The Chocolate Cat Caper
by JoAnna Carl
Category: Fiction / Mystery
231 pages; ISBN: 0451205561
Mysteries involving some aspect of the food industry are always popular among fans of cozies. In the past I have received numerous e-mails singing the praises of Diane Mott Davidson and Ellen Hart, among other mystery ladies with a taste for the culinary. Perhaps this was why, while scouting a Florida bookshop for a title to hold me on the plane ride home, my hand involuntarily reached for The Chocolate Cat Caper. Either that, or maybe I was just feeling too cheap to plunk down the twenty-six bucks for Janet’s latest.
Or maybe my inner Lady Godiva was offering some unconscious input. I do love chocolate. It’s the only thing that has comforted me since Paul McCartney remarried. Not even my husband can console me, but I’m getting offtrack here.
Whatever the reason I had for selecting Carl’s novel, I don’t regret the decision. Carl (a pseudonym for author Eve K. Sandstrom) has created in this debut series a charming Michigan town where everybody takes turns being mayor, talks like the people in Fargo, and loves chocolate. Only these people don’t settle for foil-wrapped kisses – Aunt Nettie TenHuis has the corner on the sweets market here. She makes the goodies while her niece, former trophy wife Lee McKinney, handles the books.
Caper opens with a delicious delivery that turns soon turns deadly. When high-powered attorney Clementine Ripley (think F. Lee Bailey in heels) falls dead after biting into one of Aunt Nettie’s concoctions, Lee decides to sleuth on her own to find out who framed the family business by spiking the candy with an extra, unwanted ingredient. Finding the culprit, she discovers, is not easy, even in a small town. The residents do like each other, yes, and they also agree upon one thing: Clementine deserved her just desserts.
For a light and at-times humorous read, The Chocolate Cat Caper delivers; this promises to be an entertaining series, one that needs not wait until after dinner to enjoy.
Book Review-The Chocolate Cat Caper
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