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A Chocoholic Mystery #11
The Chocolate Castle Clue
Indulge in another Chocoholic mystery in the national bestselling series.
Lee McKinney Woodyard discovers a dusty trophy inside TenHuis Chocolade that belongs to her aunt Nettie and her old high school singing group, the Pier-O-Ettes. It's a trophy that brings back terrible memories of an unsolved murder years ago.
Before Lee takes aim at the past, someone is murdered in the here and now. Lee needs to keep her eyes on the prize, hoping the trophy is a clue to finding the killer-before she's a target herself.
Lee McKinney Woodyard discovers a dusty trophy inside TenHuis Chocolade that belongs to her aunt Nettie and her old high school singing group, the Pier-O-Ettes. It's a trophy that brings back terrible memories of an unsolved murder years ago.
Before Lee takes aim at the past, someone is murdered in the here and now. Lee needs to keep her eyes on the prize, hoping the trophy is a clue to finding the killer-before she's a target herself.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 4, 2011
50 people are currently reading
764 people want to read
About the author
JoAnna Carl
35 books433 followersJOANNA CARL is the pseudonym for the multi-published mystery writer Eve K. Sandstrom. The author writes about the shores of Lake Michigan and has been reviewed in Michigan newspapers as a “regional writer.” She has also written about Southwest Oklahoma and once won an award for the best book of the year with an Oklahoma setting.
Eve K. Sandstrom is an Oklahoman to the teeth: she was born there, as were five previous generations of her mother’s family. Both her grandfathers and her father were in the oil business, once the backbone of Oklahoma’s economy. One grandmother was born in the Choctaw Nation, and Eve is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Eve and seven other members of her immediate family are graduates of the University of Oklahoma. Eve even knows the second verse of “Boomer Sooner.”
Eve wrote two mystery series: the “Down Home” books, set on a ranch in Southwest Oklahoma, and the Nell Matthews mysteries, semi-hard-boiled books laid in a mid-size city on the Southern Plains.
But Eve married a great guy whose family owned a cottage on the west coast of Lake Michigan, not far from the Michigan towns of Fennville, Saugatuck, and Douglas. Every summer for more than forty years she, her husband and various combinations of children and grandchildren have trekked to the community of Pier Cove for vacations that lasted from two weeks to three months.
The area features gorgeous beaches, lush orchards, thick woods, and beautiful Victorian houses. Eve grew to love it. So when her editor asked her to come up with a new, “cozy” mystery series, Eve set it in a West Michigan resort town, scrambling up Saugatuck, Douglas, South Haven, Holland, Manistee, Ludington and Muskegon with her own ideas of what a resort ought to be to create Warner Pier.
As further background, she plunked her heroine into a business which produces and sells luscious, luxurious, European-style bonbons, truffles and molded chocolates. Most small towns couldn’t support a business like this, but the resorts of West Michigan – with their wealthy “summer people” – can. The “Chocoholic Mysteries” were on their way.
Eve’s editor requested that she use a pen name for the new series, and Eve picked the middle names of her three children, Betsy Jo, Ruth Anna, and John Carl. “JoAnna Carl” was born. So that’s how JoAnna/Eve became a regional author in two widely separated regions.
JoAnna/Eve earned a degree in journalism at the University of Oklahoma and also studied with Carolyn G. Hart and Jack Bickham in the OU Creative Writing Program. She spent more than twenty-five years in the newspaper business, working as a reporter, editor, and columnist at The Lawton Constitution in Lawton, Oklahoma. She took an early retirement to write fiction full-time.
She and her husband, David F. Sandstrom, have three grandchildren, whom they love introducing to the lore of their two homes – Oklahoma and Michigan.
She spent 25 years in the newspaper business as a reporter, feature writer, editor, and columnist, most recently at the Lawton Constitution. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of OK and also studied in the O.U. Professional Writing program. She lives in Oklahoma but summers in Michigan where the Chocoholic Mystery series is set. She has one daughter who is a CPA and another who works for a chocolate company and provides yummy insider information on the chocolate business.
Eve K. Sandstrom is an Oklahoman to the teeth: she was born there, as were five previous generations of her mother’s family. Both her grandfathers and her father were in the oil business, once the backbone of Oklahoma’s economy. One grandmother was born in the Choctaw Nation, and Eve is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Eve and seven other members of her immediate family are graduates of the University of Oklahoma. Eve even knows the second verse of “Boomer Sooner.”
Eve wrote two mystery series: the “Down Home” books, set on a ranch in Southwest Oklahoma, and the Nell Matthews mysteries, semi-hard-boiled books laid in a mid-size city on the Southern Plains.
But Eve married a great guy whose family owned a cottage on the west coast of Lake Michigan, not far from the Michigan towns of Fennville, Saugatuck, and Douglas. Every summer for more than forty years she, her husband and various combinations of children and grandchildren have trekked to the community of Pier Cove for vacations that lasted from two weeks to three months.
The area features gorgeous beaches, lush orchards, thick woods, and beautiful Victorian houses. Eve grew to love it. So when her editor asked her to come up with a new, “cozy” mystery series, Eve set it in a West Michigan resort town, scrambling up Saugatuck, Douglas, South Haven, Holland, Manistee, Ludington and Muskegon with her own ideas of what a resort ought to be to create Warner Pier.
