Hot Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland is the first book in The Alcott Family Adventures series.
Meet
the middle-aged, eccentric Alcott sisters: Madge, Lila Mae and
Dorothea, heiresses to the Alcott Chocolate fortune and mavens of
Houston’s elite River Oaks.
Madge ambushes Lila Mae with
Dorothea’s manipulative plea: she can’t care for Bernie, their 92-year
old father, any longer. Lila Mae explodes in a hissy fit—she had warned
Dorothea years ago that they should put Bernie in an assisted living
center.
Robert, Lila Mae’s astrologer, warns of impending problems and he’s rarely wrong.
The
sisters call a meeting with Walter Branson, their solicitor. They
discuss Bernie’s nurse Bambi Chaline, a blonde bombshell who looks more
like a hooker than a nurse. The sisters fear that Bambi has her sights
on being the next Mrs. Alcott and the need to separate her from their
father is at critical mass.
Arrangements are made for Bernie to
be transferred over to Lake Sides Assisted Living Center in the Uptown
Galleria area and a severance package is drawn up for Bambi. Out from
under the ever watchful eye of Dorothea, Bernie takes to the Lake Sides
social scene like a butterfly to sugar-water. He’s the best dressed
senior and chases the nurses relentlessly. He may be 92, but he’s a
handful.
Jimmy Ray Chaline, Bambi’s bowling alley husband, is
enraged that Bambi was let go. He hires ambulance chaser Mark Slade to
file a lawsuit for wrongful termination. Bambi had been more than
satisfied with her bonus, letters of recommendation and praise from the
Alcott clan. She does not want to sue her former employer and the Alcott
chocolate empire.
Jimmy Ray’s eyes dazzle as Mark Slade convinces
him that the court will award Bambi millions. The judge dismisses the
suit as frivolous and it is thrown out of court further fueling Jimmy
Ray’s rage. He’s shocked when the callous attorney demands his bill be
paid upon receipt.
When Jimmy Ray fails to return home from the
bowling alley that night, a series of events unfold that shocks the
entire Alcott family and their extended members.
Who killed Jimmy
Ray Chaline? Was it Bambi, his innocent looking wife? Could it have
been Tilly, Walter Branson’s half-looped niece who had a mysterious
relationship with Jimmy Ray? Or was it Dorothea Divine – the weapon came
from her house where Bambi worked for three years.
The Alcott
clan is in turmoil and no amount of chocolate will soothe their nerves
until they solve the mystery and Dorothea is off the hook.
No comments:
Post a Comment