| Title | : | The Chocolate Jewel Case (A Chocoholic Mystery, #7) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0451221885 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780451221889 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published July 26, 2007 |
The Chocolate Jewel Case (A Chocoholic Mystery, #7) Reviews
-
I'm sucking these books down like Coca Cola. Already I've read the 7th book in the Chocoholic series. Once again, the author managed to make this particular story differ from its likes. However the climax, if we can call it that, was similar because of Pete's predicament. It was nice to read about Joe's and Lee's - who's no longer a McKinney - post honeymoon period. I enjoyed reading about Gina, who loves specific genre books, like yours truly. Till next time.
-
The Chocolate Jewel Case by JoAnna Carl is the 7th book in the Chocoholic mystery series set in contemporary Michigan. Warner Pier on Lake Michigan is home to TenHuis Chocolades, a family business making exquisite European-style chocolates, managed by Lee McKinney Woodyard.
Newlyweds Lee and Joe don't have any privacy. Their small house is packed with guests.
- Darrell, a former criminal client of Joe's, living in his camper in the yard
- Pete, "a bird-watcher", invited by Joe without further explanation
- Joe's aunt Gina, who won't leave the house, hiding from someone she won't name
- Teenager Tracy, staying with the Woodyards while her parents vacation in Canada, and working at TenHuis
- Lee's teenage stepsister Brenda, also working at TenHuis for the summer
Hot and humid July weather makes a crowded house with only one bathroom, no air-conditioning, nearly unbearable. Joe is mostly away at his boat business, uncommunicative at home. One day so many odd things happen, Lee demands answers.
- Why is bird-watcher Pete packing a pistol in his duffle bag?
- How long will Gina stay? Who is she hiding from? If her husband, is he a danger to the girls?
- Why did Joe accept a dinner party invitation without telling Lee?
- Who is the stranger who showed up at the house claiming to be Joe's father?
Joe brushes off most questions with pat answers, but is totally stunned hearing of the impostor. They attend the dinner party at their neighbors - interrupted by armed robbers who steal invaluable jewels.
The next two action-packed (and sweltering!) days, Lee takes grave risks sleuthing. An attentive reader can spot a few clues Lee doesn't pick up on - until almost too late. Clues Lee probably would have noticed, if not distracted by hostess duty to her houseguests.
Lee has exquisite manners instilled by her grandmother, who "never got up from the table after one meal without knowing what she'd be serving at the next. When I'd teased her about this as a twelve-year-old, she'd firmly said that good meals didn't just appear on the table. They took planning." Feeling guilty about serving purchased food to houseguests, Lee takes out her recipes.
Their house has a "Michigan basement": concrete walls and a sand floor. Its renovation-in-progress saves Lee's life.
All answers are tidily revealed in the end, as the heat wave breaks and the houseguests leave. Joe and Lee finally have privacy to enjoy being newlyweds.
Rather than recipes (like many other foodie cozies) "Chocolate Books" are included between chapters, each with brief synopsis. A quick check online confirms the books are real (not fictitious).
- Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Light and Dark
- The Emperors of Chocolate - Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars
- The True History of Chocolate
- Chocolate Without Guilt -
I haven't read anything by this author before (not even books 1-6: who reads books in order?..LOL!). Reading out of order wasn't an issue. I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery. The mystery itself wasn't too easy to figure out. Mainly because there was a lot of stuff happening and a lot of people acting strangely. Overall, it was a fun cozy mystery and it was well written.
-
3.5 stars! Better than the last one but the story was oddly slow and fast in parts! I liked the added house guests but it was almost too many characters to keep tabs on!
-
Entertaining and gripping story, exceeding my expectations. Rather convoluted cast of characters with tangled stories of their own...
Setting is in the small town of Warner Pier, on the shore of Lake Michigan, and revolves around the neighborhood of heroine Lee Woodward and her husband Joe's home on a rural residential street. She is the reluctant hostess to no less than five assorted houseguests of the moment.
The summer resort town has seen a rash of burglaries of valuable antiques and the Woodwards themselves are caught in a jewelry heist while dining at a neighbor's home one evening. The search for the burglars turn up assorted facts and clues, then a murdered body, finally leading to the mastermind criminal. Some members of her family have been entangled in some of the catalysing events, as it transpires at the end.
The author describes a very specific setting for her neighborhood which is likely based on a real one, and I wish there had been a diagram because I found it challenging to follow the turns and directions around the drives and the streets and the directions. She describes a very hot and humid string of days in an older home without air conditioning... Must be a local to know how it feels!
The chocolate business where Lee works is a secondary setting: the title "chocolate jewel case" is practically a play on words. At the end, the stolen jewels are dumped into a vat of molten chocolate!
Action is described at a fast pace and a restrained sense of the comic and absurd peeks through her description of people. The author throws in Lee's tendency to utter inappropriate slips-of-the-tongue (malaproprisms) when she is in the grip of a strong emotion, and i find it worth a chuckle. -
I enjoyed this Chocoholic mystery, but not as much as some of the other ones. Still, it was a good read and I'll keep on reading the series. I felt like there was too much stuff piled on. Lee and Joe should be enjoying themselves in their new home after they get married. But there are house guests, and robberies, and refrigeration problems at the shop, and no air conditioning, and dead relatives, and people spying on people, and not enough bathrooms.