As further background, she plunked her heroine into a business which produces and sells luscious, luxurious, European-style bonbons, truffles and molded chocolates. Most small towns couldn’t support a business like this, but the resorts of West Michigan – with their wealthy “summer people” – can. The “Chocoholic Mysteries” were on their way.
Eve’s editor requested that she use a pen name for the new series, and Eve picked the middle names of her three children, Betsy Jo, Ruth Anna, and John Carl. “JoAnna Carl” was born. So that’s how JoAnna/Eve became a regional author in two widely separated regions.
JoAnna/Eve earned a degree in journalism at the University of Oklahoma and also studied with Carolyn G. Hart and Jack Bickham in the OU Creative Writing Program. She spent more than twenty-five years in the newspaper business, working as a reporter, editor, and columnist at The Lawton Constitution in Lawton, Oklahoma. She took an early retirement to write fiction full-time.
She and her husband, David F. Sandstrom, have three grandchildren, whom they love introducing to the lore of their two homes – Oklahoma and Michigan.
She spent 25 years in the newspaper business as a reporter, feature writer, editor, and columnist, most recently at the Lawton Constitution. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of OK and also studied in the O.U. Professional Writing program. She lives in Oklahoma but summers in Michigan where the Chocoholic Mystery series is set. She has one daughter who is a CPA and another who works for a chocolate company and provides yummy insider information on the chocolate business.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
March 7, 2016
Another case solved by yours truly although I didn't understand some of the plot points at the end as i was impatient and reading fast. The motive and modus operandi of the murderer left a lot to be desired. My mind thronged with ideas about how good exactly this book was. It was a book that set up palpitating points rather laboriously, and not too successfully. It did succeed as a cozy mystery, and the reading experience was okay. I'm thinking this book deserves more than one star but then I remember how parts of it are a chore to go through. This will probably be the last Joanna Carl book I'll ever read in my life and it's a solemn mood that I'm in. The series is good enough for everyone and I recommend anyone unfamiliar to start from the first and blaze through the series, like or unlike I did. It's up to you.
July 19, 2019
I really like Lee, Joe and Warner Pier. I always enjoy when a story mixes past events with current ones and this was no exception. I was kept guessing and enjoyed watching the story unfold.
May 13, 2022
Pretty run of the mill for a cozy. Nothing wrong with it. Has some cute moments.
One thing that annoyed me. The main character reaction is upset with her husband for calling something she did stupid. She was in an emotionally abusive marriage before and I guess the word stupid was used a lot. But she doesn't talk to him about it. She just keeps it bottled up inside without telling him what really got her upset. He was very upset when he said it because she had been reckless pursuing someone who had been hidden in her car and about to do her harm. Whether or not he knew she had a problem with the word stupid I don't know (I haven't read any other books in the series). She, herself, calls what he does stupid at the end of the book because he does something reckless. They make up. But the whole thing left me annoyed. Partly because she doesn't really take ownership that what she did was foolish and because she doesn't say anything to her husband. She is just mad at him.
That isn't a big thing in the book but it did annoy me some.
One thing that annoyed me. The main character reaction is upset with her husband for calling something she did stupid. She was in an emotionally abusive marriage before and I guess the word stupid was used a lot. But she doesn't talk to him about it. She just keeps it bottled up inside without telling him what really got her upset. He was very upset when he said it because she had been reckless pursuing someone who had been hidden in her car and about to do her harm. Whether or not he knew she had a problem with the word stupid I don't know (I haven't read any other books in the series). She, herself, calls what he does stupid at the end of the book because he does something reckless. They make up. But the whole thing left me annoyed. Partly because she doesn't really take ownership that what she did was foolish and because she doesn't say anything to her husband. She is just mad at him.
That isn't a big thing in the book but it did annoy me some.
January 16, 2016
This series features Lee McKinney Woodyard, her Aunt Nettie, and TenHuis Chocolade. Lee manages the store for Nettie.
In this edition Lee finds an old trophy while cleaning out their storage garage. She can’t wait to share it with her Aunt. She found it at the perfect time since Nettie was hosting a reunion for her old high school singing group, The Pier-O-Ettes, the group that won the trophy.
But the trophy didn’t get the reaction Lee had expected. It seems to have brought back some terrible memories. The trophy was won at the old Castle Ballroom on the very same night that the ballroom owner was found shot to death. It was ruled a suicide but his wife didn’t believe that and neither did several other people. There were always questions about what really happened that night. The reunion and the trophy brought the whole event back to the forefront. Just how much does Aunt Nettie know? Before Lee can even wrap her head around what may have happened in the past someone turns up murdered in the present. Are these events connected? Well you know Lee is going to find out and put herself right in the middle of the sticky mess.
My Thoughts
This series is one of the first that made me fall in love with cozy mysteries. Set in a chocolate shoppe, full of tasty goodies, how could you go wrong?
The author is an expert at writing this genre. We fall more for the main characters with every installment and they just continue to put themselves in harms way. We keep turning the pages to make sure everyone is safe and settled by the final word. This story had a lot of additional characters due to the Pier-O-Ettes reunion and they added even more drama to quaint town of Warner Pier.
