I really liked the characters in this series they were warm and engaging But the the plot was not for me too unbelievable for me.

I loved this book!!! Great story!! Loved this series!! Hope she writes more books to this series!! Will read more of her books!! Received this book from Kensington books from netgally!!

Yeah, this may be the last book I read in this series.

It was a very up and down read for me. And definitely what sorta seems to be the new normal for a Jake/Ellie book.

A man that Jake fights with on the street (with words) winds up dead not too much later in the basement of her and Ellie's chocolate shop. And so, even though she barely has a motive, and has lived in Eastport for decades, not to mention has never done any of the murders that she's been thought to have committed in the past, she's still a suspect. And so, she and Ellie better be on the case too, just in case someone really thinks that she did it.

I'm not exactly sure why this one in the two serieses that star Ellie and Jake annoyed me so much more than some of the previous books.

It was repetitive within the story too. I mean, how many times can Jake get hit on the head before she has permanent brain damage? And, while the mystery was sorta interesting, the main subplot added no tension at all.

It was just an all around meh sorta book.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Kensington Books.

Although the plot idea isn't bad the way it plays out is too over the top for me. In many cities you must suspend belief but this is just too implausible. And why does Ellie leave her child all of the time?
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Jake Tiptree and her business partner Ellie at The Chocolate Moose bakery are enjoying their small coastal town's annual Pirate Festival, even though Jake has gotten into a shouting match with a foodie celebrity who's making enemies all over town. Feeding local pirate wannabes with chocolate frosted doughnuts is good for business and for her spirits.
Then she stumbles over a dressed-up corpse in her basement -- and it looks as though she will be the prime suspect. Jake heads out, with the support of Ellie and her large and helpful family, on a series of adventures that would have put a lesser woman in the emergency room more than once.
Things keep getting more complicated, with local history and a mysterious piratical boat combining for mystery and danger. Action, suspense, and fully-fleshed characters, not to mention the vicarious excitement of the Pirate Festival, will keep you turning the pages to the end -- where you will find a recipe for chocolate ginger cookies.

This is a very entertaining story, with several plot twists that will keep the reader interested until the end. The best thing about this book is the friendship between Jake and Ellie and their interactions with other characters. Sarah Graves is a very talented writer and I look forward to the next book.

Small town Maine is hosting a pirate festival during which, Jake, the co-owner of a chocolate shop, has a very public encounter with a podcaster. Next thing you know, there's a murder and Jake is blamed for it.

I like the characters in this series but this third book in the Death by Chocolate series varied between way, way too much action for a cozy and some slow parts. Seemed very inconsistent to me.

Even so, I liked it well enough to continue with it, I think. Not my favorite series, certainly, but not bad.

Pirates and pompousness descend upon Eastport, Maine for the annual Eastport Pirate Festival. The pirates are everywhere which is good for business at the Chocolate Moose bakery owned and operated by Jake (Jacobia) Tiptree and Ellie White. The pompous part is played by Henry Hadlyme, well-known food authority and TV personality. Hadlyme, much former resident of Eastport is back and making waves by making scornful remarks about several of the local eateries including the Chocolate Moose. To even insinuate that they used carob instead of the finest ingredients was mutinous. His haughty attitude does not help him one but and does nothing but rile up Jake when he dares to show up to tape a podcast segment at the shop. Unfortuneately for Jake and her proclivity to be fiercely protective of her own (business, family, friends, town) a very loud and public scene takes place. Next comes the finding of Hadlyme's dead body, in the Moose's cellar, skewered with Wade's antique cutlass and adorned with Ephraim's plush parrot. Suspect #1 is Jake who is not going down this road again even though her good friend, police chief Bob, does not have her on his list, the State police just might. One thing to know about this book is that you are going to be craving chocolate before the end and wondering just how Jake gets herself into the positions/scrapes that she does. Oh wait, nope you'll quickly realize that she has a partner in crime, or rather crime-solving by was of her best friend and partner Ellie. It seems that there is more than one person who didn't like Hadlyme and they are actually locals. Old history and new motives will be discovered, sort of like the Double-Chocolate Ginger cookies (recipe at the end of the book) who would have though to make a wafer cookie with candied ginger and chocolate. The only thing more mysterious in this story than the sleek black pirate ship named the Jenny is the absence of the recipe for their chocolate donuts. This is a very entertaining story, it has several plot twists and keeps you going right up to the end. You do not have to be familiar with the characters and the author does a nice job of including a few pages of past history for Jake so you can read just how she ended up in Eastport, with the Chocolate Moose, a very large home, and a husband named Wade. Not to mention that any book with recipes is a winner and recipes featuring chocolate is treasure worth searching for.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for access to the ARC in return for an honest review.

