title: The Chocolate Debacle
author:  Karen Winters Schwartz 
description: <b>"<i>The Chocolate Debacle </i>is a superbly crafted suspense novel--but it is also much more than that. As social commentary, it unveils the stigma that affects people with mental illness and their families, as well as the inherent fallibility of our criminal justice system. It explores a deep contradiction of human experience. In the end, we have a murder mystery without a villain, which is quite in keeping with the author's gift in portraying flawed human nature with insight, empathy, and warmth."</b><br /> --David Kaczynski<br /> ED of KTD Buddhist monastery &amp; brother of Ted Kaczynski, "the Unabomber."<br /><br /><b>"<i>The Chocolate Debacle </i>combines mystery and compassion in its portrayal of a young man whose mental illness makes him a target of the police in a murder investigation. So rarely do we see persons with acknowledged mental illness as protagonists that it was not until I picked up this book that I realized this to be true. Told in winning prose with a sense of humor that is striking when it hits,this book is a must read for anyone who likes a good yarn and a main character you cannot easily forget."</b><br /> <span>--</span>Lisa Rojany Buccieri<br /> publisher and editor in chief of New York Journal of Books<br /><br /><b>"<i>The Chocolate Debacle </i>is more than a mystery novel. Its plot explains schizophrenia and its symptoms, and challenges stereotypes that lead to rushes to judgment. It is a reality that many individuals and families affected by mental illness face."</b><br /> --Mary Giliberti<br /> executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness<br /><br /><b>"While reading <i>The Chocolate Debacle </i>I felt like one of the dogs Trey Barkley, the accused killer, walks! The story pulled me along with the sights, smells, clues, and characters, which demanded my immediate and full attention. Much more than a whodunit, the characters are real people dealing with extraordinary, unimaginable and yet commonplace circumstances involving serious mental illness. This book tells a very real story of what happens when mental illness and murder cross paths."</b><br /> --Xavier Amador<br /> author of the international bestseller <i>I Am Not Sick, I Don't Need Help!</i><br /><br /><b><span>"Rich, strong characterizations and stream-of-consciousness flashbacks permeate</span><i>The Chocolate Debacle</i><span>, an intriguing, psychologically astute mystery by Karen Winters Schwartz (</span><span><i>Where Are the Cocoa Puffs?</i></span></b><b>)."</b> -- Shelf Awareness for Readers
zlib_text:  
  Death by Chocolate
  A Dessert First Cozy Mystery
   
  by Carol Lee
   
   
   
  First Kindle Original Edition 2013
   
  A Bristlecone Book
   
  All rights reserved.
  Copyright © 2013 Carol Lee
   
  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
  any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
  by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
  writing from the author and/or publisher. No part of this publication may be
  sold or hired, without written permission from the author.
   
  Visit my website at: https://www.facebook.com/CarolLeeAuthor
  
  CHAPTER 1
   
  The incessant buzzing of the alarm finally tore me from my dreams.  I
  pulled on the jeans from the pile of clean, but as yet, unfolded clothes and
  snagged one of the Dessert First t-shirts from the box.  I had fifty printed,
  but they hadn’t been a big seller in the first few months of business, so
  rather than store them at the bakery, I took them home.  It did make
  choosing something to w