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A Chocoholic Mystery #1
The Chocolate Cat Caper
After giving up her career as a Texas trophy wife, 28-year-old Lee McKinney finds herself in a Michigan resort town, keeping the books for her Aunt Nettie’s luxury chocolate business. But she soon finds that her new life isn’t all truffles and bonbons!
Clementine Ripley, the defense attorney everyone loves to hate, is throwing a party that calls for several thousand dollars worth of custom chocolates -- some made in the image of her champion cat. Lee jumps at the job, but sweet success takes a bitter turn when someone adds an extra ingredient -- cyanide -- to one of their delicious chocolates and it finds its way into Ms. Ripley’s mouth. Now it’s up to Lee to figure out who tampered with Aunt Nettie’s recipe before they find themselves behind not-so-chocolate bars.
INCLUDES YUMMY CHOCOLATE TRIVIA!
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
135 people are currently reading
4566 people want to read
About the author
JoAnna Carl
34 books434 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 339 reviews
June 29, 2012
A very predictable and non-descript mystery. Everything is predictable about this novel. The murders, the murderers, the weapon, the motive everything even the romance is predictable.
But even then I would have been willing to give it three stars since it was an easy read and somewhat enjoyable. If not for the annoying non-consistent speech impediment or is it a brain impediment from the main character. When she is tense she says the wrong words, but when she is kidnapped all of a sudden she has no problems whatsoever.
Furthermore I find it very annoying that she is constently explaining how the chocolats that are mentioned are being made with technical terms etc. Like she is showing of her knowledge. She is referring to Dutch terms and words which I as a native Dutch person, who still lives in the Netherlands don't even recognize as a Dutch word, because of the spelling and lettercombinations. I even tried to find the words because the might be specific to the chocolate trade but I couldn't find them anywhere.
What is also very annoying is that throughout the book there are facts about chocolate. They are mentioned on a seperate page and can be skipped it you want to and please do skip them. Some of them are outright lies. I have a degree in precolumbian Archaeology with a focus on Mexico. That means I know a bit about the Aztecs and the conquest of Mexico. The facts she tells about that are simple hilarious and not true, which makes me think about the ones I don't know anything about. She also doesn't reveal her sources for these facts.
But even then I would have been willing to give it three stars since it was an easy read and somewhat enjoyable. If not for the annoying non-consistent speech impediment or is it a brain impediment from the main character. When she is tense she says the wrong words, but when she is kidnapped all of a sudden she has no problems whatsoever.
Furthermore I find it very annoying that she is constently explaining how the chocolats that are mentioned are being made with technical terms etc. Like she is showing of her knowledge. She is referring to Dutch terms and words which I as a native Dutch person, who still lives in the Netherlands don't even recognize as a Dutch word, because of the spelling and lettercombinations. I even tried to find the words because the might be specific to the chocolate trade but I couldn't find them anywhere.
What is also very annoying is that throughout the book there are facts about chocolate. They are mentioned on a seperate page and can be skipped it you want to and please do skip them. Some of them are outright lies. I have a degree in precolumbian Archaeology with a focus on Mexico. That means I know a bit about the Aztecs and the conquest of Mexico. The facts she tells about that are simple hilarious and not true, which makes me think about the ones I don't know anything about. She also doesn't reveal her sources for these facts.
November 27, 2011
Well, huh. I've been reading quite a few cozy mysteries lately. Why is it that the "heroine" of them all has just gotten out of an awful relationship and has moved back to a small town? I mean, I guess the small town is part of the cozy mystery genre, but do all the female leads have to be the same template? This one started out okay. I was kinda into it, though Lee kind of annoyed me. At least she wasn't short, like most of the heroines in these books. That's at least one difference. The culprit seemed pretty obvious very early on. You just knew who it was going to be, if not the why of it. Constantly calling some stupid cat "Champion" Yonkers the entire time was hella annoying as well. It's a cat. Who cares? Oh well. When I started this, I thought I might read more of them, but now I could care less.
