Friday, March 12, 2010

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE: REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

BY JOSI S. KILPACK

ABOUT THE BOOK:

It’s been years since author Thom Mortenson has been back to Garrison, Colorado. As part of the library fundraising committee, who invited him to speak, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect—right down to the homemade Devil’s Food Cake she made herself. Murder, however, was not on the menu.

When Thom’s manager ends up dead on stage, Sadie does what any woman with a history of solving murders does–jumps right in to offer her guidance and expertise. The police, however, are not very appreciative. In fact, they’d rather she just go home. But can Sadie help it if she keeps stumbling over information? Can she help it if the people intricately woven into the deception keep crossing her path? The more she learns, the broader the spectrum becomes and when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice but to sidestep them altogether in the pursuit of justice.

With her son Shawn at her side, her reputation on the line, and a full cast of suspicious characters, Sadie Hoffmiller is once again cooking her way through a case that offers far more questions than answers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Josi S. Kilpack grew up hating to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and accredits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998, while on bedrest with a pregnancy, and never stopped. Devil’s Food Cake is Josi’s eleventh novel, and the third book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. The other novels, Lemon Tart (Book 1) and English Trifle (Book 2) were released in 2009. While the books all feature Sadie Hoffmiller as the main character, they stand alone in regard to plot and can be read as a set or as individual titles. In addition to her writing, Josi enjoys reading, baking, traveling, and snuggling with her sweetheart, Lee. They now live in Willard, Utah with their four kids, a dog, and a varying number of chickens.

MY REVIEW:

Josi S. Kilpack’s DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE is my first Sadie Hoffmiller Mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed her. She is a bit kooky and unusual but in a wonderfully funny, sweet way. She’s the kind of friend I think I’d like to be around. She dreams of being a detective and so whenever a mystery arises (and they seem to quite often around Sadie, if Kilpack’s series is an example of that) not only is Sadie in the middle of it, wanted or not, but she also is the one who solves it!

Sadie dreams of being a detective and when a murder occurs in front of her eyes, what is she to do but “get on the case“. Her recipe for solving these mysteries always somehow involves food which give the book an extra bit of flavor. In fact, when author Thom Mortenson is in town to speak for a fundraiser, Sadie had hoped for a perfect evening complete with her homemade Devil’s Food Cake. Instead, when shots rang out and Thom’s manager winds up dead while trying to adjust the microphone, Sadie’s night is a disaster to say the least!

With this mystery now the flavor of the month in Sadie’s book, she mixes right in with the police investigation, much to their distaste. Also, in this book, her son Shawn is introduced and likes to get into chasing criminals as well as has been the recipient of Sadie’s culinary skills! With some twists and turns, the mystery is a real “who done it” up until the very end and will have you guessing at all kinds of scenarios. Also, there is a morsel of temptation about Josi Kilpack’s next “killer recipe” with Sadie, and this one is going to be called Key Lime Pie. This is a fun book for casual enjoyment and relaxation along with some yummy tasting recipes…I just wish the cake really came along with it!


GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO TRACEE AND
PUMP UP YOUR BOOK TOURS, I
HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS
FUN BOOK TO GIVE AWAY!



--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY!
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
HOW TO ENTER

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THE REVIEW AND DESCRIPTION OF THIS BOOK ABOVE


+1 MORE ENTRY:
COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT THE AUTHOR OR BOOK BY VISITING HER WEBSITE HERE


+1 MORE ENTRY:
BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND THEN COME BACK AND LEAVE A LINK

BONUS ENTRIES: WATCH FOR MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JOSI KILPACK AND COMMENT THERE TO GET EXTRA BONUS ENTRIES

GIVEAWAY ENDS
AT 6 PM, EST, MARCH 26

48 comments:

Linda Kish said...

This book is part of a culinary mystery series

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

She takes her portable word processor with her when she runs around getting things done.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I always like books that involve libraries, and cake plus libraries - what could be better?

nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I found out at her website that you can get recipes - yum, the lemon tart looks wonderful!

nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

wheresmyrain said...

what I found interesting was the book that turned her on to reading "the witch of blackbird pond" i remember that book!

wheresmyrain at yahoo dot com

Misusedinnocence said...

This sounds like a delicious series ;)

misusedinnocence@aol.com

traveler said...

Her unique website is appealing with lovely recipes and great info. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

Love the sound of this delectable series. Unique and great combo with libraries. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

bookmagic said...

I am drooling at the cover, just drooling. I was hooked before I even read your review!

bookmagic418@gmail.com

justpeachy36 said...

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

Please enter me in the giveaway.

A culinary mystery, very interesting.

Sarah said...

I love cooking, so I'm really excited that this book features a lot of cooking!

faithinhim(at)gmail(dot)com

holdenj said...

I was thrilled to see that an old favorite, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, was the book she credits with getting interested in reading etc!
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

holdenj said...

I love that Sadie is kind of kooky and things just seem to happen around her! Plus, who can resist that cover! Thanks for the chance to win!
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Colleen Turner said...

It seems interesting to combine murder mysteries and food...I haven't seen that before.
colleen
candc320@gmail.com

Colleen Turner said...

I found it interesting that the author hated reading until she was 13.
Colleen
candc320@gmail.com

Margie said...

From the author website...I learned that she hated to read when she was very young. Interesting.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Margie said...

A good mystery and tasty food (especially with recipes) are a winning combination.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Vera said...

What an interesting idea to combine recipes and cooking with a mystery story line! When I first saw the cover, I totally thought it was a cookbook! vvperesk@gmail.com

Carol M said...

She has four children, o dog and a varying number of chickens.
mittens0831 at aol dot com

Carol M said...

Devil’s Food Cake is Josi’s eleventh novel, and the third book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series.
mittens0831 at aol dot com

Carol M said...

Tweet
http://twitter.com/CarolAnnM/status/10483213980

mittens0831 at aol dot com

throuthehaze said...

I think it is interesting that the character has a son :)
throuthehaze at gmail dot com

enyl said...

The section of the review that sold me on Devil's Food Cake: " . . .can Sadie help it if she keeps stumbling over information? Can she help it if the people intricately woven in the deception keep crossing her path?"
enyl(at)inbox(dot)com

enyl said...

I found it intresting that the author says that "I only finishes1/3 if the books I pick. . ."
enyl(at)inbox(dot)com

enyl said...

Tweeted.
twitter.com@enylstil#devil
enyl(at)inbox(dot)com

g.g. said...

She is a Whitney Award winning author

anjamie4 AT gmail dot com

g.g. said...

I like that she gets to work with her son who also is a "detective"

anjamie4 AT gmail dot com

Cindy said...

I agree with you, Bingo! The only thing missing from this book is not including the cake too!

I love any book that has a picture of a cake on the front of it, though! I think it is neat that it includes recipes.

Cindy
Socmom213@aol.com

Cindy said...

I have not read any of this author's books yet, but I love the author already! She has the neatest website and I now follow her blog.

I found it interesting that the author took in 24 hour care elderly persons in her home.

What a great person! I can't wait to start reading her books.

Cindy
Socmom213@aol.com

Benita said...

I loved your review. You really got me interested when you wrote, "Sadie dreams of being a detective and when a murder occurs in front of her eyes, what is she to do but “get on the case“. Her recipe for solving these mysteries always somehow involves food which give the book an extra bit of flavor."
I can't wait to read this book.

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Benita said...

I found out that the author grew up hating to read until at the age of 13, her mother gave her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Annmarie Weeks said...

I love a good mystery, and especially one that puts recipes in the book too!

Annmarie Weeks said...

I tweeted! http://twitter.com/amweeks/status/10671920017

Annmarie Weeks said...

I see that the author's 1st book was rejected by 3 publishers before changes were made & it was picked up by another publisher! Hooray for stick-to-it-tiveness!

Unknown said...

I like the author's other book featured on the web-site, English Trifle

ashleymaymott(at)aol(dot)com

Unknown said...

I think the way the murder happens out of the blue makes the book sound like a somewhat fun mystery despite the murder (love the cover!)

Jolee said...

I learned and can appreciate the fact that the author grew up hating to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. joleehamlin@comcast.net

Jolee said...

from her webpage, learned that there are 3 books in this series.

rubynreba said...

I like the fact that it combines mystery with foods. The book cover is neat too!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

rubynreba said...

Her website has so much information - love all the beautiful looking book covers!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

mrsshukra said...

It's interesting that the author wrote her first book while on bedrest while she was pregnant!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

mrsshukra said...

The author gives a book 50 pages to hook her!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Francine Anchondo said...

I like that the character is kooky.

fmd518(at)gmail(dot)com

CherylS22 said...

I found it interesting that Thom’s manager was shot - I thought the author would somehow work in the Devil Food cake as a weapon!

Thanks ~ megalon22 at yahoo dot com

CherylS22 said...

The author was born in Salt Lake City & comes from a family of 9 children!
megalon22 at yahoo dot com

Nancye said...

I learned that Josi wants to be a detective.

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

Tweet! Tweet!

http://twitter.com/NancyeDavis/status/11110962479

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

I learned that Josi used to hate to read.

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

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