Behind Chocolate Bars

A Chocolate Covered Mystery, Book #3

By Kathy Aarons

ISBN#9780425267257

Author Website: Kathyaarons.com

 

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

Synopsis:

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… (Goodreads)

 

Review:

Behind Chocolate Bars is the solid third entry in the Chocolate Covered Mystery series, and there is plenty for fans of chocolate, books, and Halloween to enjoy within its pages.

Michelle and Erica are best friends and share the shop Chocolate and Chapters in a small Minnesota town.  They are busy with preparations for the annual Halloween Festival, but their attentions are soon divided when their sixteen year old intern Dylan becomes the prime suspect in the gruesome murder of Faith Monette.  They do not believe that Dylan had anything to do with the crime, but he and his friends are definitely hiding something from them.  The pair initially wants no part in the investigation, but the more they learn about con artist Faith and her connection to Dylan’s father, the more they feel compelled to look into things – their business and reputations are on the line.

I like the premise of the Chocolate Covered Mystery series.  What is there not to like about work days filled with books and confections?  The small town locale with the backdrop of Halloween provides plenty of cozy ambiance.  I have a soft spot for cozy mysteries set in autumn, but I wish that the actual murder and investigation had more to do with Halloween here.  This is a small quibble though.  As is the case in most cozies, there is plenty of gossip to go around that both hurts and helps the investigation.  I felt emotionally invested in the story because it was so close and important to Michelle and Erica.  Of course, I rooted for Dylan’s innocence, but I wanted to reach into the pages and shake him and his friends at times because of their secrecy.  I did not, however, feel a thing for the victim.  I know that the victim is usually not a nice person, but even when Faith’s seemingly only soft spot was revealed, I was not swayed to bemoan her fate.

The recurring characters are likable and interesting, but, three books into the series, I still do not feel like I know them very well.  They are not merely stereotypes or poorly crafted, but I just want more from them.  The exception to this is Michelle’s brother Leo.  Kathy Aarons does a fantastic job of portraying this military veteran’s struggle with PTSD.  The siblings’ relationship is the shining star of this series, and their moments together are authentic and at times somewhat raw.  Kudos to Ms. Aaron for not shying away from the serious challenges that our military sometimes face and handling them with finesse and care.  I also really like Bean and Detective Lockett.

As I mention above, Faith is easy to dislike, and it is difficult to feel sorry about her death.  Even though there are several suspects, they all seem too similar with a common motivation.  Because I pinned the killer as soon as he/she was introduced, the mystery was predictable.  Despite this, I was entertained throughout the book.

Read Behind Chocolate Bars for its small-town feel and love of chocolate.