FALL INTO MYSTERY BLOG TOUR – In Cold Chocolate

AdminSeptember 19, 20181 Comment

Welcome to the “Fall Into Mystery Event” happening Sepetember 10th to 21th, 2018, at SHANNON MUIR’S THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to SHANNON MUIR’S THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF arranged by Great Escapes Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

In Cold Chocolate: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
by Dorothy St. James

About the Book

In Cold Chocolate: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (September 11, 2018)
Hardcover: 350 Pages
ISBN-10: 1683317432
ISBN-13: 978-1683317432
Digital ASIN: B078M3N9TC

In Dorothy St. James’s third delectable Southern Chocolate Shop mystery, a new batch of chocolate and troubles of the heart cause a string of disasters for the Chocolate Box’s new owner, Charity Penn.
The vintage seaside town of Camellia Beach, South Carolina seems like the perfect place for romance with its quiet beach and its decadent chocolate shop that serves the world’s richest dark chocolates. The Chocolate Box’s owner, Charity Penn, falls even further under the island’s moonlit spell as she joins Althea Bays and the rest of the turtle watch team to witness a new generation of baby sea turtles hatch and make their way into the wide ocean.
Before the babies arrive, gunshots ring out in the night. Cassidy Jones, the local Casanova, is found dead in the sand with his lover Jody Dalton—the same woman who has vowed to destroy the Chocolate Box—holding the gun. It’s an obvious crime of passion, or so everyone believes. But when Jody’s young son pleads with Penn to bring his mother back to him, she can’t say no. She dives headfirst into a chocolate swirl of truth and lies, and must pick through an assortment of likely (and sometimes unsavory) suspects before it’s too late for Penn and for those she loves in Dorothy St. James’s third rich installment of the Southern Chocolate Shop mysteries, In Cold Chocolate.

Character Guest Post

A Motorcycle, a Surfboard, and Murder

By Harley Dalton

My first love is the ocean. Just ask anyone. If I’m not at my law office (blech), there’s a good chance you’ll find me riding the waves on my surfboard. My son Gavin often joins me. We even travel the region entering surfing competitions.

Have you ever surfed? It’s freedom and a yoga class and the best rollercoaster ride all wrapped into one sport. Sailing into the green room—that’s riding into the barrel of the wave—is pretty much a religious experience for me.

I’m Harley Dalton. My parents named me Harleston. It’s an old, Charleston, South Carolina family name. But don’t you think the name Harleston is a little starched-collar? My parents were raising my brother Cal and me, not in Charleston’s historic district, but on the beachfront of Camellia Beach. As a child, I lived in the water. If it got cold, I put on a wetsuit. In junior high, I shortened my name to Harley. In college, I bought a motorcycle (not a Harley). I think my mom nearly had a heart attack when she saw it.

I’ve had my ups and downs. I’ve made bad decisions. For one, I followed in my dad’s footsteps and became a lawyer. Me? A lawyer? I used to work for a big, soul-sucking law firm in Atlanta. I was miserable. But after my dad passed, I returned to Camellia Beach and took over his small, family firm.

Life got better. I enjoyed being able to use my knowledge of the law to help others. Plus, I was back at the beach. I could spend time on my board floating on top of the salty water while waiting for the next big wave to rise up.

And then Penn moved to town.

You could say she arrived like a hurricane. In the first few days of knowing her, she accused me of killing her friend, socked me in the eye, and sicced her little hellion of a dog on me. I’m a smart guy, and yet for some reason, I kept going to Penn like a moth flies into a flame. For one thing, she needed my help. I knew I didn’t kill anyone, and whoever had was clearly dangerous. Penn was asking all sorts of questions around town about the murder that was going to get herself killed. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.

Also, she’d inherited the Chocolate Box, the local chocolate shop that backed up to the marsh. Such a pretty location. And the shop…they serve mouthwatering, delicious chocolates.

I handled all legal matters for the previous owner, Mabel Maybank. Since Mabel was like a second grandmother to me, I wanted to help whoever took over the shop, even if she didn’t want my help. Over time, my charming self won Penn over. She hasn’t taken a swing at me in months. But that little dog of hers still puts me on edge. I can tell by the way its beady little eyes look at me that Stella is waiting for her opportunity to chomp down on my ankles.

Just recently, there’s been a new murder on the beach, and my ex-wife has been charged with the crime. It hurts in my chest seeing what all this trouble is doing to my eleven-year-old son, Gavin. Penn has agreed to ask questions about the murder and see if she can prove my ex is innocent. While I fear for Penn’s safety, I appreciate her enthusiasm. It might be a fool’s errand though. The evidence against my ex looks bad. Really bad. But if anyone can work a miracle, Penn can. And I’ll love her all the more for it.

You can read more about Penn and my adventures in the third book of the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series, In Cold Chocolate. Sea turtles, chocolate turtles, and a murder chill the eccentric residents of Camellia Beach.

About the Author

Mystery author Dorothy St. James was raised in South Carolina. She makes her home on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, a neurotic dog, and a fluffy cat. Though writing has always been a passion for her, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Urban Planning. She put her educational experience to use, having worked in all branches and all levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal. She even spent time during college working for a non-profit environmental watchdog organization.

Switching from government service and community planning to fiction writing wasn’t as big of a change as some might think. Her government work was all about the stories of the people and the places where they live. As an urban planner, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the people she met. And from that, her desire to tell the tales that were so alive in her heart grew until she could not ignore it any longer. In 2001, she took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of writing fiction full-time.

* Dorothy St. James is the alter-ego of award-winning multi-published author, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Reviewers International Organization Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: “amazing”, “perfect”, “filled with emotion”, and “lined with danger.”

Author Links

Website: www.dorothystjames.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothystjames

Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothymcfalls

Purchase Links

Indie Bound Amazon Kobo Google Play Barnes & Noble BookBub

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

September 12 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW

September 12 – A Holland Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 12 – Writing Pearls – REVIEW

September 13 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW