Chocolate Cozy Mystery series can be read in one to two hours. It is perfect for those moments when you are waiting at an appointment or want to enjoy a quick read.The Cozy little town of Chester may serve up mountains of sweetness, courtesy of Olivia Cloud’s famous Choc-A-Bloc Shoppe, but the Florida Keys is dishing some delicacies that keep locals and tourists alike coming back for more….Like … back for more….
Like seafood feasts, burgers and fries, not to mention conch chowder to die for….
Literally.
While Olivia and crew (including her hunky investigator beau, Jake) all take in the sights and sounds of the world renown Keys, murder runs-or floats-afoul, threatening to ruin poor Olivia’s and maybe Jake’s fabulous and much needed vacation.
During a particularly creepy dinner crawl at a haunted yet historic old mansion, the tour and meal is cut short by the mysterious murder of a homeless drifter named Joseph Pines. Of course, there’s a connection to the victim and the rest of the dinner crawl party: Albert, the gruff owner of the The Garden Shop; Karen, the typical blonde and lovely rich socialite; and George and Belinda Gomez, the dubiously married couple. Although she’s just in the Keys to get away from it all, Olivia can’t seem to get away from solving this murder mystery, either.
No matter where Olivia Cloud goes (or stays), murder follows, serving her up every time.
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An entertaining short cozy mystery that added more quirky characters as the story progressed adding to the mystery and suspense. I was interested and intrigued page after page. There is an unexpected murder and It was fun following the mystery, the possible motivations and suspense in this enjoyable plot. It is a standalone with characters from previous stories in the series that I will go back and try to learn their personalities and back stories. Quick fun mystery I voluntarily reviewed.
3 1/2 stars for this fun cozy read. it was a bit confusing since i didnt know all the characters too well. will definitely read more of this author . almost a stand alone but not quite. i was given an ARC through booksprout. my review is freely and honestly given
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the next installment in the Choc-A-Bloc Shoppe series. In this one, Olivia and Jake take a vacation to the Florida Keys, taking the three As, Sebastian and Dodger with them. While at a Haunted tour dinner that Jake arranged for he and Olivia, a homeless man is killed in the kitchen. Try as hard as she can, Olivia cannot stay out of the middle of the investigation and she and Jake so solve the case.
Excellent read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
They are on holiday which they hope to enjoy but a murder may spoil it all. Everything and everyone is under suspicion, they need to find all the clues. Will they find out what is going on? Who did it? See if they can
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Death Over Spilt Chowder is the Seventh book in the Chocolate Cozy Mystery series by Wendy Meadows.
Olivia Cloud, owner of Block-A-Choc Shoppe in Chester has gone to Key West to vacation with her friend, Jake Morgan and the three A’s — Alberta, Alvira, Alphonsine and Sebastian.
Jake has decided the group should start their vacation with the Haunted Restaurant Tour. Their first restaurant is the home of the chef who was called the Butcher of the Keys. He would lure his victims to the restaurant for a private dinner and his famous conch chowder. Some never left the restaurant.
During Olivia’s group’s dinner that also included Timmy, the tour guide; Karen Gillen, a rich, pampered girl; Albert Reed, the owner of a local garden club; as well as George and Belinda Gomez, owners of Gomez Boating Tours. During the dinner the lights go out and a loud scream is heard.
The police are called to investigate and find a man in one of the rooms of the restaurant with a knife in his back.
Olivia and Jake decide to investigate and discover there are many secrets among the people who were at the dinner with her group,. They find that the man’s name was Joseph Pines, a drifter who had been hanging out around the garden club.
The book keeps your interest as more characters are added to the story.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy cozy mysteries. I received an advance copy in return for an honest review.
A vacation, Florida keys, a haunted mansion, and clam chowder, how awesome is that? This is a great cozy mystery that has some twists and page-turning action. I have read a few of the stories in this series and this is one of my favorites.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first book in the series that I have read and it was great that I didn’t feel like I had started mid way through the series, there was enough info to get the feel for everyone without it feeling like it was too little or too much. Olivia and Jake are great, they balance each other well with Olivia trying to not investigate or learn more and Jake being happy to leave things be but knowing when Olivia needs a bit reigning in and support with figuring out who the killer is. There are plenty of characters to like or not as well as leave you wondering who it was which I love, there is nothing worse than know straight away who the killer is and the fact you get side tracked when something else comes to light. I look forward to reading more in the series!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A fun and entertaining cozy mystery. The villains were plentiful and the plot was entertaining. A haunted progressive dinner tour sounds like it could be fun, unless someone commits murder during the meal of course. Olivia and the gang are again thrust into the middle of a murder mystery. The twists in the plot had everyone looking guilty. This is a fun series. I enjoy Ms. Meadows writing talents.