I arrived in Eastport Maine at the chocolate moose to hang out with Jake and Ellie at the perfect time. Things were going great with the shop, and it’s the annual pirate festival. I love all things pirate! Aye matey. Yes things were great….well until the host of Eat This Henry Hadlyme showed up. A man with an over inflated ego about his celebrity status, a mean streak, and hidden agenda. He was in town doing podcast episodes for his show, and so far all he had done was make fun of the local businesses. Well Jake made it really clear (very publicly...I might add) that Henry was not welcome. Next thing I know Jake is finding Henry’s body in the basement of the shop. To make the “scuttlebutt” even worse Henry is found with a parrot pinned to his shoulder that belongs to Jake’s grandson, and he was killed with a weapon from her husband Wade’s collection. Ellie and I knew we needed to find the killer soon before a warrant was put out for Jake’s arrest.


My thoughts:
This series continues to be up and down for me. The covers are always amazing, and I love the premise. Bakery cozies are my jam. The writing and mystery continues to be great! Fast paced and at times laugh out loud funny. I just never felt a big connection with Jake and Ellie or the chocolate moose. Sometimes their decisions are dumb and worthy of having to “walk the plank”. The supporting characters need to be more interesting, and please….less boat language talk.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Netgalley, the author Sarah Graves, and the publisher for this opportunity.

From practically the beginning of the book, Jake and Ellie were pitched right into a lot of action and adventure. Some of it was pretty funny like the snake and the caterpillars that Jake somehow met up with. After finding the dead body of a hateful TV foodie in her basement, Jake was eyed as a suspect, since the whole town had heard and seen her arguing with him and threatening him. With Ellie's help, Jake set about proving her innocence. Did she let a concussion or a bunch of scrapes stop her? Naaaaaa. Jake wasn't real great about following instructions or rules when it came to proving something.

This was a real roller coaster ride of a mystery. I had an idea of who was behind it and possibly why, but it was fun to read and see how much was going to happen before they got caught. Jake really managed to get into some crazy scrapes this time, but she and Ellie always came out as winners.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Perhaps it's time for me to realize Sarah Graves and I need to break up. We've had a long and happy relationship, but we just aren't on the same page anymore. I'm not sure where to categorize her books anymore, like terrorist thriller/cozy. In any case, I know most reviews love her latest book, so I will just say it wasn't for me. Jacobia "Jake" Triptree is suspected of murdering a disagreeable guest in town, when she and her buddy Ellie White come up against a plot to subvert the town's pirate festival. Much mayhem ensues.

I have to admit the ending took me by surprise. It was definitely not what I was expecting. And the descriptions were so vivid that I stayed up way later than I should have because I was sucked into the story completely. This is definitely a book that any library worth its salt should have.

First, the bad news: nobody dies by chocolate frosted doughnut in this book. I know, I know, I was a little disappointed too. But, on the up side, the death that does take place is pirate-themed, so that makes up for it.

In the midst of a popular pirate festival that brings in much needed tourism and sales to the small waterfront community of Eastport, a somewhat famous food critic comes to town and starts immediately alienating everyone, which doesn’t end well for him. When his body is found in the cellar of Jacobia (Jake) & Ellie’s chocolate-themed bakery, The Chocolate Moose, Jake is pinned as the prime suspect in his murder.

What follows is the longest, most action-packed, two days of anyone’s life as Jake and Ellie get up to all kinds of trouble on land and sea, determined to clear Jake’s name and find the real killer.

