When Jake opens up The Chocolate Moose on a sunny summer morning, the last thing she expected to find was a man’s body. So begins a new cozy mystery series. Although Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake is said to be the first book in a series, it is actually a continuation of another series from Sarah Graves. As a result, the reader is plunged into the life of bakery owner Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree with little introduction. There are a number of details Graves assumes the reader already knows (like the relationships between the characters) which causes a lingering feeling of something being missing.
The balance between baking and mystery was off here with there being too much emphasis on the large cheesecake order that Jake made all the larger by foolishly agreeing to bake even more for the 4th of July celebration despite not having the appropriate supplies or access to the bakery which has become a crime scene. The murder becomes an afterthought, though it is at least reasonably if not convolutedly explained. Knowing that this is actually a spinoff series makes the numerous subplots more reasonable but they are overwhelming for what is ostensibly the start of a new series.
1/5
Review copy from Amazon Vine.
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