While Guilty as Charred is the third installment in A Cook-Off Mystery series, it can be read alone. What has happened to Sherry in the first two books is summarized for new readers. Guilty as Charred is nicely written, has a good flow, and proceeds at a steady pace. Sherry Olivieri enjoys cooking and comes up with creative recipes for the amateur cook-off contests she enters. After winning America's Good Taste Cook-off, Sherry is the town's local celebrity. Augustin decides to take advantage of Sherry's fame by having her organize a cook-off for Augustin's Fourth of July celebration. They are hoping to attract more tourists to Augustin. Then Poppy Robinson is found dead in the Augustin's Community Garden and Sherry is asked to quickly solve the case by various parties. There are multiple suspects along with a red herring or two. There are good clues to aid reads in solving the crime. The whodunit was multifaceted, and Sherry had to do a little digging to find the information she needed. There were some deadly threats and one was very unique. I wish it had been more of a challenge identifying the guilty party. Detective Ray Bease has a shadow in the form of Detective Cody Diamond. Detective Bease is forced to learn how to use a tablet and give up his ever ready paper pad. I was left with a couple of unanswered questions regarding the mystery at the end of the book. I prefer it when everything is wrapped up neatly to satisfy my curiosity. Sherry whips up some delicious dishes and needs to come up with a bacon focused recipe for an upcoming contest. She is also busy working at the Ruggery, taking care on the town's newsletter, cataloguing seeds that are being mailed to her for use communal garden, planning the Fourth of July cook-off (patties are the theme), spending time with her friends, and going on dates with a new fellow. Guilty as Charred has appetizing cuisine, a technologically challenged detective, a panicked populace, toxic threats, a canine named Chutney, and one prying protagonist.

Share/Like this Review?