Blog Tour: The Candy Cane Caper by Josi S. Kilpack

The Candy Cane Caper by Josi S. Kilpack

Book Description:

The theft of a friend’s priceless, family-legacy Christmas ornaments brings amateur detective and culinary expert, Sadie Hoffmiller, back on the case in a new standalone cozy mystery.


In the latest chapter to the Culinary Mystery series, amateur detective Sadie Hoffmiller continues combining her sleuthing with her cooking and baking to connect with people and gain information she might otherwise not have access to. Moreover, now that Sadie is married to Detective Pete Cunningham, she has a street-savvy husband to test out her crime-solving theories.


With Christmas approaching, Sadie is preparing for a large blended-family gathering including many new grandchildren--in their home in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Even with the festive chaos, Sadie drops everything when word gets out that her friend, Mary, is the victim of a holiday robbery.   


At ninety-four years old, and nearly blind, Mary knows this is may be her last Christmas and the last year to enjoy her family heirloom Christmas tree ornaments. She wants just one more holiday to display her ornaments and following Christmas Eve Mass, she’ll pass them on to her great-granddaughter, Joy. Though priceless to the family, the collection has been valued at $40,000, and the Christmas tree in the care facility has never looked so good. But before the ornaments can be retrieved by Mary, eleven of the most expensive ornaments are stolen.  


A holiday Christmas caper might be new to Sadie, but she’s ready to mix in her seasoned crime-solving skills with a pinch of new holiday recipes.

Rorie's Review:

I've only read one other Sadie Hoffmiller book before, so this was something kind of new to me. It's not usually the genre I go for, but it was a fun book to read. 

Sadie is... well, she's kind of nosy... but not in a bad way, if that makes any sense. Her personality is a complete 180 from mine, so it wasn't easy to relate to her, but I loved how much importance she put on family and friend relationships. 

The mystery kept me guessing right up until the end, and the text interactions Sadie had with her husband while she was sleuthing cracked me up. I look forward to trying some of the recipes from this book as the Christmas season approaches.

Andrea's Review:

It's been five years since the last book in this series was published, but The Candy Cane Caper is said to be a standalone cozy, culinary mystery. Although reading the other books would give you some good backstory on Sadie, I do think this works as a standalone. Yes, I've read all of the other books, but it has been years and I didn't feel lost or like I needed to go back to get a refresher on anything. It was a fast, entertaining read, and one that I recommended for my book club next month. I'm pretty excited to make and serve some of the delicious sounding recipes from the book to go along with our evening.

One of the aspects that I enjoy about this story is that Sadie seems like an unlikely candidate for solving mysteries (especially if you haven't read the other books). Yes, some older women fall into the nosy category, but it paints a funny picture imagining her sneaking around the nursing home and picking locks. I got a kick out of Sadie's husband telling her not to break the law. Sadie's motivation comes from helping her family and/or friends, thus making her escapades noble causes.

Tarah's Review:

I don't think I've ever tried any recipe from a novel before, but I'm actually kinda excited to try some of these. Some of the cookies sounded really good, and fairly easy. Although I'm not a baker, at all, so we will have to see if they actually turn out.

Sadie cracks me up. I haven't read all of her books, but I have read enough not to be lost with all the different characters and basic storyline. I definitely wouldn't suggest starting with this book, which I think is fairly obvious, but just in case it isn't, don't start with this book.

I will admit I was hoping for a little more from Pete, but I did really enjoy the text messages, and the last couple chapters with him in it. He is definitely a grounding force for Sadie, who frankly needs it.
I enjoyed the mystery, the different minor characters, and especially the focus on the family. That was pretty refreshing.

This was a fun quick read that I would recommend.


Title: The Candy Cane Caper
Author: Josi S. Kilpack
Publisher: Shadow Mountain 
Published: October 2019
ISBN: 162972601X
Source: Review copies from the publisher. All opinions expressed are our own.

Purchase: Amazon | Deseret Book