Devil's Food Cake by Josi Kilpack

Sadie Hoffmiller is expecting an exciting night.  A member of the library fund-raising committee, she has helped plan a fund-raiser that they expect to bring in lots of money.  The committee has invited Thom Mortensen, an author to speak at a dinner at a local hotel, and the event is one that is raising lots of buzz and expectations.

Mortensen used to live in Garrison, Colorado, where Sadie and the rest of the committee still lives, and the connection that led Thom to agree to give a talk.  His big thriller was published after a tragedy in his own life.  His son, Damon, whom Thom had raised as a single parent, had gone off the rails ten years before.  He dropped out of high school, and then became notorious throughout the area when he killed himself and his date after the local high school prom.

Sadie is surprised that Thom has agreed to return to an area that holds such painful memories for him.  The event is even more shocking when Thom's agent is killed in front of everyone.  A shotgun has been wired to the speaker's podium, and goes off when the agent starts to introduce Thom.

The police close down the hotel and start to investigate.  Sadie's date for the evening, Pete, is actually a detective on the force she met when she got involved in a previous murder.  She is hurt when Pete goes into offical mode and refuses to listen to her ideas and theories.  She leaves the hotel, determined to find out what went on.

She soon collects a team to help her.  Her son, Shawn, is home from college and can provide the brawn.  Josh was Damon's best friend in high school, and has remained close to Thom over the years.  Eric is a local locksmith who Sadie meets as she moves from site to site in her investigation.  Finally, Jane is a reporter who believes there is more to the event that meets the eye.  Although not always a harmonious team, they work together to determine what has occurred and who killed the agent.  Will they find an answer before someone else is harmed?

Devil's Food Cake is the third in Josi Kilpatrick's culinary mystery series.  Her heroine, Sadie, is a refreshing character, full of vim and vigor and an offbeat way of putting clues together to solve a crime.  The other characters are believable, and the resolution is satisfying.  There are also recipes scattered at the end of many chapters, and the reader will be anxious to try them out as they all sound delicious.  This book is recommended for cozy mystery lovers.