What do you think?
Rate this book
A Chocoholic Mystery #14
The Chocolate Clown Corpse
Revenge is sweet for a killer on the loose—and it all started with the murder of Warner Pier’s most hated clown....
Everyone who knew the bozo wanted him dead. Odd, then, that a complete stranger was accused of bursting Moe Davidson’s balloons. But it’s been a month since the miserable shop owner of Clowning Around was killed, and everybody’s moving on, including Lee Woodyard. Her chocolate shop, TenHuis Chocolade, is next door to Moe’s shuttered tourist trap, and it’s giving her delicious ideas to expand. But over whose dead body?
Moe’s widow, Emma, and her two stepchildren list the property for sale, but when Lee tours the building, she finds Emma unconscious. Now Lee wonders whether Moe’s real killer is still at large and is taking care of unfinished business. Unfortunately, since the town is celebrating Clown Week, there are so many potential suspects in grease paint and floppy shoes it’s not even funny.
For Lee, protecting Emma, freeing an innocent man, and rolling out hundreds of her clown-themed chocolates is a pretty tall order. But so is staying alive long enough to find out which one of her neighbors is a killer in disguise.
Includes Tasty Chocolate Trivia!
Everyone who knew the bozo wanted him dead. Odd, then, that a complete stranger was accused of bursting Moe Davidson’s balloons. But it’s been a month since the miserable shop owner of Clowning Around was killed, and everybody’s moving on, including Lee Woodyard. Her chocolate shop, TenHuis Chocolade, is next door to Moe’s shuttered tourist trap, and it’s giving her delicious ideas to expand. But over whose dead body?
Moe’s widow, Emma, and her two stepchildren list the property for sale, but when Lee tours the building, she finds Emma unconscious. Now Lee wonders whether Moe’s real killer is still at large and is taking care of unfinished business. Unfortunately, since the town is celebrating Clown Week, there are so many potential suspects in grease paint and floppy shoes it’s not even funny.
For Lee, protecting Emma, freeing an innocent man, and rolling out hundreds of her clown-themed chocolates is a pretty tall order. But so is staying alive long enough to find out which one of her neighbors is a killer in disguise.
Includes Tasty Chocolate Trivia!
240 pages, Hardcover
First published November 4, 2014
33 people are currently reading
639 people want to read
About the author
JoAnna Carl
35 books433 followersJOANNA 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 were five previous generations of her mother’s family. Both her grandfathers and her father were in the oil business, once the backbone of Oklahoma’s economy. One grandmother was born in the Choctaw Nation, and Eve is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Eve and seven other members of her immediate family are graduates of the University of Oklahoma. Eve even knows the second verse of “Boomer Sooner.”
Eve wrote two mystery series: the “Down Home” books, set on a ranch in Southwest Oklahoma, and the Nell Matthews mysteries, semi-hard-boiled books laid in a mid-size city on the Southern Plains.
But Eve married a great guy whose family owned a cottage on the west coast of Lake Michigan, not far from the Michigan towns of Fennville, Saugatuck, and Douglas. Every summer for more than forty years she, her husband and various combinations of children and grandchildren have trekked to the community of Pier Cove for vacations that lasted from two weeks to three months.
The area features gorgeous beaches, lush orchards, thick woods, and beautiful Victorian houses. Eve grew to love it. So when her editor asked her to come up with a new, “cozy” mystery series, Eve set it in a West Michigan resort town, scrambling up Saugatuck, Douglas, South Haven, Holland, Manistee, Ludington and Muskegon with her own ideas of what a resort ought to be to create Warner Pier.
As further background, she plunked her heroine into a business which produces and sells luscious, luxurious, European-style bonbons, truffles and molded chocolates. Most small towns couldn’t support a business like this, but the resorts of West Michigan – with their wealthy “summer people” – can. The “Chocoholic Mysteries” were on their way.
Eve’s editor requested that she use a pen name for the new series, and Eve picked the middle names of her three children, Betsy Jo, Ruth Anna, and John Carl. “JoAnna Carl” was born. So that’s how JoAnna/Eve became a regional author in two widely separated regions.
JoAnna/Eve earned a degree in journalism at the University of Oklahoma and also studied with Carolyn G. Hart and Jack Bickham in the OU Creative Writing Program. She spent more than twenty-five years in the newspaper business, working as a reporter, editor, and columnist at The Lawton Constitution in Lawton, Oklahoma. She took an early retirement to write fiction full-time.
She and her husband, David F. Sandstrom, have three grandchildren, whom they love introducing to the lore of their two homes – Oklahoma and Michigan.
