Death by Chocolate

The Barnes & Noble Review G. A. McKevett encourages readers to give in to temptation with this eighth serving of the Savannah Reid mystery series. A full-figured private eye, Savannah loves sweets and practically idolizes TV personality Lady Eleanor, the self-proclaimed "Queen of Chocolate." Lady Eleanor's cooking show and upscale confection shops are the height of elegance and self-indulgence -- two of Savannah's favorite things. At first, when she hears that Lady Eleanor has been receiving threatening letters, she's worried that a job protecting her idol will be too much of a good thing. The work will give her struggling Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency a much-needed infusion of cash. As a bonus, Savannah hopes that sticking close to Lady Eleanor will also allow her to indulge her appetite for elegant chocolate treats and satisfy her curiosity about how these delightful delicacies are made. She can't imagine why anyone would want to harm Lady Eleanor, until she meets the real woman behind the carefully tailored image: an aging, overweight harridan who expects everyone to cater to her ever-more-eccentric whims. Sweet revenge seems the most likely motive when a particularly spectacular chocolate dessert turns deadly in Lady Eleanor's studio kitchen. It's up to Savannah to figure out which of her not-so-sweet employer's many enemies has decided the famous Death by Chocolate dessert should live up to its name. Sue Stone