Pumpkin Roll by Josi S. Kilpack

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Sadie Hoffmiller believes in her abilities as a cook and as a detective.  She believes in the beauty of a perfectly baked pumpkin roll.  She does not, however, believe in ghosts.

As Halloween approaches, Sadie is looking forward to spending her favorite baking season of the year making delicious New England recipes in Boston, Massachusetts, with her favorite leading man, Pete Cunningham, as they babysit his three young grandsons.  When the boys insist that Mrs. Wapple, the woman who lives across the street, is a witch, Sadie and Pete are anxious to distract the boys from such silly ideas.

Sadie tries to befriend Mrs. Wapple, but when her foolproof plate of cookies fails to work its magic, she is left with more questions than answers.  And Sadie has never been one to leave a good question unanswered.

The more she investigates, however, the stranger the answers become.  And when Sadie learns the eccentric Mrs. Wapple has been attacked in her home, she knows time is running out.  As the unexplained occurrences escalate, Sadie finds herself embroiled in yet another mystery with life-or-death consequences.

I know I've said it before, but I'm really at a loss on why I keep starting new mystery series.  Of course, that's not the real problem.  My real issue is the fact that I'm not starting them at the beginning.  I'm not even starting with the second book, in this case it was the 6th.  On the other hand, how could I refuse myself the pleasure of discovering a new character.  I should have thought more about it, but when I got the chance to review Pumpkin Roll, I jumped at it.  I loved the synopsis and thought the story would fit right in with what I was wanting to read this month.  Despite my self-flagellation over starting yet another series, I'm so glad I did.

I found Sadie and Pete to be well rounded characters, they should be after 5 other books, and I fell in love with them right away, especially with Sadie.  What I loved about her is that despite caring about what others think of her, she is able to put it aside and do what she thinks is right.  She has a wonderful relationship, a budding one, with Pete and is trying to make a good impression with the kids and their parents.  She loves to cook, shows lover through it, but is able to to accept when things don't quite work out.

Once the action gets going, she isn't the fearless heroine that so many authors pump out.  Instead she is a woman who has fears and doubts, but doesn't let them run her life.  She puts herself out there and tries to help out when she sees it's needed.  She isn't willing to allow others to risk themselves while she's sitting back at home.  She is bold, smart, and tenacious.  Once she sets her sights on something, the mystery will be solved.

Because of the plot twist that involves a character introduced in earlier books, I don't think this is the right book to start off with.  I do think I would have understood the various relationships more had I done just that.  Either way though, I'm very happy to have had the pleasure of reading this one.

I would like to thank Tracee of Pump Up Your Book for the opportunity to read/review the book.