Customer Reviews

Lemon Tart: A Culinary Mystery (Culinary Mysteries (Deseret Book))

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved Josi Kilpack's Lemon Tart. It was a fun and fast read, totally enjoyable from start to finish.

Kilpack managed to bring to life a whole cast of colorful characters and even while the main character was a goody-two-shoes busybody, she managed to make me really like her and route for her the whole way. I'm excited there's a new culinary mystery in the works featuring Sadie Hoffmiller, because she's just awesome.

Lemon Tart tells the story of a murdered young mother, a missing baby, an adulterous man, a pair of completely opposite detectives and Sadie Hoffmiller, the neighborhood's resident baker AND busybody. With so many balls up in the air, I wondered hos Kilpack was going to put it all back together again, but she did and it was amazing.

The only reason why I didn't give the book five stars is because it was a LIGHT read. I reserve my fifth star for those books that really make me THINK and change me somehow. But sometimes, you just need a great book that you can sit down with and not worry about it churning up your soul, ya know?

Lemon Tart is just such a book. Grab a blankie, curl up by the fire and crack open Lemon Tart for an evening of fun and relaxation. And don't forget your favorite treat! Lemon Tart will have you drooling and maybe throwing off your blankie so you can go bake up one of it's handful of included recipes. They sound delish!

A lot of fun. I'm not normally a big fan of mysteries, but I'm a big fan of Josi Kilpack. Lemon Tart is simply a fun book to read.

Sadie Hoffmiller is one of those neighbors you wish you had living next door. A widow whose children are raised, Sadie loves to cook and bake and look out for her neighbors. When Anne Lemmon, a young, single mother moves into the neighborhood, Sadie becomes her friend and mentor. When Anne is tragically murdered while a lemon tart bakes in her oven, Sadie decides to begin her own investigation. Anne's young son is missing and Sadie is convinced that the police detectives aren't able to solve the murder and find Trevor.

Josi has given us a cast of interesting characters and blended the story so well, that I didn't have the actual murderer figured out until the very end. Sadie is delightful and you just want to laugh out loud at her antics and thought processes as she trips up the detectives and forms her own opinions and conclusions.

A simply delightful read. Light, but not fluffy and packed full of delicious recipes that I'm determined to try. I'm excited that this is part of a series. Sadie is someone I want to visit again.

Josi S. Kilpack hails from Salt Lake City, where she was born and raised. She is a baker; traveler; canner; and has a deep faith. She won the Whitney Award in 2007 in the mystery/suspense category for her book SHEEP'S CLOTHING. LEMON TART is her ninth published mystery.

Sadie Hoffmiller is a culinary virtuoso. She lives in a tight community with her brother, Jack, living beyond the black walnut tree that gives both homes a degree of privacy. But Sadie is well known in her community, and she also has a deep, abiding interest in the "goings on" around her. So when another neighbor, Anne Lemmon, is found murdered and her son, Trevor, has turned up missing, Sadie goes into action. The police try in vain to stop her, and one particular officer, who has recently transferred into their town, seems particularly hostile. And, he is well connected:

"'The name Madsen - doesn't it ring a bell?'

Sadie thought hard. Madsen - Marlene Madsen had been a girl in Sadie's graduating class, but Sadie didn't think that's what Susan meant.

'Think upper levels of the Colorado state judicial system,' Susan prodded, a half smile showing her amusement.

Sadie's eyebrows went up. 'Madsen as in Barney Madsen, attorney general of Colorado?'

'Bingo,' Susan said, leaning forward across the desk with a glint in her eye that Sadie knew too well - gossip was on its way. 'Barney Madsen has one son - Sterling.' She said 'Sterling' as if she were a serpent, elongating the S and letting the rest of the name seep out from between her teeth. 'He was a second-year cop in downtown Denver, maybe you remember how our distinguished AG made a big deal about his son finding the criminals and Barney prosecuting them.'"

LEMON TART is an enjoyable mystery with a well hidden culprit and an unlikely heroine in Sadie Hoffmiller. She comes off as everyone's grandmother, but Kilpack endows Sadie with logical hidden talents that come in handy at just the right moment.

