Virtual Book Tour & Review: "English Trifle" by Josi S. Kilpack

It is with great pleasure that I am able to introduce Josi S. Kilpack. Josi has written 3 Culinary Mysteries as well as 8 others. She has been the recipient of the 2007 Whitney Award. I am very excited to be able to participate in Josi's tour and to be able to read and review her book "English Trifle".

English Trifle
Author: Josi S. Kilpack
Publisher: Deseret Book
ISBN: 978160641216
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery

Synopsis: (from the publisher's website)

"What begins as a holiday trip for amateur sleuth and cooking aficionado Sadie Hoffmiller and her daughter, Breanna, turns into a bizarre mystery. First comes the discovery of a dead body in the sitting room of an English manor belonging to the family of Breanna’s boyfriend, who is also heir to the family title. When the body comes up missing, Sadie and Breanna are stranded at the estate until the police can clear them to leave.

Armed with a jogging whistle, her personal recipe collection, and an unfailing sense of American justice, Sadie begins her own investigation to find the killer. But when she seems to encounter one dead end after another, Sadie wonders if anyone is telling the truth — or if the case is really as hopeless as it appears to be.

Layer by layer, Sadie uncovers a mouth- watering mystery with an English flair. Included are Sadie’s favorite new recipes for American English Trifle, High Tea Lemon Cookies, Coconut Macaroons, Wake ’Em Up Breakfast Casserole, Sausage Rolls, Crumpets, and Sadie’s Scrumptulicious Scones."

My Thoughts:

There is nothing I like more than to cuddle up on a rainy day with a good cozy mystery. So, on a chilly and rainy morning, I decided to start "English Trifle". I found it humorously fitting that the book would take place in England during a rainy week.

In just the first pages, I was whisked to England and got lost in the story and didn't even realize that I had been reading for hours. Josi has such a way of drawing you in and keeping you captivated! From characters to the plot to the recipes - I was totally in love with "English Trifle".

When I think of the main character, Sadie Hoffmiller, I find myself smiling. She's a card, plain and simple. She's a mom of an adult daughter that isn't too worried about being straight-forward, and sometimes to the point of being just plain nosy. She also loves food, and thinks about it and eats a bit more than she should. She's one who won't take no for an answer and can be a bit pushy and aggressive. I adored everything about her!

"English Trifle" is book 2 of the Culinary Mystery series, and I was a bit worried that I would be lost. I hate coming into a series that I can't grasp the characters or storyline because I haven't read the books in order. This book, to me, stands on its own. I had no problem getting to know the characters. This book has also whetted my appetite to want to read more of the series, though. "Lemon Tart" and "Devil's Food Cake" are on my list to pick up the next time I go to the bookstore!

One of the neatest things I found about Josi's book, is the recipes. Sadie will tell about a fantastic thing she had to eat and make you really want to just have a taste. (Sadie is definitely bad for my waistline!) Then at the end of the chapter, Josi has the recipe! What a wonderful surprise.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Make sure to put "English Trifle" on you reading list. In fact, do yourself a favor and get them all at once and save yourself another trip to the bookstore. :)

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. Josi currently lives in Utah with her husband, four children, one dog and varying number of chickens.

For more information about Josi, you can visit her website at www.josiskilpack.com or her blog at www.josikilpack.blogspot.com

"English Trifle" was provided by Pump Up Your Book for me to honestly review.