This was a very exciting red. I couldn't decide who was the killer. I hope that there is another title in the works. This one while finish left one up in the air with more questions.

ASKING FOR TRUFFLE is a good solid mystery, with a reveal that really surprised me. I'll be looking for the next book in this series.

When Penn receives a letter about winning a trip to the beach and a free cooking class at a chocolate shop her friend Skinny offers to look into it for her. But when Skinny's body is found in a vat of chocolate she knows she needs to find out why she got this letter and if it is related to Skinny's death.

The story is full of unique characters and at one time or another you will find your self suspecting each of murder only to find out you are wrong, or are you? This is a great mystery with interesting characters that will have craving chocolate. Don't worry, you can find chocolate recipes in the book too.

This was a fun book and I so enjoyed the people that I met from Penn to Mabel to Granny Mae to Harley to Bertie to Athena and even Stella. From the opening paragraph to the conclusion, this book immediately grabbed my attention and I could not put it down until all was said and done and what a ride this was. The author did a great job in setting the stage for tightly woven mystery that kept me glued to the pages as Penn did her best amid her own personal baggage to find out what happened to her friend. Everyone is a suspect and the author penned it so that every person that I met had a motive for the killing, and I like that with each clue presented, the list of suspects got shorter and shorter until only one person was standing. The murder was a brilliant set-up by the author to make this an all-encompassing journey of self-discovery that had me rooting for Penn, especially with her upbringing of being abandoned by both her parents and an uncaring grandparent. I liked that she has flaws which more than endeared her to me. Boasting a friendly cast of characters, engaging dialogue and a small-town atmosphere, this was an exciting story and with that ending, I can't wait to read the next book in this delightfully charming debut series.

This will post live on my blog Blue Cat Review on Wednesday, July 12th -

My Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of this book by the author's representative. I am providing an honest review for which I am receiving no compensation of any kind. All opinions are fully my own.
~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review

My Review: 4-Stars
The heroine in this book starts life trying to beat the stigma attached to her name. Her "loving family" has given her the moniker Charity Penn and treats her like a charity case. They ignore her as much as they possibly can. Only her half-sister Tina has anything to do with her. In fact, she calls her every day when she is away, just to be sure she is all right.

She's recently split from her mafia-type boyfriend, Erik, the Cheese King. His parting gift was a nasty little dog, Stella. She does look over her shoulder from time to time to see if he has sent anyone after her.

She's had this letter about winning a trip to Camellia Beach and some chocolate making lessons. Knowing she didn't enter any contest, she makes the trip to find out what it's all about. What she finds is quite a mixed bag.

On one hand, she has two very sweet older women offering her chocolate lessons and friendship. A very nice surfer dude, who sidelines as a lawyer. And a helpful detective from the county sheriff's office.

Then, on the other hand, there's the local police chief who doesn't seem to see anything wrong and developers who want to take over the land under her feet. And secrets. So many secrets.

This book had me creeping through the dark a lot. Sneaking up stairways. In the end, the bad guy gets it, though. That's one of the good things about cozies, they always have HEA.

1sr book in a new series, Southern chocolate mysteries, you find Penn visiting Camellia,South Carolina after winning a contest she didn't enter. When her best friend is murdered checking it out she realizes there are people happy she's there and some willing to kill to get her to leave. Yummy tips and ideas from the chocolate shop. I liked the story. It held my attention and was a good cozy.

When Charity Penn receives a letter stating she won free cooking lessons at a chocolate shop, called the Chocolate Box, in South Carolina, she’s very skeptical because she doesn’t remember entering any contest. She decides to send her friend to check it out, but he winds up murdered in a vat of chocolate. Can Charity find the truth before she winds up dead by chocolate?
I really wanted to like this book, but in all honesty, it depressed me. I got tired of reading about Charity’s family issues and that nobody loved her. I read these books as a form of escapism, but I didn’t want to escape into Charity’s world. The read wasn’t exciting, and I didn’t feel the tension that one should when reading a mystery. An Advanced Reading Copy was received in exchange for an honest review.

Asking for Truffle: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
Author: Dorothy St. James
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Charity Penn won a trip to Camellia Beach, South Carolina and free cooking lessons at The Chocolate Box. She knows that she didn’t actually win because she never entered. She figures it is just another scam, like so many before trying to get into her bank account. Too bad that the scammers didn’t know how little control she had over her trust fund. Her best friends and former school friend, Skinny offers to look into the situation and ends up drowned in a vat of chocolate.

