Tag: California

Chocolate Can Be Deadly (Cupcake Catering Mystery Series)
by Kim Davis

About Chocolate Can Be Deadly

Chocolate Can Be Deadly (Cupcake Catering Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting – California
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cinnamon & Sugar Press (January 28, 2025)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 284 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CZRM17YF

Catering a post-Valentine’s Day Death by Chocolate dessert party should have been a delicious way to wrap up a week of romantic festivities. But when the new fiancé of the hostess is found dead during the event, clutching one of Emory’s chocolate cupcakes and a heart-shaped box of chocolates close by, the guests and the police put her at the top of their suspect list. With her cupcake catering business melting away as word spreads about the poisoning, Emory, and her octogenarian pal, Tillie, will need to pry into the sticky, dark secrets of the attendees. Will they uncover who’s been hiding a rotten center, or will the killer stir up danger and frost Emory for good?

Includes chocolate recipes!

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Emory reluctantly agrees to cater a post-Valentine’s Day Death by Chocolate dessert party but there was nothing romantic about the event. Hostess Frances Allain was a mean witch who had a beef with Tillie that she took out on Emory. Emory keeps her cool right up until Frances’s new fiancé dies with a “half-eaten mudslide cupcake” near “his outstretched hand” and Frances accuses her of murdering the man.

Word gets out about the death and order after order is canceled. With her business in peril, Emory and her friend and mentor Tillie are putting their sleuthing skills to the test and doling out cupcakes to open doors to get the information they need to frost the real killer. Will they reveal the killer? Or will the killer catch them? Has Emory baked her last cupcake? Will Tillie have any more Sunday dinners?

The core characters in this series have a strong family bond. Some are actual family but others have been adopted into the fold. They have fun together, have family dinners, support each other through the good and stressful times, and solve murders together.  Genuine, meaningful, and heartwarming relationships, they are a delightful group.

The mystery of the poison cupcakes hit Emory hard. How did someone do it with her right there? Why is this new detective so sure she did it? Why isn’t he investigating anyone else? Thankfully she has Detective Gabe O’Neill in her corner, but she can’t just sit on her hands and lose her business. Tillie jumps right in to help. She has the contacts and the net worth that gets them into places and meetings with people that a cupcake baker can’t. Usually, they have Tillie’s driver on hand if things get dicey. He is devoted to Tillie and will do anything she asks, even acting as a server for a post-Valentine’s Day Death by Chocolate dessert party. He has keen observation skills and can blend in if necessary. I enjoy the three of them working together. I follow along closely, clue after clue, and a red herring or two. As for me, I had an inkling of who the killer could be but was surprised when a connection and motive were revealed. The showdown was quick and exciting.

With a cupcake baker as our protagonist, you know there will be a lot of talk about cupcakes, and some other food too, but mostly cupcakes. I made sure to have some on hand because as this is the 7th book in the series I knew what to expect. No boozy mudslide ones though, but there is a recipe for them at the end of the book which I will be trying out soon. There are several other recipes too, some gluten-free and vegan.

Chocolate Can Be Deadly puts forth a puzzling whodunit for Ms. Davis’s wonderful characters and her readers. I anxiously await each new book in this series and then I devour it all in one sitting with at least 2 cupcakes. This author keeps topping herself with engaging characters and well-plotted and well-written mysteries. Each new book becomes my new favorite. I loved the ending. The entire series is fantastic and I recommend them all.  Like others in this series, I want to give it more than 5 stars.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC.

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Character Guest Post
Tillie Skyler

Ooh boy, am I ever excited to dish with you today! It’s Valentine’s season, love is in the air, my grandson is dreaming up a surprise—which I promised not to spill—and his sweetheart, my favorite cupcake baker Emory, is in the kitchen making lots of chocolate goodies. It might be my fault that instead of the lovebirds celebrating a romantic weekend together, Emory is stuck in the kitchen. She’s been hired to create chocolate desserts for my Society of Women for Arts and Literature committee’s Dying for Chocolate themed party. With fifty people expected to attend the event, she has her work cut out for her. Of course, if it hadn’t had been for my nemesis, Frances Allain, refusing to award the catering contract until the very last moment, Emory wouldn’t have been in such a time crunch.

That Frances. She’s such a bitter old woman and wants to make everyone around her as miserable as she is. Most of the committee would like to see her ousted, but we haven’t been able to make it happen yet. Still, Emory is the consummate professional, and has gone above and beyond in creating a chocolate dessert buffet worthy of Willy Wonka.

Hold on a sec, I need to refresh my glass with another Mudslide cocktail. While it may not sound appetizing, it’s Emory’s signature chocolate cocktail and cupcake flavor she’s experimenting with for the party… and it’s to die for, if you’ll pardon the expression. If you didn’t know already, I’m her best taste tester. My taste buds are always available to imbibe and sample her concoctions. Well, except for that time when her Fireball whiskey cupcake accidentally flambéed in the oven. Too much Fireball in the batter created a mini fire flash and there was no rescuing that batch. Emory had to use an eyebrow pencil for a couple of months while her eyebrows grew back in, but we all pretended not to notice. There just might be a couple of fire extinguishers in the kitchen now, thanks to one of my grandsons.

Anyway, back to the upcoming Dying for Chocolate event. Emory keeps asking if she can back out since the theme seems like it’s a bit like tempting fate, given her track record for finding bodies. I’m trying to reassure her that the party won’t have any problems—well, aside from Frances complaining about anything and everything—and that this is a great opportunity to add new customers to her cupcake catering client base. Once all those wealthy people taste her utterly delicious and original creations, they’ll hire her for all their dinner parties and special events. And between you and me, that means a lot more taste testing in my future.

Well, I’d better head back to the kitchen. I heard there are some mini chocolate macaroon tarts for me to sample. I’d better eat a few, or more, and build my strength up just in case Emory and I need to solve another murder soon. She might be on to something… perhaps we shouldn’t have named the event Dying For Chocolate… but it’s too late now.

Thanks so much for joining me today and thank you, Lori, for the opportunity to share a bit about my new release with you, as viewed through the eyes of octogenarian, Tillie Skyler!

About Kim Davis

Kim Davis is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and rambunctious mini Goldendoodle, Missy, who has become an inspiration for several plotlines. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing Missy around, she can be found either writing on her next book, working on her blog, Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats to share.

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February 14 – Deal Sharing Aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
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