Baked Alaska - Review

 I  am not usually a Mystery reader. But I do love cruising (I have been on three cruises all to Mexico) and since this book, Baked Alaska by Josi Kilpack takes place on an Alaskan Cruise I decided to give a mystery a try. I received the book from the publisher in return for a review.  I was pleased to see at the beginning of the book, before I even started reading, there is a list of all the recipes that are included in the book.  Yummy things like Salmon Caesar Salad, Glazed Salmon, Crepes, and even Lemon-Zuchini Fettuccine along with what the author claims is the best Salmon and Red Potato Chowder recipe. The salmon lover in me was happy to see three different recipes for my favorite fish. But I guess if you take a trip to Alaska it is one of the things you should expect to see on the menu.

So besides the food I guess I should mention the story. This is supposed to be a review of a mystery novel not a cook book. I mentioned that I am not usually a mystery reader. So I haven't read the other books in this Culinary mystery series. They all have great titles with names of some delicious sounding dessert; English triffle, Banana Split, Pumpkin Roll etc. I may have to give the others a try since this one was so much fun to read.

I do admit that I felt like I was missing something when the characters talked about things that had happened in other stories. These things weren't totally necessary to the plot of this book so it didn't stop my enjoyment it just made me want to read the books that explain what happened before. Sadie is a very likable woman who considers herself an amateur sleuth. When she sees strange things going on around her, and especially to her children, she steps in and starts asking questions. She reminded me of Mrs. Marple (never read one but watched the movies of a few) who is always at the right place at the right time to see the mystery unfold. Somehow Sadie meets all the right people (the good and the bad) so she could get the answers to the mystery. The plot isn't predictable. There were some twists thrown in that kept me reading to find out what was really going on during that cruise. The only thing lacking was a little more description of Alaska. For someone who has never been to Alaska that would have been nice but then Sadie was busy solving a few different mysteries to be too worried about the scenery.

I look!forward to reading more of the books in this series! This one was nice clean, easy read. And I have a few recipes to try out too!