Wednesday 11 September 2019

Chocolate Covered Death (Wine & Dine Mysteries #2) by Gemma Halliday


Chocolate Covered Death (Wine & Dine Mysteries #2)

From #1 Amazon, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Gemma Halliday comes deliciously deadly decadence in wine country...

In order to boost her struggling family winery's reputation, Emmy Oak throws a Wine and Chocolate party for the Sonoma Valley elite--featuring her delicious drinks alongside her friend Leah's decadently chocolaty desserts. But when Leah's ex-husband's new trophy wife turns up dead after the party, the police paint Leah in the role of main suspect and the only thing anyone in town can talk about is the murder at the Chocolate Bar.

In order to save face and her friend, Emmy finds herself infiltrating high society and sorting among the catty and cantankerous for her killer. Did the victim's rare-wine brokering business have anything to do with it? Or was it the hot new golf pro at the club or the frenemy with a jealous streak? Or maybe her husband found a less messy way than divorce to end their short and unhappy marriage? Emmy isn't sure, but she knows a mysterious man in a cowboy had has something to do with it, and the deeper she digs, the more trouble seems to follow her. Between crashing the country club, dodging danger, and trying to stay one step ahead of the sexy Detective Christopher Grant, Emmy has her work cut out for her to catch a killer...before hers is the next death by chocolate!

**Simple and delicious recipes & affordable wine pairings included!**

"Ms. Halliday is the undisputed queen of the genre: she knows how to blend fashion, suspense, laughter, and romance in all the right doses."
Fresh Fiction

"Gemma has a natural flow to her writing, a vibrant, witty voice that makes you want to keep reading. 5 stars!"
Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine

"Halliday is on top of her game!"
Booklist

Wine & Dine Mysteries:
A Sip Before Dying - book #1
Chocolate Covered Death - book #2
Victim in the Vineyard - book #3, COMING in September!
Marriage, Merlot & Murder - book #4, COMING in January 2020!

Rating: This story does not contain any graphic violence, language, or sexual encounters. It's rating would be similar to PG-13 or what you would find on a Hallmark Channel movie or TV series.   (Summary via Goodreads)




The Wine & Dine Mystery series by Gemma Halliday could definitely be a movie on the Hallmark channel like it states in the book summary on Goodreads.  At the end of Chocolate Covered Death, the second book in this series, the main character Emmy Oak is recovering from a near death evening by lounging on the couch with Meg Ryan movies...... I could see Meg Ryan playing Emmy if it were a movie !!  (I wonder if Halliday was thinking the same thing when she was writing it......)

In Chocolate Covered Death Emmy and her friend, Leah, are working together on a chocolate and wine pairing event.  Emmy runs her family's winery and Leah owns a bakery, The Chocolate Bar, and they are combining Emmy's family wines with Leah's chocolate creations and they have an exclusive group of guests that they have invited to the event.  Unfortunately Leah's ex-husband's new trophy wife is there and by the end of the evening she is found by Emmy....dead in the alleyway.  Of course Leah is considered the main suspect.  Emmy and their other friend Ava know that there is no way that Leah would committ murder....she has her son Spence to think about.

Even though Emmy should be focused on running and showing a profit at the winery, she cannot let the police arrest her innocent friend....so with the help of Ava she does her own investigating.  This, of course, gets the attention of the detective on the case as well as the real killer.  Can she prove her theories to Detective Grant before the killer shuts her up for good ????

I love the Wine & Dine Mystery series by Gemma Halliday !!  The reader gets so captivated by the story that before you know it, you are at the end of the book and trying to catch your breath !!!  Even if you try to read slow and savor everything, you will find it hard to do.....you will savor everything there is to savor and you will be left with a satisfying feeling at the end and you will LOVE where Halliday leaves the reader with Emmy and Detective Grant........  You will be looking forward to book three for sure !!!!


Review by Missi M.


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