Go on vacation to the Florida Keys and take in a haunted restaurant then hear a scream. Who killed the man lying face down in the hallway? Olivia is deep into a mystery even on vacation and Jake well he is there too. The twists are so great Ms. Meadows was in grand form when writing this cozy. For me, Ruby Loren and Wendy Meadows are the go-to authors both write amazing cozies. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Murder never takes a vacation. Not even in the Florida Keys. The plot has twists that keep you guessing to the end.
Death Over Spilt Chowder is a quick, easy read. It is part of a series and the assumption is that you have read previous books and know who the main characters are and their back story. Olivia and Jake are on a holiday to see if they have a proper chance at a relationship but they just happen to find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. Whilst the main characters are great the secondary characters are disappointing and I didn’t really like any of them let alone care about them. This book is ok for a quick read but, in my opinion, it is not one of Wendy Meadows best.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Murder in the Florida Keys
This book is the seventh in the Chocolate Cozy Mystery series. As this is the first of the series that I have read, I can say that it stands alone okay but would be better if the reader had read the earlier episodes. The author assumes the reader has some basic knowledge of the characters and does not explain things or introduce characters. Beyond that, it is a good story with a good plot, plenty of suspects and motives. The characters are really interesting with lots going on. The story could have used a little more explanation and description of all the characters. I received this book for free and this is my honest review.
Jake decides to take his favorite chocolatier Olivia and her crew to the Florida Keys for some rest and relaxation. While at a creepy dinner crawl at a haunted historical mansion, the body of a homeless drifter is discovered. All that Olivia wanted was a nice time away to get to know Jake a little better and help to decide if she wanted to take the next step in their relationship, but murder has a way of stepping in.
While she says she isn’t going to get involved, Olivia just can’t keep herself away from the investigation. A few key pieces of evidence and a number of overheard conversations has Olivia once again working to solve a mystery. Who wanted the homeless man dead and why? Could it be the socialite, the grumpy shop owner, or the unhappily married couple?
This was a really good cozy mystery with all the elements of mystery, suspense, and quirky characters. I will say that this is not a stand-alone book but part of a series and really should be read in the order as written. If you don’t read previous books, you might be lost on the backstory and who the characters are.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Olivia, Jake and the three A’s couldn’t even take a vacation without getting in the middle of a murder investigation. Their trip to the Florida Keys was supposed to be a relaxing time for all of them. Olivia just couldn’t stay away from the oull of investigating the murder of a guest at a dinner she and Jake attended. She also as usual managed to put herself in harms way while solving the case.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a very good cozy mystery story. I did feel like I was missing some of the backstory of the characters though. I can only assume this is part of a series. The characters were very realistic and the plot twists kept my interest until the end of th book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
When Jake has an idea than a haunted progressive dinner is a good idea while on vacation with Olivia, it really wan not the best idea – even before the unexpected murder.
The Florida Keys are beautiful, but very deadly for more than one person.
The return of a long lost relative, an affair, and lots of chocolate make this a delightful puzzle of a mystery.
Treasuring the truly valuable things might ell solve the mystery and let those who were left behind move on – in more ways than one.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Chocolate series:
Death Over Spilt Chowder #7 – After reading two books by this author already and being disappointed, I decided to give her one more shot since this book is her latest release in her Chocolate Cozy series. Forcing myself to read at least fifty percent, I had difficulty immersing myself into the simplistic story or liking the dithering characters and the worn out plot, along with ignoring the corrections needed.
The attempted PC that’s forced on readers telling them to behave a certain way seems to be a favorite theme for Ms. Meadows; tell your story, don’t instruct your readers how they should respond. Your characters aren’t consistent with their actions when following PC anyway. Needs editing, especially titles, if using old expressions, use them correctly and check on the definition of a word before it’s usage, same for hyphened words. I found this book on Booksprout. 2*
Cream of Sweet #1 – This is my first read by this author and I was disappointed. The name of the shop is horrible, although it’s explained. Besides the shop’s name, I found I didn’t care at all about the undeveloped and dithering characters or the simplistic storyline or the poor caliber of the writing style. 2*
Chocolate series end.
Nether Edge series:
Murder & Spice #1 – I found this to be a typical, simplistic cozy, which had the same set up (formula) as found in Cream of Sweet, with the exception the main character is a bumbling, ditzy witch. The other characters were underdeveloped and dithering making it hard to care about any of the them, including the Texan. The silly storyline and poor writing style weren’t for me. 2*
Olivia and Jake go to a murder mystery dinner while on vacation in Florida. Needless to say, it actually did turn into a murder mystery! Now Olivia can’t get it out of her head, and the more she snoops around the more Jake tells her to stop and enjoy their vacation. That doesn’t work, so Jake joins her for a little bit of investigating. Then someone else is hurt and almost dies! What is going on here? Olivia gets a nagging feeling and she isn’t going to stop until that feeling is satisfied, but at what cost? You will need to read the book to see what happens and if they find the killer and why. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.