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45th out of 293 books
—
979 voters
The Chocolate Cat Caper (A Chocoholic Mystery #1)
by
JoAnna Carl
After giving up her career as a Texas trophy wife, 28-year-old Lee McKinney finds herself in a Michigan resort town, keeping the books for her Aunt Nettie’s luxury chocolate business. But she soon finds that her new life isn’t all truffles and bonbons… Clementine Ripley, the defense attorney everyone loves to hate, is throwing a party that calls for several thousand dollar...more
Mass Market Paperback, 240 pages
Published
March 2002
by Mystery Guild Collection
(first published 2002)
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A very predictable and non-descript mystery. Everything is predictable about this novel. The murders, the murderers, the weapon, the motive everything even the romance is predictable.
But even then I would have been willing to give it three stars since it was an easy read and somewhat enjoyable. If not for the annoying non-consistent speech impediment or is it a brain impediment from the main character. When she is tense she says the wrong words, but when she is kidnapped all of a sudden she has...more
But even then I would have been willing to give it three stars since it was an easy read and somewhat enjoyable. If not for the annoying non-consistent speech impediment or is it a brain impediment from the main character. When she is tense she says the wrong words, but when she is kidnapped all of a sudden she has...more
3 1/2 Stars
Read January 8, 2010
Cute book. Loves all the chocolate talk. Enjoyed the facts about it as well. And the mystery wasn't half bad wither. I knew who had done it before the book ended (though it was a guess), but I didn't know why. And it took me awhile to get there because she wrote the story so well and through in a lot of red herrings.
Lee has moved back to Michigan from Texas (she left her rich husband and needed a new place to live) and has moved into her Aunt's house and has taken...more
This is the first book in the Chocoholic Mystery series by JoAnna Carl. I've read one other book in the series so far, and I think they are basically decent brain candy.
I love the chocolate as it's described in the story, although I am sure that it leads me to eat more of it. The little tidbits of information about chocolate are also interesting and the quiz at the end is entertaining.
The story was engaging, but I figured out what was going on from the beginning, which I cannot ever do with th...more
I love the chocolate as it's described in the story, although I am sure that it leads me to eat more of it. The little tidbits of information about chocolate are also interesting and the quiz at the end is entertaining.
The story was engaging, but I figured out what was going on from the beginning, which I cannot ever do with th...more
I'm interested in reading more in this series. The second book, which I read a year ago, felt different to this one. I want to know which new characters the author introduces in the third and beyond. Even though I like cozy mysteries, I have to say it's the most difficult subgenre ever in my reading experience. E.g it's more difficult than science fiction. Unlike science fiction however, it doesn't promise an awesomesauce lot and fails to deliver. That's why I'm sticking to the cozy mysteries f...more
o I learned my lesson after reading "The Cat Who..." series and I decided to read the first book in the series first. I will definitely read more in this series. The main character, Lee McKinney, certainly has lead a busy life... accountant, trophy wife, divorcee, Texas beauty queen, etc. And while typing this it seems a little crazy, she does seem to pull off all these roles. She "comes home" to Michigan after divorcing her rich husband (role of trophy wife) to get a fresh start. She explains t...more
Ok, I'm giving this 3 stars, because when I finished reading I felt fairly entertained. However, after only about 5 minutes of actual thought AFTER finishing the book, I realized that I felt rather cheated. I knew who the killers were from the very beginning of the book (read: before the murder even occurred), and further thought really just made me more and more frustrated with the idiocy or willful blindness of all the characters in failing to see it too. But, while that frustration makes me w...more
Well, huh. I've been reading quite a few cozy mysteries lately. Why is it that the "heroine" of them all has just gotten out of an awful relationship and has moved back to a small town? I mean, I guess the small town is part of the cozy mystery genre, but do all the female leads have to be the same template? This one started out okay. I was kinda into it, though Lee kind of annoyed me. At least she wasn't short, like most of the heroines in these books. That's at least one difference. The culpri...more
Reading for "cozy" April theme read. This book was insipid and silly. I think the cute ending after the mystery? was the best part of the whole book. This is the first one of this series I have read. Found it at the library and it fit with the "cozy mystery group" theme of "Raining Cats and dogs" So I thought I would try it. I probably will not read another in the series since this was bad. " I did not want to even finish it, but did for the group. I may get desperate and be forced to do another...more
According to the website Stop, You're Killing Me, Carl is actually Eve Sandstrom. I read some of her earlier books and have been looking for more ever since so I jumped right on this. Big mistake. Apparently someone has been explaining to Sandstrom how you're supposed to write and the result is a book full of cliched characters and all the things I hate most in modern cozies.