July 26, 2018
Ever since giving up on the Hannah Swensen murder mystery series, I have been looking for a replacement. Even if the books end up getting awful like Fluke's series did, at least I would have some to fill up the time or help me when I feel slumpy. Two of my favorite things are present here: chocolate and cats, so I thought it was a shoe-in. I am beyond disappointed and honestly, I'm downright irritated. Whoever let this get published, let it get published with SO many typos. One of the characters got a bob job. There were at least 6 or 7 typos that I caught. Some my brain rearranged correctly, I'm sure. I don't know how to feel about the MC's speech impediment where she mixes up words...although I feel it may be more of an anxiety thing, it is described as being like dyslexia. I don't know. I found it strange and out of place and never really handled well at all. Almost all of the characters were described in a condescending, negative manner. Most of the characters were described as being overweight....in many different ways....like, seriously, most of the characters are "plump" or "have put on at least 20 pounds since high school". One girl who really has no weight (no pun intended) in the plot is described as having stringy hair. It all seems so vicious for absolutely no reason. The MC finds the character Joe to be rude and I honestly did not see any poor manners or rudeness from him. The only clues given that he was rude were in how the MC reacted...not how he acted. Then there were the accents. UGH. I was NOT a fan of how dumbed down the Texas accent was made...I have family members from Texas and friends from Texas and none of them sound like a redneck, Hills Have Eyes type. The author spelled out the drawl in such an exaggerated manner and it seemed super offensive. But that doesn't even touch on the local man of Mexican descent, who when nervous, had more of his accent come out. Holy racism, Batman. All-in-all, I could not stand the main character, Lee, and the story didn't have enough draw to really pull me in. Had it not been for the OWLs readathon, I would have DNF'd this book.
April 30, 2021
A delicious beginner to a series. I quite enjoyed the characters. Even though I mostly had figured out who had done it, I still rather enjoyed the plot. Would totally recommend (especially for anyone with a sweet tooth), and I'm looking forward to more in the series.
March 7, 2016
I'm interested in reading more in this series. The second book, which I read a year ago, felt different to this one. I want to know which new characters the author introduces in the third and beyond. Even though I like cozy mysteries, I have to say it's the most difficult subgenre ever in my reading experience. E.g it's more difficult than science fiction. Unlike science fiction however, it doesn't promise an awesomesauce lot and fails to deliver. That's why I'm sticking to the cozy mysteries for the next few books I chalked up to read.
As for this book it got more obscure after three quarter through it. They didn't focus on Marion's murder at all. Was it a murder? Someone enlighten me here. Why did she have to die? The plot's a bit absurd. The rushing plan, and the impatience and improvisation from the villains were, on second thoughts, ill thought of. Anyway now that I've come to expect definite parameters to this genre, I'm prepared to give it a real run in my readership. Even if it means reading 3/5 books for the rest of my life.
As for this book it got more obscure after three quarter through it. They didn't focus on Marion's murder at all. Was it a murder? Someone enlighten me here. Why did she have to die? The plot's a bit absurd. The rushing plan, and the impatience and improvisation from the villains were, on second thoughts, ill thought of. Anyway now that I've come to expect definite parameters to this genre, I'm prepared to give it a real run in my readership. Even if it means reading 3/5 books for the rest of my life.
November 17, 2024
you would think, after twenty two full years, they would be able to update all the typos in this. did editors not exist in 2002??? a character got a bob job??? seriously???? there was one paragraph that was just “we went inside. aunt nettie smiled and locked the door. we went inside and locked the door.” hmmm. im getting the vibe they went inside and locked the door, idk though. cant tell.
grammar sucks, main character was annoying, hard to read as a michigander. do not recommend 🙅🏻♀️
grammar sucks, main character was annoying, hard to read as a michigander. do not recommend 🙅🏻♀️
August 5, 2024
Didn’t finish. Didn’t understand the whole Texas Michigan thing. Liked how the author highlighted different ancestories or cultures such as Dutch etc. Just didn’t like the characters and the mystery became boring for me. And to think this series supposedly goes on and on.
August 11, 2015
After divorcing from her husband, 28 year old Lee McKinney moves back to Michigan to the small town of Warner Pier, to help her Aunt Nettie with her accounts of her chocolate business called TenHuis Chocolade. Her first week back, is very eventful. She brings the order of $2000 worth of chocolate to the town's defense attorney Clementine Ripley who everyone loves to hate. She goes to speak to Ripley's assistant who says she will give them a check, when Ripley's Visa Card is declined. At the house she meets Joe Woodyard who she finds out is the ex husband of Ripley and they have been divorced for a few years now. She returns to the Ripley mansion later on that day to help her friend, attend the party that Ripley was having. While there, Lee sees the death of Ripley from eating a poisoned chocolate! Because of that, Lee and her Aunt are suspects in her death, because the knew Nettie hatred of Ripley for getting the drunk driver off who killed her husband. But it seems a lot of people in the town had a hatred or dislike for the late Clementine Ripley, and all of them have motive.
