Hot Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland ~

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 441 KB
• Publisher: Artistic Origins Inc (October 20, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005XQYP5C

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About the book from Barnes and Noble:

Meet the middle-aged Alcott sisters: Madge, Lila Mae and Dorothea, heiresses to the Alcott Chocolate fortune and mavens of Houston’s elite River Oaks. 

Madge ambushes Lila Mae with Dorothea’s manipulative plea: she can’t care for Bernie, their 92-year old father, any longer. Lila Mae explodes in a hissy fit—she had warned Dorothea years ago that they should put Bernie in an assisted living center.

Robert, Lila Mae’s astrologer, warns of impending problems and he’s rarely wrong.

The sisters call a meeting with Walter Branson, their solicitor. They discuss Bernie’s nurse Bambi Chaline, a blonde bombshell who looks more like a hooker than a nurse. 

Arrangements are made for Bernie to be transferred over to Lake Sides Assisted Living Center in the Uptown Galleria area and a severance package is drawn up for Bambi.

Jimmy Ray Chaline, Bambi’s bowling alley husband, is enraged that Bambi was let go. He hires ambulance chaser Mark Slade to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination. 

The suit is thrown out of court further fueling Jimmy Ray’s rage. Bambi had been more than satisfied with her bonus, letters of recommendation and praise from the Alcott clan.

When Jimmy Ray fails to return home from the bowling alley that night, a series of events unfold that shocks the entire Alcott family and their extended members.

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My take on this book:

I love reading a good cozy mystery and when it's paired with good old fashioned southern charm and whit well I'm sold! "Hot Chocolate" by Dawn Greenland Ireland    gave me that plus a plenty of offbeat characters,along with a fast moving plot with a murder mystery woven in,  sprinkled together with a liberal amount of humor in to make this a book that I just couldn't read fast enough! 

Madge, Lila Mae and Dorothea Alcott are the heirs to the Alcott Chocolate fortune. Dorothea has been taking care of their 92 year old father Bernie, but its really getting to her so she calls a meeting to discuss what to do. They come to the decision that it is time to place Bernie in an assisted living facility, but know that there is going to be problems when they try to dismiss Bernie's  blond bombshell of a nurse Bambi Chaline. While Bambi doesn't have a problem with the severance package she has been offered her husband Jimmy Ray sure does and decides to sue. When things don't go Jimmy Ray's way and he winds up dead, well there are several suspects that kept me wondering who-dun-it!

As I read this story I couldn't help but think that it would make an awesome movie. Set in the south with more than a few quirky characters that had me laughing out loud on several occasions.As I read the story I found the characters getting stuck in my head and could just imagine their southern twang. Each of the Alcott sisters had very distinct personalities, Madge had been an only child for four years and was excited when Lila Mae was born, she became her protector and felt like she had helped mold Lila Mae into the confident woman that she became. Dorothea was born seven years after Lila Mae, as loves her role as the baby of the family. I think of the three sisters my favorite had to be Lila Mae, because of her unwavering belief in astrology even when her sisters poo pooed her. Bambi was a character that I was certain I was going to dislike but instead of disliking her I actually felt a bit sorry for her. Jimmy Ray's character was described as  handsome until he smiled and then look out, teeth so bad that they would send small children running, oh so easy to imagine!

If you enjoy reading a fast paced mystery that has more twists than a winding country road, along with vivid descriptions of people, food and places that will grab your imagination and hold on tight until the final page your certainly going to enjoy "Hot Chocolate." I loved this author's storytelling ability and look forward to reading more of her work.




About the author:

Dawn Greenfield Ireland has been writing stories since attending summer camp around the age of seven. To date she has five completed novels (science fiction and contemporary), 15 completed screenplays (one optioned in 2009) and as many scripts in various stages of completion. Dawn is the author of two award-winning self-published books: The Puppy Baby Book (hardcover) and Mastering Your Money (print and eBook). Many of her screenplays have won awards. She spends her days editing and formatting engineering documents as a senior technical writer.Click here to learn more about Ms.Ireland.

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An e-book copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. 


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