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Chocolate Centered Mystery #24
Peppermint Bark and Peril
Join the chocolate-making sleuths, their lovable pets, and eccentric friends for a fun-filled, puzzling, delicious, Holiday-themed cozy mystery by USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Cindy Bell.
167 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 4, 2024
76 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 15, 2024
This was my review for the previous book in the series, but with slight tweaks, it fits this one too.
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I gave this book 3 stars because I’ve read every book in the series, and generally like the characters. However, it might be time for the series to come to a close. They are all starting to sound like a formula book. This is always what happens:
1. Ally and Charlotte stumble on a mystery in their hometown and start investigating. They often are assisted by other amateur detectives.
2. Ally’s detective husband doesn’t try to stop her from investigating even though she always ends up in danger & he even gives her clues & shares evidence(which doesn’t exactly sound like something a police officer should be doing), and doesn’t get mad when she doesn’t listen to him and continues to investigate even when they manipulate other police officers to do their bidding.
3. They think they have it figured out and jump to the conclusion that it is a certain person. They then put themselves directly into the path of that person. But it ends up being someone else they didn’t expect it to be.
4. They end up in a life-threatening situation with the murderer, and said murderer gives them a full and detailed confession. (Every. Single. Time.)
5. Ally’s husband, frequently aided by Arnold and Peaches, (although admittedly not in this book) finds them and rescues them just in the knick of time. That was only slightly changed in this book as Gabby found them and called Luke.
6. There are always sappy scenes between Abby and Charlotte where she is treating her grandmother like she’s on her last leg. As a senior citizen myself, I find this annoying and unnecessary.
7. I get tired of Ally & Charlotte asking like they are big-hearted kind people when they are “investigating” and telling everyone that they need to tell them the truth…uh no, you aren’t a police officer & no one has to tell you anything.
I don’t think that Luke has ever solved a case by himself. His wife upstages him every time there is a murder or serious crime in town. He is a wimp about stopping her from interfering and inserting herself in the middle of the investigation even though she’s ended up in danger more times than I can count—well this is book 24, so it probably has been 24 times come to think of it. Oh, also I guessed ahead of time whodunnit in this and the last few books in the series. It is usually the one person in the story that gets the least amount of attention in their investigation.
One thing I will add regarding this specific book is that Ally lied to her husband more than once. Didn’t say much for their marriage, does it? Also, the idea that Ally created a sort of sting operation to get all the suspects together & attempt to eavesdrop on them was WAY over the top.
There is a series by Amanda Flower called “The Amish Candy Shop Mystery series” which bears a striking resemblance to this one in that the main character is a candy shop owner involved with a law enforcement officer (I think they got engaged in a recent book), and there is even a pig and cats in it. However, that series is SO much better written than this one is. The stories have a lot more meat to them, the characters are better developed (especially if you read the series in order from Book 1), and the writing is not nearly so simplistic as Cindy Bell’s writing. I have read many of Cindy Bell’s series, but I’m finding myself more and more bored by her books. I still like the Sage Garden series, and the Wagging Tail Cozy Mystery series mostly. Up until now, I mostly liked this one too, even though I shook my head a lot at the way Ally interferes in her husband’s investigations. I find myself more and more falling away from reading this author’s books lately. I think from now on, I will just read them on Kindle Unlimited, and not spend money on them. And if they start being predictable, I won’t feel bad if I don’t finish them. At this point, I may not even read the next one…
Spoiler Alert
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I gave this book 3 stars because I’ve read every book in the series, and generally like the characters. However, it might be time for the series to come to a close. They are all starting to sound like a formula book. This is always what happens:
1. Ally and Charlotte stumble on a mystery in their hometown and start investigating. They often are assisted by other amateur detectives.
2. Ally’s detective husband doesn’t try to stop her from investigating even though she always ends up in danger & he even gives her clues & shares evidence(which doesn’t exactly sound like something a police officer should be doing), and doesn’t get mad when she doesn’t listen to him and continues to investigate even when they manipulate other police officers to do their bidding.
3. They think they have it figured out and jump to the conclusion that it is a certain person. They then put themselves directly into the path of that person. But it ends up being someone else they didn’t expect it to be.
4. They end up in a life-threatening situation with the murderer, and said murderer gives them a full and detailed confession. (Every. Single. Time.)
5. Ally’s husband, frequently aided by Arnold and Peaches, (although admittedly not in this book) finds them and rescues them just in the knick of time. That was only slightly changed in this book as Gabby found them and called Luke.
6. There are always sappy scenes between Abby and Charlotte where she is treating her grandmother like she’s on her last leg. As a senior citizen myself, I find this annoying and unnecessary.
7. I get tired of Ally & Charlotte asking like they are big-hearted kind people when they are “investigating” and telling everyone that they need to tell them the truth…uh no, you aren’t a police officer & no one has to tell you anything.
I don’t think that Luke has ever solved a case by himself. His wife upstages him every time there is a murder or serious crime in town. He is a wimp about stopping her from interfering and inserting herself in the middle of the investigation even though she’s ended up in danger more times than I can count—well this is book 24, so it probably has been 24 times come to think of it. Oh, also I guessed ahead of time whodunnit in this and the last few books in the series. It is usually the one person in the story that gets the least amount of attention in their investigation.
One thing I will add regarding this specific book is that Ally lied to her husband more than once. Didn’t say much for their marriage, does it? Also, the idea that Ally created a sort of sting operation to get all the suspects together & attempt to eavesdrop on them was WAY over the top.
