Josie Kilpack's Culinary Mysteries

 

 

Josi Kilpack is no stranger to LDS fiction. The author of more than seven novels, Kilpack has a way consistently producing plot lines that are both current and unique. Last year she came out with the first in a series of Culinary Murder Mysteries titled Lemon Tart.

Lemon Tart featured the adorably quirky Sadie Hoffmiller, a middle aged widow with a talent for cooking and a penchant for solving murders. (Think Jessica Fletcher meets Rachael Ray).

In this mystery, Sadie’s single mom neighbor turns up dead in a field near their homes. The victim’s young son is missing and nearly everyone in the neighborhood is a suspect.

Toward the end of last year, Kilpack followed up her successful Lemon Tart with the second in the series, English Trifle.

Sadie and her daughter Breanna are on vacation in the English countryside visiting Southgate, the huge English manor and home to Breanna’s boyfriend Liam. Within the first few pages Sadie and Breanna discover a dead body impaled to the wall of the sitting room by a fireplace poker. And as if that weren’t strange enough, the body disappears before anyone else has seen it.

Last January book three in the series, Devil’s Food Cake was released and featured Sadie's son Shawn. When bestselling author Thom Mortenson returns to his home town for a special library benefit, guess who’s in charge of dessert? Naturally Thom’s manager ends up murdered on stage, and Sadie is ready to jump into the investigation with both feet.

Kilpack’s books are packed with adventure, humor and delightful characters. And this in and of itself would make them worth recommending, but then there is also the food. In Lemon Tart, Kilpack includes a wonderfully refreshing Lemon Tart recipe that was easy to make and quite popular with my family. Her recipe for Alfredo sauce was to die for.

The English Trifle recipe from the book of the same name got rave reviews from my son-in-law when I made it at Christmas, and the Chicken Tikka Masala (an Indian curry dish) was delicious.

Book three is on the way to my house from Amazon.com even as we speak, but according to Kilpack’s website:

http://www.josiskilpack.com/Official_Josi_S._Kilpack_Website/Devils_Food_Cake.html

It includes such delights as:
Devil’s Food Cake, with Sandra’s Chocolicious Frosting
Tina’s Turtle Cookies
Melinda’s French Chocolate
Angel Snow Ball Cake
Classic Cocoa Mix
And the list goes on…

The other day I ran into a woman shopping in our local LDS bookstore for a fun light novel to read while her husband was out of town for the weekend. I recommended Kilpack to her and I recommend her to you.

One warning. You might want to copy the recipes out of the book before you actually make them. Otherwise, like my copies, your books will have nice butter and sugar stains on the recipe pages.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Like everyone else in the world I am a huge fan of Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice as depicted by A&E staring Collin Firth. What’s sad is that this movie was really my first introduction to Austin’s writing. I think I got turned off of The Classics after being forced to read them throughout my school years, generally in a very hurried fashion the night before the test. So unfortunately, Austin remained a hidden treasure until the first night A&E began their classic mini-series.

Since then, I’ve been hooked.

There’s something about that formal world, where every possible situation had a prewritten and appropriate response. And humor was delivered with a quick mind and a clever use of words. (Compare that with the R or worse rated comedians of today!)

So when I learned that Shannon Hale had written a book about a woman obsessed with Mr. Darcy and the world of Jane Austin, I knew I had to read it.

Shannon Hale is a first rate writer and an excellent representation of the talented authors we have in the LDS Church. The New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Newberry Honor Award, has written six young adult novels, two graphic novels (which are not books with lots of sex and language, but a type of book told with both words and comic book like graphics) and two adult novels.

Last year LDSBookcorner ran Hale’s latest adult novel called The Actor and The Housewife, which followed the unlikely friendship between Mormon house-wife Becky Jack, pregnant with baby number four and super sexy, world known heartthrob Felix Callahan.

Austenland published in 2008 by Bloomberry, tells the story of Jane Hayes a woman in her early thirties who is obsessed with the above mentioned version of Pride and Prejudice, and specifically with Collin Firth’s Mr. Darcy.

Jane has a list of ex-relationships that are scary enough to make any girl give up men forever. (Hale recounts these various love encounters as headings for many of the chapters.)

