Title: Devil's Food Cake: A Culinary MysteryAuthor: Josi S. Kilpack
First of all, I'm going to show my prejudice here as the daughter of a foodie, as a girl who was raised to know the difference between Valrhona and Ghirardelli, as a woman who (almost) always has homemade hot fudge in her refrigerator and would only resort to using Mrs. Richardson's in an emergency (and who thinks that Smucker's hot fudge belongs in outer darkness along with canned frosting). I'm skeptical of the recipes Josi Kilpack includes as Sadie's recipes in Devil's Food Cake (her fancy "French Chocolate" recipe includes a jar of Mrs. Richardson's, but everyone knows that cheap hot fudge negates the influence of all of the good ingredients in that recipe), and therefore I have a hard time trusting Sadie superlatives, whether related to food or to tracking down murderers in the middle of the night.
There's nothing exactly wrong with Sadie's recipes. I'm sure they're tasty and rib-sticking, but they're not the gourmet showstoppers Sadie passes them off as being. I do admit to being very curious about her Evil Chicken, although perhaps not curious enough to actually try making it. Maybe this is intentional on Kilpack's part, to characterize Sadie as a small-town woman with big ambitions, but I can't really tell. I do think they're probably appropriate for the "cozies" genre, fluffy and not too difficult to digest.
That aside, I think there are a number of things that do well in Devil's Food Cake. She closely follows the unities-- the book takes place over the course of about 18 hours (most of it through the night-- a wild ride for a fifty-something retired schoolteacher), in a single town, and with a single focus. Sadie's character also made me laugh, but sometimes I can't tell if I'm laughing at her or laughing with her. Kilpack paints her as the kind of woman who would do a great job with a class of fourth graders or heading up a dinner committee, but I can't help but seeing her as more meddlesome than helpful when she involves herself in murder investigations. I felt it more in this book than in Lemon Tart, because in Devil's Food Cake she solves the murder only inadvertently, when the murderer shows up to off her and she manages to get away.
All in all, I'd say the book is enjoyable, but not great. I'll pass it along to my mom, who appreciates the genre more than I do, and seems to fit the intended audience demographic better than I do, but who will undoubtedly scoff at Sadie's choice of chocolate.
4 comments:
Alas, I am not a foodie, and I confess that the recipes sounded great to me. Except now if I make that cake I will know to use homemade sauce.
I have a bunch of possible Whitney books I need to pass on to you when I'm done with them. I think I'm going to do mini reviews at Segullah in October of my favorite ones. I've got Band of Sisters, Cold as Ice, Alma the Younger, and Princess of Glass, and I have ordered The Princess and the Snowbird, The Way of Kings (epic fantasy), and The Healing Spell (that one's published by Scholastic). My sister has borrowed a couple of them, but when she has finished I can pass them on to you if you want to get a head start on reading.
That sounds great, Emily. I have Princess of Glass. Annie read and loved it, but I'd be interested in any of the others. If you have a good idea of others that you don't own that are likely nominees, let me know and I'll buy them so we can start getting on top of a few more.
I know Josi Kilpack just came out with a new one, Key Lime Pie, and I stood in front of the two of them in the bookstore, trying to choose which one was the likelier nominee. I'm not sure I chose right, though.
With the Covenant/DB books I'm just guessing based on previous nominees. And also who has the best marketing, is that shallow? With the rest, the nationally published speculative fiction and YA markets have so many possibilities, especially YA, that it's hard to tell. This is our chance to nominate books ourselves though, up until the end of December.
I totally support your beliefs about Smuckers hot fudge and canned frosting.
BTW, thank you for this blog. I've gotten into the habit of coming here to find my next good read.
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