LEMON TART contains great recipes the reader will enjoy as much as the creative plot.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Review by Laura Lynn at RomancingThePage.com - [...]

After multiple people told me they enjoyed "Lemon Tart" by Josi S Kilpack, I broke down and spent part of my book budget to obtain the 346 page mystery. I have to say I am impressed. As I have never read anything by this author before, I was a little wary when I picked it up. I wasn't sure whether to expect a book about food or a sour tease. In fact, it is a mystery revolving around a lemon pastry.

Sadie Hoffmiller, is an unexpected heroine. At 56 she is a widow and mother of two. She is also the neighborhood watch dog. She can see everything from her kitchen window, where she spends most of her time cooking.

The character of Sadie is well written, if a bit stereotypical of a female mystery heroine. While you gain empathy for her journey, you do wonder how she gets into the predicaments she is in. The last I checked, most people don't get involved in police investigations...unless you are Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote.

As light mysteries go, I enjoyed the plot. I have to give Ms. Kilpack credit for keeping me guessing. As soon as I was sure who did it there would be a plot twist and I would be unsure again. She never let anything sit long enough for the reader to get bored.

The supporting cast of characters was a little odd. I felt at ease with some of them, tortured by others and repulsed by yet others. I am not sure if I made a connection with any of them, but then again, I'm not sure if I was supposed to. This book is all about Sadie. You see everything through her eyes and her experiences.

Overall, this was a fun book. It was a quick, one day read which did not require a lot of thought, just fancy. If you are looking for a spellbinding, gory mystery with mind numbing plot and details, this book is not for you. If you want a fun summer read with clean subject matter, a respectable heroine and cute ending, this is your book.

super cute mystery, and the receipes are super good too. It is very nice to have a good mystery w/o all the lang. and the sex. thanks enjoy

I rarely give five stars to a book, but this one earned every one of them! This book introduces us to Sadie, who loves to cook almost as much as she loves sticking her nose in others' business, and is a delightful and sometimes surprising character.

This book was a fun read and a true page-turner, with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing right up to the end. I also love that the book was clean - no profanity, vulgarity, etc., something which my teenage daughter also appreciated.

I had this book on my wishlist and was excited to receive it! I had NO clue what I was missing out on. Sadie is a lovable character and right from the beginning you fall in love with her and her nosy ways!

There were lots of parts in this book where I was laughing out loud, Sadie just gets herself stuck into so many situations trying to figure out who killed her neighbor and friend Anne and where Anne's missing son Trevor is.

You really can't guess who did it, which is exciting to me. I don't like knowing ahead what is going to happen in a book! That in itself makes it a good read to me, not knowing what is coming.

Josi Kilpack writes with such ease and knowledge of what makes a good book, that you will read this until it is gone, devoured like many of the goodies talked about in it. The recipes are to die for as well. Cinnamon Ginger Cookies, the alfredo sauce and Sadie's Perfect Brownies are just a few to try! I can't wait to try them and get my hands on more of Ms. Kilpack's wonderful reads!

You will love Sadie Hoffmiller! When I read her comments I hear the voice of a younger Angela Lansbury. These books by Jodi Kilpack could be the basis for a TV Series. Each book in the series will make you adore Sadie even more. Sadie is spunky, resourceful and courageous and she likes to eat the delicious treats which she generously shares with everyone. I want to try her recipes. Please write more of these books, Jodi.

Challenging to focus on the writing when one would like to sample the recipes included. I decided to make the tart to eat as I read! Surprise ending, to the book, not the tart!

I was so inspired by Josi's second book in the series I grabbed all the rest and started in as soon as they were available at the public library. As an avid reader and collector of good books especially cook books I love the way Josi ties in food to her adult mystery series. Adult as in the main character Sadie Hoffmiller is a mature woman and a widow.

I love the way Sadie always finds herself in mixed up wacky problems and that no character free from her meddling interventions. This one takes place in her own neighborhood and involves a new romance, relatives and murder and kidnapping.

Recipes include lemon tart, alfredo, granny's gingerbread and more! I've got the tart pan and as soon as the holidays pass with our traditional goodies I'll be baking up this yummy lemon concoction!