The Chocolate Shark Shenanigans is the 17th book in the Chocoholic Mystery series by JoAnna Carl. I've had most of the books in this series on my TBR shelf for a very long time. When you own thousands of books, it takes awhile to bring a series to the top of the pile. When I saw the front cover of this newest book, I knew it was time to start reading this series!

I don't usually jump into a series on book 17....but I did this time. I'm learning to take chances in my old age. ha ha. I knew if I didn't just jump in, that this series could remain in TBR limbo even longer than it already has. I'm glad I finally tested the waters and "met'' the owners of TenHuis Chocolade!

I enjoyed this book! I think I would understand the characters better starting at the beginning of the series, but I still enjoyed this fun mystery. The characters are quirky. There's lots of humor. And some great investigation as well. All in all, a fun, entertaining cozy mystery. I'm definitely back-tracking and starting this series from book 1 though....I want to see how this all got started!

The basics: Lee Woodyard's husband decides to buy a house to remodel and flip. She's not too keen on the idea, but goes along with it. When a hidden gun and a dead body are discovered in the house, they all get pulled into investigating a past crime and a present killing. Who knew flipping a house could be so dangerous?

I liked the humor and fun in this story most of all. Sometimes a really entertaining cozy can just be so refreshing and fun to read. I needed this dose of humor. This whole series appears to be this way if the covers are any indication! I can't wait to read the rest of the books! I need a little Lee -- and her constant use of wrong words -- in my life! I don't often give cozy mysteries full stars because they are such light reads and often written in a definite formula....but I had so much fun reading this entertaining, cute story that I'm giving it full marks.

Cute story! Fun read! I will definitely be reading this entire series!

**I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

I find cozy mysteries fascinating! I can’t handle really scary, suspenseful mysteries, so cozy is right up my alley. I also LOVE how humorous the genre can be - the puns are real, my friends!

3.5 Stars (rating shown may vary depending on whether the site allows half star ratings).

I've read other books in this series--at least a few--but apparently not all as there's a saying in this book that keeps getting repeated, "curiosity bump", that I have no idea of its meaning. I suspect it must be something that came up in one of the books I've not read.

I saw this book on the new books shelf at my local library and decided to check it out to read.

WARNING: Remainder of review may contain spoilers. Read on at your own discretion:
*****

I guessed wrong about what had happened to Curley. I thought one of Brad's shots had hit him and then Brad had tried to keep that information from his friends and that was why he asked them to leave. I also guessed wrong about who had put the gun in the Bailey house rafters.

What I liked:

The story seemed lighthearted--despite the serious topic of murder and despite that Joe and Hogan are getting into a business that Lee really doesn't approve of.

The Chocolate Trivia included in this book really did seem more like chocolate trivia to me than what was included in the last title in this series that I read.

I liked learning more about Joe's time in high school and what Warner Pier had been like back then.

I wonder if the idea of reviving the Showboat will be revisited in a future book in the series--whether it will be a plotline running through several books, or if we'll just be shown that it has become what the committee envisions for it.

What I didn't like:

I found it hard to figure out how the names of the chocolates matched the descriptions of the chocolates--sometimes they just really didn't seem to go together in my mind. ( )

An old mystery and a new murder are tied together, and Lee and her husband Joe are tied up in the middle of it. Joe and Hogan are remodeling a house to flip, and their plumber discovers an old gun concealed in the basement. One thing leads to another, and before you can say chocolate shark, the detectives are looking at Joe with interest and Lee is itching to find the real culprits. The coverup goes back to Joe’s high school days, and it takes a lot of digging to get people to own up to what really happened back then. It’s a delightful mystery, filled with the twists that readers love. ( )