Book Review: Fudging the Books by Daryl Wood Gerber (Cookbook Nook Mysteries #4)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great characters and setting, complex mystery

Cons: All the chocolate talk will make you hungry!

The Bottom Line:

Chocolate, pirates

In mystery full of twists

Kept pages flying

Book This Mystery

It seems that this is the year of chocolate.  I’ve noticed several of the culinary cozy series I read have had chocolate at the theme for this year’s releases (not counting the chocolate themed series I read, of course).  The latest of these is Fudging the Books, the fourth in the Cookbook Nook mysteries by Daryl Wood Gerber.  And it’s a delicious read.

It’s February, and Jenna Hart plans to celebrate chocolate all month long at the Cookbook Nook, the cookbook store she runs with her aunt in Crystal Cove, California.  She’s loaded up on Chocolate cookbooks and is planning some fun events.  Meanwhile, the town of Crystal Cove celebrates pirates the first week of the month, bring in lots of tourists.

One of the special events that the Cookbook Nook has planned is a book signing with Coco Chastain, Jenna’s friend and the owner of the candy shop in town.  Coco has a series of successful cookbooks published by the small publishing company of Foodie Press.  The owner, Alison Foodie, also grew up in Crystal Cove, and many of the locals have books they are hoping she will publish.

The signing is interrupted when the mayor discovers the gold doubloons she was going to give as a prize at the end of pirate week are missing.  Then, that night, Alison is murdered.  Based on a fake fight she and Coco were having, Coco quickly becomes the chief suspect.  However, Jenna is sure she is innocent.  What secret is Coco hiding?  Who stole the gold doubloons?  And, most importantly, who murdered Alison?

Combining chocolate and pirates – what could go wrong?  Absolutely nothing.  I had a blast with this book from start to finish.

Granted, I love the setting.  This small tourist town along the coast of California has always seemed like a great place to vacation.  If only it were real, I’d head out there myself.  It’s still just as appealing in this book, and I relished my time there.

It helps that the town is filled with charming characters.  We’ve seen some great growth in them over the course of the series, and I like seeing how that continues in this book.  The characters have some great layers, and we get some new sides to series regulars as the book progresses.  The new characters are just as sharp and intriguing, and I liked getting to know them.

Layers also describes the plot.  The suspects fill the book with so many lies and red herrings that we are always learning something new or getting some fact that leads us in a new direction.  Yet everything came together perfectly for a page turning climax.

And what would a culinary cozy mystery set at a cookbook store be without recipes.  We get seven at the end of the book.  And yes, all of them do have chocolate in them, which is a great thing since my mouth was watering through the entire book.

So don’t hesitate to pick up Fudging the Books.  You are in for a fun trip with great characters and a great setting.  I can hardly wait to visit again.

Want another visit to Crystal Cove?  Here are the rest of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway:

Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of this book to give away.  Because it is a physical book, the contest is limited to residence of the US.

I'm curious.  Have you ever been inside a cookbook store?  We used to have one in the town where I live, but I never walked inside.  Leave me a comment with the answer to the question and your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win.  I will pick the winner next Tuesday, August 11th, so please leave your comment before 12:01AM Pacific Time on 8/11.