Sarah Graves

Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree and her best friend Ellie White are co-owners of The Chocolate Moose, a chocolate-themed bakeshop in Eastport, Maine. As the 4th of July approaches, they find themselves in a baking frenzy, committed to providing a dozen chocolate cherry cheesecakes for an auction that will fund Eastport's fireworks extravaganza. Despite the looming threat of Hurricane Amber, the women persevere. However, Jake and Ellie soon discover that the hurricane is not the only danger they need show more to face for a Happy 4th.

This cozy mystery has a large cast of characters, each adding their unique flavor to the narrative. Jake and Ellie are adept at juggling multiple tasks. Their shop is a hub of activity, with a steady stream of customers who can't resist their delectable chocolate creations.

Intended as a spin-off of the author's "Home Repair is Homicide" series, I enjoyed its introduction to a culinary series that can stand on its own. The narrative is a chocoholic's dream, filled with tantalizing descriptions that will leave you craving more. Remarkably, there was no indulgence in chocolate and/or cheesecake while reading this cozy mystery.

The scrumptious cheesecake that the reader dreams of throughout the reading of this mystery can be created in your kitchen with the "Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake" recipe at the end of the story. show less

Jake & Ellie, owners of Maine's Chocolate Moose, want to help Jake's daughter-in-law recover her baking "mojo." If she takes a position at a local community college, she'll need childcare assistance, and even though the child's great grandmother might be willing, everyone knows she is not able to keep up with a toddler. In the meantime, a man drops dead, and a family friend who is his sisters' guardian is the chief suspect. The evidence seems to point to him, and the state police believe he show more did it. The local law enforcement is on Jake's side this time, but he warns her away from getting too involved. That's not going to stop Jake or Ellie from pursuing it until they find the real person responsible. Even though this one is fun (and Susan Boyce is a great narrator), the plot is a little too convoluted to be plausible. show less

THE GIRLS SHE LEFT BEHIND is Title #2 in Sarah Graves ‘Lizzie Snow’ series.
The story takes place in Bearkill, Maine. It is dry, dry, dry, and forest fires are breaking out everywhere. Lizzie Snow, Sheriff Cody Chevrier, Dylan Hudson (former Boston boyfriend; currently a Maine State Detective), are all searching for a missing young girl from Bearkill.
The story is a bit brutal - a showcase for the depression and lethargy of northern Maine (I know. I live here. It is painful to read about); show more the parallel stories of abduction, torture and confinement; the general sleaziness and hopelessness of many (most) of the characters.
An underlying subplot is that of Lizzie’s quest to find her missing niece.
Lizzie is sharp, gritty, driven and likeable. I don’t like her treatment of vet, Trey Washburn, though, and of former boyfriend, Dylan Hudson. Make up your mind, girl!
The plot was very inter-woven and I had to backtrack a few times to keep all the relationships straight.
I did really enjoy the book. The characters, plots, subplots, the sense of place, suspense - all came together for a ‘wicked good’ read. show less

In Crawl Space, a best-selling true crime writer named Carolyn Rathbone and her put-upon assistant researcher/writer Charles 'Chip' Hahn, come to Easport, Maine, to do research for Carolyn's third book. Two brothers, Randy and Roger Dodd, had married two rich sisters. One wife's death might have been accidental, but Roger's Ann (Anne? can't tell when listening) was definitely murdered. Randy is supposed to have been accidentally killed while on the water, but Ann(e) kept insisting that he show more had killed her sister. Carolyn and Charles (whom she keeps calling Chip, although he's asked her not to - the author calls him that as well) go to a bar called the Artful Dodger. Chip had followed his boss and wasn't sitting near her while she got drunk enough to brag about why she was in town. Carolyn gets kidnapped while Chip is waiting for her.

Carolyn is not a nice person or boss. What she says to Chip shortly before she's kidnapped made me root for the killer to add her to his victims. Chip gets in touch with Jake. Back when Sam was still a kid, Chip, although five years older, had been Sam's friend and mentored him. Jake joins him as he's trying to get Police Chief Bob Arnold to take him seriously. It doesn't help that Bob keeps referring to Carolyn as Chip's lady friend no matter how often Chip says she's his boss.

Jake's current home repair project, insulting her old house, isn't going well. Also, she has some jerk calling her and claiming 'I'm going to kill you' in a very annoying voice. Helping Chip is a good way to escape those problems -- until she realizes that her son, Sam is missing. Was Sam kidnapped by the killer as well? Yes, he was. That gave me a reason to care.

The more we learn about Randy Dodd, the scarier he becomes. Carolyn spends much of the book certain that she is going to join the ranks of the murdered girls and women she's written about. Even knowing that the reason she swiped Chip's idea for a novel is because she can't bear to write about true crime anymore didn't make me care enough to want her to escape. Poor Sam is wounded.

Chip does something dumb that nearly gets him killed, but does put him in a position to either help save Carolyn and Sam or get himself killed trying.

There are a lot of near misses and out of the frying pan into the fire situations before the book is over. It was intense to listen to. I put in a CD of nice classical music after each CD of the book to calm myself down except for the last three, which I listened to in a row. show less