Charity “Penn” as she is known, hurry’s to the seaside town determined to find Skinny’s killer. As much as she distrusts everyone, and tells herself that she wants to get in and out of the decrepit old town, she finds herself enjoying her time and the people. That is until she gets involved in a second murder and puts her life in danger to solve both.

--
Penn is a bit too untrusting and not a very likable character, at least not at first. Her childhood issues continue to plague her and make her into an angry and at times rude individual. Her mistrust of everyone and everything gets in the way of her truly learning to live. She is given the opportunity of a lifetime but can’t accept it for what it is, a genuine gift.

In many ways, the character of Penn is not in the least unusual is the real world. However, the fact that she continues to hold onto her issues in the face of acceptance and love is in no small part the attraction to the character and the story. The reader has to keep turning the pages to find out if she will ever let go of the past and find true happiness, and solve the murder of her friend.

This story is fast-paced, entertaining and filled with possibilities. The twists and turns often leave the reader reeling from the harshness of Penn’s thoughts and attitudes. There comes the point when the reader may want to shout at the character, shake her and tell her to stop living in the past and to look at what is right in front of her.

In the last few chapters, the reader is left with a sense of anxiousness and satisfaction, knowing that they didn’t waste their time reading to the end. The ending gives people joy and an outlook on life that all things are possible even for Charity Penn.

This is the first book in a new series and is highly recommended for its entertainment value as well as its ability to pull an emotional response from the reader. Those who enjoy a good who done it will love this book.

This book hits the ground running with Penn's lifelong friend heading to South Carolina for her to investigate why Penn received an unsolicited prize of chocolate making lessons in the small beach town. When her friend Skinny ends up murdered and stuffed in a vat of chocolate she heads there herself to investigate. Penn's life and character is extremely complicated. She has always struggled to find a place for herself in the world. With wit, charm and a superior mystery Penn may have found her home. I highly recommend 'Asking for Truffle'.

3.5 stars

Charity Penn, known only as "Penn", was an unwanted child thrust into a rich family who was embarrassed by her presence. It marked her for life: she is aloof, skittery, and hates to be hugged.

She is at loose ends, having recently ended a bad relationship, when she receives an odd letter offering free chocolate making classes in a small town in the Carolinas. She has a friend go check out the town and report back, but he is murdered after leaving a cryptic message on her cell phone.

Penn decides to go find out what happened, and is soon embroiled in some murky goings on. She is beguiled by two elderly chocolatiers and the charming small town. But the town and its inhabitants have lots of secrets, and the residents are split between pro-development and status quo groups.

This was not a bad read, although it is hard to warm to Penn with all her baggage. The plot gets fairly complex and hard to follow, but the characters are interesting and I found myself caring about the outcome and Penn's future.

I was given an ARC of this novel via Net Galley in return for my honest review.

Asking for Truffle by Dorothy St. James is an exciting cozy mystery. Dorothy St. James brings readers murder, mystery, and romance. I love chocolate. The main protagonist is a fan of chocolate herself. Easy to connect with and likable. Charity Penn has always felt like something was missing in her life. Her mother was gone and her father moves quickly from woman to woman. All she had was an elderly woman took her in like a mother would. However, Penn soon finds trouble. She receives a letter which causes so much suspicion that she sends her best friend on the case. Only, he ends up dead. He found something. Told her to come there quick. And after that his body was found. The whole town thinks he was into drugs and that's what caused his death. But Penn knew better. Her guess work soon leads into an investigation of crazy events. Money, chocolate, and greed. Penn and her new friend, a fury snapping dog head out to find answers. Asking for Truffle is indeed the perfect title. Suits well for this book. I loved it. Engaging from beginning to end. I look forward to reading more mysteries by Dorothy St. James. Overall, I highly recommend this novel to all.

Written in first person awkward by gawky, trustfund outsider Penn whose name is a sore point with her, not much of what happens in the first several chapters seems to make much sense. Whatever nerd charm she may have quickly wears thin as paranoia, enhanced by radically negative reactions to her every move (including not bothering to train her nasty doglet), becomes the order of the day. And yet despite herself I wanted to know what on earth this mess was about because--CHOCOLATE. No, okay, food really is NOT my motivator, curiosity is and enough tantilizing tidbits had been wafted to keep me reading (see what I did there?).

And it was well worth my effort because our heroine does become more self-confident, solves the crime(s), and actually becomes quite likeable as the "somewhat" eccentric cast develops fully rounded personalities and the plot starts to make sense. And the descriptions of CHOCOLATE . . . maybe it WAS the food?

