It’s always a delight to pick up the first book in a brand new series and the cover of ASKING FOR TRUFFLE by Dorothy St. James drew me in… a chocolate shop, a cute dog, and a southern location! The protagonist, Charity Penn (who goes by Penn), was abandoned twice in one day as a newborn infant. Raised in her distant grandmother’s household by staff, she’s learned to shield herself from emotional hurt. As a result, she’s “prickly as a porcupine” and not quite like other cozy mystery protagonists. However, I thought Penn had a unique voice that was a bit self-deprecating, a bit snarky, and definitely world-weary. It gives the reader a different perspective as the story unfolds in the town of Camellia Beach which Penn describes as a rundown, shabby town where “only a bulldozer could fix a town as broken as this one.”

While Penn may be prickly, Ms. St. James creates other lovable characters to surround her and I was charmed by the two elderly women who run The Chocolate Box, Bertie Bays and Miss Mabel. I loved the time Penn spent with them in the chocolate shop and drooled over the descriptions of the candies. However, Penn didn’t arrive in Camellia Beach to learn to make chocolates. She came in search of why her friend “Skinny” was murdered at the shop and who would do such a thing to him. Especially after the police insist that it was a druggy situation gone bad. Knowing Skinny wouldn’t be involved in that, Penn decides she must find the truth. In addition to the murder plot, there is a strong subplot surrounding Penn and The Chocolate Box. Ms. St. James has a magical way with words that brings magic to the story without it being paranormal. As a result, I felt that Penn found a place that she could grow in both self-confidence and respect for herself and I look forward to seeing what the author has in store for her.

The Chocolate Box is full of delicious candies and fortunately for the reader, the author includes several delectable recipes at the back of the book. I tried the recipe for Dark-Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles… which were so incredibly yummy I almost didn’t want to take the time to let the candy set and form into truffle balls! I'll definitely be making these truffles again and again while I impatiently wait for the next book in this series to release!

Dollycas’s Thoughts

As soon as I saw this cover pop up on Facebook I knew I needed to read this book! Look at those truffles and the cute puppy.

Ms. St. James starts us out just up the highway from where I am sitting here in Wisconsin, when Charity Penn (Penn) learns she has won a trip to Camellia Beach, South Carolina and The Chocolate Box. Thinking is has to be some kind of scam she doesn’t get too excited. Then a friend, Skinny McGee, says he is going to be in South Carolina area and tells her he will check the place out. After a phone call from Skinny gets cut off and she learns he was found later dead in vat of chocolate, she has no choice but to venture south to find out what happened. She is not welcomed with opened arms by everyone but the ladies at The Chocolate Box are sure happy to see her. But there is something very wrong in Camellia Beach, in addition to the death of her friend, and Penn is not heading back to Madison until she gets to the bottom of it.

I really enjoyed this story. Penn reminds me a little bit of myself, we both have the “waiting for the other shoe to drop” mentality. She has kind of closed herself off due to her upbringing making her very independent but hard for people to get to know. She is clearly an individual that has a deep hurt that has affected her for a long time. Still she hops on a plane to a place unknown to her to find out why her friend was killed. Everyone in the town was sketchy from police chief, to the local lawyer, and even the ladies at the chocolate shop were hiding something. Her skeptical nature serves her well in this town. I appreciated the character development throughout the story while still allowing room for the characters to continue to grow over the course of the series.

The plot itself has several twists giving several viable suspects but I was on the right track early on. I always say, first books in a cozy mystery series are a heavy lift because the author not only has to introduce the main character and the people around them but give us a mystery that clicks with the readers and engages them to come back for future books. The author did that here with an extra twist in the plot away for the murder/s. Something that the reader is unsure about until almost the very end of the story. While the murder was solved she left other questions I need answered. I am definitely excited for the next installment.

Learning about the cacao beans, where they come from and how to work with them was super interesting too. The candy descriptions had be drooling and craving chocolate.

Oh and just a little heads up – that cute little puppy on the cover is a feisty little creature known to bite even her owner. 🙂 She also has to deal with another animal in this story and when it was introduced I could have fallen out my chair laughing.

This series is off to a great start and I am excited to see what happens next.