My beloved spouse/relative/friend/yoga instructor is being framed! And the police are too stupid/lazy/corrupt to see what...more
My beloved spouse/relative/friend/yoga instructor is being framed! And the police are too stupid/lazy/corrupt to see what...more
Now that I have my kindle app and an iPad, I find it takes forever to finish a paperback novel. What used to take me 1-2 days now takes about a week. Real live books are usually only read at night, when I'm tucked up in bed and the phone and iPad are charging. Does this mean I like the physical books any less? No way, Jose! It means I get easily distracted now holding onto my electronic book-a-ma-thingies.
The first book in the Chocolate series was pretty good. The heroine/sleuth/ex-trophy wife...more
The first book in the Chocolate series was pretty good. The heroine/sleuth/ex-trophy wife...more
Twenty-eight-year-old ex-Texas beauty queen, Lee McKinney, always thought that money was the solution to everything. After witnessing the downfall of her parents marriage over finances it seemed that nothing could be more true. However, after surviving five years of marriage with money-hungry millionaire, Rich Godfrey (aka Mr. Gottrocks), Lee is fed up, and decides to leave behind her trademark Texas trophy wife coiffed hair, and bright red lipstick, along with everything else she has accumulate...more
I really liked this one. I think I'm going to read the rest of the series. I had a few people who I thought it might be and I was right about one of them but then realizing there was more to it I got the other one.
This is the first book in a series and the main character runs a chocolate shop with her Aunt. Each book in the series has a link to a piece of chocolate but obviously the main character is not guilty neither is her Aunt.
A friend of mine read this and liked it so I decided to give it...more
This is the first book in a series and the main character runs a chocolate shop with her Aunt. Each book in the series has a link to a piece of chocolate but obviously the main character is not guilty neither is her Aunt.
A friend of mine read this and liked it so I decided to give it...more
Why read: Looking for more culinary inspired mysteries.
What impressed me: All you ever wanted to know about chocolate and more. For all that this book lacked in character development, it certainly proved the author's knowledge about chocolate, both its origins and the candy-making process. While I'll never be motivated enough to make my own chocolate, I really enjoyed reading about others doing it.
What disappointed me: This was a very short, and therefore not all that in-depth, book. 230 pages i...more
What impressed me: All you ever wanted to know about chocolate and more. For all that this book lacked in character development, it certainly proved the author's knowledge about chocolate, both its origins and the candy-making process. While I'll never be motivated enough to make my own chocolate, I really enjoyed reading about others doing it.
What disappointed me: This was a very short, and therefore not all that in-depth, book. 230 pages i...more
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This was the first book in the Chocoholic series which was recommended to me by a friend. I enjoyed it. The main character makes these word mistakes when she is nervous. At first I found it annoying but the author stressed it less as the book went on which made the character more enjoyable for me. I have the second and third books and am planning on reading them next.
This was a fast fun read and I enjoyed all the chocolate facts but when it was over there really was not much there. I knew who the murderer was well before the end of the book but did fund myself wanting to know more about these people. I will likely read more but more for the fun chocolate facts and to follow the main characters than for the mystery.
