Chocolate a la Murder

Its Wine and Chocolate Days in San Benedetto, and paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has sweet dreams about her new Magic of Chocolate exhibit. Her latest attraction is a haunted Mexican whisk called a molinillo that rattles if someone lies.

When Maddie visits the town’s new boutique chocolate shop, she finds one of the owner’s dead covered in melted cocoa. Maddie’s determined to catch the killer. She soon uncovers deadly dealings in the world of artisan chocolate. The deception surrounding those dealings are enough to make the molinillo rattle all night. Will Maddie have to temper her passion for sleuthing before a killer makes her fate bittersweet?

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Series: A Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum Mystery – Book 4
Author: Kirsten Weiss
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Business/Paranormal
Publisher: Midnight Ink

Rating:

From Midnight Ink, https://www.midnightinkbooks.com comes Chocolate a la Murder. Maddie isn’t your average shopkeeper. Running a paranormal museum is not for the faint of heart. Keeping customers coming through the doors is vital. So, when Wine and Chocolate days start in San Benedetto, Maddie jumps into the fray to give her customers something special. Then she finds a body covered in chocolate and everything changes.

Maddie is struggling to keep her business open and her bills paid. Things have gotten better at the museum, but she is always looking for ways to improve business and her income. As much as she likes to pretend that she doesn’t believe in ghosts, haunting’s and so forth, she finds herself needing to make everyone else believe. Bringing in a haunted molinillo that makes noise every time someone tells a lie is a great start, and before long, she begins to believe it really is haunted.

Characters in this series are always amusing. They bring reality to an otherwise fantastical story. Friends Adele and Harper are busy with their own lives, one is obsessed with her wedding, and the other is too busy most of the time to be of any help. When things suddenly get topsy-turvy in Maddie’s life, they are of little help. Even her wonderful boyfriend, Jason, is of little use in solving this crime as he isn’t on the case because of her involvement.

Finding a killer before they strike again becomes her number one priority, even over delicious chocolate. The murderer thinks she has evidence or knows who they are and has decided that Maddie is the next target. Eventually, the killer is unmasked, and justice is served after Maddie realizes who the killer is. However, the motive leaves her baffled and is fitting in today’s world.

Chocolate a la Murder is a bit slow and longer than is needed. If readers have not read the other books in the series, Chocolate a la Murder will make little sense, and the characters will not be distinguishable. Although this book may keep some readers guessing as to the identity of the killer, the clues are all there to uncover the villain quickly. I would have been happier if the haunted molinillo had played a bigger part overall to the investigation and outcome. I do recommend this series to readers who enjoy a unique plot and characters that have room to grow.