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Informationen zum Autor JoAnna Carl is the pseudonym of a multipublished mystery writer. She spent more than twenty-five years in the newspaper business, working as a reporter, feature writer, editor and columnist. She holds a degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and also studied in the OU Professional Writing Program. She lives in Oklahoma but spends much of her summer at a cottage on Lake Michigan near several communities similar to the fictional town of Warner Pier. Klappentext Together in one volume: the first three mysteries featuring Lee McKinney and the TenHuis Chocolade store of Warner Pier, Michigan-plus the short story that started it all… The Chocolate Kidnapping Clue With her parents going through a messy divorce, a mopey teenage Lee is spending the summer working in her aunt and uncle's chocolate shop. When a wealthy customer is kidnapped she quickly discovers an unsuspected talent for sleuthing. The Chocolate Cat Caper When a high-profile defense lawyer dies after eating a cat-shaped chocolate laced with cyanide, it's up to Lee to find out who tampered with the recipe-before she ends up behind not-so-chocolate bars. The Chocolate Bear Burglary A burglary at the shop leads to missing antique chocolate molds and a dead friend-and the main suspect in the murder is Lee's troubled teenage stepson. Lee sets out to clear his name, but awakening long-hibernating family secrets might be more than this daring crime solver can bear. The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up The first customer to buy one of the store's new chocolate croakers is the town crank, Hershel Perkins-just after getting into an altercation with Lee's boyfriend Joe. When he soon goes missing, it looks like Joe is being framed for murder-and Lee must jump to his defense… Excerpt from Chapter 1 People thing working in a resort town is like long vacation. And it might be, if the tourists would only stay at home. I stood behind the counter of TenHuis Chocolade (“Handmade chocolates in the Dutch tradition”) and hated the girl on the other side. I’d been working for my aunt and uncle, Nettie and Phil TenHuis, for only a week, and this girl had been in every day, apparently with the sole objective of ruining my life. Her name, according to her credit card, was Alana Fairchild Hyden. She would have been pretty if she hadn’t been so thin. She was about my age – which was sixteen that year – and she had dark hair and big brown eyes, which she emphasized with liner, mascara, and shadow until they dominated her face. Alana Fairchild Hyden was about the only teenaged customer TenHuis Chocolade ever drew, since Aunt Nettie and Uncle Phil’s candy wasn’t the kind you’d eat in the movies. Oh, they had some inexpensive items, like a milk chocolate sailboat on a stick, but most of their stock was luxury chocolates and fancy dipped fruits. One bonbon cost as much as two Hershey bars. But Alana Fairchild Hyden came in every day and bought half a pound of bonbons and truffles, a different assortment every day. She did this, I’d decided, to torture me. She got this smirk on her face, and she went through the whole display case, pointing. “Now what’s that one?” Since I was new, I’d have to consult the list. “Creamy, European-style caramel in dark chocolate.” “How about the one behind it?” I’d look at the list again. “Raspberry cream.” “No, the one with the yellow dot.” “Lemon canache.” “Yuk! How about the white chocolate with the little nutty things on top?” That one I knew, because it was my favorite. “Amadeus,” I said. Then I winced. She’d goaded me until I was nervous, and that was when my tongue twisted itself into knots and the wrong word came out. “I mean, Amaretto.” Of course, Alana Fairchild Hyden laughed. “’Amadeus’! How funny! How about the one at the back of that row...