May 28, 2012
Amanda Miller
added it
My friend introduced me to this series and I have now read more of the books then she has. I enjoyed this book; I could not put it down. The plot was engaging and thrilling; I did not guess who did it until the every end. I also loved all the descriptions of chocolate and the trivia through out the book.
I got a free copy of this book at a book fair. I chose it because it had chocolate and cat in the title - two things I love. I didn't expect much from it, but have to say that it was a fun read. I look forward to reading more in this series. Love the candy connection and the quirky characters.
I found this to be silly and slow. I never developed any attachment to any of the characters. And, I figured out the solution to the mystery much too early in the book for it to remain entertaining. I may give the 2nd book in the series a try, just to see if it gets any better.
I'm not a good reviewer. I'll just say it was a good little read. Light, moved along smoothly & the characters were like hometown people, even if a little kookie.
This is my first cozie mystery, so it is a light spirited read for me. I would recommend this one for a change of pace, if you are a reader of more gloomy mystery/thrillers.
This is my first cozie mystery, so it is a light spirited read for me. I would recommend this one for a change of pace, if you are a reader of more gloomy mystery/thrillers.
I have to remember this is the first in her series. She gets better as the series continues which is why this only got 3
Following her divorce, Lee returns to Michigan and the love of her aunt Nettie while she tries to get her life back in order. Nettie owns a luxury chocolate shop in the small tourist town. When a customer dies after eating a chocolate laces with Cyanide, Lee feels that she must get involved in the investigation to protect her aunt, herself and and the reputation of the shop.
This is a charming book. The first person narration is very chatty and readable. The characters are well developed and lik...more
This is a charming book. The first person narration is very chatty and readable. The characters are well developed and lik...more
This is a fun mystery series. Easy read and fast. Makes me laugh right out loud! Eleven in the series so in the back of my mind I'm saying how many mysteries is one girl from a small town going to solve but JoAnna Carl keeps putting them out!
I love quick read mysteries. This is the first in a series of "Chocolate" books. Who doesn't want to read about chocolate?
I especially like the little interludes between chapters where the author gives interesting facts about chocolate.
I especially like the little interludes between chapters where the author gives interesting facts about chocolate.
A fun cozy mystery series set in a chocolate shop on Lake Michigan. I liked the setting, the characters, the mystery (even though the clues might as well have had neon signs over them saying: "Look! This is a Clue!"), and of course the chocolate!
The cozy Chocoholic series combines a clever and chilling mystery with chocolate and pets. This is the first in the series, and may be a good choice for those days when you’d like a light and gentle, but still compelling, mystery.
This is the first book in this mystery series. Ironically, I read it after I had read all the other books in the series. And I decided it was my least favorite. I still enjoyed it, but it is more predictable than the others.
First book in a series of chocolate mysteries. It was pretty easy to read other than the text format that I didn't like so much. I will be reading the rest of the books! It even has chocolate facts and such throughout the book.
Call me a hopeless romantic. A sweet interaction between the main character and her love interest saved what was a highly predictable mystery novel. From meeting one character in particular I was able to peg him for the killer.
Not bad. I was a little annoyed with Lee's lack of direction in general and especially with her habit of using the wrong word (maybe to be seen as a funny character quirk but it just somehow bothered me). Liked the periodic chocolate fact pages. The verdict is out on whether I would read more in this series or not though.
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JOANNA CARL is the pseudonym for the multi-published mystery writer Eve K. Sandstrom. The author writes about the shores of Lake Michigan and has been reviewed in Michigan newspapers as a “regional writer.” She has also written about Southwest Oklahoma and once won an award for the best book of the year with an Oklahoma setting.
Eve K. Sandstrom is an Oklahoman to the teeth: she was born there, as...more
More about JoAnna Carl...
Eve K. Sandstrom is an Oklahoman to the teeth: she was born there, as...more
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Nov 16, 2010 11:12am