Customer Reviews

The Chocolate Mouse Trap

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lee McKinney has recently joined the Seventh Major Food Group. No, the FDA hasn't added another level to the pyramid; it's a group of local merchants who are involved in fancy food and parties. Organized by Julie Singletree, a woman trying to get a party planning business going, the group exchanges tips via e-mail. Julie also uses their e-mail list to forward inspirational messages several times a day. Lee has had enough of the spam when the news breaks - Julie has been murdered and her computer stolen.

Lee fully intends to stay out of this investigation. After all, Julie lived in a neighboring town. But the morning after the funeral, several members of the group are hit by a computer virus. Another has her shop broken into and her computer's memory erased. As things continue to escalate, Lee can't keep her curiosity to herself and begins nosing around.

As if all this weren't enough, Joe and Lee are trying to work out the details of their upcoming wedding. Joe wants a big fancy affair and Lee just wants a few family members and close friends. Meanwhile, Aunt Nettie's sister-in-law contacts the shop hoping to find a job for her son, making Lee feel very insecure.

This series always entertains, and this book was no exception. The plot was a study in contrast. Some things jumped out and were obvious before the characters saw them; others were smack-your-head-how-could-I-miss-that moments. By the end there were lots of clues pointing to the killer, so chances are the reader will miss some if not all of them. Lee's "tong tangles" are kept to a minimum, mostly sprinkled into a few tense scenes.

The chocolate chats this go around were quotes about chocolate. It might be about time to drop the trivia and focus on the mystery. While it was a fun gimmick, it won't be missed.

Like candy, you can't read just one. I'm already hungry for the next volume.

Lee McKinney has an active e-mail correspondence with other people in her area who work in the food industry. She is getting tired of receiving "inspirational" e-mails from Julie Singletree and is trying to think of a way to cut her out of the chain. Just as she writes a tactful brushoff e-mail, Lee discovers that Julie has been murdered. Full of self-reproach, Lee begins to do her own investigation and she discovers that other people in her e-mail group are having computers stolen or information erased. A subplot in this book has to do with a disagreement on wedding plans between Lee and Joe. Lee wants a small, simple wedding and Joe wants a big bash where he can invite all of his friends and family. As usual, there is chocolate trivia interspersed throughout the book and the descriptions of the chocolates which are produced at Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop are enough to make your mouth water. This is another enjoyable addition to the series.

This installment wasn't as good as the previous ones, mainly because it was fairly easy to figure out who the killer was early in the story. It was also kind of ironic that the other characters whined constantly about Julie's "nosiness," but had no problem with the exact same thing from Lee.

It's time to kill the stupid "tongue tangling" gimmick already. It's annoying enough as it is, but now it's starting to seem forced, as if the author is trying too hard to throw them in there just for the sake of throwing them in. And if that's not bad enough, she calls even more attention to it by having Lee repeat the correct word/sentence several times afterwards, as well as over-exaggerating peoples' responses to it. And can we stop with the overuse of exclamation points? Not everything everyone says is an exclamation.

The Chocolate Mouse Trap starts out slow but once you get to the middle it gets really interesting! She does a good job of slipping in small clues that mean something later. A good book to read on a cold windy night!

In Warner Pier, Michigan, Lee McKinney manages her Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop, Tenhuis Chocolate. Currently the emails from wannabe party planner Julie Singletree is driving Lee crazy with her Victorian sweetness in every message; approximately six arrive every day to Lee and five other people that Julie has anointed as the seventh major food group, "fancy foods". Lee eats the sugary electronic memos because she cannot afford to alienate the granddaughter of wealthy customer Rachel Shraeder of Shraeder Labs.

On local TV news is the report someone murdered Julie. Lee feels bad and a bit guilty that she recently badmouthed the woman, but goes on with her life. That changes when assaults on the fancy food group occurs. Julie wonders if one of the other five is a killer or could an outsider have a grudge against them. Julie plans to find out before she or her aunt become victims.

