A Study in Chocolate

January 16, 2023

A Study in Chocolate

A Study in Chocolate (Bean to Bar Mysteries)
by Amber Royer

About A Study in Chocolate

A Study in Chocolate (Bean to Bar Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Golden Tip Press (January 17, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BH46559N
GoodReads Link – Coming Soon

Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is expanding, as it has become a gathering spot for the community, despite having been the scene of multiple murders. Artists she met while doing a chocolate sculpture are now working out of the shop. So when Felicity is invited to tea by an eccentric art collector, she’s intrigued, especially when she gets asked to pose for a portrait done with chocolate on chocolate. Only, where there is a murder the next day at the same historic house where the tea was held, one of Felicity’s artist friends becomes the main suspect.

When the killer threatens that, unless Felicity unravels the murder, one of her two love interests will be the next victim, she finds herself unwittingly at the center of a puzzle, with a Sherlock Holmes obsessed murderer who wants to be the next Moriarty – and wants to cast Felicity as Sherlock.

Felicity starts finding unexpected connects between her friends and acquaintances, and has to deal with the idea that someone who knows her is a murderer. At the same time, she has to keep her business running, despite construction dust and unruly customers – and an unexpected order for thousands of truffles.

Satchmo the retired police dog turned therapy dog returns to help her sniff out a few clues, and the kidnapping of Ruffles, the quirky artist’s cat, helps lead Felicity into the puzzle. Can Felicity solve it in time to protect the people she cares about from becoming additional victims?

About Amber Royer

Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing techniques and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course.

Q&A With the Author

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I love when I get to add meta elements to my work. There are several ways I got to incorporate those in A Study In Chocolate. For one, my protagonist’s best friend is a writer. She’s started a new series, and the protagonist there is a conglomeration of several of the characters she knows. Also, Felicity’s pastry chef has put together a cookbook for the chocolate shop, and I gave her the same flavor sensibilities I used in the cookbook we did when my husband and I were active members of the herb society.

This time, I got to play with a whole different dynamic, by creating a villain who is obsessed with a particular Sherlock Holmes story, and is determined to cast Felicity as Holmes, despite her insistence that she’s never intentionally gotten involved with a murder. But as this is Book 5 in the series, the killer doesn’t believe her reluctance.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

I’m also in the middle of outlining a new project, which may or may not involve coffee roasting and plot twists. I’m still trying to figure out where I’m going with it, but I just got back from a research trip where I got to visit a number of coffee farms and roasteries. Coffee is one of my passions, so it seems like a perfect fit.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

The next book in the Bean to Bar Mysteries (Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark) is slated to come out in July. That one will center around Felicity’s best friend’s wedding – and the murder that threatens to ruin it.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was a kid. My fourth-grade teacher gave me encouragement on a story that we wrote for class, and that helped me find a passion for writing. It was a loooooong time after that, in 2018, that I traditionally published my debut novel, a space opera adventure about chocolate being the most important thing Earth had to offer a hungry galaxy. That trilogy led to me meeting a lot of real-world chocolate professionals, which gave me the idea for the Bean to Bar Mysteries.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

I want to say: thank you! Especially to those who have reached out in person at cons and events, or who have left reviews of any of my work. Knowing that my stories mean something to you keeps me going. That’s why I appreciate opportunities, such as this, to participate in blogs and podcasts and reach out to new readers.

Many reviewers have said that the Bean to Bar Mysteries make them hungry. So you can find tons of recipes on my website, both in the Bean to Bar Bonuses Page and in the section for Book Club Resources . The Book Club page also has suggested discussion question guides for each of my books.

There’s a page of puzzles made from photographs I’ve taken while researching the books, and music playlists too. You can also find videos about my research for the books on my YouTube Channel.

Author Links

Website: http://www.amberroyer.com

Blog: http://amberroyer.com/blog/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amberroyerauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amber.Royer.Author/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoA_29HV2nPmRnox9LPVanw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/amber_royer

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Amber-Royer/e/B00PFV4CGM

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8144619.Amber_Royer

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo –

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