The Candy Cane Caper
(A Culinary Mystery)
by
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.
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.
My Review: 9/10
Let me start by staying I don’t typically read crime mystery novels because I don’t like violence/gore and the suspense gives me anxiety while I’m reading. But I LOVE this author - one of my absolute favs - so I decided to step outside of my comfort zone.
As someone late to the Sadie scene, I can say this book stands alone well. I loved all the recipes mixed in, and the contrast of Sadie’s homey personal life gave me some relief when the intensity was building in the mystery. I thought the story was great, the layers to the characters as well as the plot, were so well done. And I really loved the faith and relationship aspects. These were delicate subjects and I felt they were dealt with beautifully.
I enjoyed this book so much that I’m eager to start at the beginning and read the rest of the series!