Charity Penn has been raised to trust no one, so she is immediately suspicious when she receives a letter stating she won a contest for cooking lessons in a chocolate shop in South Carolina – a contest she didn’t enter. When her friend goes down to investigate, he calls her teasing good news and then winds up dead in a vat of chocolate. Determined to figure out what happened to her friend, Penn goes to investigate. But can she trust anyone? What is going on?

This book started out slowly, at least mystery wise, since it had the hard job of setting up the series as well as solving the mystery. However, the second half included some good twists and turns as well as payoff for the set up. Penn is an interesting main character since she is pricklier than we normally see in a cozy mystery, but the reasons for her behavior as fully explained and understandable. I’m looking forward to seeing some growth from her as the series progresses, and we already see some of that here.

This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily providing a review.

One day, Charity Penn receives a letter informing her that she's won a contest for the prize of a trip to a South Carolina island and candy-making lessons from a renowned chocolatier. The only problem is, Penn never entered any such contest. She is leery of the validity of the letter's claims and asks a friend to investigate for her. The investigation initially appeared to be going well, that is, until Penn's friend Skinny was found drowned in a vat of melted chocolate. Penn then decides to make the journey to Camellia Beach herself to see if she can get the skinny on what happened to Skinny.

This book is another in the vein of cozy mysteries that have an amateur sleuth investigating a crime because s/he feels a responsibility to find out the truth because of a personal connection with the victim. Penn's trip to SC is complicated by stand-offish townsfolk, uncertainty on who she can trust and a touchy situation with local families, one in particular. I felt this book was alright but too drawn out/slow-paced and therefore slightly boring. The locals are interesting, though, and the personal growth Penn experiences during the course of the story is compelling to find out how she gets from one end to the other. It's still a good read and I'd recommend to anyone who likes cozy mysteries.

Asking for Truffle by Dorothy St. James is the first book in the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series. Charity Penn has won a trip to Camellia Beach, South Carolina, complete with free cooking lessons at the chocolate shop. Knowing the she has not entered any contest, she accepts her friend's offer to check it out in advance. When he dies in a vat of chocolate, Penn's guilt sends her to South Carolina to look into the death. Initially I did not enjoy this book. Penn is a difficult character to like. Her character flaws are blamed on her upbringing, but at this point she is grown and is simply making excuses. As the book went on her character evolved enough that I would give a second book a chance. The mystery was interesting. I was not drawn into this book as much due to the characters. None of them were particularly heart-warming or inviting. While it is not bad at all, this book is simply not one of my favorites. I am not giving up on the series yet though.

Nice cozy mystery. Easy read. Looking forward to the next in the series. Main character not described physically very much, but maybe that was on purpose. Loved the little dog in the story.

This is a nice start to a new series! Penn is not the easiest woman to attach to- she's a bit prickly and defensive (largely due to her upbringing) but she's a darn good friend who is determined to find out what happened to her pal who ended up in a vat of melted chocolate. The things that can happen in a small town continue to amaze me. Penn sorts through all the people she meets to figure out the identity of the murderer- and St James kept me guessing on that score. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You will like this if you enjoy cozies with cooking (and bonus recipes!). I'm curious where this series will go next......

Charity Penn receives a strange letter in the mail. It states she has won a trip to Camellia, SC to take cooking lessons at the local chocolate shop. Penn knows she didn't enter a contest, and she doesn't know anybody from Camellia. The whole thing seems very strange to her. Penn's friend, Skinny McGee, agrees to stop by the little town and check things out. Her father is wealthy, and although her dealings with his family have never been good, she has frequently been the victim of scams and tricks by people trying to get mits on her father's money. Skinny calls once from the little SC town leaving a message that says that she needs to come down. He has found out who invited her on the trip and why....but before she can contact him, she discovers Skinny has been murdered. His dead body is discovered in the very chocolate shop Penn has been invited to visit. Penn rushes to SC to investigate Skinny's murder, but ends up meeting the two lovely older ladies who run the chocolate shop. She takes the cooking lessons....but soon her sweet visit to Camellia gets even more complicated, troubling....and dangerous.

This book is so much fun to read! From descriptions of chocolate goodies to Stella, the little papillion who bites....just entertaining from beginning to end!! I can't eat chocolate for medical reasons, but I can certainly enjoy reading about it!! Penn's background and feisty, independent personality make her a great MC in this mystery. The side characters are quirky and interesting. The bad guys are adequately horrible. I found a couple characters that I could enjoy hating...but it took me a bit to figure out which one was a murderer and not just a jerk. The plot is nicely paced, with plenty of surprises. There were a few things I figured out pretty quickly....but plenty that I didn't see coming.