The latest chocolate animal amateur sleuth novel is a fine tale as Lee changes from detesting the victim to guilt and sorrow over her death to fear and courage for the safety of her aunt and her. The heroine's transformation happens quite smoothly as she hated the sugary emails, but never wished Julie dead nor willing to allow herself or her aunt to join the deceased by idly waiting for the cops to solve the caper. Once Lee knows that she has a different deadly rodent than the chocolate mice she made for a Shraeder Labs gala, she begins her investigation into who wants to murder the fancy food group.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this book! And the whole series. Lee McKinney, the main character, is from Texas but currently lives in Michigan with her aunt Nettie (her deceased uncle's wife). She works in Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop. This series has interesting "chocolate chats" with chocolate facts, quotes, etc.

This particular book has a "mouse" theme, and therefore has a computer theme. In this book, there are real mice (yuk! but not too many, and only mentioned about 3 times, so don't let that stop you from reading the book), chocolate mice (Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop molds chocolate into different shapes), and computer mouses (and computers).

In this book, there are murder(s), computer attacks, and computer annoyances. Lee is one of the "members" of the informal "Seventh Major Food Group", which is a group of small area business people. Could one of these people be the killer? Could all of them be in danger? Lee is busy trying to help her aunt run the chocolate shop, but she still has to find time to be careful and possibly find clues to the killer. She and Lindy have some dangerous adventures.

I love the way Lee describes chocolates, truffles, bonbons, etc from her aunt's shop. She also describes other things such as comparisons to Texas and Michigan. I am also from north Texas, and everything she says is true, and hits home. I enjoy hearing about those things (especially since I know from personal experience that she speaks the truth!) I know how Lee feels; I've also lived other places.

Page 126, Lee speaks of iced tea, and it really hit home. It was very true. I've always heard that there is no (or very little) iced tea in the North. I also know that in Texas there is plenty of iced tea, and that sugar is optional (Lee was very correct in saying this!) When I drink iced tea, sometimes I drink it without sugar, and sometimes I drink it with a small amount of sugar (but never a large amount). Usually, I drink it without sugar. Lee also mentioned the deep South, in which the hot tea is poured over sugar to dissolve it thoroughly. I have lived in the deep South (due to job transfers, etc.), and from personal experience, I know that they drink very heavily sweetened iced tea - never a small amount of sugar, and never without any sugar at all. (I always said they like a little bit of tea in their sugar - that's how much sugar they prefer in their iced tea.) But I usually drink mine, like I said earlier, totally without sugar. I prefer the taste of the tea without the sugar. (But sometimes I do use a little bit, but not much, sugar in my iced tea.) My child used to live in Colorado (I guess Colorado would be considered "North", even though I like to refer to it as "West"), and she said that she could only find iced tea at one particular restaurant, but no where else.

Anyway, I love this series, and I can't wait to get started on the next book. Even though I don't think I'd ever be interested in living in Michigan (Lee is one brave Texas girl to be able to live in that cold Michigan ice and snow), I plan to "go" to Michigan again in the sixth book of the series.

This is my current "treadmill series". I look for engaging books that are available in large-print so I can easily read them while doing my early morning workout on the treadmill. Carl had me jumping out of bed to get on the treadmill each morning to see what would happen next in this delightful little story. This is not heavy reading by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a fun light-hearted story with a good plot. As with all the Chocoholic mysteries, the story is based around Lee and her Aunt Nettie who run a chocolate shop in the tourist town of Warner Pier, Michigan. In this story, Lee is a member of the "Seventh Food Group"; a group of local merchants who have businesses related to events. The leader of their group is murdered and there is some connection to the emails she used to send out. Suddenly all the members of the group are in danger. And that is all I'm going to tell you!

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

If you're a Food Mystery junkie like me, this is one series that you can't pass up. Even though I love the tidbits on chocolate, the mystery is the main focus. I nice read, not too much violence, and it really keeps you guessing. I highly recommend to add to your library.

This title is fifth in the Chocoholic Mysteries series.

I was very pleased with the twist and turns in this book that kept you guessing as to who the murder was and why they committed the murder. I happily sat and read this book in one sitting. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.