Review

When not working in the family chocolate shop, Lee McKinney Woodyard is involved in various committees in the small town of Warner Pier, Michigan. Lee is considering joining the library board and attends a meeting to give the committee a trial run. She finds more excitement than expected when a library employee discovers the body of Abigail Montgomery in the library’s basement. Abigail was retiring from the library board and although she was outwardly shy and mild-mannered, she wasn’t afraid to stand her ground in an argument or discussion. This doesn’t seem like a motive murder, but now all of the board members, and Lee, are suspects in the murder. Lee finds herself more involved in the investigation than she wants to be. She is also having serious misgivings about joining the library board, especially since the happily-married Lee and the new board director Henry “Butch” Cassidy, seem to be fighting a mutual attraction.

The Chocoholic mysteries are cute cozies that all have something to do with chocolate. However, in this book, there are too many scenes with Lee making eyes at Butch like an infatuated schoolgirl and not enough with her and Aunt Nettie working together in the family chocolate shop. The few scenes that take place at TenHuis Chocolade are some of my favorite moments in this series, and that element is lacking in The Chocolate Book Bandit. Luckily, Lee’s “Chocolate Chats” still appear throughout the book and the fun facts about chocolate at least provide a tie-in to the family business. The mystery is interesting, but with her connection to Aunt Nettie taking a back seat, Lee comes across as immature and shallow, rambling about Butch and yet fretting that her beloved husband Joe might be having an affair. Since Lee is the heart of these books, a less likeable Lee negatively affects how enjoyable the whole book is.

On a positive note, some of the earlier books in the Chocoholic series were ruined by Lee’s tendency to use the wrong word when she gets flustered. In some of the books, there are so many of Lee’s slips of the tongue, it was painful to follow the dialogue and the reader was taken completely out of the story. Luckily this time, after a few incidents near the beginning of the story, Lee is able to carry on a conversation without any of these silly slip-ups which makes the book so much better.

When Lee isn’t flirting with or gushing about Butch and gets down to business investigating Abigail’s death, it is an enjoyable book with enough viable suspects to keep the reader guessing. Readers who follow this series will like this story. Readers of Leslie Meier should enjoy the main character of Lee and the style of author JoAnna Carl.