Death by Chocolate Mystery

Life just got a little sweeter in the island fishing village of Eastport, Maine. Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree and her best friend Ellie are opening a waterfront bake shop, The Chocolate Moose, where their tasty treats pair perfectly with the salty ocean breeze-and the scent of murder... When Jake and Ellie, who've been through a lot together, decide to open a chocolate-themed bakery, they figure it'll be a piece of cake. With Ellie's old family recipes luring in customers, they expect to make plenty of dough this Fourth of July weekend. Having family home for the holiday only sweetens the deal for Jake-until an early-season hurricane scuttles her plans. Worse, with her family scattered and stranded, health inspector Matt Muldoon is found murdered in the kitchen of The Chocolate Moose. Ellie never made a secret of her distaste for Matt, who had been raining on their parade with bogus talk of health code violations. Now, with no alibi for the night of the murder, she's in a sticky situation-and it's up to Jake to catch the real killer and keep Ellie living in the land of the free. Includes a Recipe!

The island fishing village of Eastport, Maine, has plenty of salty local character. It also has a sweet side, thanks to Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree, her best friend Ellie, and their waterfront bake shop, The Chocolate Moose. But when island life is disrupted by the occasional killer, Jake and Ellie put their chocolate treats aside to make sure justice is served. This summer, Eastport's favorite lovebirds, kindergarten teacher Sharon Sweetwater and Coast Guard Captain Andy Devine, are getting married. The gala reception is sure to be the fête of the season, especially with a wedding-cake-sized whoopie pie courtesy of The Chocolate Moose. For Jake and Ellie, the custom-ordered confection will finally reel in some much-needed profits. But the celebratory air, and sweet smell of success, are ruined by foul murder. When Sharon's bitter ex-boyfriend Toby is poisoned with an arsenic-laced milkshake, Andy is jailed as the prime suspect and the wedding is cancelled, whoopie pie and all. Then Sharon makes a shocking confession-one that sounds like a fishy attempt to get Andy off the hook. Now both the bride and groom are behind bars. And with the fate of The Chocolate Moose at stake, it's up to Jake and Ellie to catch a poisonous predator before someone else sips their last dessert. Includes a Recipe!

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, 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!

Jake Tiptree and Ellie White are fired up for Eastport, Maine's Maine's annual cookie-baking contest, but when a cunning killer and a devastating fire threaten to ravage the quaint island town, Jake and Ellie must dip into another homemade homicide investigation before all they love goes up in smoke... As co-owners of Eastport's beloved waterfront bakery, the Chocolate Moose, Jake and Ellie know their customers expect them to cream the competition. But they're really just in it for fun, hoping to get Jake's daughter-in-law baking again. Those plans collapse when fearsome local curmudgeon Alvin Carter is murdered, and every crumb of evidence points to Tiptree family friend-and all-around sweet guy-Billy Breyer. Billy's sisters beg Jake and Ellie to prove his innocence. After all, lots of folks had gone sour on Alvin, whose popularity ranked somewhere between a toothache and the plague. But just as the ladies begin sifting through the suspects, a series of grass fires blaze across the island, threatening catastrophe. Could someone be trying to hide the truth about Alvin's murder? Now, Jake and Ellie will need all their courage-and an extra dash of that down east Maine stubbornness-to sniff out the real killer before anyone else gets burned...

In the quaint island village of Eastport, Maine, Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree and Ellie White run the Chocolate Moose bakery, where delicious treats take the spotlight-but murder sometimes gets a walk-on role... Jake and Ellie are taking a break from perfecting their chocolate pizza recipe to cater a housewarming party hosted by movie icon Ingrid Merryfield. Miss Merryfield is famous for her old-Hollywood glamour. Her new home, Cliff House, has a reputation too-for being haunted. But she isn't concerned, and some of her guests even try to summon a spirit during the party, using a Ouija board. What arrives instead is a freak autumn storm that downs an ancient tree, trapping everyone on the property and setting the stage for a killer's planned spree. Though Jake and Ellie don't intend to get stirred into the mix, there's no avoiding it-especially when they witness one of the guests being shoved over the very precipice that gave Cliff House its forbidding name. Jake and Ellie begin sifting through suspects and motives, a search that takes them from a long-lost family graveyard to a wise old herbalist's deceptively-sweet cottage and finally to Cliff House's overgrown gardens. Is there some ghostly presence involved-or a flesh-and-blood villain? And either way, can they ensure that they avoid meeting their very own, very permanent Hollywood ending?

From the bestselling author of the Home Repair is Homicide novels comes the latest in this "sharp, smart, and witty" (Crimespree) series set in a charming, real-life Maine fishing village. chocolate-themed recipes, appealing characters, and an unpredictable mystery make the perfect mix for fans of Joanne Fluke, Leslie Meier, and Diane Mott Davidson. The island village of Eastport, Maine, is full of delights-including the delicious treats sold at The Chocolate Moose, the waterfront bakery run by Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree and Ellie White. But a new bakery in town is proving that you can have too much of a good thing . . . Summer in Eastport means lobsters and blueberries, though tourists and locals alike always leave a little room for baked goods from The Chocolate Moose. This year's arts festival, featuring food, games, and rollicking local musicians, means even more sweet-toothed customers. But it's also bringing competition from a new rival, Choco's, that's trying to slice into the action. Choco's owner, Brad Fairway, is pulling sneaky stunts to divert Moose patrons to his own shop, and Ellie finally confronts him about his tactics. But when Brad is found dead next day-and the weapon is a gun that belongs to Ellie-it's only a matter of time before she is charged with the crime. Sifting through the victim's connections, Jake and Ellie sense they're getting close to the real culprit-a little too close. Can they serve up the solution before the killer dishes up another helping of murder? Includes a Recipe!