It was a very entertaining story. A delectable treat for the mind. The chocolate treats I consumed while reading it were an absolute must. I am proud to say I am a Chocoholic and these stories feed my craving perfectly.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Obsidian. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
In this edition Lee finds an old trophy while cleaning out their storage garage. She can’t wait to share it with her Aunt. She found it at the perfect time since Nettie was hosting a reunion for her old high school singing group, The Pier-O-Ettes, the group that won the trophy.
But the trophy didn’t get the reaction Lee had expected. It seems to have brought back some terrible memories. The trophy was won at the old Castle Ballroom on the very same night that the ballroom owner was found shot to death. It was ruled a suicide but his wife didn’t believe that and neither did several other people. There were always questions about what really happened that night. The reunion and the trophy brought the whole event back to the forefront. Just how much does Aunt Nettie know? Before Lee can even wrap her head around what may have happened in the past someone turns up murdered in the present. Are these events connected? Well you know Lee is going to find out and put herself right in the middle of the sticky mess.
My Thoughts
This series is one of the first that made me fall in love with cozy mysteries. Set in a chocolate shoppe, full of tasty goodies, how could you go wrong?
The author is an expert at writing this genre. We fall more for the main characters with every installment and they just continue to put themselves in harms way. We keep turning the pages to make sure everyone is safe and settled by the final word. This story had a lot of additional characters due to the Pier-O-Ettes reunion and they added even more drama to quaint town of Warner Pier.
It was a very entertaining story. A delectable treat for the mind. The chocolate treats I consumed while reading it were an absolute must. I am proud to say I am a Chocoholic and these stories feed my craving perfectly.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Obsidian. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
October 6, 2014
This is the 11th book in the Chocoholic Mystery series.
I really enjoy reading about Lee, and her friends in Warner Pier, MI. Lee manages the day to day activities of the TenHuis Chocolade store in Warner Pier, a store owned by her aunt. Lee is in the process of cleaning a garage out that TenHuis has been using for storage. In doing so she finds a trophy that the Pier-O-Ettes had won at the local dance hall some 45 years ealier. It so happens that the six ladies who made up the group are all in town preparing for a high school reunion. Lee decides to take the trophy over to aunt's, thinking the group would like to see it again. That is so far from the truth, as there is a 45 year old unsolved murder that is also brought to mind.
That evening, Lee has a bit of a run in with the widow of the late owner of the dance hall. Then a day or two later this widow is on her way to talk to Lee's husband and crashes into a tree. But upon examining the victim it is found that she had a severe blow to the back of the head. And a couple of males drop by to visit the Pier-O-Ettes, univited by the ladies, but they said they were invited Lee's aunt. Lee is soon asking questions about the recent happenings and those from the past.
A night or two later as Lee is leaving her shop she peers into her van and sees someone in it. She screams and they take off running. She attempts to chase them with two slashed tires on her van. To no avail.
To add to the current days mystery, Lee's aunt doesn't want to share too much information from the past that would certainly help solve everything, from both the past and the present. But Lee is a stick to type of young lady and solves the mystesries that have been plaguing Warner Pier.
I really enjoy reading about Lee, and her friends in Warner Pier, MI. Lee manages the day to day activities of the TenHuis Chocolade store in Warner Pier, a store owned by her aunt. Lee is in the process of cleaning a garage out that TenHuis has been using for storage. In doing so she finds a trophy that the Pier-O-Ettes had won at the local dance hall some 45 years ealier. It so happens that the six ladies who made up the group are all in town preparing for a high school reunion. Lee decides to take the trophy over to aunt's, thinking the group would like to see it again. That is so far from the truth, as there is a 45 year old unsolved murder that is also brought to mind.
That evening, Lee has a bit of a run in with the widow of the late owner of the dance hall. Then a day or two later this widow is on her way to talk to Lee's husband and crashes into a tree. But upon examining the victim it is found that she had a severe blow to the back of the head. And a couple of males drop by to visit the Pier-O-Ettes, univited by the ladies, but they said they were invited Lee's aunt. Lee is soon asking questions about the recent happenings and those from the past.
A night or two later as Lee is leaving her shop she peers into her van and sees someone in it. She screams and they take off running. She attempts to chase them with two slashed tires on her van. To no avail.
To add to the current days mystery, Lee's aunt doesn't want to share too much information from the past that would certainly help solve everything, from both the past and the present. But Lee is a stick to type of young lady and solves the mystesries that have been plaguing Warner Pier.
October 17, 2011
Lee and Joe Woodyard get tangled up in the past when Aunt Nettie's singing group from the old days reunites for the High School reunions. Lee had not known about Aunt Nettie even singing, let alone, at a popular ballroom. The Castle Ballroom shut shortly after the owner committed suicide, or did he?
The Ladies gather but so do unexpected guests. Who summoned them and why? The past rises up and becomes a current murder mystery.
Aunt Nettie asks Lee to snoop and find the killer, unknowingly, what Aunt Nettie is doing is putting all their lives at risk. Joe finally has had it with his wife putting herself in danger and that really added some realism to the story. Most husbands/wives would not be so accommodating as Joe has been in the past.
This was a fine mystery and we are given a small tour of chocolate factories around the U.S.A. as information throughout the book.