For chocolate fans, there are recipes at the back of the book. :) Mmmmmmmm. Cook up something yummy in my honor because I can't have any! :)

The cover art is colorful and just awesome! Cozy mysteries always have the best covers!! Stella doesn't look like she would bite, does she? ha ha. It's the little dogs that are always the most feisty (I have two chihuahuas)! :)

All in all, a great start for a new cozy series! I'm definitely going to read the next book (Playing With Bonbon Fire comes out in March 2018!)

Dorothy St. James also writes the White House Gardener series. To find out more about the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.dorothystjames.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I tried really, really hard to love this book. The premise was great, but it failed to live up to its potential. My biggest issue was that the murderer was so obvious from fairly early on, which left me frustrated at the main character for the majority of the book. My other issue is the that main character was annoying. She was so naive, yet she kept insisting she had learned from her mistakes - as she made the exact same mistakes she claimed she had learned from. There were some enjoyable characters, and a wonderful heartwarming scene towards the end.

This is the debut of the new cozy series Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series. This book is delightful !
Penn is our sleuth (who hates her name!). She is not a typical sleuth. She has had a difficult family life and does not trust people. She is sarcastic and realistic. She is very relatable to the reader and its refreshing to read about a real person with real problems. She also does not have the typical charming pets of a cozy. She has a hairless Sphynk and a dog that bites and is disagreeable. This adds great fun to the story and I had moments of laugh out loud humor.
Penn is informed she has won a contest for free chocolate cooking classes but believes it to be a scam. She asks a friend to investigate and he is killed. She then must solve his murder in memory of her friend . She attends and while learning to make chocolate she investigates. She finds herself over her head in clues and chocolate. She depends on the local townspeople to help her solve the murder which endears her to them and helps her fit into the small town.
The sleuth is very well crafted. Penn is delightful. I enjoyed this cozy debut and found it a fun enjoyable read from beginning to end. I look forward to the next in series.
Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review.

I enjoyed this first in series mystery. Penn (she hates her first name, Charity) is not you typical cozy amateur sleuth. Due to her childhood - being dumped by her mother onto Penn's paternal grandmother who sees her as worthless, along with the fact that they are very rich - Penn has grown up distrustful with a chip on her shoulder. She doesn't react like your usual sleuth. Another refreshing note is, though she has a dog, it's not the sweet little thing most books have. This one likes to bite. And the cat is not a big fluffy cuddle ball, it's a hairless Sphynx. So, here you have a prickly character with trust issues starring in a small town Southern cozy (and she's a Northerner). When she is informed that she has won a contest - she didn't enter - she is on scam alert and asks a friend to check it out for her as he will be traveling in the area. Then he becomes the murder victim and Penn is forced to find out what scam is going on. Her reactions continue to be a bit 'off' as she meets and interacts with the locals, learns to make chocolates and, of course, figure out who dunnit.
I enjoyed Penn and her debut. This felt to me like the foundation for her character will develop so that, in future entries, she will become less prickly and more trusting. This small town will allow her to figure out who she can be away from the dysfunctional family she was stuck with. I look forward to seeing how Penn develops away from her dislikable family.

Penn is skeptical when she receives a letter telling her that she's won a contest – which she never entered. After her friend offers to look into the situation while he's in a nearby town, he ends up dead, in a most unconventional manner. Blaming herself for his death, she heads to Camellia Beach to find out who killed her friend – and who wants her in this town and why.

Awhile ago, I read and didn't care for Flowerbed of State, by the same author, so I probably shouldn't have requested this book. But it sounded so good, and how can you go wrong with a book centered around a chocolate shop? Well, the author found a way, mostly due to her main character.

Penn is far too cynical and paranoid, convinced that every person she encounters is out to dupe her out of her money. If the source of all that money was ever revealed, I don't remember it, but if Penn's life is what it's like to have that much money, I'll stay in my present financial situation, thankyouverymuch. Although she admitted that she's not an investigator by any stretch of the imagination, that didn't stop Penn from concocting scenarios – many of them rather elaborate – about nearly everyone in town and calling the police because she "knows" she's figured out who the murderer is. I felt really sorry for the detective investigating the crime, although not at all for the local police chief, who seemed to be in the story for comic relief. Anyone who takes him seriously needs to spend time with those who actually work in law enforcement to learn a thing or two.

