This was another cute cozy mystery torpedoed by a super unlikable lead character. Sadie was annoying as #"¤%. A judgmental busybody that I wanted to throat punch about a million times. Other than that, the rest of the book was good. Very festive. The mystery was well done. A nice array of likable side characters. And a lot of yummy sounding recipes to try out.

Christmas has come early for cozy lovers! This is the 13th book in the Cozy Culinary Mystery series. If you like cozy mysteries with recipes, this is for you. And if you make the candy cane cake, please share.

It's the happiest and saddest time of the year. Sadie is preparing for a big blended family Christmas with her children, grandchildren, and the children and grandchildren of her husband Pete. She is also saying goodbye to her friend and former neighbor Mary. Over 90, with pancreatic cancer, Mary is enjoying her last Christmas in this world. Sadie helps her decorate a tree in her room at an aged-care facility and is astonished to learn that Mary's ornaments are worth many thousands of dollars. They are gifted to Mary's great-granddaughter Joy after Christmas so she can use them to start building a new life. When several get stolen one night, Sadie is determined to find and return the ornaments to the tree before Mary hears anything about it.

This was a different cozy in that no one died. Our heroine didn't discover a body, nor did she end up trapped by the murderer, while they confess their crimes and motivations. The mystery was interesting without a murder and the culprit was a bit of a surprise. There was a lot of investigating and I would have liked a bit more story around that but it's still an entertaining holiday read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Sadie Hoffmiller is back! Her new friend, Mary Hallmark, received two sets of World War I era Christmas ornaments from her father that are now worth tens of thousands of dollars to antique collectors. As Mary's health fails, she moves into Nicholas House for round-the-clock care. No one expected Mary to see Christmas this year, and Sadie feels an obligation to make sure this Christmas is a perfect one for Mary. Those plans are shaken when several ornaments (worth thousands of dollars) go missing less than 48 hours before Christmas.

Sadie pulls out her rusty private investigation skills and hits the bitter cold streets of Fort Collins to solve the mystery. On top of that, she is trying to plan a large family Christmas reunion/party. Concerned about the safety of Pete, their children and grandchildren traveling from around the globe during a dangerous winter storm, Sadie has a lot on her mind this Christmas!


With less intensity and danger than previous Sadie Hoffmiller mysteries, this installment revolves around holiday traditions and family relationships. As always, though, Sadie's spunky, somewhat rebellious attitude pulls readers into the story, while the recipes scattered throughout will have them drooling and making a shopping list of ingredients!

This was my first Sadie mystery novel by Kilpack. I kind of wish I had read the previous books before reading this. I would have had a better grasp on the ins and outs of her and her process.
That being said I still enjoyed the book. Mary is such a whip smart character and she was my favorite. When a priceless ornament goes missing from Mary's tree, she knew she could turn to Sadie to help.
I loved the recipes throughout the book. If I was more of a baker, I'd probably try and make some!
The mystery and the stories of the families were fun to hear about.

I love Sadie. She and Pete are cute together. This is a mystery about stolen Christmas ornaments. It is sweet but has a fun caper to it. There are lots of characters. Some of them are rough, others sweet, some suspicious. The mystery kept me engaged and actually surprised me in the end. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to escape for a few hours and enjoy a cute mystery.

this is a great story and recipes. Sadie writes books and Pete was a police man. a friend of her now lives inn an assisted living center , somehow someone took some of her ornaments that are very old and worth a lot of money. now she is trying to find out who did it. before Mary finds out they are gone , Mary cannot see anymore and does not have long to live. I like cozy mysteries and the recipes. I was given a copy of the book but this is an honest review. if you like mysteries that have a wife and husband , that have lost the first loves and find love again and move on to second carriers . and will try some of the recipes. this book reminds me of Dianne Harmon's books love it

I LOVE Sadie's stories. Just enough mystery to keep you guessing throughout (although I did solve this one before Sadie), sprinkled with lighthearted moments and a generous helping of delicious recipes. What's not to like?!
The pace of this novel was quick, the storyline continually moving forward, much like Sadie herself. I liked her interactions with her husband, though I would have liked to get more of a feel for their day-to-day lives.
I enjoyed how assumptions were challenged - both Sadie's and the reader's - and how enough information was given for the reader to piece things together and form their own conclusions before the final resolution.
And I cannot wait to try out some of these recipes!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A cute wrap up to the Sadie series. The mystery was well done-I didn't know who the bad guy was until Sadie did. While predictable in characterization, it was a cute read.

As a fan of both the author Josi Kilpack and her charming character Sadie Hoffmiller I was looking forward to another culinary adventure. To combine the character with the Christmas season, and delicious seasonal recipes was a perfect combination. It was fun to pick up with Sadie and see that though it had been a while, and she was technically retired as a private investigator, she hadn't lost her quick skill of bending the rules enough to get the information that she needed to solve the case. As to be expected with one of Josi Kilpack's delightful culinary tales the reader can also enjoy recipes for delicious things like Red & Green Salad, Snow Flurries, Candy Cane Crinkles and a yummy cheeseball I'm anxious to try. Overall I enjoyed another Sadie Hoffmiller adventure, and appreciated the comfortable reminder of how I enjoy clean books with wholesome messages.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. The characters and plot were perfect for a Christmas light read. I also loved the recipes included. Sadie, the main character was a really good person and made.you laugh. This is a story I would love to see as a Hallmark Movie.
I needed a light fun read.

