Crime de Cocoa:: Three Chocoholic Mysteries (Paperback)

~ (Author) "People think working in a resort town is like one long vacation..." (more)
Key Phrases: hairnet ladies, black panel truck, amaretto truffle, Warner Pier, Chief Jones, Clementine Ripley (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (December 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451216946
• ISBN-13: 978-0451216946
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #175,983 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Delicious Novels, December 22, 2005

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Chocoholic Mystery is a light, cozy series focuses on Lee McKinney, who helps her aunt run a high-end chocolate shop in the resort town of Warner Pier, Michigan. From time to time, crime finds it way into the town, and Lee winds up right in the middle of the danger, sorting things out in the end. This book collects the first three volumes in the series in one large soft cover book, along with the short story that first introduced the characters.

The book starts with "The Chocolate Kidnapping Clue," a short story that originally appeared in the book AND THE DYING IS EASY. In it, a teenage Lee spends the summer in Warner Pier while her parents go through a nasty divorce. She spends her afternoons working in her uncle and aunt's TenHuis Chocolade shop. Every afternoon, another teen girl comes in and gives Lee a hard time before buying some chocolates. But then the girl is kidnapped. Who would do such a thing in the small town?

The first official book of the series was THE CHOCOLATE CAT CAPER. A now grown Lee moves back to Warner Pier after her own divorce to help her recently widowed Aunt Nettie run TenHuis Chocolade. Lee's hardly been back in town when infamous defense lawyer Clementine Ripley is poisoned with a custom made chocolate from their shop. Not wanting to let their name be pulled through the mud, Lee decides to look into murder herself.

Next up is THE CHOCOLATE BEAR BURGLARY. When Lee's stepson shows up unannounced, Lee is hardly too pleased. But she and Aunt Nettie put him to work in the shop. After all, with the teddy bear promotion in town, they could use the extra help. But then antique chocolate molds are stolen from the shop and the antique dealer who lent them out is murdered. Even more unfortunately, Lee's stepson in the sheriff's top suspect and doesn't have an alibi for the crimes. Lee's going to have to work fast to clear him.

Finally comes THE CHOCOLATE FROG FRAME-UP. Everyone fights with town crank Hershel Perkins. But Lee's boyfriend Joe had the unfortunate distinction of doing so right before he disappears. While the evidence continues to mount, Lee searches for the truth so her flame does wind up behind bars.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a light series. The plots are strong but not as complex as they might be. I often figure them out before the end. What helps pull the series along is the characters. Lee, especially, is a strong woman who doesn't stop until she finds the answers she is looking for. She does have a speech impediment that causes her to mix up words when she's nervous. While this can get annoying, it is toned down the further into the series you go. The rest of the regulars in the small town are nice people I'd love to spend time with in real life. They, combined with the setting, make for a cozy small town feel that is fun to visit. There are plenty of chocolate descriptions in these pages. I might have drool on a few of mine.

The one curiosity is the "Chocolate Chat." Several times in each book, the author throws in some chocolate trivia. It doesn't tie into the mystery at all, but is there instead of the recipes like you might expect from a book like this. I enjoy them, although the author does seem to be running out of things to say about chocolate.

This series won't tax your brain, but it will entertain you. If that's what you want, this is the place to look. If you prefer your mysteries with more of an edge, keep moving. This series isn't for you.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent ~ Brilliant ~ Satisfying, April 11, 2006

By	Ruth A. Caldwell "Highland Princess Mum" (Walnut Creek, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

To say I read too fast, is an understatement. When I picked this up at the book store, I was delighted by the cover and the excellent blurb describing the story... I was disappointed upon arriving home to read the other blurbs describing three other stories, that seemed to be the beginning of a series. I thought I should go back to the bookstore and find those first, but the temptation to read was too much. Imagine my delight to find out ALL four stories are included in this one book.

Mark Baker's review says it all. I cannot possibly tell you more than he did, other than to say... Excellent JoAnna Carl! Well done and I look forward to more!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet mystery..., April 17, 2007

By	Judy Brown Eyes (Texas) - See all my reviews

Creme de Cocoa is a good way to start this series, as it offers 3 books in one volume plus the short story that started it all. Lee McKinney, is a young Texan devorcee in financial straits, who comes to help her aunt with the business finances of her high-end chocolate shop in the small resort town, Warner Pier, in cold cold Michigan. The book starts with "The Chocolate Kidnapping Clue,". This is the short story that begins Lee's association with solving murders. Here we meet a teenage Lee, who is spending the summer in Warner Pier while her parents are getting a divorce. She works in her uncle and aunt's TenHuis Chocolade shop and the girl who comes in every day to buy chocolate, and who gives Lee a hard time, is kidnapped. Lee accidently sees something on the beach that helps to solve this mystery.

THE CHOCOLATE CAT CAPER is the first book in the volume and here we once again meet Lee who comes back to Warner Pier after her own divorce to help her recently widowed Aunt Nettie run TenHuis Chocolade. Lee delivers chocolate to the home of an infamous defense lawyer Clementine Ripley, and when Clementine is poisoned with a chocolate from their shop, Lee decides to look into murder herself to save her aunt's business from ruin.

In THE CHOCOLATE BEAR BURGLARY, Lee's stepson shows up in Warner Pier. He has left college and Lee, who can't locate his parents, invites him to stay at Aunt Netty's house and they put him to work in the shop. When an antique chocolate mold is stolen from the shop and the antique dealer who lent it out is murdered, Lee's stepson is suspected of the crime. Lee knows he's innocent and is determined to find the real killer.

In THE CHOCOLATE FROG FRAME-UP, Hershel Perkins, who is mentally ill, disappears. Lee's boyfriend, Joe, had recently had an altercation with Hershel, so he becomes the prime suspect and the evidence against him continues to mount. Lee searches for the truth, knowing that Joe is incapable of hurting anyone.

These books are fun as well as "delicious" to read. THe lore and legend of chocolate is interspered through out the books and adds interest to the stories. Lee's speech impediment, mixing up words when she's stressed, is annoying at times, but it lessens as you proceed through the books. Aunt Netty is a great character, kind, practical and nurturing to Lee and others. Lee is a strong young woman determined to make a new life for herself. The rest of the regulars in the small town are people we all would like to know, and the small town atmosphere adds to the cozy feeling of the books. This series is entertaining and fun, and you will enjoy the chocolate trivia that is an addition to the books.