She spent 25 years in the newspaper business as a reporter, feature writer, editor, and columnist, most recently at the Lawton Constitution. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of OK and also studied in the O.U. Professional Writing program. She lives in Oklahoma but summers in Michigan where the Chocoholic Mystery series is set. She has one daughter who is a CPA and another who works for a chocolate company and provides yummy insider information on the chocolate business.
Eve K. Sandstrom is an Oklahoman to the teeth: she was born there, as were five previous generations of her mother’s family. Both her grandfathers and her father were in the oil business, once the backbone of Oklahoma’s economy. One grandmother was born in the Choctaw Nation, and Eve is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Eve and seven other members of her immediate family are graduates of the University of Oklahoma. Eve even knows the second verse of “Boomer Sooner.”
Eve wrote two mystery series: the “Down Home” books, set on a ranch in Southwest Oklahoma, and the Nell Matthews mysteries, semi-hard-boiled books laid in a mid-size city on the Southern Plains.
But Eve married a great guy whose family owned a cottage on the west coast of Lake Michigan, not far from the Michigan towns of Fennville, Saugatuck, and Douglas. Every summer for more than forty years she, her husband and various combinations of children and grandchildren have trekked to the community of Pier Cove for vacations that lasted from two weeks to three months.
The area features gorgeous beaches, lush orchards, thick woods, and beautiful Victorian houses. Eve grew to love it. So when her editor asked her to come up with a new, “cozy” mystery series, Eve set it in a West Michigan resort town, scrambling up Saugatuck, Douglas, South Haven, Holland, Manistee, Ludington and Muskegon with her own ideas of what a resort ought to be to create Warner Pier.
As further background, she plunked her heroine into a business which produces and sells luscious, luxurious, European-style bonbons, truffles and molded chocolates. Most small towns couldn’t support a business like this, but the resorts of West Michigan – with their wealthy “summer people” – can. The “Chocoholic Mysteries” were on their way.
Eve’s editor requested that she use a pen name for the new series, and Eve picked the middle names of her three children, Betsy Jo, Ruth Anna, and John Carl. “JoAnna Carl” was born. So that’s how JoAnna/Eve became a regional author in two widely separated regions.
JoAnna/Eve earned a degree in journalism at the University of Oklahoma and also studied with Carolyn G. Hart and Jack Bickham in the OU Creative Writing Program. She spent more than twenty-five years in the newspaper business, working as a reporter, editor, and columnist at The Lawton Constitution in Lawton, Oklahoma. She took an early retirement to write fiction full-time.
She and her husband, David F. Sandstrom, have three grandchildren, whom they love introducing to the lore of their two homes – Oklahoma and Michigan.
She spent 25 years in the newspaper business as a reporter, feature writer, editor, and columnist, most recently at the Lawton Constitution. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of OK and also studied in the O.U. Professional Writing program. She lives in Oklahoma but summers in Michigan where the Chocoholic Mystery series is set. She has one daughter who is a CPA and another who works for a chocolate company and provides yummy insider information on the chocolate business.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
June 4, 2018
I love Lee and Joe. Her malaproprisms are endearing. She always seems to find trouble and she has to investigate. She just seems to leave the ladies at the chocolate factory on their own a lot! I enjoy these books. Not gory and full of foul language.
December 11, 2014
Yikes! The Chocoholic series have come a full circle for me. Maybe the very first modern cozy mysteries I've read, it has now become a one star book, at the tail-end of my readership of the genre, through no planning on my part. I remember the first book of the bunch I had read. It made a positive impression on me. At the time I thought that the genre was tailor made for me.
But the habit of writers to keep on prolonging the franchise became an irritation with me. Even the best authors cannot keep on churning out these books without some damage, erosion, dilution, some type of loss occurring. This fourteenth book was empty of any decent plot worth the name. There were some eccentric and inappropriate sentences in the book, which I attribute to the advancing age of the author.
Someone might have told JoAnna Carl not to kill off too many people in her stories. Killing off a whole community of them would not have saved this story if tension, conflict, suspense, and motives were absent from the book. Even at 240 pages, it was sometimes a chore to read through the book. You know, reading these types of books has one positive effect on me. They make me want to write something. Not because I think it's easy to write a novel, but because after giving a drab story one star, I need to prove that I was not gabbing for nothing, that I'm not asking for the impossible by demanding a good simple story to delight the senses and sharpen the mind. Anyway, I'm Luffy, former cozy mystery fan, signing off.