The Ladies gather but so do unexpected guests. Who summoned them and why? The past rises up and becomes a current murder mystery.
Aunt Nettie asks Lee to snoop and find the killer, unknowingly, what Aunt Nettie is doing is putting all their lives at risk. Joe finally has had it with his wife putting herself in danger and that really added some realism to the story. Most husbands/wives would not be so accommodating as Joe has been in the past.
This was a fine mystery and we are given a small tour of chocolate factories around the U.S.A. as information throughout the book.
April 25, 2019
I got this book for free last year for completing the grownup library summer reading program. The choices for the free book were limited, but I had read and enjoyed a couple others in this series in the past. My adult child laughed at my selection, though, said that culinary fiction books should be banned and started listing all the stereotypes in the subgenre. It was funny to me how many she guessed right, including that the main character had a failed romantic relationship in the past and that there's a sort of motherly advice figure in the series (an aunt.)
So, after the adult child's put-downs of it (who had not read it), it's taken me nearly a year to pick it back up and actually read it. I wanted to read it before said child comes home from college and caught me reading it. I suppose I've skipped over several books in the series. For the most part, I did enjoy it, stereotypes or no. For one thing, Lee was no longer asking for romantic advice, although perhaps she needed it, and the aunt herself was neither giving advice nor acting informative. She wanted Lee's sleuthing help on old high school friends, to a point, but then, of course, Lee couldn't stop.
I don't think the stereotypes bother me as long as there's a mystery worth trying to solve.
I did guess one of the whodunits, but not the other, although maybe I should have.
Unlike the others I've read, this particular book in the series did not make me want to eat chocolate. I don't know if that's because the chocolates were less central to the theme, although still present, or if it was because it's after Easter, when, yes, I'd already eaten some chocolate.
In Lee's argument with her husband, Joe, and the resulting hurt feelings, it's not apparent whether Lee's too busy investigating the crime to pursue reconciliation, or whether they simply don't know how to do it. Another reviewer thought that the way Lee handled the argument - pouting, not talking to her husband about it - was more like an adolescent than an adult, married woman. That made me laugh, because yes, while that's true, unfortunately some real-life married women haven't developed emotionally beyond that state.
In the end, Lee ... SPOILER ... just decided to drop the argument and not hold it against Joe. That's definitely a valid way of ending an argument, if one can do so emotionally honestly, without inner resentment and turmoil. And I think that Lee could, because she seemed to understand what the trigger was and why it affected her so and because Joe was caught doing something equally as stupid, which, perhaps, eased Lee's self-recriminations.
I was a little concerned over them about it, though, wondering if they knew how to talk through a difficulty, especially as Lee never told Joe why it had hurt her so, or at least not in this book. It made me wonder if he'd unknowingly stumble into that trap again. Or maybe have some vague notion of it's being taboo without understanding why.
Not that calling someone stupid is ever OK, and that was something he'd never apologized for, but seemed happy to move past it. I don't think he intended to hurt Lee, but got caught up in the fear of the moment of what she'd done. I haven't read enough of these books in the series to know if put-downs were a continual problem with him, but I don't think they were. I think it was just a one-time slip-up. I do realize that some families tend to think that name-calling is more normal or okay than ours, but we tend to hold that it's not a valid part of any argument. It doesn't work through the issues but brings unnecessary hurt. It doesn't lead towards reconciliation but away from it.
A different reviewer thought that Joe's one-time slip-up added some realism to their relationship, because, to this point, Joe had been "overly accommodating" of Lee and the dangerousness of her sleuthing. I had not considered that before, that perhaps his frustration with Lee over these types of incidents had been mounting, and that perhaps his slip-up uncovered a greater fear and frustration than this single instance. We won't know whether this reviewer's right unless we read further along in the series and see if it becomes a deeper theme or underlying current. I did know a police officer's wife whose continual fear for his safety eventually got the better of her, and they ended in divorce. So it could be a real concern and with significant repercussions.
Margo's relationship with her sister Kathy also troubled me some and annoyed me some, but as I didn't fully understand Kathy's mental difficulties, I don't feel I can comment knowledgeably on the subject. It did make me wonder, however, if the author didn't fully understand them herself. It was not Kathy's mental problems that annoyed me, but Margo's handling of them.
So, after the adult child's put-downs of it (who had not read it), it's taken me nearly a year to pick it back up and actually read it. I wanted to read it before said child comes home from college and caught me reading it. I suppose I've skipped over several books in the series. For the most part, I did enjoy it, stereotypes or no. For one thing, Lee was no longer asking for romantic advice, although perhaps she needed it, and the aunt herself was neither giving advice nor acting informative. She wanted Lee's sleuthing help on old high school friends, to a point, but then, of course, Lee couldn't stop.
I don't think the stereotypes bother me as long as there's a mystery worth trying to solve.
I did guess one of the whodunits, but not the other, although maybe I should have.
Unlike the others I've read, this particular book in the series did not make me want to eat chocolate. I don't know if that's because the chocolates were less central to the theme, although still present, or if it was because it's after Easter, when, yes, I'd already eaten some chocolate.
