About A Study in Chocolate
A Study in Chocolate (Bean to Bar Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery 5th in Series
Golden Tip Press (January 17, 2023)
Print length : 289 pages
Digital ASIN : B0BH46559N
GoodReads Link - Coming Soon
Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is expanding, as it has become a gathering spot for the community, despite having been the scene of multiple murders. Artists she met while doing a chocolate sculpture are now working out of the shop. So when Felicity is invited to tea by an eccentric art collector, she’s intrigued, especially when she gets asked to pose for a portrait done with chocolate on chocolate. Only, where there is a murder the next day at the same historic house where the tea was held, one of Felicity’s artist friends becomes the main suspect.
When the killer threatens that, unless Felicity unravels the murder, one of her two love interests will be the next victim, she finds herself unwittingly at the center of a puzzle, with a Sherlock Holmes obsessed murderer who wants to be the next Moriarty – and wants to cast Felicity as Sherlock.
Felicity starts finding unexpected connects between her friends and acquaintances, and has to deal with the idea that someone who knows her is a murderer. At the same time, she has to keep her business running, despite construction dust and unruly customers – and an unexpected order for thousands of truffles.
Satchmo the retired police dog turned therapy dog returns to help her sniff out a few clues, and the kidnapping of Ruffles, the quirky artist’s cat, helps lead Felicity into the puzzle. Can Felicity solve it in time to protect the people she cares about from becoming additional victims?
I change the subject. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Well, I wanted to offer to paint you.” He throws up his hands, like it’s a hopeless idea now that I’m not as into art as he thought. “In chocolate. I thought it would be both flattering and profitable. Don’t worry. It wouldn’t be anything risqué.”
I blink. “Is there money in painting with chocolate?”
“Not as much as dealing in famous paintings,” Mitch admits. I realize he’s lost the affected way of speaking he’d shown earlier. “But a hand-painted piece done on a thin chocolate slab for a canvas can go for close to a grand. Especially if the subject is interesting, and you have to admit, you do have a rather unique following.”
The following he’s talking about is in the true crime circuit. I’ve been trying to lead a normal life, to stop having murders drop into it, but I don’t seem to have much control over the events surrounding me. After the last case I’d gotten caught up in, a local blogger had called me a mega murder magnet. I feel heat coming into my face again. I say, “That whole murder-magnet death-dare thing wasn’t the reputation I actually wanted for my chocolate shop. I got into the craft chocolate business because I wanted to make people happy.”
“Well, you’ve certainly made the true crime people happy.” Mitch laughs at his own joke. It’s not really funny. People come to my shop because of their curiosity about the murders I’ve help solve. They buy chocolate – and often, they come back. I hope that is because they’ve realized I make excellent chocolate, that there’s more to my shop than some cheap gimmick.
“Can we not talk about that?” I ask.
“That may be difficult,” he says. “Because it’s part of my proposal.”
“I don’t follow,” I say.
“I thought the chocolate paintings would be an excuse for you to come to the house, for us to be seen together. Because what I really need is a private detective.”
For a moment, I’m not sure if I’ve heard him correctly. Every time I’ve helped solve a case, it is because someone I care about has been involved. It’s been a bit overwhelming, even if I have to admit I have enjoyed the puzzle aspect of it. And here is a perfect stranger trying to hire me to get involved in something that is obviously none of my business. I say as gently as I can, “I’m sorry. I’m not a private detective.”
He says, “Maybe not a licensed one. But I don’t need to hire you officially. Let’s just say you can keep all the profit from the paintings.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t-”
Mitch holds up a hand, stopping me mid-sentence. Does he realize how annoying that is? And the gesture seems to be a habit with him. “At least hear me out. Then you can say no.”
He moves over to the wall and removes a giant painting. Behind it, the word Revenge has been scrawled on the wall with red paint. The lettering looks like calligraphy, and there’s the image of an ornate knife painted underneath the word. There’s something vaguely familiar about this scene, though it is difficult to place why.
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TOUR PARTICIPANTS
January 16 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 16 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
January 17 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW, RECIPE
January 17 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 18 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 19 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 19 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 20 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
January 20 – The Mystery Review Crew – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 21 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
January 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
January 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 22 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
January 23 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
January 24 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 25 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
January 26 – Sneaky the library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
January 27 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
January 28 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT
January 28 – My Journey Back – SPOTLIGHT
January 29 – Girl with Pen – SPOTLIGHT
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