When a mysterious gun and a dead body are found in the house Lee and her husband Joe are flipping with her uncle, Chief of Police Hogan Jones, Lee hops into detective mode to find out who killed the man, how did the gun appear in their basement, and are either of these situations connected to a prank and a death 20 years ago?
Told from the perspective of Lee — including her silly twisted tongue moments like saying collarbone instead of collateral — the story moves along quickly as it’s told in the way her mind works — frantically, rambling, fast-paced. Carl always writes in a fun, plucky manner, sometimes almost tongue-in-cheek. So “Shenanigans” doesn’t disappoint with an interesting, intriguing tone.
Filled with twists and turns, misdirections, and all sorts of action like prowlers, shootings and murders, “Shenanigans” will leave the reader guessing until the very end — who killed Spud Dirk and why, and does his death have anything to do with a pretend convenience store robbery 20 years ago, the same night the town curmudgeon died?
Readers will love Carl’s characters — Lee always delights with her determination and her twisted tongue; her and Joe’s relationship is as sweet as can be; and Hogan and Lee’s Aunt Nettie, as well as the rest of the townfolk, are fun and delightful.
As usual, the author includes several chocolate facts and a recipe throughout the book to whet the appetite for the chocolate lovers out there.
“The Chocolate Shark Shenanigans” is a fun little whodunnit in a series that once again delivers a great story! Releases Nov. 5.
Five stars out of five.
Berkley Prime Crime, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.