In Lee's argument with her husband, Joe, and the resulting hurt feelings, it's not apparent whether Lee's too busy investigating the crime to pursue reconciliation, or whether they simply don't know how to do it. Another reviewer thought that the way Lee handled the argument - pouting, not talking to her husband about it - was more like an adolescent than an adult, married woman. That made me laugh, because yes, while that's true, unfortunately some real-life married women haven't developed emotionally beyond that state.
In the end, Lee ... SPOILER ... just decided to drop the argument and not hold it against Joe. That's definitely a valid way of ending an argument, if one can do so emotionally honestly, without inner resentment and turmoil. And I think that Lee could, because she seemed to understand what the trigger was and why it affected her so and because Joe was caught doing something equally as stupid, which, perhaps, eased Lee's self-recriminations.
I was a little concerned over them about it, though, wondering if they knew how to talk through a difficulty, especially as Lee never told Joe why it had hurt her so, or at least not in this book. It made me wonder if he'd unknowingly stumble into that trap again. Or maybe have some vague notion of it's being taboo without understanding why.
Not that calling someone stupid is ever OK, and that was something he'd never apologized for, but seemed happy to move past it. I don't think he intended to hurt Lee, but got caught up in the fear of the moment of what she'd done. I haven't read enough of these books in the series to know if put-downs were a continual problem with him, but I don't think they were. I think it was just a one-time slip-up. I do realize that some families tend to think that name-calling is more normal or okay than ours, but we tend to hold that it's not a valid part of any argument. It doesn't work through the issues but brings unnecessary hurt. It doesn't lead towards reconciliation but away from it.
A different reviewer thought that Joe's one-time slip-up added some realism to their relationship, because, to this point, Joe had been "overly accommodating" of Lee and the dangerousness of her sleuthing. I had not considered that before, that perhaps his frustration with Lee over these types of incidents had been mounting, and that perhaps his slip-up uncovered a greater fear and frustration than this single instance. We won't know whether this reviewer's right unless we read further along in the series and see if it becomes a deeper theme or underlying current. I did know a police officer's wife whose continual fear for his safety eventually got the better of her, and they ended in divorce. So it could be a real concern and with significant repercussions.
Margo's relationship with her sister Kathy also troubled me some and annoyed me some, but as I didn't fully understand Kathy's mental difficulties, I don't feel I can comment knowledgeably on the subject. It did make me wonder, however, if the author didn't fully understand them herself. It was not Kathy's mental problems that annoyed me, but Margo's handling of them.
May 1, 2022
While Lee is cleaning out the storage room, she comes across an old trophy belonging to her Aunt. Just in time too, as her Aunt's class reunion is coming up and she is hosting some friends for the week. Why then, is the discovery of the trophy such a horrible reminder to the group? Exactly what happened 45 years ago that is still a problem in the present? And who is out to kill Lee when she tries to investigate a crime that happened around that time?
May 4, 2020
Lee Woodyard finds an old trophy while cleaning out her aunt's garage that dredges up a 40-year-old murder mystery. But finding the solution to the unsolved murder is turning out to be just as deadly today.
Why are the first pages such an info dump if this is the 11th book in the series? I'd been looking forward to these mid-series books specifically because I'd been hoping to avoid this issue. And Michigan, Michigan, Michigan. Screw Michigan. It doesn't even go out of the way to flatter it like Buzz Off , it just sticks the word in constantly: Michigan wine, Michigan's pioneers, Michigan fall, Michigan natives, Lake Michigan, University of Michigan, Michigan State. You know, a setting is established by description. Name dropping the state and expecting that to be enough is just lazy. Plus it had the effect of making it sound less and less like a real word every time it came up. Try it: MichiganMichiganMichiganMichiganMichigan...
After that last paragraph you must be pretty sick of hearing that word by now, right? Tell me about it.
The quirk of the day is aphasia: substituting the wrong words in sentences. It only flares up when she's nervous, much the same way stutterers can have relapses despite successful speech therapy. I mistook the first time a word was substituted for a Freudian slip that I missed the relevance of, but nope, she's just changing words at random. 'Blue' instead of 'true', etc. It can be very frustrating and for Lee it ties into a childhood trauma involving being called stupid. It's so bad that she's been to therapy about it and shuts down when her husband gets mad and uses the word. But while she frets over this appropriately, her husband apparently isn't aware of this problem. He never apologizes or shows remorse for saying something so damaging, and she just concludes at the end of the book that if he ever calls her stupid again she'll just choose to not hear it. Pretty sure that's not how the brain works.
But despite that choose-not-to-hear-it nonsense it's a pretty cool idea for a quirk, with one little problem. It adds nothing to the narrative until she slips and the changed word accidentally makes the person she's talking to think she knows more than she does. That is the only way that quirk can be used to add to a story. Why give a character a quirk that only ties into the plot if it's used the same way every time?
The whole plot was driven by my least favorite device: coincidence (she's cleaning out a garage and finds a trophy with ties to an old murder mystery, on the same day that the people involved in the mystery are reuniting for the first time in four decades). The murderer and the murder plot were clever and crafty, and were the most enjoyable part of the book, but the identity of the killer was obvious. The clues were as subtle as a Plumbob over a Sims character.