The manor is everything promised and more. Jane finds herself dressed for the time period, following the customs, and even learning the steps to the minuet. She is surrounded by actors playing the part of handsome and eligible young suitors or mistress and master of the house. It’s easy to slip into her role as an Elizabeth Bennett type heroine.

But as the weeks move on, the line between fantasy and truth becomes blurred, and it’s hard to know what’s real and what isn’t.

This was a wonderful read. Hale’s sense of humor is sharp and edgy. Her characters are believable, and her heroine is perfect as an often a confused and awkward woman trying to find herself. There are a couple of kissing/necking scenes, but nothing that made me uncomfortable. And the plot kept me guessing right up until the last few pages.

Amazon sells it for under $5.00 new and has plenty of copies. I would highly recommend it and give it five stars.

Annie Talks About Havng Hope by Terri Ferran

This week I just finished reading Having Hope by Terri Ferran. Having Hope is Ferran’s second novel and is the sequel to her first novel Finding Faith. It was published in 2009 by Bonneville Books and is available at Amazon.com. Just click on the title links above.

Kit Matthews, baptized just a little over a year before, has waited two years for her missionary to come home. Now that Adam Bridgers is back, something happens to turn Kit’s world upside down. She receives a strong undeniable prompting that she is to travel to Romania for the fall semester and volunteer as a worker in an orphanage there. A handsome Romanian medical student she works with and an aggressive female back home who wants Adam, add to the challenges Kit faces as she sees the world in a whole new way.

Ferran’s book caught my attention because it deals with volunteers working in a Romanian orphanage. Like many of you, I have had my heart strings tugged by the plight of babies and young children around the world being raised in orphanages that are too often short on both money and staff. And I’ve wished there was something I could do to help. Because of this, I began this book with the anticipation of experiencing second hand the adventure I’d often imagined.

Having Hope didn’t let me down.

Sometimes books set in foreign locals or different time periods fall short in the authenticity department. This was not the case with Having Hope. Ferran‘s descriptions and knowledge of her material were so spot on, I was certain she’d actually been to Romania herself. As it turns out, her daughter Brianna spent time as a volunteer in a Romanian Orphanage. Ferran drew on her daughter's journals and first hand experiences to craft this story and it shows. She captures the bitter sweet experience of working in such a hopeless environment and, as the title suggests, learning to find hope even there.

Reading Ferran’s novel felt like sitting down on the couch with my best friend and listening to her recount a major, life changing experience. There was that sort of intimacy in the novel. I liked the fact that she moved through the story in a very linear manner so that I felt as if I was experiencing the culture shock of Romania right along with Kit.

On the other hand, this style did lend itself to running a bit long, particularly in the portion of the story between Kit’s inspiration to volunteer and her arrival in Romania. Once Kit arrived at the hospital and orphanage in Romania, the story picked up and moved along at a much quicker pace.

Characterization was excellent not only with her main characters, but also with her minor characters. Kit had both strengths and weaknesses which made her easy to relate to. And her hero’s reaction to life in a totally different environment was right on the ball.

I would have liked to see a little more descriptive prose to set the scene a little clearer. And the plot was good but could have moved a little faster.

All in all I would give this book 4 stars out of 5 and I would recommend it to anyone, especially those who like stories set in unusual locations.

Meet Annie

First off I want to introduce myself. I am Deanne Blackhurst (Annie), creator and owner of the website LDSBookcorner.com. I’m a middle aged stay-at-home mom, from Pleasant Grove, Utah. I’m also an avid reader and have been for as long as I can remember with a wide range of taste in books.

The point in sharing this with you, is to explain that I am just an average reader. Not brilliant, not stupid just ordinary, but with a great love for the written word. I love nothing better than to curl up on the couch on a wintery afternoon and lose myself in an exciting adventure that some imaginative author has created for my benefit.

Sometimes I love the books I’m reading, sometimes not so much. But I can honestly say that I have never read a book that didn’t have several redeeming qualities even if I didn’t like it. And of course, the very best books are the ones that you can read and then reread again.

Over the past year I have been asked on occasion to review a new novel, and I have actually done a few. The trouble is, reviewing is so subjective and relies heavily on the tastes of the reader doing the reviewing. Is it even possible to judge a book without bringing in your own biases?

For example, I’m not a big romance reader. So if a story gets too heavy with the hot kisses and passionate glances, I get bored. On the other hand, I love a romantic thriller, where the thriller part is the potato and the romance part is the sour cream.

