I’m Reese Everhard, your friendly neighborhood newspaper reporter. I’m up early today, doing my civic duty by providing all the news that’s important the citizens of West Riverdale, Maryland.
West Riverdale may look like the idea small town – with its colonial buildings on Main Street, cute shops like the Enchanted Forest Flower Shop, the Pampered Pet Store, and the Knit Wits Yarn Store, and rolling green hills, but we’ve had more than our fair share of crime the last few months.
I have a very important role in our community – letting everyone know what they should know. About the world, the community, and especially their neighbors. Some people call me nasty names, like a tabloid journalist, but they don’t understand the pressure we reporters are under these days to be the first to break the news.
The first thing I do each morning is check what I may have missed when I was sleeping. I don’t actually sleep much – I’m determined to get to the story before anyone else. Before I even have my coffee, I jump right on the computer and find out what happened when I was wasting time snoozing.
Yes, I peek at world stories and post them to my news website, but I pay particular attention to the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other social media accounts of West Riverdale residents. That’s where I get some of my juicier gossip, I mean, news stories. Some people don’t like my digging, but that’s because they have something to hide. With all the murders that have happened here lately, my job is more important than ever!
When I’ve exhausted everything online, I head on over to the West Riverdale Diner. If nosy Iris isn’t there, I can usually sneak into a booth and listen to my fellow diners. If I’m feeling lucky, I’ll head over to Chocolates and Chapters, where they have the best gossip. I’ve been known to quietly scooch my chair closer to other tables to hear better.
It must be the scrumptious truffles that get everyone talking. Since it’s October, I’m betting that chocolatier Michelle Serrano will have my favorite Booberry whites, creamy white chocolate filled with tart blueberry-enhanced milk chocolate ganache in the shape of blue eyed ghosts. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.
Maybe I’ll have a few Screamin’ Orange milks filled with tangy orange ganache, or even some Mummy Wraps, with a biting cherry ganache covered in white icing lined to look like mummies with tiny black eyes peeking through. As yummy as they are sweet.
Not that I want to give Michelle any free publicity. She and fellow Chocolates and Chapters owner Erica Russell get enough attention solving murder mysteries in West Riverdale.
Right now they’re so busy organizing the West Riverdale Halloween Festival that they’re probably too busy to solve any murders.
But knowing them, I wouldn’t bet on it.
Behind Chocolate Bars is the third book in the Chocolate Covered mystery series, published by Penguin Random House, October 2016.
DOUBLE, DOUBLE-BOIL, AND TROUBLE. . .
Best friends and business partners Michelle and Erica have a monstrous to-do list as they prepare for the annual West Riverdale Halloween Festival. Their shop, Chocolates and Chapters, will have a booth at the event, where Michelle will serve spooky delights while Erica displays an assortment of spine-chilling books. Thank goodness the teenagers from Erica’s comic-book club are chipping in to help. But one of their volunteers winds up in trouble after a woman’s body is found in an abandoned house—with the teen’s superhero key ring close by.
The teen swears he didn’t do it, but he’s obviously hiding something—leaving Michelle and Erica with a witch’s cauldron of questions. Soon they discover that the dead woman was tricking a whole bunch of people out of more than just treats. Now these two friends must go door-to-door if they hope to unmask a killer. . .
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About the author
Kathy Aarons is the author of the nationally bestselling Chocolate Covered Mystery series by Berkley Prime Crime. Research for the series was such a hardship: sampling chocolate, making chocolate, sampling more chocolate, and 
hanging out in bookstores.
She began writing when her youngest daughter attended school five days a week and pursued publishing more seriously when her oldest daughter went off to college. Now an empty-nester, she continues to advocate for arts education for youth, serving as president of the board of directors for Playwrights Project (playwrightsproject.org), advising and teaching for the Middle School Writing Series, and volunteering for the CCA Writers’ Conference (ccawritersconference2016.weebly.com), the only free writing conference for high school students in the country.
