Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree, the star of Graves’s Home Repair Is Homicide series (A Bat in the Belfrey, etc.), is back in this charming series launch. Jake and her friend Ellie White have opened a chocolate-themed bake shop, Chocolate Moose, in Eastport, Maine. Business is off to a promising start when the Eastport Coast Guard Station orders a dozen chocolate cherry cheesecakes for a fundraiser. But three days before the cheesecakes are due to be delivered, Jake finds the body of health inspector Matt Muldoon in the kitchen, his head plunged into a pot of chocolate. Matt was on a crusade to shut down Chocolate Moose, and the pastry needle that killed him is covered with Ellie’s fingerprints. Since she has no alibi and her dislike for the man is well known, the friends must uncover the real killer before Ellie is arrested. Red herrings abound, and while some plot developments strain credulity, the characters are appealing, and down east Maine is a delightful place to visit. Graves fans will enjoy catching up with old friends. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Literary Agency. (Feb.)