First, the bad news: nobody dies by chocolate frosted doughnut in this book. I know, I know, I was a little disappointed too. But, on the up side, the death that does take place is pirate-themed, so that makes up for it.

In the midst of a popular pirate festival that brings in much needed tourism and sales to the small waterfront community of Eastport, a somewhat famous food critic comes to town and starts immediately alienating everyone, which doesn’t end well for him. When his body is found in the cellar of Jacobia (Jake) & Ellie’s chocolate-themed bakery, The Chocolate Moose, Jake is pinned as the prime suspect in his murder.

What follows is the longest, most action-packed, two days of anyone’s life as Jake and Ellie get up to all kinds of trouble on land and sea, determined to clear Jake’s name and find the real killer.

When I say action-packed, I mean packed by the way. While some parts did drag a bit, I don’t know how everything that happened fit in only 2 days; it’s like time and space lost all meaning. Also, I’m not sure how Jake was still standing by the end of it. This woman fell down a set of stairs, hit her head hard enough to pass out, fell off a cliff into freezing water littered with rocks, was knocked out a few more times, and fell into the freezing Maine water a few more times – and she just stubbornly kept going right to the end.

Death by Chocolate Frosted Doughnut is the first I’ve read in the Death by Chocolate series and the author does a great job of giving you just enough info so you never feel lost without bogging you down with unneeded backstory. While this book can easily be read as a standalone, it made me very interested in reading the others in the series and I’m sure I’ll be back for more (I’ve been having a cozy café mystery moment lately and this book really satisfied that craving).

*I received a copy of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.