Sadie is gearing up for Christmas and getting her blended family together. She has food to prepare, gifts to buy, and cookies to deliver to friends and neighbors. Her once neighbor Mary asks her to help set up her Christmas tree in the facility that she is now living in and Sadie agrees to help. She knows that this will be Mary's last holiday and wants to make the elderly woman's last days as happy and cheerful as possible. While trimming the tree Sadie soon realizes that the ornaments being hung are not only old but worth quite a bit of money. Mary tells her that she would like to leave them to her granddaughter so that she can sell them and make her life better. Sadie isn't sure about leaving the pricey ornaments up for anyone to see but it will only be for a few days. When Sadie gets a call from Joy, Mary's niece, telling her that around ten ornaments are missing she I owe she must step in and investigate. Will she be able.to find the ornaments before Mary knows they are gone? Follow along to fix out just what happens!!! This was the first book I've read from this author and even though it wasn't the first of the series it wasn't hard for me to keep up with all the characters. I enjoyed the read and look forward to returning to the beginning to get to know the characters better!!!

Mystery, suspense; series, but stand alone read
Cute light read, more of a 3.5 for me as a reader. Fun, mystery with 2 different families interwoven in the story line. Always recipes, so for that, I rounded up. For those of you who are fans of Sadie, you will love this addition to the series. I loved learning about the ornaments and their value, but also about the family stories in this novel. Sadie rules as a sleuth, and of course, having her husband help a bit in the mix and her family story line and HEA ending for her was perfect! The scenes with her as Mrs. Claus were too funny, and her passion for all things Christmas the best! Fun way to put some light holiday spirit into your reading, particularly if you are fan of this series.

I'm a fan of Josi Kilpack's culinary mysteries, and this latest one does not disappoint. In her latest adventure, Sadie Hoffmiller takes time from her holiday preparations (which, of course, involves baking) to solve the unexplained. disappearance of a friend's rare Christmas ornaments. This time, Sadie has the added complication of balancing her new blended family with solving the crime. The recipes are an added bonus!

I just love how Sadie Hoffmiller combines her love of cooking and baking to gain people’s trust. So she can get information on how to find 11 of the most expensive ornaments that was stolen. Let alone have all her family over for Christmas. I also love how the book has recipes that we can make at home. So as I was reading this book I kept getting The Who done it wrong and was suprised who it was at the end. Can’t wait to see what she will do with her next book.

Lovely read. Really enjoyed reading this book. It was a lovely book to read. You can get lost in this one. Easy to read and well written

Sadie is back!!!

I just cannot tell you how excited I was when I heard there was going to be a NEW Sadie Hoffmiller cozy mystery. I have loved every single one of the previous 12 books and I’m thrilled that we get to revisit her world.

In this book she and Pete are happily married and are preparing to spend the holidays hosting family. Sadie hasn’t done much investigating lately. Instead, she’s been volunteering at the local senior center—and she has stumbled upon a mystery. This time it’s not a murder, but a theft of some valuable items—and Sadie is determined to solve the mystery and get those items back for her friend, Mary.

I loved it!! Of course I did. Sadie is just as entertaining and up to her sleuthing hijinks as she’s always been. We don’t see much of Pete and the family until the end of the book, but that’s okay because Sadie can carry the entire story herself!

There are so many characters who could be the theif and it was fun finding clues, then determining they were unreliable. Sadie learns a lesson in judging others when she finally discovers who did, and who didn’t, do it.

If you like culinary mysteries, you’ll love this one. It’s chock full of fun recipes. It can be read as a stand alone, but I think you’d appreciate it more if you’ve read the other books in the series.

There’s no language and very little violence. I’d be comfortable recommending it to ages 14+. I give it a solid 5 STARS.

#TheCandyCaper #NetGalley

Sadie is back and so are her recipes. Sadie is busy getting ready for a combined family Christmas dinner and Pete is out of town on assignment. Sadie takes the time to visit a friend, who is now in assisted living and wants Sadie to decorate her Christmas tree. Sadie notices that the ornaments are antique and valuable and attempts to talk Mary into not putting them up this year, but they are a tradition and this is Mary's last Christmas. Then some of the ornaments get stolen and Sadie is bound and determined to find out who took them and get them back. Can Sadie do it in less than 24 hours? I have yet to try any of the recipes, I'm tempted by the one's listed in this book.

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.

This was a nice, quick read though I feel it would have been better if I'd actually read it during the winter,

I am shamelessly going to go on record and admit that I am writing this review with a heavy heart and tears streaming down my cheeks! Heavy heart because it came to an end and tears streaming down my cheeks because it was such a precious story that totally tugged at my heart strings. I have really missed reading new installments of the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. When I saw this, on NetGalley, I was truly elated! Many thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for providing this ARC. Looking forward to making the Cunningham Candy Cane Cake and the Snow Flurry Cookies!

I liked The Candy Cane Caper. The characters felt so real, I was in tears a few times. I liked the book very much. Thanks netgalley for gifting me an arc, so that I could provide this honest review.