I'll admit I didn't figure out who the killer was until Lee did. Though I was half right. Lee took me a while to get use because of her speech impediment when she is nervous. She says the wrong word. I must admit that wasn't relateable or quirky to me in the beginning and while it seems annoyed me later in the story, I am hoping in won't bother me as I get more into the series. I did really enjoy the first book. The romance was cute to me and I loved how they decided to take things slow. I had already known Lee and Joe would get together at some point though I didn't think it would happen in the first book. And I already placed a hold on the second at my job.
I'll admit I didn't figure out who the killer was until Lee did. Though I was half right. Lee took me a while to get use because of her speech impediment when she is nervous. She says the wrong word. I must admit that wasn't relateable or quirky to me in the beginning and while it seems annoyed me later in the story, I am hoping in won't bother me as I get more into the series. I did really enjoy the first book. The romance was cute to me and I loved how they decided to take things slow. I had already known Lee and Joe would get together at some point though I didn't think it would happen in the first book. And I already placed a hold on the second at my job.
March 12, 2018
It took me awhile to get to this book and I now regret that choice. Yes, it's the first in a rather lengthy series, but I enjoyed the characters and the setting for a cozy mystery. We get our typical small-town setting with a woman starting over after *insert life-changing moment here*. She's single, but not ready to mingle, and murder and mayhem make it even harder for her to consider flirting, yet apparently she manages it.
I didn't feel like the emotional side was as well developed as it could have been because I didn't notice any chemistry at all between characters until they kissed. Which completely took me by surprise. Fair enough, since this is a cozy mystery and not romantic suspense.
Loved the chocolate shop as well as the bits of chocolate history/lore/etc that is inserted in the story as well as between chapters.
I didn't feel like the emotional side was as well developed as it could have been because I didn't notice any chemistry at all between characters until they kissed. Which completely took me by surprise. Fair enough, since this is a cozy mystery and not romantic suspense.
Loved the chocolate shop as well as the bits of chocolate history/lore/etc that is inserted in the story as well as between chapters.
January 14, 2018
The descriptions of the chocolates were mouth wateringly delicious, the rest not so much. I didn't find myself interested in any of the stories characters and I found the heroine annoying. The author gave her a working memory disorder so she tends to use words inappropriately then correct herself. This combined with an over use of exclamation points and weird names (TenHuis Chocolate, Deputy Jerry Cherry) is jarring and makes for choppy reading.
The story moves like a Saturday morning cartoon. Parts of it make no sense or were to convenient. At the end I expected to hear "Jinkies it was Mr X all along." and "I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
The story moves like a Saturday morning cartoon. Parts of it make no sense or were to convenient. At the end I expected to hear "Jinkies it was Mr X all along." and "I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
May 16, 2023
This book was okay. Not awful but not super engaging either. I enjoyed learning some interesting chocolate facts and how to make chocolate confections like truffles and bonbons. The characters were alright, the mystery was just okay. There was something off about the dialogue which made the conversations too clunky. The romance was kind of just there. I don't know. I just couldn't get invested in this story or the characters. I will not be continuing in the series.
February 29, 2012
I felt that the characters were flat an not that interesting. I thought the ending was stupid, but as this is the first book in the series, I will consider reading at least book 2 and seeing if it get's better. This may simply been a case of "first book I ever wrote" syndrome and may get better as it goes on, or perhaps it never does. We'll see.
November 2, 2020
Divorced woman from Texas, living with her aunt in Michigan. Aunt has a chocolate store. Somebody is killed due to poison injected into chocolate. The mystery begins. Some of the nonsense of this subgenre, but very enjoyable nonetheless. I'll certainly keep reading.
July 25, 2017
Nice start for a new series
This is an easy summer read.
I liked the fact that the main character has a flaw. Malapropisms which causes her to sometimes say a wrong word if speaking to fast. This makes her human to me.
The writer has also has explained past relationships without going overboard and gives a good idea of the characters and town.
I enjoyed the trivia about chocolate that was included and will be reading the next in the series. Just to see if Lee might keep the cat. I can only hope.
This is an easy summer read.
I liked the fact that the main character has a flaw. Malapropisms which causes her to sometimes say a wrong word if speaking to fast. This makes her human to me.
The writer has also has explained past relationships without going overboard and gives a good idea of the characters and town.
I enjoyed the trivia about chocolate that was included and will be reading the next in the series. Just to see if Lee might keep the cat. I can only hope.
May 3, 2020
Cats, chocolate....What more could you want in a cozy mystery? This one had even more, with a great cast of characters, an appealing setting, and an interesting storyline.
Lee McKinney was a likable main character, and I enjoyed getting to know her. Her Aunt Nettie was a wonderful supporting character, and there were other great ones that I won't name so as not to give anything away.
In this book, a famous, disagreeable defense attorney, Clementine Ripley, is preparing for a party when she is murdered. Poison is delivered to her though a delicious chocolate made in the shop of Lee's Aunt Nettie. Lee, fresh from a divorce, is staying with Nettie and working for her, and is soon drawn into the investigation.
The Chocolate Cat Caper is a good start to a cozy series, and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the books.
Lee McKinney was a likable main character, and I enjoyed getting to know her. Her Aunt Nettie was a wonderful supporting character, and there were other great ones that I won't name so as not to give anything away.
In this book, a famous, disagreeable defense attorney, Clementine Ripley, is preparing for a party when she is murdered. Poison is delivered to her though a delicious chocolate made in the shop of Lee's Aunt Nettie. Lee, fresh from a divorce, is staying with Nettie and working for her, and is soon drawn into the investigation.
The Chocolate Cat Caper is a good start to a cozy series, and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the books.
January 15, 2021
I enjoyed the characters, the cat is comic relief, and the story is a good cozy mystery
April 8, 2021
I was excited to learn this series is set in my home state of Michigan. But some of the stuff that was mentioned wasn't accurate. Example MI does get hot and people do have air conditioning. There was some silly stuff like that mentioned that got in the way of fully enjoying for me. The ending did have me silly smiling so I might continue on.
July 18, 2012
This is the first book in the Chocoholic Mystery series by JoAnna Carl. I've read one other book in the series so far, and I think they are basically decent brain candy.
I love the chocolate as it's described in the story, although I am sure that it leads me to eat more of it. The little tidbits of information about chocolate are also interesting and the quiz at the end is entertaining.
The story was engaging, but I figured out what was going on from the beginning, which I cannot ever do with the mysteries by Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers. Still, for it was a typical cozy mystery, and an entertaining read. It was perfect for my trip, when I had long spells of downtime, but often had to put the book down at a moment's notice. I like the characters and I would certainly be willing to read more of the books in this series.
new word: piton
I love the chocolate as it's described in the story, although I am sure that it leads me to eat more of it. The little tidbits of information about chocolate are also interesting and the quiz at the end is entertaining.
The story was engaging, but I figured out what was going on from the beginning, which I cannot ever do with the mysteries by Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers. Still, for it was a typical cozy mystery, and an entertaining read. It was perfect for my trip, when I had long spells of downtime, but often had to put the book down at a moment's notice. I like the characters and I would certainly be willing to read more of the books in this series.
new word: piton
April 29, 2013
According to the website Stop, You're Killing Me, Carl is actually Eve Sandstrom. I read some of her earlier books and have been looking for more ever since so I jumped right on this. Big mistake. Apparently someone has been explaining to Sandstrom how you're supposed to write and the result is a book full of cliched characters and all the things I hate most in modern cozies.
My beloved spouse/relative/friend/yoga instructor is being framed! And the police are too stupid/lazy/corrupt to see what's going on. I must save him/her! Blech. In this case our heroine's favorite word to use about herself is stupid, but only she can save her beloved aunt! Besides thinking she's stupid, she also can't see any reason any man would be interested, but, of course, one is.
Cliche characters: the nasty lawyer, the wounded divorcee, the humiliated secretary, the strong sheriff, the handsome man our heroine had a crush on as a kid, the corny Texan, the sweet innocent aunt, the nasty, and ugly, gossip.
I'm extremely disappointed. What's even worse is that the 2 earlier series only lasted 3 books, but this one's going strong after a lot more than that. Sigh. I might give the 2nd one a try to see if it gets any better, but maybe not. And I certainly csn't recommend it.
My beloved spouse/relative/friend/yoga instructor is being framed! And the police are too stupid/lazy/corrupt to see what's going on. I must save him/her! Blech. In this case our heroine's favorite word to use about herself is stupid, but only she can save her beloved aunt! Besides thinking she's stupid, she also can't see any reason any man would be interested, but, of course, one is.
Cliche characters: the nasty lawyer, the wounded divorcee, the humiliated secretary, the strong sheriff, the handsome man our heroine had a crush on as a kid, the corny Texan, the sweet innocent aunt, the nasty, and ugly, gossip.
I'm extremely disappointed. What's even worse is that the 2 earlier series only lasted 3 books, but this one's going strong after a lot more than that. Sigh. I might give the 2nd one a try to see if it gets any better, but maybe not. And I certainly csn't recommend it.
May 5, 2014
There are three things every mystery needs: to be compelling, plausible and surprising. The Chocolate cat caper's plot is plausible, sometimes it's not that compelling and overall it's not surprising. The main character, Lee McKinney, is a Texas blonde that sometimes passes as a bit dumb and has tendency for malapropisms that's supposed to be funny but mostly distracts from the story. With the exception of the lovable and funny Aunt Nettie and her teenage employees, the rest of the characters are mostly flat and lack bite.
The mystery is not resolved through detection or wits, and the characters are drawn in as puppets for a mystery story, rather than lively characters who find themselves in a mystery (like the ones in Charlaine Harris' novels). For that reason, the book lacks surprise, you know who are the red herrings, who are the good guys and who is the culprit, because that character has no reason to be there other than be the bad guy and it becomes obvious.
The premise looked great on the back of the book but the execution was below the average. It's still fun but don't expect to be pinning for the sequel. I'm not going ahead on this series.
The mystery is not resolved through detection or wits, and the characters are drawn in as puppets for a mystery story, rather than lively characters who find themselves in a mystery (like the ones in Charlaine Harris' novels). For that reason, the book lacks surprise, you know who are the red herrings, who are the good guys and who is the culprit, because that character has no reason to be there other than be the bad guy and it becomes obvious.
The premise looked great on the back of the book but the execution was below the average. It's still fun but don't expect to be pinning for the sequel. I'm not going ahead on this series.
August 5, 2008
I am fairly new to the cozy mystery genre and I was a bit disappointed in this first book in the Chocoholic Mystery series.
I found the author's writing style to be amateurish. The main character was not that appealing and her speech problem (she tends to substitute the wrong word when speaking) was annoying. Instead of being a sleuth and actively working on solving this mystery she seemed to blunder upon clues, often without even realizing that they were clues. The ending was awful. lol
I do have the next two books in this series and I intend to give the next one a try, but if the author's writing does not improve I will probably drop this particular cozy series.
I found the author's writing style to be amateurish. The main character was not that appealing and her speech problem (she tends to substitute the wrong word when speaking) was annoying. Instead of being a sleuth and actively working on solving this mystery she seemed to blunder upon clues, often without even realizing that they were clues. The ending was awful. lol
I do have the next two books in this series and I intend to give the next one a try, but if the author's writing does not improve I will probably drop this particular cozy series.
January 20, 2019
The best cozy I hated so much I only read about 20% before I stopped. Hated protagonist. Is the speech problem a real thing? If so I might have put up with book a little longer. It was so annoying and in ALL the dialogue, I couldn't take it. If author was just trying to be funny, she should have kept the impediment to a few surprising turn of phrase. Instead, I thought she was trying to impress us with a flurry of words for no purpose.
That said, I liked the setting, the plot and the other characters (as far as I got). Wish I could have gotten rid of the main character.
That said, I liked the setting, the plot and the other characters (as far as I got). Wish I could have gotten rid of the main character.
February 17, 2016
I read this book out loud to my mother over the phone for the Read Harder book challenge. It was a fine cozy mystery, but it made me want chocolate. I think we were on chapter three when my mom wondered who done it, so I told her who I thought and I was right. I was a bit miffed that the cat didn't play a bigger role in the plot, but you can't have everything. To sum it up, a nice cozy with a cat and chocolate.
January 19, 2019
There's a single word to describe this first foray into the world of Chocolate cozy mysteries, and that word is..... meh. I cannot think of a word that better emcompasses how I feel about this book. Whenever I look at a cozy mystery they nearly all follow the same copy paste format. Divorced woman goes to move to x town to do x business. And this does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING DIFFERENT. The theme in this series is chocolate.
