Book Review - The Chocolate Bear Burglary

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Oct 16, 2002

The Chocolate Bear Burglary
By JoAnna Carl
Signet, November 2002
240 pages, $5.99
ISBN: 0451207475
Lee McKinney (Chocoholic Mystery) series #2

Lee McKinney, a former beauty queen and Texas trophy wife, now lives in Warner Pier, a Michigan resort town, and keeps the books for her Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop. A late-winter promotion, "A Teddy Bear Getaway," has the Warner Pier business district looking festive and ready to pull in winter visitors. In keeping with the occasion, Aunt Nettie has agreed to display a collection of antique bear chocolate molds alongside her chocolate teddy bear specialties. Gail Hess, antique dealer, has taken the molds on consignment from Timothy Hart, brother to Olivia VanHorn. After the collection is set out in the shop, Gail meets Olivia there. Olivia, the widow of the late Congressman VanHorn and mother of state legislator Hart VanHorn, tells Gail that the molds can be displayed but not sold--she had no idea that Timothy had taken them from the house.

Lee is interrupted during this exchange with a phone call from close friend Joe Woodyard. He has just caught a kid trying to break into Aunt Nettie’s house and the kid claims to be Lee's son. Lee races out of the shop under the astonished gazes of Aunt Nettie, Gail and Olivia. Lee has already figured out who the culprit is--her former stepson, Jeff Godfrey--but she can't figure out why in the world he would come to see her as they had never been close during her five-year stint as stepmom. Jeff is not forthcoming with information. He claims his parents have thrown him out on his own and Lee cannot reach either Jeff's father or mother for confirmation or guidance.

Aunt Nettie gives Jeff a job as chocolate packer and lets him stay at the house with her and Lee. Lee still isn't sure what Jeff is really up to but her suspicions deepen when he sneaks out of the house during the night. She follows him, loses him, and catches up with him at the chocolate shop. Jeff has discovered a burglary in process but the thief gets away with one chocolate mold. But it's the one that was in the worst shape.

The next night, a phone call awakens Aunt Nettie and Lee. A dead body has been found in front of the chocolate shop. And Jeff was found standing over it.

Lee is positive that Jeff did not commit murder. She starts to investigate the Harts and VanHorns as well as the victim's past for some clue as to why a murder has been committed. Lee is hard-pressed to stay on track with little surprises pelting her as well as an attempt on her own life. With Joe's help, Lee finally makes some progress until she finds her life threatened by the one person she didn't suspect.

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