Customer Reviews

The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up (Chocoholic Mysteries, No. 3)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lee McKinney is building a new life for herself, working at her Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop in Warner Pier, Michigan. An old acquaintance from high school, Joe Woodyard, is showing interest in Lee and he asks her to accompany him on a romantic dinner and river cruise. Unfortunately Joe has a run-in with an eccentric man, Hershel Perkins, who accuses him of illegally tearing down an old root beer stand. When Hershel's canoe is found near Joe's place, the police suspect there may have been some foul play on Joe's part. While Lee and Joe are trying to find out the truth, they have to dodge attacks from someone in a car and then a boat, and Joe's life is seriously threatened. This is the third book in this charming series and the enjoyable mystery is interspersed with interesting facts about chocolate. It is recommended reading.

When Hershel Perkins picks a fight with Joe Woodyard in the local post office, Lee McKinney and the other locals think little of it. Hershel is known as the town crank, nice enough, but he's fought with just about everyone. But that night, Hershel goes missing. All the evidence points to Joe, but Lee refuses to believe her boyfriend could have had anything to do with it. When Hershel is found dead, the stack of evidence could be overwhelming. Lee overhears some things that make her wonder about Joe. They don't know each other too well yet. Still, it's such an obvious frame job even the sheriff is looking for other suspects. An attempt on Lee and Joe's life only confirms the fact that something else sinister is going on in this small resort town. Can they stay alive long enough to clear Joe's name from town gossip and the law?

Anyone looking for a light, fun cozy need look no further then this charming series. Being the third in the series, we are given just enough background to remind us of the characters, but not enough to slow down the story. The plot moves along nicely, with several scenes that had me turning pages as quickly as I could. While it reaches a logical conclusions, there was one plot point that needed a little ironing out. It wasn't enough to detract from the book overall for me, however. The author brings the small town Michigan setting and the characters to life with ease, and she introduces a potential new series character I can't wait to see again. The descriptions of the chocolates are enough to make your mouth water, so be prepared. The "chocolate chats" in this book focus on the history of chocolate and were more interesting then some of the ones in previous books have been.

Once again, I enjoyed each page of the book and am already looking forward to my next visit to Warner Pier, Michigan.

This is the best yet of JoAnna Carl's Chocolate Lover's Mysteries. The plot moves along briskly, and there are enough clues that the identity of the murderer doesn't come out of left field, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in a mystery.

Lee, Aunt Nettie, Joe, Chief Jones and the other inhabitants of Warner Pier feel like old friends by now, the Chocolate Chat tidbits are always interesting -- and best of all, Carl has cut back on the incidences of Lee mixing up her words when she gets flustered. This annoying trait was way too frequent in the first book, less evident in the second, and only occurred a few times in "Frog." Carl is much too good a writer to have to rely on such gimmicks!

JoAnna Carl's chocolate mystery series just keeps getting better. "The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up" is the third and latest in her series and finds Lee McKinney defining the boundaries of her relationship with Joe Woodyard.

When Joe has a "postal" altercation with Hershel Perkins - "not the sharpest knife in the drawer" - Joe becomes the prime suspect when Hershel is killed.

Lee "stands by her man" and immediately sets out to prove Joe's innocence.

The only problem with reading this series is that I HAD to have chocolate. I turned to the Morgen Chocolate website (the chocolate company the author has based her series on) and promptly ordered over $200 worth of chocolates for Easter! JoAnna Carl should definitely get a percentage of my order!

"The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle" is due out in Fall 2004. I will be the first to reserve my copy from Amazon.com!

I think this book was a real page-turner, with the descriptions of the chocolates making my mouth water. This story is a suspenseful mystery story with a love story twisted cleverly into it. I highly recommend it to mature kids and above. Overall, this was a great book to read.

Every time Lee and Joe make plans for a romantic night or something special to do, it seems someone is out to get them, after the town annoyance is found murdered. Is someone framing Joe for the murder?

Someone sure has it out for him. It was comical to read and I loved the parts about chocolate. Made me crave it!

This is a cozy mystery to read and you will enjoy it!

Location: Michigan
Main Character: Lee, who came from Texas (around Dallas) to Michigan to be with Aunt Nettie. Lee dates Joe.
Cozy Factor: Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop. Lee works for Aunt Nettie in the shop. They hand-make homemade chocolates.

In this book, someone turns up dead. (I will not say who.) Lee wants to solve this murder. But until the murder is solved, we are taken on lots of adventures.

This book is revolved around "frogs". Chocolate frogs, frog faces, etc. This is really a good cozy book, and I am really enjoying this series. For anybody who loves cozies, I would recommend this series.

How Lee ever managed to win those Miss Texas pageants with her serious tongue tangles, I will never know. But that has nothing to do with the coziness and plots of these books, and takes nothing from it.

In some of the books, the chocolate-making is described more than in this book - but that's good - because we don't want it to get too repetitive. If you love fresh, homemade chocolates, coziness, and a good series, this is a good series to try.

This is not great literature. If that's what you are looking for, don't read the Chocoholic mysteries. But if you are just looking for a light-weight cozy, that's fun to read and part of a series in which you really get to know the characters, the town, and everything about them, you might enjoy this book and the series it belongs to. Lee McKinney is a 30-something woman living in a small tourist town in Michigan. It's a small town where everyone is in each other's business. Lee's love interest, Joe, is suspected of murdering a local man who had always been a bit of a trouble maker and considered "not quite right". But soon after his death someone threatens Joe and Lee's lives several times. It's obvious that the real murderer wants them dead, too. They need to find out who the real murderer is. As with all the other stories in this series, there is a chocolate theme that runs throughout.

I purchased this book based on the reviews and was so looking forward to reading it. I don't mean to sound unkind, but I was distracted by how poorly written it was and how simplistic the conversations were between the characters. I knew very early on who the killer was and could not get beyond page 44. Very disappointing! The search for the great cozy continues!

I love these books and order each one as they come out. Fun and easy to read series.