THE VERDICT? The murder plot was great fun and the characters involved were all fascinating and engaging. But sadly, the characters involved in the murder plot were the over-sixty crowd in town for the high school reunion. The series main characters were completely uninteresting and they were the ones we were following. I'd say it's a pass.
Why are the first pages such an info dump if this is the 11th book in the series? I'd been looking forward to these mid-series books specifically because I'd been hoping to avoid this issue. And Michigan, Michigan, Michigan. Screw Michigan. It doesn't even go out of the way to flatter it like Buzz Off , it just sticks the word in constantly: Michigan wine, Michigan's pioneers, Michigan fall, Michigan natives, Lake Michigan, University of Michigan, Michigan State. You know, a setting is established by description. Name dropping the state and expecting that to be enough is just lazy. Plus it had the effect of making it sound less and less like a real word every time it came up. Try it: MichiganMichiganMichiganMichiganMichigan...
After that last paragraph you must be pretty sick of hearing that word by now, right? Tell me about it.
The quirk of the day is aphasia: substituting the wrong words in sentences. It only flares up when she's nervous, much the same way stutterers can have relapses despite successful speech therapy. I mistook the first time a word was substituted for a Freudian slip that I missed the relevance of, but nope, she's just changing words at random. 'Blue' instead of 'true', etc. It can be very frustrating and for Lee it ties into a childhood trauma involving being called stupid. It's so bad that she's been to therapy about it and shuts down when her husband gets mad and uses the word. But while she frets over this appropriately, her husband apparently isn't aware of this problem. He never apologizes or shows remorse for saying something so damaging, and she just concludes at the end of the book that if he ever calls her stupid again she'll just choose to not hear it. Pretty sure that's not how the brain works.
But despite that choose-not-to-hear-it nonsense it's a pretty cool idea for a quirk, with one little problem. It adds nothing to the narrative until she slips and the changed word accidentally makes the person she's talking to think she knows more than she does. That is the only way that quirk can be used to add to a story. Why give a character a quirk that only ties into the plot if it's used the same way every time?
The whole plot was driven by my least favorite device: coincidence (she's cleaning out a garage and finds a trophy with ties to an old murder mystery, on the same day that the people involved in the mystery are reuniting for the first time in four decades). The murderer and the murder plot were clever and crafty, and were the most enjoyable part of the book, but the identity of the killer was obvious. The clues were as subtle as a Plumbob over a Sims character.
THE VERDICT? The murder plot was great fun and the characters involved were all fascinating and engaging. But sadly, the characters involved in the murder plot were the over-sixty crowd in town for the high school reunion. The series main characters were completely uninteresting and they were the ones we were following. I'd say it's a pass.
February 7, 2013
This was a borderline 3 rating. Lee Woodward is the owner of TenHuis Chocolade in Warner Pier, Michigan. She is cleaning out some old file cabinets and finds a box of photographs and a trophy from the Castle Ballroom. Her aunt Nettie is hosting a reunion of her former schoolmates with whom she performed as the Pir-O-Ettes, a local singing group. Lee takes the box to show the women but their reaction is confusing. One of the women screams and runs when she sees the trophy and Lee soon learns that the owner of the Castle was killed on the same evening that the Pir-O-Ettes won the trophy. His death was ruled a suicide but his widow, Verna Rice, is still trying to prove that it was murder. When Mrs. Rice is killed herself, Lee begins to look into the death of both her and her husband. This was an OK mystery. I was kind of annoyed by some of Lee's attitudes and the mystery was very obvious but it was OK.
February 14, 2019
This was a cute story. You can tell the author loves chocolate by the amount of detail she puts into the taste, color and sheen on every chocolate item you encounter in the book. There are also "chocolate tips" every few chapters telling you about a famous chocolate makers in the US and how their product differs from others.
The book tends to lean toward the juvenille side of writing. The main character is prone to bouts of pouting and generally rebellious attitude toward the situations she's put in or the people she's working with.
I did like the mystery that they uncovered. It took them a long time to unfurl such a small mystery, but that's the fun of cute, short reads like this. No commitment and no fear of having to read all the rest of the books in the series. I just picked it up, and enjoyed it!
The book tends to lean toward the juvenille side of writing. The main character is prone to bouts of pouting and generally rebellious attitude toward the situations she's put in or the people she's working with.
I did like the mystery that they uncovered. It took them a long time to unfurl such a small mystery, but that's the fun of cute, short reads like this. No commitment and no fear of having to read all the rest of the books in the series. I just picked it up, and enjoyed it!
December 4, 2011
I don't know about you, but for me a good cozy is such a great comfort read. This was my first introduction to JoAnna Carl's writing but it certainly will not be my last. I loved the whole idea of running a chocolate shop (I adore chocolate) and the added plus for me was having the story take place in Michigan. The characters weren't over the top and believe it or not Lee actually did stop herself from recklessly going into danger! Gasp! I know....sometimes cozies make us suspend belief but this one didn't have to do that...and I honestly enjoyed the afternoon I spent while immersed in Warner Pier. The added bonus were the side notes between chapters about chocolate shops within the U.S. that JoAnna has visited while writing this series.
