Playing With Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St James - #review #giveaway

Chocoholic Charity Penn must smoke out the killer to stop her newly inherited beachside chocolate shop from going up in flames in Dorothy St. James’ decadent follow-up to Asking for Truffle.


Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach cooking up chocolate treats. She’s even helped organize the town’s lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds eager to dance the Carolina shag. That is, until one of the band’s lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.

While also trying to balance the amorous attention of music star Bixby Lewis, in town for the festival, and her quest to perfect a new hot flavored bonbon, Charity dives into the investigation. Though it’s more spice than sugar when she discovers a threatening note, comes across decades of age-old secrets, and Bixby comes into the line of fire when a gas grill explodes on the deck of a beachfront house.

Now Charity must turn up the heat and catch the killer before her chance melts away in Playing With Bonbon Fire, the delightful second Southern Chocolate Shop mystery served up just right for fans of JoAnna Carl and Joanne Fluke.

GoodReads * IndieBound  * Amazon * Kobo * Google Play * Barnes & Noble

~~~oOo~~~

MY REVIEW

Playing With Bonbon Fire has two of my favorite things in it:  cozy mysteries and chocolate! (YUM!)  I'm going to have to try every single one of the delicious-looking recipes at the back of the book.

You now Charity ('call me Penn') has the town's best interests at heart.  Not only does she help to organize a tourist magnet music festival, she provides them with great chocolates!  (Personally, I'd have a hard time figuring which of those is most important! LOL)  At least one other person, though, does not have the best interests of the town in mind, as the lead singer of a band is found dead by the bonfire.

One thing that's great about stories set in South Carolina is all the secrets from the past that are present.  Usually they are about a relationship of some kind.  In Bonbon Fire, there are secrets surrounding the murder and secrets that have kept Penn from finding out about her family as well as the secret she is trying to solve about the perfect spicy chocolate recipe.

Even when all the chocolate has been eaten (oh, woe is me!), this delicious story will tickle and tempt your tastebuds!  There is enough sugar to make this a sweet story, but not so much that it becomes cloying.  Bonbon Fire is just right.

~~~oOo~~~

MEET THE AUTHOR

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Mystery author Dorothy St. James was born in New York but raised in South Carolina. She makes her home on an artsy island community in South Carolina with her husband, a neurotic dog, and fluffy cat. Though writing has always been a passion for her, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Urban Planning. She put her educational experience to use, having worked in all branches and all levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal. She even spent time during college working for a non-profit environmental watchdog organization.

Switching from government service and community planning to fiction writing wasn’t as big of a change as some might think. Her government work was all about the stories of the people and the places where they live. As an urban planner, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the people she met. And from that, her desire to tell the tales that were so alive in her heart grew until she could not ignore it any longer. In 2001, she took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of writing fiction full-time.

Known for the White House Gardener Mystery series, Dorothy is going back to her roots and setting a mystery series in a Southern beach town much like the one she’s called home for the past 20 years. The Southern Chocolate Shop Mysteries combine her love of fine chocolates, quirky Southern charm, with a dash of danger.

* Dorothy St. James is the alter-ego of the award-winning multi-published author, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Reviewers International Organization Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: “amazing”, “perfect”, “filled with emotion”, and “lined with danger.”

~~~oOo~~~

GIVEAWAY!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~oOo~~~

Click the banner above to go to the tour page, where you will find links to more reviews of this title, as well as guest posts and interviews.  You can also find out how to become a blog host for future book tours while you are there!

(Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book from the author and publishers via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)