But not everyone has the same reading taste as I do. I have a daughter who always chooses the smallest baked potato and then drowns it in butter and sour cream. To me, that’s disgusting, but to her its heaven. And I have many friends who absolutely love the romance novels and can’t get enough of those broad biceps and toe curling passion.

Still, what is the point of a blog about books, unless I talk about books.

So, beginning next week, I will be sharing my thoughts on the books I am reading. And just so you know, I have developed a criteria for myself.

1. All books will be written by LDS writers.


2. I will not write about a book unless I have read it cover to cover. (There are some books that start out so-so and then improve with time, and other books that start out great and then fall short half way through.)


3. I will do my best to keep my comments balanced with both good and bad points


4. All comments I make are strictly my opinion, so please share yours.

I think this will be fun, and I encourage the writers of these books to participate as well.

Christmas Gifts Are No Laughing Matter

With Thanksgiving next week and Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about finding the perfect gift for that someone special in your life. If you’re like me, you want to find something the recipient will like and won’t cost you two months’ salary. It’s hard I know.

For years everyone in my family thought my dad loved chocolate covered cherry cordials. The kind that come in a box and are everywhere during the holiday season. Perhaps one of us had first given him a box as a child and he had responded with appropriate fatherly enthusiasm. For years after, we all thought these candies were the perfect dad gift. Then, a few years ago, dad announced that he hated chocolate covered cherries. He always had. And would we please stop giving them to him.

In the spirit of giving gifts that will be both used and appreciated, I’m going to share some of my book giving recommendations. This week I want to suggest books for that person on your list who loves to laugh.

So light the Yule log, pour yourself a glass of eggnog and let’s go.

Ryan Stoker has written four delightfully funny comic style books, each poking fun at some aspect of LDS life. For fifteen years his cartoons have appeared in the New Era magazine as well as other national publications, such as the Saturday Evening Post, Woman's World, Better Homes and Gardens, and the National Enquirer. His books include: So, You’re a Primary Teacher; So, You’re a BYU Football Fan; Mission Moments; and So, You’re an LDS Bishop. Each book is about 90 pages long and each sells for under ten dollars, some for under five.





Bruce Lindsay, a news anchor for KSL television has written a wonderful book called Hometown Weekly. Set up as articles from The Parley’s Progress a newspaper serving Utah’s 87th largest town, this book is full of down home humor that will keep you laughing and leave you with hope that there is still good news to be had in the world. This book (also available on an audio CD) sells new for about ten dollars. It would make a great gift for a grandparent or parent.




Released just last month, Arie Van De Graaff’s cartoon style book Mormon Life is bound to be a big hit with any of your LDS family or friends. Poking fun at such things as home teaching, scouting and food storage, Van De Graaff’s book hits the spot and will keep your recipient chuckling for months. The book sells for about fifteen dollars.




Now if you have a fiction buff on your gift giving list there are several humorous novels I would highly recommend.

Chicken’s in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley is a great story about a family of seven boys all under the age of eleven and the trouble they get into growing up on a farm in Utah. It’s a book that is so funny because it is so true. This book runs for about sixteen dollars and is also available in audio CD.





For a little romance with your humor try Bitten: A Romantic Comedy by Robert Ferrell Smith and follow young Trust Williams on his mission in Thelma’s Way, Tennessee. A missionary’s life is certainly not boring, but who knew it could be so funny. This book also sells for about sixteen dollars.




And last but not least, a Christmas story that will leave you snickering. Joseph Walker’s semi autobiographical Christmas on Mill Street. Nine year old Sam has just moved to Utah from Arizona, and in an effort to fit in with the other boys, has boasted that he will complete a task no other boy has ever done. Sled all the way down Mill Street without breaking his neck or being thrown. Only problem is, Sam doesn’t own a sled and has never even seen snow. This book sells on Amazon for around ten dollars.




For other books guaranteed to bring a smile, check out the Humor page on LDSBookcorner.com

Other World Fantasy: Part Three of the Three Part Fantasy Series

To some degree I think all writers are control freaks living in a world where they’re lucky to control their own breakfast, none-the-less their own life. Things come at them (as they do to all of us) from every direction, and so they turn to writing. In a story, the author controls the action, the plots and the characters. Now some authors will argue the point that their characters control the plot but we all know that everything starts in the writer's head.

