Customer Reviews

Death by Chocolate: A Savannah Reid Mystery

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3 star:		(1)
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She comes from McGill, Georgia but Savannah Reid migrated to California to gain independence from her large and needy family. She is a full-figured woman who is conformable in her own skins. Her idol is Lady Eleanor, the queen of chocolates, who makes mouth watering desserts on her television show and sells her chocolates in her specialty shops. When Eleanor starts getting death threats, she hires Savannah as her bodyguard and to find who is sending the frightening letters.

When Savannah finally gets to meet Eleanor, she is very disappointed because the woman is a mean-spirited, spiteful virago. Her husband left her for another woman, her twin sister doesn't visit her, and her own daughter refuses to venture near her. The only person who seems to love Eleanor is her six-year-old granddaughter. Yet when somebody murders her, Savannah feels obligated to find out who killed her because she died while her bodyguard was only yards away from her.

Savannah Reid is a mixture of Southern California cool and Southern Georgia sentiment. A person has to admire this protagonist because even though she didn't like her client very much, she works extra hard to find out whom her killer was. There are so many legitimate suspects that the reader won't be able to deduce whom the culprit is until the shocking climax. DEATH BY CHOCOLATE is G.A. McKevett at her very best.

Harriet Klausner

Do not let the dysfunctional family bit scare you away from this wonderful Savannah Reid episode. As usual, McKevett links Savannah's family into the the storyline. The reader can either relate or empathize as the happenings reveal. I chuckled and winced while reading and enjoyed almost every twist and turn. This is a purely enjoyable weekend read.

Savannah is back home in California where she is in between jobs and low on funds. She takes on an assignment of being a bodyguard to the Chocolate Queen. On the first day she learns the Queen she may be but of nastiness not chocolate. This woman doesn't't want help and thinks everyone is trying to kill her. As things escalate Savannah learns this is a neurotic family about to implode upon herself. I didn't enjoy this novel as the mystery was poorly done and I didn't care who the killer was nor the motive for it. Bringing in another of her siblings for added drama was a bad idea. And the normal cast of supporting characters were lifeless in this novel and offered no support to the plot.

In Death By Chocolate, Savannah Reid is hired to be a bodyguard for a TV cooking celebrity who is known for her chocolate recipes. But once Savannah meets her, she realizes that the lady is really a bitter old woman who is bossy and irritating. She's been receiving hate mail, and wants Savannah to figure out who is sending it. The investigation is barely underway when the Chocolate Queen is poisoned, and now Savannah has to figure out who killed her. And everywhere she turns, she finds people who fit the bill.

To complicate Savannah's life, her sister Cordele shows up unannounced and wants to work out some "family issues" with her. Cordele can't seem to get past her "horrible" childhood, and wants to relive all her pain and agony, while Savannah just wants to send her back home.

Light reading, fun story, and all the twists and turns you expect in a G. A. McKevett novel.

This latest edition to the Savannah series will leave you wanting more. Very much an improvement from Peaches and Screams, the old wit and personality is back as well as a well written story line. If you love chocolate, you will love the story's plot of the Queen of Chocolate. Savannah's sleuthing into the lives of the elite family will leave you thanking the Lord for your own. The interaction between Savannah and Cordele is so life like, you will want to wring. Cordele's neck. A most enjoyable read for the mystery lover and the chocolate enthusiast. If you haven't read all the books in the series, this one will make you want to go back and pick them up.

I enjoyed this book from G.A. Mckevett, the three tiny dogs were cute. I missed the characters John and Ryan Stone. Savannah finds out her Gourmet Network Chocolate Hero, Lady Eleanor is not all she seems, In fact very much the opposite she is mean to her employee's and takes credit for others work, her own family even doesn't like her. As a live-in security expert/bodyguard, Savannah must find out who's sending her threatening letters and who killed Lady Eleanor the self proclaimed 'Queen of Chocolate'

I always look forward to a new Savannah Reid book. She is a great character: strong, independent woman who appreciates the joys of chocolate! Add in her friends (Dirk, Tammy, Ryan, John), her crazy family, and a dead body or two and you have a story that gives you a wonderful escape. I hope this author writes lots more tales about the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency.

This novel has a main character with substance. She's has spunk and has a wonderful sense of humor. The book would be enjoyable to read even without the mystery plot! I'm looking forward to reading the other books in this series.