No as good as the first two books in the series.  It felt like Michelle lost some of that individuality that made her stand; she lost some of her wise-cracking nature and felt a lot more vanilla.  It also felt like a lot more chocolate descriptions that could have doubled as marketing copy.

 

The mystery was good though and I like the direction the author has gone with Detective Lockett.  Aarons isn't rushing the romance - if anything it's moving at a snail's pace - but I do think the whole sub-story line with Leo was rushed and I don't think she did any favours to PTSD with the way she neatly wrapped it all up in a bow at the end.

 

Generally I enjoyed the read, if not as much as I did the first two books.  I'll definitely read the next one.

 

This storyline takes place in the weeks coming up to Halloween and culminates on Halloween night; since my original book for Set on Halloween square for Halloween Book Bingo 2016 hasn't yet arrived (damn you postal services!), I'm using this as my substitute.

Ok, I've given up on waiting for my Set on Halloween book for bingo to arrive.  I'd planned on reading A Graveyard for Lunatics: Another Tale of Two Cities by Ray Bradbury  and I even paid for expedited shipping to get it here faster, but it's been almost 3 weeks now.  Yesterday, this book arrived as part of my Book Buddy Swap box and it takes place on Halloween, so substitution made.

 

Thank you mystery book swap partner!  :D

Best friends and business partners Michelle and Erica have a monstrous to-do list as they prepare for the annual West Riverdale Halloween Fair. Their shop, Chocolates and Chapters, will have a booth at the event, where Michelle will serve spooky delights while Erica displays an assortment of spine-chilling books.

Thank goodness the teenagers from Erica’s comic-book club are chipping in to help. But one of their volunteers winds up in trouble after a woman’s body is found in an abandoned house—with the teen’s superhero key ring close by.

The teen swears he didn’t do it, but he’s obviously hiding something—leaving Michelle and Erica with a witch’s cauldron of questions. Soon they discover that the dead woman was tricking a whole bunch of people out of more than just treats. Now these two friends must go door-to-door if they hope to unmask a killer…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I never used to be very fond of food/pet mysteries but the older I've gotten the more I've grown to like them and understand what makes them so likable.

Of course with Halloween being around the corner who can resist a sweet holiday related read filled with both tricks and treats?

I really feel like readers of any age can enjoy Behind Chocolate Bars. From teens to adults this book has it all for all ages.

I was happy that Aarons makes it easy for first time readers of the series to follow along, I love her town and her cast which are fun and fantastic I love her writing and personality.

Aarons has a great way of bringing a scene together that keeps you plenty entertained. Behind Chocolate Bars is a fun quick witty mystery filled with bounds of fun for all of us.

A great book choice for one of my Halloween reads!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley Publishing

 

 

 

 

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If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like or let me know what you think! I love hearing from followers! Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In spite of the names, this is one of the more intelligently written cozy series to come out lately.

 

Truffled to Death wasn't quite as good as the first book; it started off slower, but after about half way I started to get really interested as the mystery moved into international art trafficking and mysterious men with murky motives.  Michelle and Erica continue to be the kind of MC's I'd like to call friends in real life and the author doesn't try to to make them wacky or quirky or TSTL.

 

Giving Coco the cat a leading role in the mystery made it a bit more fun and by merely acting as cats will, lent a believable air to the final confrontation.

 

I usually don't pay much attention to the recipes in the back, but this one has a recipe for a banana fosters truffle that sounds delicious and easy for this novice to make.  Definitely looking forward to the next book.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

With wine and chocolate you can’t go wrong …can you? Apparently if you have them with Maya antiquities things can turn out badly.

Michelle and Erica thought the reception for the museum’s new display would be great promotion for their book store/chocolate shop, but when some of the pricey pieces fail to make it back where they belong the curator points the finger at Erica. The man, her former mentor, says she is seeking revenge. Well that theory did not have much promise until the man ends up dead and the weapon happens to be one of the missing artifacts. Erika is still on the hot seat so the girls have no choice than to try to track down the killer themselves.

I love the characters in this series. Michelle and Erica have my dream job. Books and chocolate, every town needs a place like Chapters and Chocolate! The author has added an unusual family to the mix this time. The Rivers family is donating some Maya artifacts to the museum but it seems someone in the family in not on board with the rest. Just which one is the mystery. Would they steal and kill to prevent this gift?

Kathy Aarons writing is silky smooth, the story just flows. I found myself doing the just one more chapter thing over and over again until I reached the end. I had an inkling of the guilty party was but the more I read the more I realized I was wrong. Great twists keep us readers guessing. The investigation was very in depth but due to a unexpected event the girls find themselves in a heap of trouble.

I enjoyed the Maya/Mayan debate. I have been using the wrong form of the word forever.

There is only 1 thing that could make this book better. That would be including a box of chocolate truffles with every book.