Death of a Chocoholic-Lee Hollis

Death of a Chocoholic Lee Hollis Kensington, Jan 7 2014, $7.99 ISBN: 9780758294494 In Bar Harbor, Maine, Island Times food and wine reporter single mom (of teenagers Gemma and Dustin) Hayley Powell writes a popular column. Because she believes there can never be enough chocolate, Hayley wants Bessie Winthrop to succeed as a chocolatier, but the woman’s feline roommates make her treats unhealthy due to an abundance of cat hairs mixed in with the sweets. Not long after Bessie tries to make it as a chocolate creator, she dies of an apparent heart attack. Slightly depressed when she learns the sad news, Haley tries one of the late Bessie’s concoctions while also finding a threatening note that leads her to believe the chocolatier wannabe was murdered. No one including her BFFs Mona and Liddy, who help her anyway investigate, believe Hayley’s concocted theory. The latest Hayley Powell Mystery (see Death of a Country Fried Redneck) is an engaging amusing amateur sleuth that will have readers thinking of the classic Lucy and Ethel candy assembly line. Character-driven by the heroine, the sub-genre audience will appreciate the zany escapades of the three amigas as they seek a killer who probably will target them if they make any progress. Harriet Klausner