Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie by Sarah Graves ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

There is a new chocolate shop in town, unfortunately in a small town like East Point, Maine there's room for only one. The new owner is trying everything he can to put The Chocolate Moose out of business. When he ends up dead you can probably guess who the prime suspect is. 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

April 2023; Dreamscape Media; 9781666630909
audio (9h 39m), ebook, print; cozy mystery

Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie is the 6th book in the Death by Chocolate mystery series. It is the first book in the series that I have read. I did have some trouble figuring out who was who and the dynamics between the characters. I'm not sure if it was because I was listening to the audiobook, but I didn't think there was a lot of backstory provided. It might be a good idea to at least read book 1 before jumping into this book. This book doesn't come out for a couple more weeks so you have time to read at least book 1.

I listen to a lot of cozy mysteries as audiobooks, but I had trouble following the plot for this one. There was so much time spent on looking for a missing person that I forgot about the murder victim. The same goes for the focus on art - I forgot that initially, the problem was with a second chocolate shop opening across the street.

Since we are given the backstory of how Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree came to live in East Point and the fact that she recognized the murder victim from her past, I thought that mystery would have tied in more with her history with the mob. While it does relate to the mob business, it didn't really ensnare Jake again as I suspected it would.

I thought it might be more like Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swansen series, but didn't give me similar vibes. At times, though, Jake made me think of Donna Andrews's Meg Langslow. I thought perhaps the narrator, Susan Boyce, read both series. Boyce is not the narrator for the Meg Langslow series, but she has narrated another series I've listened to: Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery Mystery series. Boyce did a good job reading the story and giving characters unique voices. It is probably because Jake is an older woman with a grown son and her father and stepmother are secondary characters. 

For me, this was just an okay cozy mystery. It didn't make me want to go back and pick up the other books in the series, but it was enjoyable enough that I don't regret taking the time to listen to it. The audiobook didn't include the recipe. Other reviewers mention that the book has a recipe, but it isn't for the title dessert. 

If you are a fan of the series, you will probably enjoy this book more than me as there seems to be some wrapping up of secondary plot threads/character storylines. But as I didn't really know the characters I didn't have an emotional connection to them. It did feel like this might be a closing of a chapter in the lives of these characters. 

Buy Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie at Amazon

 

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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