But the habit of writers to keep on prolonging the franchise became an irritation with me. Even the best authors cannot keep on churning out these books without some damage, erosion, dilution, some type of loss occurring. This fourteenth book was empty of any decent plot worth the name. There were some eccentric and inappropriate sentences in the book, which I attribute to the advancing age of the author.
Someone might have told JoAnna Carl not to kill off too many people in her stories. Killing off a whole community of them would not have saved this story if tension, conflict, suspense, and motives were absent from the book. Even at 240 pages, it was sometimes a chore to read through the book. You know, reading these types of books has one positive effect on me. They make me want to write something. Not because I think it's easy to write a novel, but because after giving a drab story one star, I need to prove that I was not gabbing for nothing, that I'm not asking for the impossible by demanding a good simple story to delight the senses and sharpen the mind. Anyway, I'm Luffy, former cozy mystery fan, signing off.
January 16, 2016
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Aunt Nettie is on vacations and it’s Clown Week in Warner Pier! The staff of TenHuis Chocolade is busy making hundreds of clown-themed chocolates but Lee is dreaming about expanding the shop. The store next door is up for sale after the owner, a clown no less, was killed and his family wants to move on. Lee would love to move in and can’t wait to check the place out, but the last thing she expected to find was the clown’s widow unconscious in one of the rooms. Maybe the man they have arrested is not the killer and now the town is overflowing with clowns and suspects. Lee knows there is much more going on and she is not clowning around. She decides to use the festive atmosphere and her own clown costume to track down the real culprit before someone else is found with their big red shoes toes up and their lights out permanently.
This story was very entertaining and fun to read. Lee gets herself into more than a couple of tight predicaments and she doesn’t back down. She always puts others first and usually leaps before she looks. Her husband Joe, her aunt Nettie and Police Chief Uncle usually do their best to keep Lee from taking things too far but Nettie and Hogan are off on vacation and Joe is on his own and he has his hands full. As always her “malapropism” or as I call it twisted tongue syndrome that makes her think of one word but say another had her getting several strange looks and me laughing out loud. One of these days those slips are really going to get her in trouble.
Joanna Carl never disappoints. These stories are high on humor and have creative plot lines that are a pure joy to read. She also includes chocolate trivia and wonderful descriptions of all the tasty tempting truffles and other chocolates featured at TenHuis Chocolade. I wish they had an online store because I am more than ready to order today. These virtual chocolates just don’t do the trick.
April 12, 2017
I really enjoy this series and this one had me guessing almost up to the end [which was a little flat, but still good]. There was a lot of guessing in this one and also a lot of kindness; it was refreshing actually since the murder happens before the book even starts and the sleuthing only happens by chance. Really good read.
August 12, 2020
Lee and the town of Warner Pier are getting ready to have "Clown Week." Many events have been scheduled and business owners will dress as clowns. But wait...! What about the real business owner who ran a real clown store right next door to Ten Huis? Recently a homeless man was arrested for his murder, but now people are coming forward and saying that it did not occur that way and the wrong person has been accused. Joe takes over the case and Lee tries to figure out who did it.
April 12, 2017
As with past books in this series this was an easy read. Good mystery, with Lee's husband, Joe, featuring more prominently than I remember from previous books. There were some repetitious facts, but otherwise the story flowed and was a pleasure to read.
December 6, 2017
Another in the series that - once I've started, I'm going to keep up with - I've completed and enjoyed to the finish. I might avoid acknowledgement of same, but, again, it's an engaging series, with characters I can relate to, and I enjoy keeping up with them all - peripheral or otherwise.
November 2, 2015
The Chocolate Clown Corpse is the 14th book in the A Chocolate Mystery series.
The building next to TenHuis Chocolade is for sale and Lee thinks that purchasing the building will be the perfect answer to expanding their business. The building is on the market due the fact that Moe Davidson was murdered a month ago and neither his widow Emma or his children, Lorraine or Chuck wants to carry on his clown business. The police had arrested a homeless man, Royal Hollis, who confessed to murdering Moe and the prosecuting attorney and the sheriff feel they have an “open and shut” case. Joe ends up representing Hollis and feels that the case is full of holes.
Lee, along with the real estate agent, Tilda VanAust, are doing a walk through of the building and find Emma upstairs and near death. Lee finds an empty prescription vial near Emma's body. While Emma is in the hospital, Lee goes to visit and finds a man trying to suffocate her. Hospital security don't believe the story and Lee is escorted out. Soon Hollis' estranged daughter shows and Lee is finally able to convince her that they are looking for her dad's best interests.
