When a pirate festival blows into their small town, bakeshop owners Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree and her best friend Ellie White expect they’ll be busy baking up a storm, but instead they find themselves marooned in a new murder investigation after someone kills a well-known food writer and TV personality . . . Everything is shipshape at Jake and Ellie’s new waterfront bakery, The Chocolate Moose, … Chocolate Moose, especially now that the annual Pirate Festival is dropping anchor in their quaint island village of Eastport, Maine. Jake and Ellie are ready for the bounty of tourists sure to flood their shop. But their plans quickly sink when the body of celebrity foodie, Henry Hadlyme, is discovered in the Moose’s basement.
Jake and Ellie are horrified, but their shock turns to dismay when Jake is pegged for the murder. Now, to clear Jake’s name and save the shop, Jake and Ellie must swashbuckle down and figure out who among Henry’s numerous enemies scuttled him in the cellar. Was it a long-ago jilted sweetheart’s vengeful relative? His long-suffering personal assistant? Or perhaps some bitter-as-dark-chocolate unknown enemy, now aboard the mysterious ship lurking in Eastport’s harbor?
Alas, dead men tell no tales, so Jake and Ellie will have to get to the bottom of the case on their own and find the real killer before anyone else is forced to walk the plank . . .
Includes a Recipe!
more
In this third book of the series things are going well at Jake and Ellie’s bakery and they are looking forward to the upcoming annual Pirate Festival. There will be an influx of tourists and that will definitely bring money to it only the town but to their bakery as well. Things go from positive and happy to utter shock for the ladies when the body of a celebrity foodie, Henry Hadlyme, is found in the bakery basement. How did he and up there and who killed him are the most important questions the ladies.need to answer. It gets even worse when it looks like Jake is who the cops are looking at as the killer. Now the most important thing is clearing Makes name while they hunt for the real murderer. Can the ladies figure things out before Jake ends.up in jail? Follow along as the two look through the Henry’s family, enemy list, and past employees in hopes of finding a killer among them. This is such a fun series, filled with wonderful characters and a setting to die for.
Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut by Sarah Graves is book three in the A Death by Chocolate Mystery series. This was the first for me but I was able to get current quickly.
There is a Pirate festival in town and business at the bakery is full speed ahead. But not only is the festival there, a TV celebrity is also in town filming. He and Jake have a confrontation in the street being witnessed by quite a few people. Later that day, she finds his body in the basement of the bakery and all eyes are on Jake. She and Ellie have there hands full running the bakery and investigating who could be setting her up. After all, it turns our he wasn’t that well liked by his staff. When a mysterious ship sails into the harbor and causes an explosion in town, the plot thickens.
There are twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. I also, enjoyed the setting and the characters are relatable. You get just enough personal lives of Jake, Ellie and their families. You also get a recipe.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
An intriguing book! It’s time for the Pirate Festival in Eastport, Maine. Jake and Ellie are gearing up for the crowds at their store, The Chocolate Moose. After Jake gets into a heated argument with Henry Hadlyme, a food show host, he is found dead in the store’s cellar with a cutlass belonging to Jake’s husband and a stuffed parrot belonging to her grandson. Now Jake and Ellie are on the search for the killer in order to clear Jake’s name. In the meantime, the festival is disrupted by a mysterious ship and several explosions. Can these two friends solve the murder without getting themselves killed in the process? Very enjoyable! I love these characters and the chocolate shop. Everything for sale sounds so delicious! I found the storyline in this book to be very intriguing and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Jake and Ellie!
Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut” is the 3rd instalment in the “Death By Chocolate” mystery series by Sarah Graves.
I enjoy stories set in coastal locations, and the village of Eastport, Maine is a perfect setting from the description of harbour, the shops, the people. The protagonist Jake and her BFF Ellie have a wonderful friendship, always got each other’s back, plus I love her family.
There were plenty of suspects and plenty of twists and turns to keep me wanting to find out what will happen next. I did suspect the killer early on but then second guessed myself. The book was engaging from start to finish, grabbing your attention from the very beginning.
I highly recommend this series to all my cozy friends.
I requested and received an Advanced Readers copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This series is a spin off of the Home Repair is Homicide series (16 titles) and the third in the Death By Chocolate series. That makes this the 19th in the Jake Tiptree world of mystery. But have no fear, it works as a standalone. Jake and her best friend and business partner, Ellie, run the Chocolate Moose Bakery, a true labor of love. Over the past almost two years of operation things have been a bit shaky and they were afraid that their business would fail. At the the beginning of this mystery life is looking good with family life and their business. It’s Pirate’s Days in their small Maine town and the place is jumping with pirates of all sizes and ages. Even Jake’s grandson has his favorite parrot in hand. After a children’s pirate party at the bakery things start to hit a sour note when a nasty, famous in his own mind, food critic, Henry Hedlyme, forces his way into the bakery and demands that Jake sit for one of his podcasts. Knowing that he has already taken a pot shot at another local eatery, Jake is not about to let him tear into her business and damage it so she lets him have it in no uncertain terms. Get out and stay out, plain as day. When she next encounters him, he threatens her and she, in front of witnesses, throws it right back at him. Who in the crowd decided that it was the perfect situation to commit murder and Jake should take the fall? When Jake gets up her courage to go down into the dreaded cellar of the bakery, she expected to encounter mice, maybe a rat or two and some bats but heck no, not the dead body of Henry!
Of course, in a small town of about 1200 people plus a swarm of tourists, the police have no trouble finding an abundance of evidence that points straight to Jake. Ellie wastes no time trying to track down the real killer. The investigation is a bit hit and miss as amateur sleuthing goes but, in the end all will be revealed.
Besides the well crafted puzzle with its red herrings and various twists and turns, I enjoy this series for Jake’s family (a very full, multi generational house) and friends and the small coastal town that she loves. Reading one of these mysteries is like reading a letter from a friend, filling the reader in on the latest goings on in her life.
This is the first book I’ve read in this series. I have read lots of Ms. Graves work in the Home Repair is Homicide series and really enjoyed that. So I was looking forward to a new series, not realizing that she had given Jake and Ellie something else to work on. I loved it! It’s great seeing them again and the mystery was really involved. I love all of the characters and they didn’t disappoint. I also love the bakery and hearing about all of the treats. Just wish that they could come with the book somehow. I’m much more an eater than baker. LOL! Can’t wait to read more of this series.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.
Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut started great and just kept getting better and better! Jake and her best friend Ellie own a chocolate-themed bakery in their island town of Eastport, Maine, and the events of this book take place during the town’s pirate festival. A thoroughly unlikable, semi-famous food writer happens to be in town, working on a podcast featuring small New England towns, and Jake ends up finding him murdered in the bakery’s basement. When she’s the most likely suspect, she and Ellie set out to investigate and clear her name, revealing a crazy web of other suspects and motives.
I’m a longtime reader of Jake and Ellie, and I adore this real-yet-fictional Eastport that Sarah Graves brings to life. Though I am familiar with the characters’ histories, I think anyone who hasn’t read any of the books in this series or the preceding Home Repair is Homicide series should have no trouble reading this as a stand-alone. This story was highly entertaining, with plenty of action and suspects. The reveal at the end is pretty wild – in a good way – and more than a little shocking to me. I also love the dynamic among Jake’s extended family, all living together in a large, former sea captain’s home. There are also quite a few tasty chocolate treats mentioned in this book and a recipe at the end. I hope this series continues and I can keep following Jake and Ellie’s crazy adventures.
I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.