Lee Woodyard’s Aunt Nettie is looking forward to a week’s worth of fun activities with her old singing group as they gather for their 45th high school reunion. When Lee discovers all of Nettie’s old high school memorabilia—including the trophy from the final singing competition they won—hidden in the garage, she thinks it will be a wonderful surprise for all the old biddies as they spend the week reminiscing. However, when lead singer & simpleton Kathy has a hysterical reaction to the reappearance of the trophy, Lee realizes there is more lurking in the distant past of the Pier-O-ettes than meets the eye. It all seems to hark back to the mysterious shooting death of Dan Rice, the owner of the Castle Ballroom who died the very same night the Pier-O-ettes won the trophy. When his widow crazy old Mrs. Rice is murdered after calling Lee’s husband to say she has new evidence in the death of her husband, Lee is convinced the two deaths are connected. Lee’s suspicions are confirmed when a masked figure tries to kill her, too. Will Lee be able to unmask the culprit before he succeeds in bringing her investigation to a permanent conclusion?

The premise was good, but the story was predictable and the killer was easy to spot very early on.

And the author’s choice of character names was just atrocious. Naming characters is an underappreciated art; Joanna Carl, unfortunately, isn’t any good at it. Dolly Jolly, Jerry Cherry, Garnett Garrett…??? Is she letting her two-year-old grandson name all of her secondary characters? That was nothing short of painful.

I would probably be willing to read another installment in this series if it weren’t for the presence of Lee’s husband, Joe. The reader is informed that Lee left her first husband because he treated her like a piece of property. Well, she might as well have stayed married to him because her new husband is just the same. Joe was already detestable when he physically blocked Lee from getting out of the booth and speaking up for herself when she was accosted by Mrs. Rice at the pizzeria, but when he told her she was stupid (& that become such a major component of the story) I was fed up and permanently done. ( )

A friend sent me this book in a box of books. We've both read other books in the series, though I don't think either of us has read all of them that came prior to this one.

The cover says "with tasty chocolate trivia" but I thought the items in this book were less that than in some of the other books I read. In this book most of the "trivia" consisted of listing locations that have chocolate connections--though only 4 or 5 are listed and I can think of at least 2 that were not included: Harry London Chocolates of Ohio and Ghiaradelli chocolates in California.

WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
*****

Lee and Dolly are cleaning out a garage storage unit and find some of Lee's Aunt Nettie's high school mementos, coincidentally at the same time that there is a reunion of the high school group with which Aunt Nettie sang.

Most of the history centers around a place called "The Castle" that once was a big-deal family-oriented entertainment place in Warner Pier, MI. The Castle went into foreclosure after one of its owners, Dick Rice, died. His wife, Verna, has fought for 40-plus years, insisting that his death was accidental, rather than a suicide or murder. Verna thinks she's found new information, but she dies on her way to tell/show it to Joe (Lee's husband).

I guessed who stalked Lee long before the author revealed it. I was a bit surprised that although Lee pepper sprayed the attacker, that fact was not mentioned again for quite a bit. I would think that would be a clue that the police could follow up on. We see that the police question a few people, but there's no mention of them having irritated eyes from being pepper-sprayed. A fact that might have supported their innocence.

Once I knew that, it wasn't that hard to figure out who the killer was.

Lee and Joe: Lee gets upset because Joe (in what I assume was the throes of worry and relief) calls her stupid (though I think he was saying her choices of action were stupid, not that she was stupid). Lee stews over this for quite a bit but never brings it up to him. I can understand her needing a bit of time to cool down and regain her composure--it's always good to not say things in anger or when you're emotionally wrought up. But she never ends up bringing it up to him. It makes me wonder if this is something he already knows (but I don't know he knows because I haven't read the entire series) and just slipped up on this one time in an emotional moment or if the author deliberately chose to save this confrontation for a a future installment. To be fair, Lee says the same thing to both him and her aunt--so maybe she realizes how easy it is to slip up when one is emotionally wrought up and decides to be understanding and forgiving. ( )

This was much better than the previous one- this one gave us ALL of the potential suspects toward the beginning --- a locked room mystery, if you will. I have always liked those best, and the motives floated from benign hatred to venomous rage. Just some light reading for the summertime. ( )

Lee Woodyard's Aunt Nettie is thrilled that she is reuniting with her high school singing group, the Pier-o-ettes and when Lee finds an old trophy belonging to the group she is eager to share it with them. Little does she know the trophy will trigger bad memories from years ago including a mysterious death that may have been an accident, suicide, or murder. Lee is just digesting the secrets from Aunt Nettie's past when a current death occurs that is clearly linked to the death many years ago. Before she realizes it, Lee is knee-deep in danger and has to be careful before she becomes a murder victim herself.

"The Chocolate Castle Clue" is the slim but enjoyable eleventh book in Joanna Carl's Chocoholic Cozy Mystery series. Much of the action in the book takes place away from Nettie's chocolate shop with just a sprinkling of chocolate trivia and descriptions of chocolate. Carl has wisely limited Lee's malapropisms in these books (a little goes a long way) and very cleverly has one of Lee's misspeaks reveal a major clue. The reunion aspects are nicely done with just the right mixture of awkwardness among people who haven't seen each other in years. However, when I say the book is slim I don't mean just the size (it is just over 200 pages) but the mystery itself. While the mystery from the past had a few unexpected twists, the identity of the modern day killer was pretty easy to figure out. This was a bit of a disappointment and ultimately the book felt more like fluff than anything else.

"The Chocolate Castle Clue" is not one of Joanna Carl's best entries in the Chocoholic Cozy Mystery series but it is a light enjoyable read. ( )

This is the 11th book in the Chocoholic Mystery series.

I really enjoy reading about Lee, and her friends in Warner Pier, MI. Lee manages the day to day activities of the TenHuis Chocolade store in Warner Pier, a store owned by her aunt. Lee is in the process of cleaning a garage out that TenHuis has been using for storage. In doing so she finds a trophy that the Pier-O-Ettes had won at the local dance hall some 45 years ealier. It so happens that the six ladies who made up the group are all in town preparing for a high school reunion. Lee decides to take the trophy over to aunt's, thinking the group would like to see it again. That is so far from the truth, as there is a 45 year old unsolved murder that is also brought to mind.

That evening, Lee has a bit of a run in with the widow of the late owner of the dance hall. Then a day or two later this widow is on her way to talk to Lee's husband and crashes into a tree. But upon examining the victim it is found that she had a severe blow to the back of the head. And a couple of males drop by to visit the Pier-O-Ettes, univited by the ladies, but they said they were invited Lee's aunt. Lee is soon asking questions about the recent happenings and those from the past.

A night or two later as Lee is leaving her shop she peers into her van and sees someone in it. She screams and they take off running. She attempts to chase them with two slashed tires on her van. To no avail.

To add to the current days mystery, Lee's aunt doesn't want to share too much information from the past that would certainly help solve everything, from both the past and the present. But Lee is a stick to type of young lady and solves the mystesries that have been plaguing Warner Pier. ( )