Lee and Joe begin to look into events that led up to Moe's death and are able to come up with a more likely story of what happened and need to track down how the new information will lead them to the killer before any more lives are lost.
Interesting facts about the history of chocolate are also included with the book.
Will be looking forward to the next adventure in Warner Pier.
The building next to TenHuis Chocolade is for sale and Lee thinks that purchasing the building will be the perfect answer to expanding their business. The building is on the market due the fact that Moe Davidson was murdered a month ago and neither his widow Emma or his children, Lorraine or Chuck wants to carry on his clown business. The police had arrested a homeless man, Royal Hollis, who confessed to murdering Moe and the prosecuting attorney and the sheriff feel they have an “open and shut” case. Joe ends up representing Hollis and feels that the case is full of holes.
Lee, along with the real estate agent, Tilda VanAust, are doing a walk through of the building and find Emma upstairs and near death. Lee finds an empty prescription vial near Emma's body. While Emma is in the hospital, Lee goes to visit and finds a man trying to suffocate her. Hospital security don't believe the story and Lee is escorted out. Soon Hollis' estranged daughter shows and Lee is finally able to convince her that they are looking for her dad's best interests.
Lee and Joe begin to look into events that led up to Moe's death and are able to come up with a more likely story of what happened and need to track down how the new information will lead them to the killer before any more lives are lost.
Interesting facts about the history of chocolate are also included with the book.
Will be looking forward to the next adventure in Warner Pier.
July 23, 2015
Clowns are the theme for the annual winter carnival in Warner Pier, which is ironic since the man who ran the clown themed store in town was murdered about a month before it starts. Since that store was next door to TenHuis Chocolade, Lee Woodyard is hoping to buy it to expand the business. That’s how she meets the family and gets further involved when evidence begins appearing suggestion the homeless man who has been arrest for the murder might be innocent. But if he is innocent, who actually did it?
The book started out a little slowly, but once it gained speed, I found it hard to put it down, as always. I did spot the ending a little early, but I was having so much fun I didn’t mind. Lee, her husband Joe, and the new characters are great, but I do wish we could see more of the supporting cast – another common complaint when it comes to this series. Still, fans of Lee’s will gobble this book down like always.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
The book started out a little slowly, but once it gained speed, I found it hard to put it down, as always. I did spot the ending a little early, but I was having so much fun I didn’t mind. Lee, her husband Joe, and the new characters are great, but I do wish we could see more of the supporting cast – another common complaint when it comes to this series. Still, fans of Lee’s will gobble this book down like always.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
November 1, 2015
I love Lee and all her friends in Warner Pier. It was strange without Aunt Nettie and Hogan, but was still an awesome cozy mystery. I can't wait to see what lies ahead for Lee and Joe!!! Another must read
April 1, 2024
One of my favorites in the series to date.
June 20, 2017
Moe Davidson may have played a clown and run a clown shop, however he wasn't so funny. When he turns up dead, no one seems to be too terribly distraught. In fact, Lee is quite anxious to purchase his shop and expand TenHuis Chocolade. However, a homeless man is charged with Moe's murder and Joe and Lee are having a hard time believing the accusations. Especially when a few threats are brought upon Moe's widow.
Can't believe that this is book 14. I always enjoy checking in on a long running series like this. You get to know the characters and surroundings pretty well. This series is a very light cozy. It reads fast, can be predictable at times, but I'm still always entertained. I also love the little tidbits about chocolate that the author includes at the end of each chapter. Fun learning that Joe's character is inspired by Gregory Peck!
This cozy was a bit unique because the murder already took place prior to the story so that changed a bit of how the reader and the sleuth collect clues. All of the clown scenes throughout this story were definitely a touch of comic relief. Even that end scene where a fight breaks out amongst the clowns and the crowd just thinks it's an act. I also really liked that Lee stuck by her instincts and looked after a certain victim when no one else would stand up for them. She's a good person even if she gets a bit tongue tides at times. I like that Sarajane and her "shelter" made an appearance. This story did tend to feel a bit one sided at times though. It was mostly Lee and I found myself missing more interactions with Aunt Nettie or other regular characters. Kind of missed more scenes at the Chocolade too, although I always love the hear the truffle descriptions everyone chooses. I look forward to checking in on the residents of Warner Pier again.
Can't believe that this is book 14. I always enjoy checking in on a long running series like this. You get to know the characters and surroundings pretty well. This series is a very light cozy. It reads fast, can be predictable at times, but I'm still always entertained. I also love the little tidbits about chocolate that the author includes at the end of each chapter. Fun learning that Joe's character is inspired by Gregory Peck!