DISCLAIMER: This is a voluntary review from the NetGalley list. I have had exceptionally good luck with books published by Crooked Lane so happily selected this new-to-me author's first offering in her latest series. Happy, happy, happy!

I only got through 10% of this mystery. I just found the characters flat and the main character unengaging. The secondary characters feel like complete stereotypes so far, like the woman selling crystals, but it's mostly my lack of feeling for main character Charity and my lack of caring over who killed Skinny (who we barely meet before he dies) that has sent me packing on this one. I wish I had liked it better, because a chocolate shop as a setting always appeals to me!

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A thoroughly delightful cozy mystery. The book has a great plot and characters. Loved the setting and the author's writing. I look forward to more books in this series.

This started out a bit slow for me but I finally got into it. Good premise, good story, good outcome. Looking forward to seeing how Penn clears up her reputation/situation with the "Cheese King" & her dysfunctional family. Would like to see her friendship with Althea develop and that with the community. Was a plausible story line for a cozy mystery. Looking forward to the next story.

I had gotten away from a lot of "food" mysteries, but this one caught my eye and is a good first start, Needs to have a bit more development, but I'm curious to see where this series will go. Definitely on my list to check out more.

This first book in the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series is excellent! Within minutes I was attached to Charity Penn, do not call her Charity, and wanted to see things go well for her. Asking for Truffles gives us a good balance between strong characters and a well-developed, complex plot. Based on this taste of her writing, I am anxious to read White House Gardner, Dorothy St. James's other series.
When a friend is murdered checking out a contest that Penn won without entering, she is sure his death is related to the letter announcing that she has won a trip and chocolate making lessons, so Penn heads to Camilla Beach to discover what really happened to her friend. Suspicious of everyone, Penn is amazed to be warmly welcomed to the South Carolina beach town and the chocolate shop that is apparently the source of the letter. Somewhat overwhelmed and still suspicious Penn ends up taking chocolate making and loving chocolate making lessons as she tries to discover who murdered her friend. She quickly becomes attached to the owner Mabel and Doris who helps her run the shop so she is deeply saddened at the death of her teacher. She is shocked when she discovers that Mabel has left her the shop including the contract for extraordinary fair trade chocolate.

Suspects in the murder of her friend abound but clues are not so plentiful. In spite of the fact that she may have a target on her back, she is easily convinced to keep the shop open until a local chocolate festival that will give her chocolate attention and the town a great chance for increasing business. Few things are as they seem, and her attachment to the people of the town makes it hard for her to see a murderer in the face of her new friends, but she knows it must be one of them.
I requested and received an advanced readers’ copy of Asking for Truffle via NetGalley. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I always review books that I enjoy.

2-1/2-3 Stars

Murder By Chocolate

Seldom have I read a cozy I did not like the main character, but I did not like this one. The female protagonist, Penn, has a past that troubles her and bleeds into every aspect of her life. As such, her 'tortured' character is tedious and unappealing throughout the story. She's paranoid about her trust fund; she's forever irresponsible and immature in her decisions, and doesn't even like the cute little dog, Stella, that her ex gifted her.

The plot is partly centered around the Chocolate Box shop and the special chocolate they use. There's a mystical touch about it's origin that's interesting, and I enjoyed the cooking lesson scenes. At 30% of the book, I had Penn's DNA association figured out with the shop's family. I was disappointed it was that early on and that easy.

The supporting characters are mostly part of the chocolate shop owner's family plus a select few friends and townspeople. For seemingly no reason, most are hostile toward Penn as soon as she arrives in their run-down beach community. They did not know her nor she them! I did enjoy Penn's Granny Mae (not a blood relative) who is smart and fun, and I hope will be present in future stories.

I am interested in reading book two because I want to see if the protagonist manages to overcome her insecurities and successfully manage the chocolate shop and meld with the Camellia Beach Community, South Carolina residents as her benefactor, Mabel, intended for her to do.

Recipes included!

I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy from NetGalley and the publisher.

Asking for Truffle by Dorothy St.James is a cosy mystery with more depth to the lead character than can always be expected. Charity Penn, who goes by Penn, gets an unsolicited letter claiming that she won chocolate making lessons by the beach in the Carolinas. When an old friend is murdered while looking into it for her Penn goes to try to discover what is going on there. Complications arise, but chocolate runs through it all. I was given an advance to review. I love chocolate, and chocolate at the beach can only be a good thing in my book.