A SHOT IN THE 80% DARK

Bean to Bar Mysteries, Book 4

by

AMBER ROYER

Cozy Mystery / Culinary Mystery /Woman Sleuth

Publisher: Golden Tip Press

Date of Publication: July 15, 2022

Number of Pages: 285 pages

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Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop is thriving. Despite everything she’s been through with the murders she’s helped solve, Felicity is ready to take on new challenges. So when a local museum offers her a contract to create a chocolate replica of a gigantic sailing ship sculpture for a gala celebrating Galveston’s history, she jumps at the chance to combine chocolate-crafting with art.

The project is fun – right up until there’s not just one but two dead artists on the scene, and Felicity has to change gears back to detective. Logan, Felicity’s business partner and previous bodyguard, and Arlo, Felicity’s ex who is now the cop investigating the case, are split on which victim they think was actually the intended one. Felicity may have to take some chances, both emotionally and in luring out a killer, to determine the truth.

Can she find out how Galveston’s history relates to the murders, unmask a killer, and prepare 2,000 chocolate desserts for the gala all at the same time?

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Mysteries and chocolate…a winning combination in my book!

This is the fourth book in the Bean to Bar mystery series, and each book has been a delight to read. It has also made me drool all over my eReader, imaging what it would be like to take a bite of the various chocolates, pastries, and so much more.

Felicity is not a willing sleuth, but she knows that if things need to progress on schedule for this museum exhibit, she will have to roll up her sleeves and help Arlo and the police force discover the true killer behind it all. There is no shortage of suspects, and while many seem unlikely, the killer does lurk among them. I wasn’t sure who to pin as the killer, and I don’t think I got this one right despite my best efforts!

One of the key characters in solving this mystery is a cockatoo named Renoir. He loves to chat and spots off all sorts of phrases that he could only have heard in a heated moment between the killer and the deceased. He is also, apparently, quite an artist, and I would be quite interested to see what he can “paint.”

There is still a love triangle going on between Felicity, Logan, and Arlo. In the first few books, Arlo has a girlfriend but realizes that his past with Felicity is still there, bringing them together. Logan has quite the skill set that complements Felicity and even Arlo. He has a somewhat secretive past, and I wonder if that will ever become a problem. I don’t blame her for moving slowly to figure out what she wants since she is sometimes still reeling from the loss of her husband. Thankfully, both of these men understand that and are giving her time to decide where she wants her life to go. But how much time will they give her? This book has a few surprises regarding her love life, and I can’t wait to see where it leads.

I have really enjoyed this series thus far and learned many new things about chocolate. While I’m not about to try 3-D printing a giant chocolate statue, the process is intriguing.

I was glad to see a few familiar faces return to this book. I wonder which of the next books will contain Autumn’s wedding and what could possibly happen if Felicity gets tied up in investigating another murder.

Great series, and we give this book 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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