First line: Just when I finally found fifteen minutes for myself, the dead man came to the door. -
Jeez, there's a lot of characters in this one. Carl does an okay job at keeping everyone straight (and luckily we knew some of them from previous novels), but it could be confusing for some readers. I have to say this mystery threw me. I was torn between a few possibilities for the killer's identity. I also liked seeing Joe and Lee go through some of the normal grievances of a married couple. The only thing is that it seemed at times that the murder played second fiddle to Lee's own personal irritations. Because of that, the ending is pretty rushed. The reveal and the final wrap-up are squished together in just a few pages.
-
I felt that this one was strong. Although I was missing some favorite regulars, there were many regulars returning, and some new interesting ‘characters’. I was afraid the dynamic could change now that Lee and Joe were married, but it seemed that the author did a good job with so many other characters of making it not all about the two of them. Interested to see if it can maintain the integrity and carry on with the tone through out the series. Nice cozy mystery, with lots of action.
-
Wow, I am addicted to these Chocoholic mysteries. This one was great! I just love the humor in these books, and there's always a great chase scene somewhere. This had kind of a cool treasure hunt spin on it.
-
Good entry in the series! I did figure some of it out before Lee but I was lacking in details. As always I'd love to visit Warner Pier for some chocolate.
-
This interesting story was a great deal of fun. A good, light summer read.
-
The Chocolate Jewel Case
This started a bit slow for me. I was wondering if any plot would develop as there was so much time spent in describing what seemed to be insignificant. Consequently, I was starting to think that I would drop this series, especially since Lee, the main character, wasn't really being developed as a character who had the ability to solve mysteries. She is presented as bumbling, both in her speech and in her actions. It conflicted with her ability to put together important clues.
However, the plot and action finally started to develop on page 60. I could already guess some elements, but there was enough action and a few twists to keep me engaged all the way to the end of the book. Time will tell if I return to this series. After all, the sidebars (Hershey bars?) about chocolate have been fun and informative! -
The Chocolate Jewel Case is another fun entry in the Chocoholic Mystery series by author JoAnna Carl. It has been awhile since I read one of these books so it was a special treat to be able to spend a few hours with Lee and Joe and the gang again. I enjoyed this book and thought that the mystery was good. I definitely did not see the conclusion coming. The killer was someone that was not even on my radar, but everything was wrapped up logically and made sense within the story. This is a fun book and a fun series and I plan to continue reading additional books in the series.
-
ad a couple in a row and I can almost smell chocolate. Lee McKinney has a chocolate addiction.
-
I loved this book and I love this series.
-
Who wouldn't love a book featuring chocolate throughout? JoAnna Carl writes interesting mysteries without tons of violence.
-
It had a couple of good mysteries involved leaving you hanging and wrapped things up nice
-
I devoured this book. No pun intended. I chanced upon it at the library, realized it was the next one I hadn't read, checked it out, and read it in 2 days flat.
I was thrilled to see Lee back at it-- the last book, The Chocolate Bridal Bash fell a bit flat for me. But, in spite of the improbability of crime following Lee around, I was happy she got caught up in another real-time, home-town mystery. The chocolate shop seemed to take a back seat in this novel (I think Lee went in to work only twice in the book), but everything was hectic and crazy and entertaining enough that I didn't mind. I find Lee more interesting to read about anyway.
The Chocolate Jewel Case opens with Lee confronting a stranger on her doorstep-- a stranger claiming to be someone known to be dead. Before she can figure out what's going on, a cast of zany guests descends on her: her significantly younger step-sister, Tracy from the chocolate shop, Joe's serial monogamist aunt, an ex-con, and a "bird watcher" friend of Joe's. Whoa. And then Lee's neighbors get robbed. No wonder she doesn't make it in to the office often.
A bit far-fetched, perhaps, but the crazy people and bizarre questions serve to hold my attention and keep the plot moving forward. -
Lee and Joe are finally married and trying to have thier first summer as newlyweds. But they suddenly have six house guests and an unusual heat wave in Michigan, with no air conditioning to help cool things down. As Lee is trying to adjust to being a new wife and unexpected house hostess, things get even worse as the air conditioning goes out at the TenHuis Chocolate shop, and with aunt Nettie being gone to visit the Netherlands, it is up to Lee to make sure the chocolate shop does not fail. Just when she thinks she might have things going the right way, a recent string of burglaries lands right in Lee's and Joe's lap, and then there is the dead man found in the lake. Lee soon discovers that her guest's are keeping secrets and when another goes missing, she has to get involved or possibly lose her own life.
As usual you are caught up into this series by the very first paragraph. This is a delightful cozy mystery series and one of my favorites, just for the chocolate alone. The characters are well written and it makes you want to be a part of Warnier Pier. The mystery is always well thought out and keeps you going to the very end.
