A frantic late-night phone call from her right-hand woman Dolly Jolly brings Lee Woodyard to the scene of a break-in at the Warner Pier jewelry store next door to TenHuis Chocolade. To her shock, the suspect being held at gunpoint by police is Dolly’s boyfriend, Mike Westerly, who was recently hired as a night watchman specifically to prevent break-ins. Dolly hopes Lee can help straighten out the crazy misunderstanding.
Even crazier? The thieves took nothing of value from the jewelry store, only swiping some snacks. It’s another in a series of break-ins by burglars the media has dubbed the Cookie Monsters. They’ve been hitting shops selling everything from sunglasses to shoes but stealing only sweets: lollipops, cookies, even chewing gum!
It all seems pretty funny–until the discovery of a dead body. With her friends and community in danger, Lee must stop one very sour killer before someone else comes to a bitter end.
Release Date: Aug 3, 2021
Series: Chocoholic Mystery
Book: 18
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $13.99
Sudden break-ins start to occur in the quaint businesses, in the quiet town of Warner Pier, in west Michigan. Confusing and stranger yet, that nothing was stolen. It will take a village to solve this crime and absolve the obvious suspects.
A chocolatier of luxury chocolates, Lee McKinney Woodyard, has a good eye for sleuthing and solving puzzling situations. Lee is always in the loop of things and it helps that her husband is the town’s part-time lawyer, and her uncle is the town’s Police Chief, thus landing Lee, most times, at the right place, wrong time situation. Details and trouble abound around Lee and I liked her easy-going personality and her willingness to help others.
The supportive characters in this mystery are minimal and are mostly Lee’s close family and shop assistant. I found my interest focus on the extra characters in this story. I like how some carried on a change in their characterization and how others didn’t. Some characters are mysteries that refuse divulge their secrets and I like how the author developed them throughout the arc of the story. You would never guess who the villain is, because some characters carried too much complexity in this mystery, which helped this story maintain my momentum.
Although, I enjoyed the character development in this story, I felt the actual plot and turn of events fell a little flat. The story seemed to go on and on and I often found myself losing interest in the mystery itself. Nevertheless, it was a good story, but I personally prefer a fast and suspenseful murder-mystery read. I did enjoy the plot twist, the hero of the story, a broken umbrella and a racoon mama? (ha!)
This was a good read, with some delicious recipes included, a funny villain capture and some excellent character development that I hope you will enjoy.
~ Patricia
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