Friday, September 10, 2010

The Chocolate Pirate Plot-JoAnna Carl

The Chocolate Pirate Plot
JoAnna Carl
Obsidian, Oct 5 2010, $21.95
ISBN: 9780451231277

Small town Warner Pier deals with harsh winters from the freezing temperatures made even colder by winds blowing out from Lake Michigan. In the summer, the town is a tourist attraction with a giant shopping mall in the location of the TenHuis Chocolate. Lee McKinney Woodyard is the business manager of the store and she is married to Joe, a part time boat maker and part time lawyer. While sailing their boat for a night on Lake Michigan, three pirates board their vessel, perform a show, and disappear into dark water.

Throughout the summer, the pirates repeat their performance for other tourists. The townsfolk are amused by their antics, but others are more interested in the play The Pirates of Penzance being performed and the younger crowd prefers the boat being made for the star of the movie Young Blackbeard. Marco Spear. Many locals believe the actor will come to town to pick up his boat and want to see him. A drowning victim is found, but later it is learned he was shot in the head. All of these events are linked to a daring crime that could lead to more fatalities if Joe, Lee and the chief of police are not careful.

The savory descriptions of gourmet chocolate will have readers craving sweets, but the story line is much more delicious. This is a complex creative and exciting mystery and although Lee does not actively investigate, information always seems to come her way and she then deduces their relevance to the events that occur targeting the Police Chief and Joe so she indirectly becomes involved with what is going on at Warner Pier. Like Lee, readers will struggle to connect the dots to find the link that connect all the plot points.

Harriet Klausner

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