OUT OF TEMPER

Bean to Bar Mysteries Book 3

by

AMBER ROYER

Categories: Cozy Mystery / Women Sleuth / Romance

Publisher: Golden Tip Press

Date of Publication: February 1, 2022

Number of Pages: 264 pages

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Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand has been the scene of two murders – both of which she has been instrumental in helping solve. So when she gets invited to demo her chocolate skills aboard a cruise ship sailing out of the local port, she’s excited at the chance to get away from the shop long enough to regain her equilibrium. She even brings her best friend along and makes plans for time at the spa. But when she gets on board, she finds out that she’s been booked for a mystery-themed cruise, and said best friend, Autumn, has to finally deal with the real reasons she quit writing mysteries. Only – if that wasn’t stressful enough – it doesn’t take long before there’s a real murder on the cruise, and someone Felicity knows becomes the prime suspect. When said suspect asks her for help, she can’t exactly say no, can she?

Felicity finds herself surrounded by cruise goers who all had connections to the victim – and finds that both Logan (her business partner, whom she recently kissed) and Arlo (the cop who was once Felicity’s first boyfriend, before she moved away from Galveston) are dealing with the case until more official help can arrive. How will Felicity survive the ensuing awkwardness?

One thing that helps: the retired police dog turned therapy dog she meets on board. Satchmo helps Felicity deal with being back on the water after tragedy in her past – and also helps her uncover a vital clue to the case. Can Felicity unmask the killer and keep a friend from being framed before all the suspects leave the ship?

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How can anyone not enjoy a mystery that involves chocolate? Ok, it would be better if I could have it while reading the book…oh marketing idea, each book comes with a bar of chocolate! But I digress. This series is fascinating and I love the discussion about how cacao beans are processed (in previous books) and how we get the chocolate we see in the market today. There is such a history to chocolate and if you ever get a chance to hear the author speak, please do because there is so much information to be learned.

Felicity is off to work on a cruise and talk about how chocolate is made. And it wouldn’t be a mystery without someone ending up dead, and in this case, a character that isn’t well-liked and has something of a shady past according to his ex-wife, girlfriend, and other characters. There are so many red herring clues that you have to put on your thinking cap to figure out who and why. I figured out the who close to when it was revealed and could guess the why once I fixated on this character. There are clues now that I look back that might point you in the right direction, but maybe not. Read the book to see how well you can spot the clues.

I loved the idea of the mystery cruise setting. This sounds like something I would enjoy and might even sign up to do as long as no one really ends up dead. That coupled with a chocolate demonstration and authors sound like my fantasy trip! I will be curious to see if this cruise line makes it into future books with a mystery tied to it. There are so many possibilities and we did see a glimpse of a cruise ship in other books, so I wouldn’t rule it out as an option.

There is a bit of a love triangle for Felicity. There is her high school sweetheart, Arlo, that is now available after a breakup in the 2nd book. There is also Logan who is her partner in the chocolate shop. Both would be good choices and it will be hard for her to make a decision quickly. But who says she has to decide now? She still mourns her husband but that is decreasing as time goes by.

I enjoyed watching the characters continue to grow and we learn more about them as this series continues. Autumn reveals some truths which surprise a lot of people, but I can see why it was kept under wraps. We don’t see as much of Carmen in this book since she is holding down the fort, but I look forward to some of her new baked goods in future installments.

Seriously, a great series and we give it 5 paws up.

Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook for Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. Amber and her husband live in the DFW area, where you can often find them hiking or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs.  If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes.  Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing techniques and all things chocolate.

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 ONE WINNER

Signed copy of Out of Temper +

a chocolate bar from French Broad Chocolates!

(US only, ends midnight CST, 3/5/2022)

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