November 4, 2011
Lee's 60-ish Aunt Nettie is hosting a reunion of her high school singing group - the Pier-o-ettes. Forty years ago, they had worked at the Castle Ballroom, which was closed down when the owner died of a gunshot wound. During the reunion weekend, the owner's widow was shot. The Pier-o-ettes and Lee are reluctantly involved in the investigation of both murders. This was a fun read with the usual JoAnna Carl twist at the end.
March 2, 2014
Lee Woodyard finds herself in another case when a reunion of her aunt's old high school singing group leads to a murder. As always, I love these characters and the plot moves forward very quickly. The definition of a light but fun mystery
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
January 10, 2016
A very interesting mystery. One where chocolate at your side is needed. The senior characters were an added feature. The author held you tnterest till the end. I will read more of this series. Love these cost mysteries.
October 12, 2013
This is a fun, silly read!
December 21, 2019
A friend sent me this book in a box of books. We've both read other books in the series, though I don't think either of us has read all of them that came prior to this one.
The cover says "with tasty chocolate trivia" but I thought the items in this book were less that than in some of the other books I read. In this book most of the "trivia" consisted of listing locations that have chocolate connections--though only 4 or 5 are listed and I can think of at least 2 that were not included: Harry London Chocolates of Ohio and Ghiaradelli chocolates in California.
WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
*****
Lee and Dolly are cleaning out a garage storage unit and find some of Lee's Aunt Nettie's high school mementos, coincidentally at the same time that there is a reunion of the high school group with which Aunt Nettie sang.
Most of the history centers around a place called "The Castle" that once was a big-deal family-oriented entertainment place in Warner Pier, MI. The Castle went into foreclosure after one of its owners, Dick Rice, died. His wife, Verna, has fought for 40-plus years, insisting that his death was accidental, rather than a suicide or murder. Verna thinks she's found new information, but she dies on her way to tell/show it to Joe (Lee's husband).
I guessed who stalked Lee long before the author revealed it. I was a bit surprised that although Lee pepper sprayed the attacker, that fact was not mentioned again for quite a bit. I would think that would be a clue that the police could follow up on. We see that the police question a few people, but there's no mention of them having irritated eyes from being pepper-sprayed. A fact that might have supported their innocence.
Once I knew that, it wasn't that hard to figure out who the killer was.
Lee and Joe: Lee gets upset because Joe (in what I assume was the throes of worry and relief) calls her stupid (though I think he was saying her choices of action were stupid, not that she was stupid). Lee stews over this for quite a bit but never brings it up to him. I can understand her needing a bit of time to cool down and regain her composure--it's always good to not say things in anger or when you're emotionally wrought up. But she never ends up bringing it up to him. It makes me wonder if this is something he already knows (but I don't know he knows because I haven't read the entire series) and just slipped up on this one time in an emotional moment or if the author deliberately chose to save this confrontation for a a future installment. To be fair, Lee says the same thing to both him and her aunt--so maybe she realizes how easy it is to slip up when one is emotionally wrought up and decides to be understanding and forgiving.
The cover says "with tasty chocolate trivia" but I thought the items in this book were less that than in some of the other books I read. In this book most of the "trivia" consisted of listing locations that have chocolate connections--though only 4 or 5 are listed and I can think of at least 2 that were not included: Harry London Chocolates of Ohio and Ghiaradelli chocolates in California.
WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
*****
Lee and Dolly are cleaning out a garage storage unit and find some of Lee's Aunt Nettie's high school mementos, coincidentally at the same time that there is a reunion of the high school group with which Aunt Nettie sang.
Most of the history centers around a place called "The Castle" that once was a big-deal family-oriented entertainment place in Warner Pier, MI. The Castle went into foreclosure after one of its owners, Dick Rice, died. His wife, Verna, has fought for 40-plus years, insisting that his death was accidental, rather than a suicide or murder. Verna thinks she's found new information, but she dies on her way to tell/show it to Joe (Lee's husband).
I guessed who stalked Lee long before the author revealed it. I was a bit surprised that although Lee pepper sprayed the attacker, that fact was not mentioned again for quite a bit. I would think that would be a clue that the police could follow up on. We see that the police question a few people, but there's no mention of them having irritated eyes from being pepper-sprayed. A fact that might have supported their innocence.
Once I knew that, it wasn't that hard to figure out who the killer was.
Lee and Joe: Lee gets upset because Joe (in what I assume was the throes of worry and relief) calls her stupid (though I think he was saying her choices of action were stupid, not that she was stupid). Lee stews over this for quite a bit but never brings it up to him. I can understand her needing a bit of time to cool down and regain her composure--it's always good to not say things in anger or when you're emotionally wrought up. But she never ends up bringing it up to him. It makes me wonder if this is something he already knows (but I don't know he knows because I haven't read the entire series) and just slipped up on this one time in an emotional moment or if the author deliberately chose to save this confrontation for a a future installment. To be fair, Lee says the same thing to both him and her aunt--so maybe she realizes how easy it is to slip up when one is emotionally wrought up and decides to be understanding and forgiving.