She’s also president of Partners in Crime – the San Diego chapter of Sisters in Crime, a national mystery writers’ organization.
You can follow Kathy on Facebook or Twitter or visit her at: www.kathyaarons.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Behind Chocolate Bars. US entries only, please. The giveaway ends October 10, 2016 at 11:59 AM EST. Good luck everyone!
I think I gained weight just reading about the chocolate! Yum! Somehow I have missed this series, and will get started catching up right away! Thanks Dru Ann! Also thanks to Kathy for her generous give-away of this book! 🙂
A chocolate mystery sounds delightful.
I gained weight writing it! Good luck!
I love chocolate mysteries!
Need to read this series. Thank you for the chance.
Love this series! Feels like I’ve been waiting forever for this book to come out.
New author/new series so exciting, and refreshing. Dru. so appreciate the many intros to newbies. Keeps life interesting. Thanks for the chance at another new read
Mysteries and chocolate what more can a person ask for. Thank you for the chance to win
Sounds like a delicious read!
Sounds tasty.
Even without the information you have provided, the cover would sell me. With that said I love Kathy Aaron’s books from cover to what is in between. Thank you for the opportunity to enter this giveaway. robeader53@yahoo.com
Another new author/new series for me! Thank you for the chance to win a print copy of Behind Chocolate Bars.
I love chocolate. Thanks for a chance to win a copy of your book.
The premise sounds so exciting I want to tag along and get the neighborhood news first! Love that colorful over art. Looking forward to reading this with a piece of chocolate in my mouth and in my hand! Thanks for the chance.
Sounds like a great read.
I just realized that I missed the second book, I loved the first in this series. Thanks for reminding me and a chance to win this one.
Everything regarding chocolate is always good! Thanks for a chance to win!
Wonderful play on words in the title. Being from a small town I anxious to see the interplay of the characters.
I love chocolate I could eat it instead of everthing else thanks for the chance to win your books
What a fun treat! Adding this cozy to my to read list!
Love the cover!
Looks like a great book and I look forward to reading this book. Thanks for the chance.
love anything about chocolate..been wanting to read this series..looks really good
This sounds good love the review thanks
Penney
Chocolate and a mystery, what more could I ask for. Also, love the shop names! This sounds like a series I need to start!
I think this would be a great book to read for Halloween. Thanks for the contest.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
This sounds like a very interesting story. Would love a chance to win!
If you are behind chocolate bars, can you eat your way out?
I haven’t read this series yet, but it’s definitely on my TBR list. Chocolate and a mystery sounds like a great storyline.
Chocolate and Halloween! What could be better? I’d love to win and read it!
lindaherold999@gmail.com
I’m glad they still have a small town newspaper! And there’s chocolate! Thanks for the chance to win!
I hadn’t heard of this series before, how delicious!
Oh how I love chocolate and cats…..and the cover on this new book is soooooo totally awesome!!!! I love this series and can’t wait to read this new one!!! Thanks so much dear DruAnn and Kathy for the chance!!!! God bless you both!!! You girls ROCK!!!!
Please include me in the giveaway for Behind Chocolate Bars. Great series and super cute cover for the new book! As always thanks for what you do and I really enjoyed reading your reviews this week.
Sounds like a great book! Would love to win! 😀
I enjoyed the first book & can’t wait to catch up on this series. Thanks for the giveaway.
Would love to read this!!! parkeremma2003 at yahoo dotcom
Another author to check out.
This sounds delightful! I have a friend that loves chocolate and mysteries, so what better gift than this book.
Really looking forward to another book in this series as I’ve enjoyed the previous ones
Good luck everyone! I hope you enjoy the book!
Chocolate and a mystery- great combo!
sounds like a really fun series. Good review and thank you for the chance!!
Food and mystery does it for me.
This definitely sounds like a fun read that I’m adding to the TBR list.
I look forward to reading this book. I have not read any of this author’s books as I have just recently heard o her!!