Charity Penn is settling into the small town of Camellia Beach where she recently inherited a boutique chocolate shop called the Chocolate Box. She's excited to join her new best friend and the rest of the turtle watch team to observe the egg hatchings when gunshots disrupt the night. Worse yet, the woman holding the gun over the dead body of Cassidy Jones is Jody Dalton, a woman who despises Penn, both for her interest in Jody's ex-husband as well as her refusal to sell the land The Chocolate Box sits upon. Penn should stay out of it but how can she resist when Jody's ten-year-old son begs her to help get his mom out of jail?

I couldn't resist reading a book set in my home state of South Carolina! Dorothy St. John's richly detailed descriptions of the Lowcountry made me long to visit, as she captivated both the images and the sounds so vividly. I love that the issue of turtle nests and their eggs were included, particularly since witnessing the baby turtles making their way to the ocean is on my bucket list.

IN COLD CHOCOLATE is the third book in the Southern Chocolate Shop mystery series. The mystery stands on its own merits and Dorothy St. James provides a lot of the back story for new readers. However, I found myself repeatedly wishing I'd read the first two books in the series so I could better understand and sympathize over the drama surrounding Penn's heritage. Penn appears to have taken some major steps towards changing her life in the book and I wish I'd been along for the ride to fully appreciate those changes.

IN COLD CHOCOLATE digs deep into the family dramas of Camellia Beach as even Penn is not immune to the scrutiny of others. Dorothy St. James weaves a richly layered tale of chocolate, intrigue, and greed. I look forward to reading the earlier books in the Southern Chocolate Shop series as well as to seeing where Dorothy St. James takes things next.