The Chocolate Bridal Bash

While this is the 6th book in Carl's Chocoholic series, it was my first. I enjoyed my "visit" to the Michigan resort town so much that I purchased the first 5 books in the series so that I can start at the beginning. That said, The Chocolate Bridal Bash was a perfectly good stand-alone mystery in its own right. I agree with some of the other reader comments that the malapropism conceit for the main character gets tedious, but even that doesn't eclipse the enjoyment factor of this series.

Lee McKinney and Joe Woodyard have finally set a date for their wedding. The only problem is getting Lee's mother, Sally, to come. While trying to understand why her mother doesn't want to come, Lee unearths a family secret. Her mother originally left Warner Pier on what would have been her wedding day. This is a chapter in her mother's life that Lee knew nothing about. Further investigating turns up that Sally's finacee was found dead in his car on their wedding day. His death was ruled a suicide. Despite warnings that what happened is in the past, Lee's curiosity gets the better of her. She begins to spend time digging in the old newspapers, trying to make sense of events that took place before she was even born. Then Lee and Joe stumble over a very recent dead body. Whatever was having thirty plus years ago, someone still wants it to stay buried. But just what happened on that fateful night? Will Sally be in danger if she comes to the wedding? This book is easily my favorite in the series. The action starts quickly and the pace never lags. While I can usually figure out the ending early, this one had me going until the very end. While I did put the pieces together a little before Lee, it was only by a few pages. With the focus on the past, many of the characters from previous books are reduced to cameos. Giving the recurring characters more page time would have just slowed down the story, something I am glad didn't happen. The cast of new characters is engaging, and they more then made up for the reduced roll the regulars had. About the only problem with the book is Lee's tongue tangles. While they had been diminishing in the last few installments, here they are back in force. While a few sprinkled throughout the book make me chuckle, here they began to get annoying. I couldn't put this book down but raced through it to see how the story ended. Any fan of the series will love the latest tasty treat.

This is another wonderful mystery in the series. Great chocolate info and charcters you just love. Eat chocolate while reading, makes it that much better. Looking for more, soon!!

I have read all the chocolate mysteries so far and I can say with confidence that Joanna Carl's wit and characters improve as the series goes on. I was not intrigued by the beginning of the book, it was a fairly slow start. As I dug into the novel, I began to become more and more involved to the point where I couldn't put it down. I will not give away anything as you can read the plot summary for yourself. I did find Lee's tongue tangling a bit more annoying than in the last books. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the chocolate mysteries, but you're going to need a box of chocolates beside you.

The happiest times Lee MicKinney has ever known have all taken place in the Michigan summer tourist town of Warner Pier. She is working as the general manager for Ten Hugs Chocolate and lives in her house which might not be a mansion but feels just like home. She is soon getting married to Joe who loves her and means the world to her. Perhaps her problem is her mother who insists and entreats in the same sentence that the wedding occur somewhere else. Nellie tells Lee that her mother left town the night before her wedding and her fiancé Bill was found dead hors later, an apparent suicide. Wanting to learn more about this unknown chapter in her mother's life, she starts investigating with some help from Joe. Her mother wanted to make sure that Sheriff Van Hoosier was out of office and had no power before coming for a visit so they go to the nursing home where he is living. They find him dead, the victim of a blow to the head and strangulation. When Lee's mother arrives for a visit she is almost kidnapped. Clearly someone has secrets to keep that involved Lee's mother and her dead former fiancé and that person is more than willing to keep killing anyone who gets in his way. This is a very entertaining and stylish mystery filled with romance and chocolate trivia. Reading this on an empty stomach is hazardous to the waistline because the chocolate descriptions are the kiss of death so sensuously enticing that readers will crave the need instantly. Lee is very likeable without being too sweet and her brains and beauty make her a powerhouse to be reckoned with as anyone who gets in her way finds out. Harriet Klausner