Kathy Aarons | Researching Maya History for TRUFFLED TO DEATH

I came up with the idea for TRUFFLED TO DEATH while exploring the Chocolate Exhibit at the Natural History Museum in San Diego. The exhibit included Maya artifacts from centuries ago, including a bowl that still contained traces of chocolate.

Just imagine. Centuries ago, people were eating and drinking chocolate and used this very bowl to do so.

This was something that Michelle Serrano, chocolatier and co-owner of Chocolates and Chapters, would enjoy. In the book, she and Erica Russell host an exhibit of Maya art, and Michelle falls in love with the bowl. Of course, not everything goes smoothly and the ancient art is stolen that very night.

The problem was that I knew next to nothing about Maya art or international art trafficking. Luckily, the museum referred me to a local college professor who knew just about everything on both topics.

Dr. Joseph Ball was more than willing to help me, as long as I represented international art traffickers as the ruthless criminals that they were, and not like the white collar criminals they are portrayed on TV. He has a wealth of knowledge that he was willing to share. I generally wake up very early and would email him questions in the morning. By lunch time, he’d respond with pages of information!

He was very helpful when I needed something to happen plot-wise, recommending how it could occur given what he knew about art trafficking as well as academics and museums. And he suggested plot twists that made their way into the book.

I also bought books on Maya art and art trafficking. Most of my research didn’t end up on the page, but learning about it helped my writing a great deal, and made me one of those people who says, “Did you know that the Maya people…” at parties.

Of course, one of the best parts of writing a book set in a chocolate shop is researching chocolate! I just had to research more truffle flavors by testing the recipes of my chocolatier, Isabella Knack of Dallmann Fine Chocolates, before including them in the book. In the back of TRUFFLED TO DEATH, you’ll find recipes for Bananas Foster Truffles, Bourbon & Apple Wood Smoked Salt Truffles, and Mocha Truffles. My husband blames me for his five pound weight gain.

About Kathy Aarons

Kathy Aarons is the author of Truffled to Death, second in the CHOCOLATE COVERED MYSTERY series by Berkley Prime Crime. Her first book, Death Is Like a Box of Chocolates, was a national bestseller.

Research for the series was a hardship: sampling chocolate, making chocolate, sampling more chocolate, and hanging out in bookstores.

Kathy lives in San Diego with her husband and two daughters where she wakes up far too early and is currently obsessed with the Broadway Idiot documentary, finding the perfect cup of coffee, and Dallmann’s Sea Salt Caramels.

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About TRUFFLED TO DEATH

Two best friends sell books and bonbons—and solve crimes—in this mystery from the author of DEATH IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES…

Hoping to sweeten sales for their shop, Chocolates and Chapters, Michelle and Erica host a reception highlighting a new museum display of ancient Mayan pottery curated by Erica’s former mentor, Professor Addison Moody. The evening has a few hiccups, but the ladies soon smooth things over with ample servings of wine and chocolate.

Yet with the sweet comes the bitter. The very next day, the antiquities from the reception are discovered missing. The professor accuses Erica of having sticky fingers, claiming she wants revenge on him. And she’s only in more trouble after he’s found stabbed to death with one of the artifacts. Now Michelle must help Erica track down the real killer before someone else finds themselves in less than mint condition…