Even so, most writers do not enjoy complete freedom in their craft, and are forced to comply with basic laws of physics and cultural norms. Unless of course they happen to write Other World Fantasy.

In Other World Fantasy, the story takes place in a reality different from our own. It maybe a world run by intelligent mice or inhabited by half dragon half mole like creatures. Perhaps citizens of this fantasy world can fly, read minds or get their children to bed at a decent hour every night. The sky is the limit… or perhaps it’s not.

Other World Fantasy is escapism in its truest form, and there are talented LDS writers who have mastered this genre.



Bron Bahlmann, sixteen-year-old author of Bone Warriors said the idea for the story came to him in a dream. And as you read about the sinister giants, colossal green jungle cats and undead monsters, one has to wonder if it was a dream or night mare. The story follows fifteen-year-old Derrick and his friend Tweaks as they fight the wicked necromancer in an effort to save their world and find their families.



BYU professor and fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson is known for his imaginative worlds and unusual plots. Author of over seven fantasy novels, Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy is a combination of Starwars meets Oceans Eleven. It’s an epic adventure full of political intrigue and clever magical thieves determined to change their world.



‘Skylan Ivorson is a sea-raider of the Vindras’, and thus begins the product summary for Bones of the Dragon the first of the four volume series Dragonships of Vindras by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. Skylan searches for the Five Bones of the Vektan Dragons, to save the old gods and his people the Vindra.

Choose your adventure and fly with your imagination.

Real Life Fantasy - Part Two of the Fantasy Series

The idea behind a good Fantasy novel is that it takes you to places where magical things are the norm, and adventure waits at every corner. Sure that isn’t surprising if you happen to be a medieval princess or live in an alternate reality, but it gets pretty darn exciting when you’re out weeding your lawn and suddenly you fall through a hole in the ground, turn up in a world of dwarfs, and you’re twenty-five pounds thinner to boot. Alright so maybe that last part falls more under Girl Fantasy, but you get the idea.

So basically, what I refer to as Real Life Fantasy is a story where our hero lives in the normal world and then something or someone leads them off the beaten track or endows them with strange and magical powers.

What I find most appealing about this type of story is the foil created when fantasy is set against reality. It leaves the reader with a glimmering hope that no matter how normal and unexciting their every-day life is, magic and adventure could be waiting to pop up at any moment.

We have some first class LDS writers who specialize in Real Life Fantasy, and like Girl Fantasy, these books are enjoyed by fantasy lovers of all ages. Just a note – any of them would make excellent choices as Christmas gifts.



M L Forman is the author of a wonderful fantasy series Adventurers Wanted. The first volume, Slathbog’s Gold, tells the story of fifteen-year-old Alex Taylor. Alex’s life is anything but adventurous. He lives in a pub with his step-father and step-brother. These aren’t bad step relatives, but Alex is looking for something more, and he finds it when he stumbles across Mr. Clutter’s shop window and a strange magical sign that only he can see. Thus begins an amazing adventure filled with heroic warriors, mysterious elves, and hard-working dwarves.



In the Farworld series, writer J Scott Savage creates two unique heroes with everything going against them. Marcus is a severely crippled orphan who requires the use of a wheel-chair to get around, yet despite his disability (or perhaps because of it) he is smart and resourceful. He has to be. Earth is threatened by a terrible evil that he must defeat. But Earth isn’t the only place under attack. Farworld shares the same enemy. In Farworld magic is normal and everything from the flowers to the people posses it to some degree, except for Kyja. Kyja is a girl with no family and no magic, but with a burning desire to make a difference. Together, the two misfits must work together moving back and forth from Earth to Farworld to save their homes from The Dark Circle. Currently Savage has two of the five book series available, part one - Water Keep and part two - Land Keep.



In the first book of his series The 13th Reality, James Dashner introduces us to thirteen-year-old Atticus Higgenbottom (aka Tick) whose invitation to adventure actually arrives in the mail. A strange letter warns Atticus that he will receive a series of clues/riddles that he must solve. At stake is reality itself and a future that Tick can’t even imagine. Dashner released book one, Journal of Curious Letters last year, and The Hunt of Dark Infinity a few months ago.