This cozy was a bit unique because the murder already took place prior to the story so that changed a bit of how the reader and the sleuth collect clues. All of the clown scenes throughout this story were definitely a touch of comic relief. Even that end scene where a fight breaks out amongst the clowns and the crowd just thinks it's an act. I also really liked that Lee stuck by her instincts and looked after a certain victim when no one else would stand up for them. She's a good person even if she gets a bit tongue tides at times. I like that Sarajane and her "shelter" made an appearance. This story did tend to feel a bit one sided at times though. It was mostly Lee and I found myself missing more interactions with Aunt Nettie or other regular characters. Kind of missed more scenes at the Chocolade too, although I always love the hear the truffle descriptions everyone chooses. I look forward to checking in on the residents of Warner Pier again.
August 23, 2017
Even though Moe Davis owned a shop called Clowning Around, he was a pretty nasty person. When he is murdered and the case becomes cold after a month, the townspeople move on to other gossip. As the owner of the chocolate shop next door, Lee decides to bid on his property when it comes up for sale by the family. When Lee discovers Moe’s widow unconscious, she begins to wonder about the case and if the clown business might somehow be involved. It’s also Clown Week in town and there’s plenty of people running around in clown makeup and costume, and Lee fears one of them might be the killer.
December 6, 2018
Not reading all of the series, so perhaps it would be better if I had started @ #1. It's tourism week, and the theme is clowns. Lee and Joe team up to tackle a clown-related death that happened years ago and may have been improperly solved. Bringing up old cases and revisiting them seems to be a theme in this series.
Again, a quick read...and more misc chocolate trivia. The wrap-up at the end was quick, as with the others in the series.
Again, a quick read...and more misc chocolate trivia. The wrap-up at the end was quick, as with the others in the series.
August 30, 2019
Another fun, quick read. Clowns try to make us laugh, but take away the costume and wipe away the makeup and there can be some dark secrets underneath. Lee just wants to get ready for Clown Week, but she and Joe soon get tangled up in another murder and attempted murder. Perhaps it’s time to start clowning around...
March 9, 2021
. An annoying guy who played a clown was murdered, and Joe gets to take over the case of the guy accused. Of course, this just happens to occur during the town's clown festival. From that, the usual mayhem begins. This gets five stars not because it's high literature, but because it's an excellent entry in the "cozy mystery" genre. Each genre gets its own rules. :)
June 10, 2024
i had a hard time reading the beginning of the book because it was quite boring. the writing is ok, a little funny which i like but not mysterious at all really. tell me why the entire last chase scene focuses more on lee’s ability to sled rather than the guy literally carrying a gun about to kill a teen boy???
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2020
I selected this book for the Public Library's winter reading challenge. One category was to read a book with chocolate in the title. It was a fun light read. I finished it today between our grandaughter's games.
March 17, 2021
I love reading this cozy mystery series. I give much thanks to the women authors who don't rely on gory details, torture, sex or profanity. Very nice main characters. I need to find more mystery books like this, The Cat Who series, etc.
April 20, 2021
So while I don't have a problem with clowns I did still find the clown themed festival creepy. I like Lee and Joe and reading about their adventures and this mystery kept me guessing. As always the chocolates had me drooling.
April 6, 2025
I’ve really enjoyed this series. The characters are endearing and the mystery is also interesting and keeps me guessing. I like Lee. She is strong and real not afraid to laugh at herself but is fearless when finding justice for others
June 22, 2017
I hadn't heard of this author or series but since it was on the bargain book rack I took a chance. It is a cute story and I liked the chocolate history sprinkled throughout.
September 24, 2017
Pretty good!
January 6, 2018
3.5 stars
May 12, 2018
Warner Pier is so quaint and idyllic and Lee is a charming main character. This mystery ended rather abruptly for me, after a whole lot of build up and twists and turns.
July 12, 2018
A lot of clowning around.
August 12, 2018
Good tidbits on history of chocolate, but Stilted dialogue, stiff characters & predictable plot have prevented my full enjoyment of this book. Interesting that it was written under a pseudonym!!
March 20, 2019
Fun if implausible sledding scene.
March 23, 2019
Silly
Very silly story line that keeps you intrigue. The silliest part is the chocolate talk inserted in between the story line.
Very silly story line that keeps you intrigue. The silliest part is the chocolate talk inserted in between the story line.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews