Chocolate Dipped Death (A Candy Shop Mystery) [Paperback]

Sammi Carter (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Candy Shop Mystery | Publication Date: March 7, 2006

When poisoned bon-bons end the life of a town trouble-maker, candy shop owner Abby Shaw finds herself trapped in an extremely sticky situation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042520894X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425208946
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #798,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When Chocolate Isn't Good, April 11, 2006

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chocolate Dipped Death (A Candy Shop Mystery) (Paperback)

The Annual Confectionary Competition has become a staple of winter in the small town of Paradise, Colorado. Abby Shaw is doing her best to carry on the tradition. As the new owner of the candy shop Divinity, it is her responsibility to run the weekend. Things are running okay until Savannah Horne arrives.

Savannah hasn't been in town since high school, but memories are long in Paradise. When she was here, she made life miserable for everyone. Twenty years later, Abby thinks that Savannah might have changed, but the rest of the town isn't ready to forgive.

When Savannah wins the first night of the contest, Evie Rice is furious. The two women used to fight over everything in high school, and neither is quite ready to let the old rivalry go.

The next morning, however, Savannah disappears. After a day of searching, Abby finds her body. The list of suspects is long, including the obvious like Evie and Savannah's sister, who is hardly upset at her sibling's death.

Also on the suspect list is Abby's cousin Karen. Karen has been acting rather strange since Savannah showed up the first night and the evidence seems to keep pointing to her. While Abby had no intention of getting involved, she quickly determines that she will have to find the real killer to keep her cousin out of jail. Abby's resolve is only reinforced when the case takes a very personal turn.

Meanwhile, tensions in the family are brewing over Divinity. Abby inherited the shop from her aunt, and some of the cousins think they had more of a right to own the shop. Can Abby keep the peace and the store?

This is the second book in the series, and another good light read. The plot did seem to bog down a little during the search for Savannah phase since it's obvious to the reader what the outcome will be. But once the body is found, things kick into high gear. The story weaves all over the place with one red herring after another until Abby finally puts everything together. While at first I thought the ending was great, the more I've thought about it, there are several loose ends that were left unresolved in the rush to finish things.

In the first book, Abby was struggling with her recent divorce and seemed a bit harsh at times. She's really smoothed out here and is a very likable heroine. The family story lines are interesting and add depth to the story and Abby. I'm interested to see where the author goes with these plot lines.

My biggest gripe is a matter of timing. There are several times when Abby seems to live through the same time twice, having left the shop in late afternoon then suddenly doing something at 2 PM, for example. This is something that really bugs me, and it happened several times. It doesn't affect the timeline of the story, but it did pull me out of an otherwise well written book.

The inclusion of six recipes will just be icing on the cake for readers with a sweet tooth.

While not perfect, this book is still enjoyable.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Has a lot of potential!, April 10, 2006

By 

Mystery Girl "Zuzi" (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chocolate Dipped Death (A Candy Shop Mystery) (Paperback)

I didn't read Sammi Cater's first book, "Candy Apple Dead," but was delighted to feel that maybe I hadn't missed much in this second book. It was a fast moving read from the beginning which I really enjoy. I think most of us have gone to school with someone similar to Savannah Vance Horne.....no surprise she ends up dead. Abby Shaw, our heroine, has the right amount of spunk to deal with the whole situation, but I did find her cousin Karen MORE than annoying and nasty about a situation she should have let her husband explain, instead of going off on a rampage like a lunatic for most of the book. I have no idea why Abby would even want her back to work in the store! I'm sort of use to the fact that all mystery writers seem to have their leading lady fall for the sheriff..... no exception here, but I am rooting for her. One thing....where does Abby find time to make all the candy that she needs to sell in the shop when she is hardly ever there? Also, I believe Ms. Carter needs to follow through with the ending. A few questions were left unanswered and it leaves the reader wanting more info which is not forthcoming. I know we would like to know more about who Jason was and who Miles really was, BUT the big question that I felt should have been answered earlier on ....'was Savannah making her own candy for the contest or having it made and if she was, where was it being made since she was living in a hotel!' Was I the only one who wondered about that since Evie and others had asked a few times to have it looked into? That would have been nice to know. I'm looking forward to this authors third book in Paradise. Sounds like the town I grew up in!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I quick read but mildly entertaining, March 23, 2006

By 

Jay Viking "Trickyteacher" (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chocolate Dipped Death (A Candy Shop Mystery) (Paperback)

I enjoyed the setting in this book becuase my wife and I are "foodies", so a story that has a candy shop in it piqued my attention. The dialog is realistic especially in explaining the multiple motives for the murder of the "cheat", Savannah Horne. I did not come up with much sympathy for Savannah, because she was a somewhat unsympathetic murder victim (I kind of felt that she had it coming to her). However, I did enjoy Sammi Carters protaganist, Abby, and will give her another chance in the next book. Just please give us a little more reason to be upset with the murderer!