Chocoholic Mystery Books in Order
Part ofJoAnna Carl Books in OrderBrowse the Chocoholic Mystery books by JoAnna Carl in order, with quick summaries, series background, and easy help on where to start.
Last updated: June 11, 2026
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Publication Order
18 books
The Chocolate Bear Burglary
by JoAnna Carl
2002
A burglary leaves antique chocolate molds missing and one of Lee's friends dead. When suspicion falls on Lee's troubled stepson, she starts digging and uncovers family secrets that are anything but sweet.
The Chocolate Cat Caper
by JoAnna Carl
2002
Lee McKinney leaves her Texas life behind to help at Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop in Warner Pier. When a hated lawyer dies after eating a poisoned cat-shaped chocolate, Lee must clear the business before it is ruined.
The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up
by JoAnna Carl
2003
TenHuis Chocolade debuts chocolate frogs for the Fourth of July, and the first buyer is the town crank. After he vanishes following a fight with Joe, Lee has to prove her boyfriend is not being framed for murder.
The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle
by JoAnna Carl
2004
A supposed Hollywood producer sweeps into Warner Pier with plans to film a local romance novel. Lee smells a fake, and when a body turns up, she knows the movie deal is hiding something dangerous.
The Chocolate Mouse Trap
by JoAnna Carl
2005
Lee is tired of Julie Singletree's chirpy emails before Julie winds up dead. With everyone on the mailing list suddenly looking like a suspect or a target, Lee has to trap the killer before she is next.
The Chocolate Bridal Bash
by JoAnna Carl
2006
As Lee plans her wedding, she learns an older family tragedy still shadows the big day. To understand why her own mother once fled Warner Pier, she has to reopen a long-buried death.
The Chocolate Jewel Case
by JoAnna Carl
2007
Lee is working on chocolate jewels when a real jewelry heist rattles Warner Pier and a body surfaces in the lake. The clues point in several directions, and she cannot shake the feeling that the crimes are linked.
The Chocolate Snowman Murders
by JoAnna Carl
2008
As treasurer of Warner Pier's Winter Arts festival, Lee is already buried in chaos when the guest juror turns up dead. Since Lee and Joe were among the last seen near him, they have to clear themselves fast.
The Chocolate Cupid Killings
by JoAnna Carl
2009
On Valentine's Day, Lee and Aunt Nettie are hiding a battered woman from Detective Derrick Valentine. When Valentine dies and Nettie becomes a suspect, Lee must protect their guest and find the real killer.
The Chocolate Pirate Plot
by JoAnna Carl
2010
Warner Pier is gripped by pirate fever, and Lee's boat becomes the first target of prankish local buccaneers. The jokes end when a body washes ashore, pushing Lee to uncover who is behind the pirate act and why.
The Chocolate Castle Clue
by JoAnna Carl
2011
Lee discovers an old trophy tied to Aunt Nettie's singing group and a forty-five-year-old death at the Castle Ballroom. When someone is killed in the present, the cold case suddenly feels dangerous again.
The Chocolate Moose Motive
by JoAnna Carl
2012
Lee hires Sissy Smith, a free-spirited young woman still shadowed by suspicion over her husband's death. When the town's biggest gossip is murdered with Sissy nearby, Lee suspects someone is killing to keep an old secret hidden.
The Chocolate Book Bandit
by JoAnna Carl
2013
Lee is weighing a place on the tourism committee or the library board when a board member dies at Warner Pier's historic library. With rumors flying around the new director, everyone at the meeting looks suspicious.
The Chocolate Clown Corpse
by JoAnna Carl
2014
Warner Pier's most hated clown is dead, but the wrong man may have taken the blame. When Lee finds the victim's widow unconscious next door to her shop, she starts to wonder if the real killer is still at work.
The Chocolate Falcon Fraud
by JoAnna Carl
2015
A film noir festival brings Bogart fever to Warner Pier and an unwelcome visit from Lee's former stepson Jeff. When Jeff disappears and a body falls at Lee's door, the old-movie theme turns into a real murder plot.
The Chocolate Bunny Brouhaha
by JoAnna Carl
2016
Easter rush means extra work and a new hire named Bunny Birdsong, whose messy personal life soon spills into the shop. After a family blowup ends with a body in the vacant store next door, Lee starts hunting the bad egg.
The Chocolate Shark Shenanigans
by JoAnna Carl
2019
Lee gets roped into a house-flipping plan with Joe, Nettie, and Hogan, but a hidden gun in the basement changes everything. When a local developer turns up dead, the project becomes a tangle of secrets and suspicion.
The Chocolate Raccoon Rigmarole
by JoAnna Carl
2021
A string of break-ins by thieves nicknamed the Cookie Monsters seems almost funny until Dolly's boyfriend is caught at the scene and a body is found. Lee has to untangle the mess before the sweet-toothed crooks strike again.
Series background & context
The Chocoholic Mystery books are the best-known JoAnna Carl series, and it is easy to see why. They take a familiar cozy setup, a small town, a smart amateur sleuth, a lovable workplace, and keep finding new ways to stir trouble into it. At the center is Lee McKinney, later Lee Woodyard, who lands in Warner Pier, Michigan, and ends up working in her aunt Nettie's chocolate shop, TenHuis Chocolade.
That shop is the heart of the series.
At first, Lee is starting over after leaving her old life in Texas. She knows numbers, she can handle the business side of the store, and she is practical enough to be suspicious when things seem too perfect. That practical streak makes her a good sleuth. She is not trying to be a detective for fun. She gets pulled in because the crime lands on her doorstep, threatens people she cares about, or puts the shop itself at risk.
Warner Pier is a resort town on the Lake Michigan shore, and the setting gives the series much of its charm. Summer tourists, seasonal festivals, local committees, old family names, neighboring businesses, and a steady flow of gossip all keep the town busy. The books make good use of that mix. A murder can grow out of something as public as a holiday event or as private as a decades-old family grievance. Either way, Lee usually has to sort through both the town's cheerful surface and the bad blood underneath it.
Aunt Nettie is just as important as Lee. She runs TenHuis Chocolade with skill, common sense, and plenty of personality, and the relationship between aunt and niece gives the series warmth. Joe Woodyard, who begins as Lee's love interest and later becomes her husband, brings another steady presence. Around them is a large circle of locals, employees, friends, tourists, and pests, which helps the long series feel lived-in rather than mechanical.
The books start with The Chocolate Cat Caper, when a hated local lawyer dies after eating poisoned custom chocolate, and they keep building from there. Later entries use antique molds, film shoots, library politics, pirates, cold cases, clown week, Easter rush, house flipping, and even sweet-toothed burglars as the spark for new crimes. The titles sound playful, and they are, but the motives are usually grounded in money, envy, family trouble, or old secrets. That balance is one reason the series works so well.
Another part of the appeal is the food-business angle. TenHuis Chocolade is not just a gimmick. The series pays attention to the work of running a specialty shop, especially one tied to holidays, tourism, and handcrafted products. The books also fold in bits of chocolate lore and themed creations without losing sight of the mystery.
If you want cozy mysteries with a strong sense of place, an ongoing cast you can settle into, and crimes that stay readable without feeling weightless, this series fits nicely. Start with The Chocolate Cat Caper and keep going in order. Lee's life changes over time, and Warner Pier becomes more fun the longer you stay.
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