as the previous books in this series