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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A tasty mystery to sink your teeth into!, October 6, 2008
I have all the chocoholic books and I love them all. However, I think it is safe to declare this one the best in the series so far. The last book was a bit of a disappointment but this has renewed my faith in the author, so much so that it was even worth the hardcover price.
The story centers around the small town of Warner Pier, Michigan and its christmas festival, WinterFest, in hopes to attract tourism and drum up business in a wintery time when business would otherwise be slow. Lee Woodyard, the main character and series amateur sleuth, is the treasurer of the WinterFest committee and through a series of events winds up traveling to a town an hour away to pick up the judge of the Warner Pier art show, who is thoroughly sloshed and quite amorous. She successfully fights him off and dumps him at a nearby motel. The next day he mysteriously winds up dead with she and her husband Joe as the prime suspects. All signs point to someone on the WinterFest committee since they were Mr. Drunk's only contacts in the Michigan area.
There is tasty chocolate trivia interspersed throughout the chapters and of course, delicious descriptions of the candy treats sold in Lee's aunt Nettie's business, TenHuis Chocolade. The story moves along at a nice pace and the book is not too long. I enjoy the small town atmosphere of the book and the whodunit plot is well planned out by Ms. Carl. I think this is her best mystery of this series and although I guessed whodunit before all was revealed, it was only because of her clever clues and not because it was so terribly obvious. Overall, I most definitely recommend this book to any mystery fan and especially fans of the previous chocoholic mysteries. I suggest you read this with some chocolate handy.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Read for Lazy Afternoon, October 10, 2008
Carl's book is a good read for a lazy afternoon, an airline flight or a cozy evening before the fire. It includes a bonus of chocolate trivia which even chocoholics may not know. I didn't.
Lee McKinney Woodyard finds herself once again serving up an entrée of mystery with a dessert of chocolate. Throughout the story, Lee offers various chocolate treats to those she encounters. Her descriptions made me long for some fine dark chocolate.
Carl is an experienced writer who draws the reader quickly into a small town drama and introduces us to characters who might be familiar to all of us. We know there will be trouble as soon as the cast is known. In this case, The Warner Pier Winter Arts Festival is just days away. The judge of the art show has backed out and the substitute flown in at the last minute is far from satisfactory. Lee and her husband, Joe, are suspects in the shenanigans that follow. The writing contains just enough humor to cause a smile or a laugh every once in a while.
by Judith Helburn
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yummy addition to this chocoholic series, October 13, 2008
I love Christmas murder mysteries. I'm not sure why I love them so much. Perhaps it is because the mysteries I tend to read are of the cozy/amateur sleuth type and they make me feel warm and cozy. Not sure what that says about me. But it is my reality and Joanna Carl has added to my Christmas happiness with The Chocolate Snowman Murders. I haven't read her books before, but will be searching them out now that I've read this one.
Lee McKinney Woodyard doesn't really want to serve on the Warner Pier Winter Arts Festival committee, but she agreed and it is a commitment she must keep. Besides she is the owner of TenHuis Chocolade and dedicated to her business and community. And she loves living in a `happening' place, even if she has to help make things happen.
The Arts Festival is proving to be difficult. There are egos, changes to the schedule, time commitments that go awry, and then there's Fletcher Mendenhall, the arts festival juror who shows up in town drunk. Lee takes things in stride and leaves him to sleep off his `drunk'. Lee doesn't give him another thought until her husband, Joe tells her that the juror is a corpse, as in dead. This is a case of death by desk lamp.
Since Lee was one of the last people to see the victim alive, she's in a predicament. Then another body turns up (murder by snowman) and the situation becomes dire. Lee must solve the case before more bodies turn up.
The Chocolate Snowman Murders is perfect for your Christmas mystery reading. You'll smile. You really will. And you'll be glad you sat down and read it. Then you'll want another of Carl's books.
Armchair Interviews says: A good holiday read.
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