There is a series by Amanda Flower called “The Amish Candy Shop Mystery series” which bears a striking resemblance to this one in that the main character is a candy shop owner involved with a law enforcement officer (I think they got engaged in a recent book), and there is even a pig and cats in it. However, that series is SO much better written than this one is. The stories have a lot more meat to them, the characters are better developed (especially if you read the series in order from Book 1), and the writing is not nearly so simplistic as Cindy Bell’s writing. I have read many of Cindy Bell’s series, but I’m finding myself more and more bored by her books. I still like the Sage Garden series, and the Wagging Tail Cozy Mystery series mostly. Up until now, I mostly liked this one too, even though I shook my head a lot at the way Ally interferes in her husband’s investigations. I find myself more and more falling away from reading this author’s books lately. I think from now on, I will just read them on Kindle Unlimited, and not spend money on them. And if they start being predictable, I won’t feel bad if I don’t finish them. At this point, I may not even read the next one…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2025
Nasty Real Estate Agent Gets His Due?
"Peppermint Bark and Peril" is Book 24 of Cindy Bell's A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery series. I am probably starting to sound like a broken record with most of my reviews, but this is another one of my favorite series' to read. I love Ally, her grandmother Charlotte, Ally's sheriff husband Luke, their two pets - Peaches the cat and Arnold the pot-belly pig - and every other good character in the series. The murder suspects are lifelike bios, with excellent physical and psychological makeups. This episode is about a nasty real estate agent who is murdered. I am not sorry that he was killed; it was bound to happen sooner or later because he ripped people off, threw elderly people out on the streets, blackmailed people, and yelled at just about every client. There were many suspects, including family members, real estate clients and their family members, and even mobster-types. It took Ally, Charlotte, Luke, and Ally's friend and employee Gabby, to capture the real killer and save the day. I gave this book 5 stars. If you haven't read any of the books in this series, begin with Book 1 and binge read the entire series in chronological order. You will be glad you did. I gave this book and the entire series a 5 star rating.
"Peppermint Bark and Peril" is Book 24 of Cindy Bell's A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery series. I am probably starting to sound like a broken record with most of my reviews, but this is another one of my favorite series' to read. I love Ally, her grandmother Charlotte, Ally's sheriff husband Luke, their two pets - Peaches the cat and Arnold the pot-belly pig - and every other good character in the series. The murder suspects are lifelike bios, with excellent physical and psychological makeups. This episode is about a nasty real estate agent who is murdered. I am not sorry that he was killed; it was bound to happen sooner or later because he ripped people off, threw elderly people out on the streets, blackmailed people, and yelled at just about every client. There were many suspects, including family members, real estate clients and their family members, and even mobster-types. It took Ally, Charlotte, Luke, and Ally's friend and employee Gabby, to capture the real killer and save the day. I gave this book 5 stars. If you haven't read any of the books in this series, begin with Book 1 and binge read the entire series in chronological order. You will be glad you did. I gave this book and the entire series a 5 star rating.
December 31, 2024
I read this to the end. The ending was an amalgamation of every clue - wait...maybe the kitchen sink was also thrown in! I was not impressed.
Amazon synopsis:
It’s almost Christmas and Ally and Charlotte are flat out making delicious chocolate creations, filling Christmas orders, and spending time with their lovable pot-bellied pig Arnold and cheeky cat Peaches.
But when the local real estate agent is murdered, they end up juggling chocolate making with snooping to try and help catch the killer.
The three quirky chocolate shop regulars Mrs. Bing, Mrs. Cale, and Mrs. White, put on their sleuthing hats to lend a helping hand. But the victim had a lot of enemies, and with the suspects and clues piling up, the murder is proving difficult to untangle.
Ally and the gang head straight toward danger and find themselves in a race against time to find the murderer before there’s another victim.
Amazon synopsis:
It’s almost Christmas and Ally and Charlotte are flat out making delicious chocolate creations, filling Christmas orders, and spending time with their lovable pot-bellied pig Arnold and cheeky cat Peaches.
But when the local real estate agent is murdered, they end up juggling chocolate making with snooping to try and help catch the killer.
The three quirky chocolate shop regulars Mrs. Bing, Mrs. Cale, and Mrs. White, put on their sleuthing hats to lend a helping hand. But the victim had a lot of enemies, and with the suspects and clues piling up, the murder is proving difficult to untangle.
Ally and the gang head straight toward danger and find themselves in a race against time to find the murderer before there’s another victim.
December 15, 2024
It all begins with a dead realtor that nobody liked. Then it’s the chocolate makers to the rescue! The suspects included a disgruntled homebuyer that was tricked into buying a money pit, a fellow realtor wanting to get rid of the competition, an angry son of an old man the victim was evicting, and siblings that were purposely cut out of the will. It really could be any one of them. But who? That’s what this reader wanted to find out. The new peppermint bark cookies might be just the key here.
This was another good mystery by one of my favorite authors. I must admit that there were a few too many suspects here. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of all of them (I couldn’t really remember who was who.)
Overall, this was a nice read though.
This was another good mystery by one of my favorite authors. I must admit that there were a few too many suspects here. Sometimes it was hard to keep track of all of them (I couldn’t really remember who was who.)
Overall, this was a nice read though.
December 8, 2024
Back to the chocolate shop with MeeMaw and Ally to solve a new murder in town. When Perry, the not well liked real estate agent, is found dead there is no lack of suspects. This story goes through many twists and turns as we work to find the killer and solve the mystery. This is a great cozy mystery and an entertaining read.
December 2, 2024
Mee maw, Ally, Luke and the gang need to figure out who killed Perry the greedy real estate agent.
Lots of twists and turns, and a surprise ending... It's rare I don't figure it all out much sooner!
Lots of twists and turns, and a surprise ending... It's rare I don't figure it all out much sooner!
January 30, 2025
Another cozy mystery in this series. It has all the feels and good main characters that make a good cozy mystery and always a twist in the end that I never saw coming.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews