Death by Chocolate Malted Milkshake

Graves’s enjoyable sequel to 2018’s Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake finds Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree and her amateur sleuthing partner, Ellie White, struggling to pay the bills for their waterfront bakery, the Chocolate Moose, just before the start of the summer tourist season in Eastport, Maine. Jake and Ellie have more to worry about when the body of playboy Toby Moran turns up outside the Rubber Ducky Bar & Grille late one night with a near-empty chocolate milkshake cup from their shop lying by his side. Evidently, someone poisoned Toby’s shake. Suspects include two friends of Jake and Ellie: Coast Guard captain Andy Devine, who argued with Toby in the Rubber Ducky earlier that night, and Andy’s fiancée, kindergarten teacher Sharon Sweetwater, an ex-girlfriend of Toby’s with good reason to despise him. To clear their friends’ names, Jake and Ellie set out to identify the real culprit. Lively characters, an intricate plot, and enticing descriptions of Down East Maine make this cozy a winner. [em]Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Literary. (Feb.) [/em]