When I say action-packed, I mean packed by the way. While some parts did drag a bit, I don’t know how everything that happened fit in only 2 days; it’s like time and space lost all meaning. Also, I’m not sure how Jake was still standing by the end of it. This woman fell down a set of stairs, hit her head hard enough to pass out, fell off a cliff into freezing water littered with rocks, was knocked out a few more times, and fell into the freezing Maine water a few more times – and she just stubbornly kept going right to the end.

Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut is the first I’ve read in the Death by Chocolate series and the author does a great job of giving you just enough info so you never feel lost without bogging you down with unneeded backstory. While this book can easily be read as a standalone, it made me very interested in reading the others in the series and i’m sure i’ll be back for more (I’ve been having a cozy cafe mystery moment lately and this book really satisfied that craving).

This is book three in the "Death By Chocolate" mystery series by cozy author Sarah Graves. I have read the entire series and always enjoy a new release in this charming series. The author has created a series with likable characters, a fun setting of small town Maine and always a well crafted sleuth. I highly recommend this series. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own. This book can be read as a stand alone for new readers to the series.

In this charming new release we return to bakeshop owners Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree and her best friend Ellie White who runs her business "the Chocolate Moose Bakery" with her. The town is having a Pirate theme festival and Jake has a children's theme Pirate party at the bakery. When a nasty food critic attempts to ruin the event Jake has words with him and demands he leave. He has previously left poor reviews of her bakery and they have exchanged words publicly. When he is found dead in the basement of the bakery after they have another public fight Jake is suspect number one. Ellie steps up to investigate to save her friend and their business. Ellie is a smart brave investigator and soon suspects are on their radar .

I enjoy this series for the setting, the charming charcters and the lovable protagonist. I highly recommend this series. I look forward to the next in series and more adventures by Jake and her friends.

Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut by Sarah Graves started brilliantly and just kept on improving! Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree and her best friend Ellie White own a chocolate-themed bakery, The Chocolate Moose, (love the name 🤎) in their island town of Eastport, Maine, and the events of this story happen during the town's pirate festival. An odious, well-known food writer and TV personality, Henry Hadlyme, is in town, working on a podcast featuring small New England towns, and Jake finds him murdered in The Chocolate Moose's basement. When Jake becomes the most likely suspect, she and Ellie endeavour to prove Jake's innocence, and in doing so, reveal a bewildering entanglement of other suspects and motives.

Although I have read “Death by Chocolate Malted Milkshake” (book #2 in the “A Death by Chocolate Mystery” series, I haven't read book #1 “Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake” yet. I don’t think this hindered my enjoyment of this book in any way. I really adore the way Sarah Graves brings to life this fictional, yet seemingly real, small-town of Eastport.

Though I am partially familiar with the characters' histories, I think most readers who haven't read any of these books or the preceding “Home Repair is Homicide” series, should have no problems reading this as a stand-alone. This story is highly entertaining, with plenty of action and an ample choice of suspects. I was delighted with the dynamic among Jake's extended family, and the reveal at the end is fulfilling and more than a little shocking!

With its fabulous story and wonderful characters, I would recommend Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut to all lovers of cozy mysteries. If you prefer more suspense and mystery than humour to your cozy reading, then this would be a superb choice. I hope this series continues and I can keep following Jake and Ellie's madcap adventures. My rating is five out of five chocolate hearts!
🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

I received a complimentary copy of this novel, at my own request, from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

