Saturday, March 28, 2026

Review: Baked in Loyalty by Patti Benning



About the Book 


Genre
Cozy Mystery

Format
E-Book

Publisher
Summer Prescott Books

Release Date
May 21, 2025

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A beyond the grave request…

Can be murder.

Filled with mixed feelings and inner conflict, Claudia Fletcher returns to Egret Island, Maine for the first time in twenty years for her estranged father’s funeral. During the reading of his will, she learns that he bequeathed his house and the famous Fletcher’s Pride Bakery to her… under the condition that she live in the house and run the bakery for at least a year before making the decision to keep or sell them.

While trying to figure a way out of her father’s posthumous requests, she begins to realize something doesn’t seem quite right about his death. Quite a few people had a motive to kill him, and although he had a cancer diagnosis that she hadn’t been aware of, everyone, including his doctor, said he’d been doing well.

Claudia had been estranged from her father, but she still loved him and is determined to get to the bottom of his death in the name of justice. In the meantime, she has some decisions to make and a ton of hard work to do if she’s going to live up to the provisions in the will.

Can she crack the case and find closure? Will she be able to handle living in her old hometown and running a bakery for a year? Find out in this exciting Culinary Cozy Mystery!

My Review

It’s been 20 years since Claudia Fletcher returned to her hometown of Egret Isle in Maine. The death of her father brings her back, but she didn’t expect to be left anything in his will. She’s shocked that he left her his bakery.  His very successful bakery. The catch is she has to stay on the island for a year. Claudia has no plans to do that. 

Claudia quickly finds out that there are many people interested in the bakery.  Unfortunately, because of her father’s stipulations, she can’t do anything about it right now.

As Claudia reacquaints herself with old friends, she discovers that her father’s death might not have been due to his health condition. Claudia and her brother wonder if someone might have killed him. She is determined to find out the truth before she makes any decisions about the bakery. 

It took me some time to warm up to the main character. As the book went along, I began to understand her motivation better. I thought the rest of the supporting cast were well portrayed and fun.

It’s the first book in the Egret Isle Cozy Mystery series. It is fast-paced and I enjoyed the Egret Island setting.  It’s perfect for a cozy mystery series. This is a novella, so I was easily able to complete it in one sitting. 

This series is off to a solid start.  I will definitely continue reading it.



For reading challenges:

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2026
Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2026


Disclosure:  This one is from my own e-book collection. All opinions expressed are my own.

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