I was happy when I finally finished this book so I could move on to something that wouldn't be so frustrating to read. I don't think I'll be reading anything else by this author.

Asking for Truffle is a great start to A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery by Dorothy St. James. Penn is busy looking for a killer and learning to make chocolate. She has no skills in the kitchen. This book has more twists and turns, that kept me reading page after page. I love the unique people and situations in this book. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, I recommend this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Charity Penn goes by Penn. She trusts no one because the family she was born into includes a dragon grandmother and an absentee father and half siblings that mostly ignore her.
Penn gets a letter inviting her to Camellia Beach, South Carolina to take chocolate making classes.
Her friend Skinny goes to investigate the letter, which Penn thinks is a hoax to get her father's money. Skinny is murdered in a vat of chocolate.
Penn heads to Camellia Beach to investigate. Mabel, the owner of the shop, teaches Penn to make chocolate and then Mabel dies. Things are suspicious and it looks like Mabel was murdered too.
Penn's investigation is clumsy and her life is in danger because Mabel left her the chocolate shop.
There is a mean little dog and a whole town of interesting characters. The murderer may not be who is first suspected.
I liked the story. It seemed a bit more convoluted than usual for a cozy mystery. I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book one in the new Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series. This is a really good book. Meet Charity Penn (she prefers to be called Penn) who grew up the as the shuffled around bastard child of a really rich family. This entitled her to a trust fund (that she cannot touch without approval) but not much else to be honest. Due to this most of the people she meets are after her money making it hard to ever trust anyone so when she gets a letter saying she one free chocolate making classes in a contest she never entered she sends her best friend to check it out. The only problem is that he turns up dead. When the local cops accuse him of being a drug dealer she feels compelled to travel south to clear his name if she can. After she gets there she also visits the chocolate shop and against her better judgement she takes the cooking classes. When the owner of the shop dies she leaves the shop to Penn against her family's wishes. this means Penn has to decide if she will stay or go while trying to solve a murder that puts her in danger at the same time. There are some really interesting characters in this book and the descriptions of the chocolate had me drooling. The dog had me laughing and shaking my head the same time since he is constantly so mean. That creep cat seems to set the little dog right making me curious about future cohabitation for the two of them. This is a great new mystery series making it a must read. I really enjoyed so it gets 4/5 stars and I am really looking forward to book two in the series.

Great start to a new series. I like Penn. The family issues played out as expected. The culprit surprised me. I look forward to reading the next one. Lots of potential.

Charity Penn wins a trip for free cooking lessons in Camellia Beach, South Carolina. The problem is she never signed up for anything. Her friend goes and checks it out for her and ends up dead. Penn goes to figure out what happened to her friend. She is met with some resistance as it seems someone is out to kill her too. She takes her free cooking lessons and falls in love with the Chocolate Box. Surprisingly she inherits the Chocolate Box. She wants to know why and what it has to do with her friend's death. 

In an Oyster Shell - A near perfect book that made for an amazing cozy. I can't wait for the rest of the series! 

The Pearls - I love that it was set in a small town. It was quirky and made you feel like you were there. The town was full of eccentric characters that did not take too kindly to outsiders. After Penn inherits the Chocolate box when she keeps it open they take her in as one of their own. It's really sweet and my favorite type of setting. 

I liked the characters there were a lot of them but not too much. I liked the owner of the Chocolate Box she was interested in Penn and very passionate about chocolate. I like that the author made her an empathetic character. She even gave back to the village she got her chocolate beans from. Penn was a great character. She had a dog given to her by her ex who needed training but added a nice element to the narrative. 

The mystery was intriguing. There were lots of layers to the mystery. I couldn't figure out who did it. I like when the author keeps me guessing. 

The Sand - I don't know when the next book is coming out! I need it like now! 

5 Pearls!

Where to start. Honestly. Where. To. Start. I am having such a poor run with cozy crimes at the moment. This is another which is largely devoid of sympathetic characters and which compounds that by having a detective who is almost beyond too stupid to live, with the attention span of a goldfish and the deductive skills of a fish too. Ooof. I could go on at length about my issues with the way the heroine's (tragic) backstory is set up and her inability to control her dog, but life is too short. I'm just going to chalk it up as Not For Me and move on. Sorry