This series is a spin off of the Home Repair is Homicide series (16 titles) and the third in the Death By Chocolate series. That makes this the 19th in the Jake Tiptree world of mystery. But have no fear, it works as a standalone. Jake and her best friend and business partner, Ellie, run the Chocolate Moose Bakery, a true labor of love. Over the past almost two years of operation things have been a bit shaky and they were afraid that their business would fail. At the the beginning of this mystery life is looking good with family life and their business. It's Pirate's Days in their small Maine town and the place is jumping with pirates of all sizes and ages. Even Jake's grandson has his favorite parrot in hand. After a children's pirate party at the bakery things start to hit a sour note when a nasty, famous in his own mind, food critic, Henry Hedlyme, forces his way into the bakery and demands that Jake sit for one of his podcasts. Knowing that he has already taken a pot shot at another local eatery, Jake is not about to let him tear into her business and damage it so she lets him have it in no uncertain terms. Get out and stay out, plain as day. When she next encounters him, he threatens her and she, in front of witnesses, throws it right back at him. Who in the crowd decided that it was the perfect situation to commit murder and Jake should take the fall? When Jake gets up her courage to go down into the dreaded cellar of the bakery, she expected to encounter mice, maybe a rat or two and some bats but heck no, not the dead body of Henry!
Of course, in a small town of about 1200 people plus a swarm of tourists, the police have no trouble finding an abundance of evidence that points straight to Jake. Ellie wastes no time trying to track down the real killer. The investigation is a bit hit and miss as amateur sleuthing goes but, in the end all will be revealed.
Besides the well crafted puzzle with its red herrings and various twists and turns, I enjoy this series for Jake's family (a very full, multi generational house) and friends and the small coastal town that she loves. Reading one of these mysteries is like reading a letter from a friend, filling the reader in on the latest goings on in her life.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut by Sarah Graves is the 3rd book in the Death by Chocolate Mystery series, and another fun addition. Jacobia (Jake) Tiptree and her best friend, Ellie White, from the Home Repair is Homicide series, have opened up a waterfront bakery called The Chocolate Moose, In Eastport, Maine. The Chocolate Moose, and the rest of the town is getting ready to rake in the business during the Pirate Festival. When a man, who Jake recently had an argument with, is found dead in the basement of their store, the sleuthing begins. I love the uniqueness of this book, especially with the pirate ship,that's all I'm going to say about that, but I couldn't stop reading. I only read one or two of the Home Repair is Homicide books, but I might have to read them all. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book and the first one too..
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sarah Graves kept me guessing until the end.

Jake and Ellie are quite the pair. Not only can they bake the goodness of good, they are quirky and fun. The pair seem to have no problem finding themselves in the deepests of troubles. When a TV foodie makes his way into their sweet little town, Jake has no issue standing up for her fellow townspeople when Henry starts talking trash about the food of their town during the pirate festival. When the body of this not so nice food he turns up in the basement of the girls shop, The Moose, the trouble these two get into so well just started up all over again.

Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut is the third book of the Death by Chocolate mysteries and my first read of the series. Sarah Graves grabs readers attention with a well written story, a twisting, keep you guessing plot and fantastic characters. I liked how the author weaved in Jake's background for new readers without overdoing it for already established readers of the series. Ms. Graves keeps a fast pace and a good bit of adventure within the unwinding of this twisted mystery. From the quaint setting of the town, to the wonderful and charismatic characters and all the yummy goodness described within the pages it’s a good read no matter how you look at it. This is new to me Author got a new fan with Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut.

Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut is the third book in Sarah Graves’ Death by Chocolate Mystery series. The characters are well developed, but the mystery in this book isn’t as well plotted as previous books.

Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree and her friend, Ellie White, recently opened a bakery, The Chocolate Moose, in Eastport, Maine. When Jake finds the body of Henry Hadlyme, a food authority and TV personality she’d recently publically argued with, in the Chocolate Moose’s basement with a stuffed parrot pinned on his shoulder, which looked like her grandson’s, and a short sword in his chest, which appeared to be her husband’s, she becomes the prime suspect in his murder. Even though Jake had a motive, method, and a short period of opportunity, Ellie knows she’s innocent and is determined to prove it.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

In this third book of the series things are going well at Jake and Ellie's bakery and they are looking forward to the upcoming annual Pirate Festival. There will be an influx of tourists and that will definitely bring money to it only the town but to their bakery as well. Things go from positive and happy to utter shock for the ladies when the body of a celebrity foodie, Henry Hadlyme, is found in the bakery basement. How did he and up there and who killed him are the most important questions the ladies.need to answer. It gets even worse when it looks like Jake is who the cops are looking at as the killer. Now the most important thing is clearing Makes name while they hunt for the real murderer. Can the ladies figure things out before Jake ends.up in jail? Follow along as the two look through the Henry's family, enemy list, and past employees in hopes of finding a killer among them. This is such a fun series, filled with wonderful characters and a setting to die for.