Publisher's Weekly Review
In Carl's winning eighth chocoholic mystery (after 2007's The Chocolate Jewel Case), Lee McKinney Woodyard, the business manager of TenHuis Chocolade, has agreed to serve as the treasurer for the annual Warner Pier, Mich., WinterFest. After a juror for the festival's art show cancels, Lee goes to the airport to pick up the replacement, Fletcher Mendenhall, who arrives obnoxiously drunk. When Mendenhall turns up the next morning in his motel with his head bashed in, incriminating clues point to both Lee and her husband, Joe, as suspects. While Lee has a tiresome habit of tangling words when she's nervous ("I guess we're not hiring a juror to be a dipsomaniac... I mean diplomat"), when confronted with a shovel-wielding "snowman," the spunky, near six-foot amateur sleuth can throw 20 pounds of chocolates at her attacker with deadly accuracy. Dollops of chocolate lore add to the cozy fun. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
Carl continues her "Chocoholic" (Crime de Cocoa) series this time in hardcover with a holiday treat. Lee McKinney Woodyard, who runs an upscale chocolate store in a Michigan tourist town, finds herself coordinating the local holiday art festival. When the guest juror ends up dead, Lee and her husband do some amateur sleuthing. For most mystery collections, particularly where food-themed cozies do well. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
