The Great Chocolate Scam

Death by Chocolate, Book 3

By: Sally Berneathy

Narrated by: Sarianna Gregg

Finally, Rick has agreed to sign the divorce papers and give Lindsay her freedom! She is sitting in her lawyer's office waiting for him when she gets the call.

Rick is dead. Murdered by a bomb that blew up his car in his own driveway.

Lindsay is his sole heir. Or is she? She's never met any of Rick's family. Though he told her various conflicting stories about them, she came to believe they didn't exist, that Rick was an alien stranded here when the mother ship left without him. But then Rick's mother and two brothers show up followed by a woman who claims to be his ex-wife and a boy she claims is Rick's son. Everyone except Lindsay wants to inherit Rick's estate. What's so valuable that someone killed for it and is ready to kill again?

Come for the cookie dough cheesecake bars; stay for the murder, mayhem, and fun!

©2012 Sally Berneathy (P)2015 Sally Berneathy

Fun read

I enjoyed listening to this book. It is funny light and interesting. The narration is good too. I received this book free with the understanding I would give an unbiased review.

A bit OTT

Once again I decided to go against my first instincts and try out a cozy mystery set around a woman in the culinary industry. The audiobook sample was funny, and I thought this one might actually fill the bill.

Weeellll…

It was not terrible. Some of the writing was sharp and funny. I didn't hate the main character, Lindsay. And much of the narration was indeed delivered with comic flair.

But I really didn't love the main character, either. She had her moments, certainly, but she drove me mad throughout the story with her reactions to events. After an explosion kills her very-almost-ex-husband on his way to finally sign the divorce papers, suddenly the family he always denied having begins emerging from the woodwork, and they all want something from her. "I told myself it wasn't my problem, and I should just send them on their way with a dozen cookies in a to-go bag. I assured myself I had no responsibility for these people…" All I could say was No, it's not your problem. Yes, you should get rid of them. No, you have no responsibility for them. Lindsay had the opposite of responsibility for any of these people, and every single reason to brush them off and let lawyers handle everything. Yet over and over she put herself through minor hell for a handful of seriously hideous people, all the while complaining bitterly. I don't know if this was supposed to be evidence of a heart of gold, but for me it was just indication that she needed to grow a backbone.

The narration was often funny, but somewhat erratic. Character voices sometimes got confused. Sometimes funny lines were delivered with a sultry tone, and vice versa, and sometimes straight lines were delivered hilariously. And … the problem with giving horrible characters horrible voices is that horrible voices are horrible to listen to. And some of these were truly horrid. And at least one, the victim's purported mother, made little sense; the accent and tone didn't jive with the way the character was described. And Fred, Lindsay's neighbor, was given an English or Anglo-Indian accent, but again nothing in the description, as far as I noticed, supported it.

I thought it was odd that people needed alibis for the time of death when the murder weapon was a bomb which could have been – had to have been – set some time before it went off. I thought it was odd that Lindsay recognized her cop boyfriend Trent's ploy to get fingerprints, but not Fred's ploy to get DNA.

A minute ago I said I didn't hate Lindsay. That's not entirely true; there were moments I did want to throttle her, aside from her wishy-washyness with the annoyances. This was the third book in the series, and – sure enough – this is at least the third murder with which Lindsay has become involved. I always find that hard to swallow. What's worse, though, is that Lindsay capitalizes on the deaths. She chortles over the increase in business at her shop after the last two incidents, created desserts based on the last two murders, and announces on the news that she is "going to create a special chocolate dessert that will help the families and friends of both victims … cope with this terrible disaster." Ew. And, finally, she exhibits all the classic cozy mystery symptoms of the TSTL heroine: she ignores all orders to stay out of danger. When called on it at one point, she huffs that if she followed the rules she would never have created her own spectacular chocolate recipes. Which is true – but has nothing to do with being too dumb or pig-headed to stay out of the range of gunfire. And if I were a cop I don't think I'd be able to sustain a relationship with someone who ignores direct instruction to stay put.

TLDR: not as awful as it could have been, but won't be pursuing the series.

Great!

I received this book for free, for an honest review.

This book was just as great as the previous ones if not better. The characters were fun to follow, and the narrator was easy to understand.

Death By Family

This was another fun and entertaining book in the Death by Chocolate book series. There is lots of action and humor and twists and turns in the plot. The in-laws are annoying and you the reader gets to know why Rick turned out the way he did. Lindsey is witty and intelligent. The only thing I did not like was the narrator. I think Sarianna Gregg tried to hard to give everyone a different voice. I wish the rest of the book were available on Audible.

I was provided this book for free from the author for an unbiased review.

Good cast of characters, story a bit predictable.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I enjoyed the story and how the narrator really put life into the characters, especially Lindsay.

What did you like best about this story?

There were a lot of characters and they all had something to contribute to the story.

Have you listened to any of Sarianna Gregg’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was the first time. Like I mentioned previously, I liked how she put life into the characters. The emotions of the characters came through, especially Lindsay's snarkiness. I got the feeling I probably enjoyed the audio version more than a paper version because of that. Would definitely like to hear the other three books in the series (so far) if she narrated them as well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending when a certain character gets his/her comeuppance in a couple of ways (one of which I suspected).

Any additional comments?

I received a copy from Audiobook Blast in exchange for my honest review.

Great Book!

Any additional comments?

Great Book!
This is a great book; this is the third book in the Death by Chocolate series written by Sally Berneathy and narrated by Sarianna Gregg. Once I started listening to this book I didn’t want to stop. Poor Lindsay can’t catch a break, she has been begging her cheating husband to sign the divorce papers, he finally agrees. While she is waiting in the lawyer’s office she gets a call that her husband Rick has been killed in a bomb that blew up his car in his own driveway. Lindsay believes that she is the sole heir to Rick’s estate when all of a sudden people are moving in her house that claim to be his family. Lindsay and her friend will do anything to find out what happened so she can get these people out of her life.

The narrator Sarianna Gregg did a great job with this book. She did a great job with the different voices of each character in this book. It was very easy to listen to in one sitting and I didn’t want to stop listening until the end.

If you are looking for a great mystery with humor great characters then you need to listen to this book. I am looking forward to listening to the next book by this author and narrator.

A Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

loved the book

this is another book I loved listening to. my co-workers loved hearing and work stopped slot with this book on. Everyone is ready for the next book.

Very Entertaining

Would you consider the audio edition of The Great Chocolate Scam to be better than the print version?

No.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not really on the edge of my seat, but the book was pure entertainment. Very humorous, and I looked forward to listening to the next chapters everyday.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Rick showed up.

Any additional comments?

I will definitely be picking up more books by this author.

Loved it and worth it!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Great Chocolate Scam to be better than the print version?

Not better, but not worse. Very good quality. I love all of the Chocolate Series books and this is the first one I've listened to. The narrator is very good/

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, however, Sally Berneathy's books always do! I did appreciate the dramatic effects and the pauses from the chapter break as well as the inflections in the narrator's voice.

What about Sarianna Gregg’s performance did you like?

I liked the changes in her voice for the different characters and the clarity of the sound. The quality of the audio is superb.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Definitely made me smile several times - I do love all the Chocolate books so much.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth purchasing! I can absolutely appreciate listening to this during the times when I would be working on something else and unable to read a print book or e-reader. I am looking forward to listening to the rest!

Good Read

Book 3 entertaining voices used different from normal speech should have been more down to earth. But overall I enjoyed the book.