If I were to pick apart this one and find anything that differentiates it between other cozy mysteries, here are the big differences.
1. She doesn't have a kid
2. Her quirk is to have an annoying speech problem.
That's....that's about it. Otherwise it is a paint-by-numbers average cozy mystery. The main character has the personality of....okay well she doesn't really HAVE a personality, which i suppose works well for the "love interest"joe. Joe...well Joe is terrible. He's so boring it actually pained me to read his scenes. Imagine a piece of white wonder bread with nothing on it. That's Joe. Inoffensive...averagely seen as attractive american dude.
The chocolate factors into the story the same way that all these themes do. She's involved in her themed job and someone dies. Then she figures out what's going on from there through sheer farting around. It's like every single cozy mystery ever written. There's nothing different about it, the characters are as deep as a puddle, and the chocolate setting is...meh, all right. I'm willing to give it one more book because who knows. Maybe it gets better now that she's set the universe. i'm hoping that by book 2 she'll have learned how to work with characters. i'm not holding my breath though.
2.5/5 rounded up to a 3.
If I were to pick apart this one and find anything that differentiates it between other cozy mysteries, here are the big differences.
1. She doesn't have a kid
2. Her quirk is to have an annoying speech problem.
That's....that's about it. Otherwise it is a paint-by-numbers average cozy mystery. The main character has the personality of....okay well she doesn't really HAVE a personality, which i suppose works well for the "love interest"joe. Joe...well Joe is terrible. He's so boring it actually pained me to read his scenes. Imagine a piece of white wonder bread with nothing on it. That's Joe. Inoffensive...averagely seen as attractive american dude.
The chocolate factors into the story the same way that all these themes do. She's involved in her themed job and someone dies. Then she figures out what's going on from there through sheer farting around. It's like every single cozy mystery ever written. There's nothing different about it, the characters are as deep as a puddle, and the chocolate setting is...meh, all right. I'm willing to give it one more book because who knows. Maybe it gets better now that she's set the universe. i'm hoping that by book 2 she'll have learned how to work with characters. i'm not holding my breath though.
2.5/5 rounded up to a 3.
May 16, 2021
I really enjoyed getting to know Lee and Aunt Nettie in this new to me but older series that's still continuing strong with a new one coming out this summer.
This was a good mystery full of red herrings that definitely tricked me. I didn't realize until much later who the real whodunit was, and what a showdown! It was a classic Keystone Cops style with everything that could go wrong actually going wrong. Then when they were closer to nabbing the killer, it turned pretty hilarious and involved melted chocolate...and a champion cat named Yonkers. The ending was really sweet, no chocolate pun intended!
The series just by the titles always sounded like fun to me, so I'm glad I finally got a chance to read this book.
This was a good mystery full of red herrings that definitely tricked me. I didn't realize until much later who the real whodunit was, and what a showdown! It was a classic Keystone Cops style with everything that could go wrong actually going wrong. Then when they were closer to nabbing the killer, it turned pretty hilarious and involved melted chocolate...and a champion cat named Yonkers. The ending was really sweet, no chocolate pun intended!
The series just by the titles always sounded like fun to me, so I'm glad I finally got a chance to read this book.
September 13, 2017
Recently divorced Lee McKinney has moved from Texas to the small resort town of Warner Pier, Michigan on Lake Michigan to get a fresh start in life and do the bookkeeping for her Aunt Nettie's gourmet chocolate shop. While helping to cater an event at a well known attorney's home, the attorney takes a tumble off a balcony and ends up dead. Everyone at the event is now a suspect, including Lee, as well as the attorney's ex-husband, Joe Woodyard, who Lee once had a crush on many years ago while visiting her Aunt Nettie for the summer.
May 22, 2023
My actual rating is 3.5 stars, but I rounded up. This was a pretty good read, if a bit predictable, and with too many “miracles” (that was the exact word used) leading to the capture of the murderer while ensuring no other characters were harmed. I liked it enough that I want to continue the series, and it was a fun read, but it’s not a new favourite.
September 11, 2017
A cozy mystery that involves the delciousness of chocolate alongside a tongue-tied quirky heroine, Lee who proves that she's strong enough to meet the challenge.
http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2017...
http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2017...
April 28, 2020
3.5 stars
June 24, 2025
This book is great, I love the main character and how she finds who did it.
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