Tucker Sinclair and Associates (the only "associate" besides herself is her male secretary) is a business-consulting firm. Keeping a close eye on her clients brings Tucker into a murder case involving an upscale chocolatier in Beverly Hills. The murder starts out quirky, with a rare green Quetzal feather, native to Guatemala, and symbol of an East Los Angeles gang,  next to the corpse. Tucker's assistant, Eugene, decides to go undercover, sucking poor Tucker into the case, despite her best intentions to stay out of it.

So many things keep this mystery (and others in the series) from being banal, run-of-the-mill cozies; Smiley pulls in sub-plots about gang activity, stolen antiquities from Guatemala and (besides the mouth-watering chocolates) a role reversal, gender-wise, since Tucker is riding to the rescue of her intrepid male assistant. Woman to the Rescue!

I would have loved to see a recipe or two in the book for making chocolates – nonetheless,  I still recommend this book highly - it treats the readers intelligently, addresses awkward subject matter, and keeps within the bounds of the rules of cozies with its amateur detectives, clever plot twists and dynamic dialog and characterizations. Certainly perfect reading for a hot summer day or for a cool spring evening! ENJOY!