Death by Chocolate Books in Order

The Death by Chocolate books follow Lindsay Powell, owner of a bakery and cafe called Death by Chocolate in the fictional Missouri town of Pleasant Grove. Lindsay is smart, sarcastic, practical, and never looking for trouble. Trouble keeps finding her anyway. What starts as one bad situation after another soon becomes a pattern: bodies turn up, people lie, exes cause chaos, and Lindsay ends up right in the middle of it all with chocolate on the counter and police questions at the door.

She is not solving these cases alone.

A big part of the series is the small circle around her. Paula, Lindsay's close friend and employee, arrives with a hidden past and a young son named Zach, and that backstory gives the early books some of their ongoing tension. Fred, the oddball computer expert next door, looks like a nervous homebody at first, but he keeps turning out to know a surprising amount about surveillance, weapons, prisons, and all kinds of things a bakery owner would rather not need. Detective Trent adds the law side of the story, which means Lindsay is often pulled between helping the investigation and getting in its way.

The setup is cozy, but it is never sleepy. In Death by Chocolate, the first book, Lindsay is dealing with poisoned treats, stalking, and secrets tied to Paula's past. In Murder, Lies and Chocolate, a man drops dead after trying to buy Lindsay's house, and suddenly everyone seems far too interested in her property. Later books keep widening the circle. Family claims, old crimes, suspicious neighbors, strange gifts, missing people, and Fred's own secrets all become fair game, especially in books like The Great Chocolate Scam and Spies, Lies and Chocolate Pies.

The bakery matters because it gives the series its center. Customers come and go. Gossip travels fast. Lindsay's work keeps her rooted in the neighborhood even when she would rather hide. Her house, Paula's place next door, Fred's routines, Zach's presence, and the regular chaos caused by Lindsay's awful ex give the books a lived-in feeling. The crimes may be unusual, but the social world around them feels close, nosy, and very personal.

And yes, there is a lot of chocolate.

That is part of the charm. These are mysteries with humor, recipes, and a heroine who copes with danger by staying busy and refusing to panic for long. The tone stays light on the surface, but the stakes are real, and the books do not forget that people can get badly hurt when old secrets start coming loose. If you want a cozy mystery series with quick banter, neighborhood drama, and murders served alongside brownies and cookie bars, this one knows exactly what kind of ride it is offering.