Review: DEATH BY CHOCOLATE by Sally Berneathy

 

 

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE
Published: February 1, 2011

Mystery, Cozy Animal Mystery

& Women Sleuths

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MURDER:
BOOKS 1, 2, 3 -- 

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE SERIES

PUBLISHED: December 16, 2017

Mystery, Cozy Animal Mystery

& Women Sleuths

 

WICKED HUMOR CLOAKED IN MURDER

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE by Sally Berneathy is an aptly named murder mystery. The author’s wicked sense of humor cloaking a very cleverly written tale, reading the first few paragraphs told me I was in for an exhilarating ride.

I do remember when this book was first published and the stir it caused. So when I saw a promo for it, I decided to see for myself as to why it had garnered so much attention and received so many stellar reviews. The fact it took this long for me to read was surprising given that I love mysteries almost as much as I do chocolate. So it was without a moment’s hesitation that I took the plunge and was immediately treated to a scrumptious delight that kept my Kindle burning brightly into the night.

Ms. Berneathy has created quite a world for us to play in, and who better than lead character Lindsay Powell to make the introduction. And while there are lots of ways she could have greeted us, we find the chocolate chip baking goddess waking to the fact that she’s slept with her very psychotic/very estranged husband Rick. Oopsy! You know how that goes, and so does Lindsay because she is always being taken in by the uber handsome womanizing louse she knows will never change. While she staves off early morning manipulation games designed to talk her into doing one more thing she doesn’t want to do, it isn’t long before she spots Paula, a woman who rents a property from Lindsay, being questioned by the police. The questioning begets Lindsay speaking to Paula … and then a neighbor Fred … which begets her wondering what the heck Fred does do for a living … which begets taking in a feral cat that found his way to her front porch … which begets a murder … or does the begetting of poisoned chocolate come first?

It's for you to find out and enjoy! As for Berneathy, she does a masterful job in fleshing out characters while keeping all the irons hot and juggling in the air. She does such a stupendous job, that I fell head over heels in love with that man named Fred without even trying—and I never even liked the name before this! The writing sharp, the dialogue is spot on and ruthlessly honest. Veering from hilarious to fatally somber without missing a beat, the entwining of extremes and everything in-between is difficult at best. But trust this author to nail it all down without the fast pace suffering from the switching of gears. She truly makes the entire affair effortless.

Conclusion: Sally Berneathy is terrific. Like Lindsay, she has that perfect secret recipe … not for baking cookies … but for writing remarkably entertaining books. Witty, zany, intriguing, puzzling, larcenous, and outright hilarious, DEATH BY CHOCOLATE is a sparkling winner that I can’t recommend highly enough. Five stars is just not enough, so how about ‘five stars and all the chocolate chip cookies you can eat’! Enjoy!

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DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

 

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TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MURDER

Review: GHOST IN ROOMETTE FOUR by JANET DAWSON

 

 

The Ghost in Roomette Four
Jill McLeod California Zephyr Series Book 3
Published: March 20, 2022
Ghost Mysteries and Historical Mysteries 

A FABULOUS MYSTERY THAT KEEPS YOU INTERESTED UNTIL THE LAST PAGE

What can I say? I completely loved THE GHOST IN ROOMETTE FOUR, Book 3 in the California Zephyr Series by author Janet Dawson. In fact, I loved Books 1-4 also. And, if truth be told, I will read the entire series before I am through.

Janet Dawson is a force to be reckoned with. Her mysteries solid and characters believable, she’s just one of those meticulous authors that don’t come around nearly often enough. And while I enjoyed her other work, I feel it’s the California Zephyr Series that allows her to spread her wings and show off her writing chops by undertaking and lovingly crafting this series of Historical Mysteries. She’s delivered on the promise and adeptly written an amazing story and almost a memoir that is replete with facts, locations, mores, styles, and the changing roles of women in society. Readers are the beneficiaries as the detail-oriented nature of her effort creates a portal in time where we can hang out, visit, and learn about the era, all the while being entertained.

Jill McCleod is our intrepid hero. Having suffered a devastating personal loss, she’s back to living her life and working as a Zephrytte. It means being a hostess on a train that runs from Oakland, CA to Chicago and back again. Now the book is set in the 50s, so what she’s doing is a pretty gutsy thing to do. No doubt, independence like this is indicative of an adventurous spirit … maybe a little too adventurous for the twenty-four-year-old swears she saw a shimmering light in the middle of the night The light came from a Pullman where a man had recently died. While certain members of the staff believe what she saw was the result of an overactive imagination, others believe the light is the ghost of the man that may not have died of natural causes as stated in the autopsy—a man that might be communicating that he was murdered. But Jill is feisty and knows what she saw and is unwilling to let the matter go. Her determination to uncover the truth of what occurred sets the stage for her delving into secrets better left alone … secrets that lead to danger.  

It’s against that backdrop of investigating the supernatural, Dawson does what she does best in weaving an incredible wealth of information into some mighty good storytelling. The pace is unhurried which goes along with the decade. Not everything was moving at supersonic speed, so the story unfolds, inviting us to go deeper and deeper into the mystery of what is going on. Because of all of the above, I’m giving this book five stars. Ms. Dawson really is a wonder and the book such a pleasant surprise, I decompressed while reading it and returned to when things weren’t so highly pressurized. I have to confess that I totally get and appreciate what she’s putting out there. I do hope her writing captures a new generation of young readers. It would be nice to pass on the excitement and love affair many had (and have) with trains … decades gone by … and wonderful mysteries like these.

 

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