May 28, 2024
Many times in cozy mysteries the protagonist takes on risky behaviour to "solve their case" though they are not police. Lee chases a man who was hiding in her car through alleys, yes dark alleys, though the police on the 911 call are telling her to stop. Then gets in her car which is listing seriously and continues to chase, with 911 still yelling at her, and doesn't realize she's ruining her rims. When husband Joe gets to her and tells her it was stupid instead of praising her bravery, she is offended and sulks for the rest of the book about being called stupid (yes, I did read the backstory on why stupid bothers her so). It was one of the most annoying scenes in a book I've ever read - and I have read thousands of cozies - and not accepting that she would have ruined everyone's life had something happened to her and just sulking made it more annoying. Authors, please tone down the stupidity
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July 27, 2017Forty years ago, the Castle Ballroom was the hot spot in town. It was also the scene of a police investigation when the owner was found shot to death. It was a case that was never solved. Now, Lee’s Aunt Nettie is hosting a reunion of her old high school singing group who won a trophy at The Castle. When Lee discovers their old trophy hidden away in a locked file cabinet, she triggers a series of events that seem to be directly influenced by the events at The Castle so long ago.
KD 7-17
Check out this book today!
KD 7-17
Check out this book today!
January 23, 2023
2.5 rounded up to 3.
Ummmm... would have been so good if there was actually chocolate in it. I love a good cozy, especially a cuisine one. Most cuisine involve them cooking or coming up with recipes, hosting parties or dinners incorporating the food of theme on to it but this one barely did. It barely talked about the chocolate shop.
The mystery was good, as were the characters but I was disappointed it didn't have more of the cuisine theme in it! It did have pages of trivia but they were separate as opposed to being incorporated in. Really kind of a letdown since I love some chocolate and crime solving!
Ummmm... would have been so good if there was actually chocolate in it. I love a good cozy, especially a cuisine one. Most cuisine involve them cooking or coming up with recipes, hosting parties or dinners incorporating the food of theme on to it but this one barely did. It barely talked about the chocolate shop.
The mystery was good, as were the characters but I was disappointed it didn't have more of the cuisine theme in it! It did have pages of trivia but they were separate as opposed to being incorporated in. Really kind of a letdown since I love some chocolate and crime solving!
July 27, 2017
The Castle Ballroom was one of the hottest places in Warner Pier forty years ago. It was also the scene of a crime that was never solved when the owner was found shot to death. Moving on to the present day, Aune Nettie has invited the members of her high school singing group for a reunion. The Pier-ettes won a trophy at The Castle, a trophy that Lee finds hidden in a locked file drawer. That find seems to trigger a series of events, including murder, that stem from that long ago unsolved crime.
January 25, 2024
Accountant Lee Woodyard gets pulled into a decades-old mystery, involving her Aunt Nettie and her former classmates, as they gather together for their high school reunion in the small vacation town of Warner Pier, Michigan, where Lee helps her aunt run a specialty chocolate shop. There is also a death in present day Warner Pier, that may or may not be connected to the suspicious death in the past.
I enjoyed the two mysteries in this storyline, both past and present, as well as the quaint small town tourist destination setting along Lake Michigan.
I enjoyed the two mysteries in this storyline, both past and present, as well as the quaint small town tourist destination setting along Lake Michigan.
March 2, 2021
I have been enjoying the Chocolate Mystery series by JoAnna Carl. This book was a pleasant, easy read. The only reason that I did not give it 5 stars was that there were a couple of loose ends. Several different money aspects were mentioned and not fully explained in the wrap up at the end. Apart from that, this was a great book that I recommend. All the characters in this particular book are interesting and well defined.
November 18, 2021
I couldn’t figure out how seriously to take this book. That’s probably my biggest gripe. The story seemed fairly intense (like a typical cozy) but then you get side characters tossed in with names like Jerry Cherry and Dolly Jolly — like… why would you do that? It makes this seem more like a comedy than a cozy but it wasn’t actually comedic. I dunno. It just was a bit odd to try and figure out how goofy & comedic it was supposed to be versus how serious (as serious as cozies get, that is).
October 18, 2017
Two and a half stars. The word "chocolate" in the title drew me to this title. The mystery is pretty lightweight but *almost* makes to the three star level. A reunion of a female high school singing group accompanies the death of an unpopular teacher. Is her death tied to the death of her husband 20 years ago?
August 7, 2018
This is the first of this series I have read. I liked uncovering the past. There were lots of layers. There were hints along the way, so the answer wasn’t a total surprise. I would have liked a couple less twists, but it didn’t detract too much from the whole story.
I will be reading from this series again.
I will be reading from this series again.
May 18, 2025
First time reading this author. Did not care for the misuse of words which is probably the character’s trait used in all the other books. Was not liking the character making a big deal of the word stupid being used to describe her actions. The chocolate references mixed in the book were not appreciated by me. I skipped over them. Probably not reading any more books by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2021
Nettie gets old friends together for a reunion, there's a murder linked to back when they were all in High School. This one was just a bit too stretched to be above average. Oh, Joe was right, and there's a difference to being stupid and doing something stupid.
June 18, 2024
Another fun read from this series. No matter how hard Lee tries she gets pulled into a mystery and ultimately danger. Aunt Nettie and her friends join up for a reunion from their old days and old secrets come to light. Good mystery funny moments and great characters.
August 16, 2024
This book reminds us that no mater if it has been 45 years since we got out of High School there is a lot of catching up to do. Aunt Nettie's singing group from high School is back for a reunion and solving a mystery from the last night they sang together.
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