Title:	High Kicks, Hot Chocolate, and Homicides (A Happy Hoofers Mystery)
	Author:	Mary McHugh
	Published:	September 27, 2016, Kensington
	No. of Pages:	352
	Cover Price:	$7.99 Paperback, $1.99 Kindle

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High Kicks, Hot Chocolate, and Homicides is the fifth installment in the Happy Hoofers Mystery series. Written by Mary McHugh, this series is about five friends in their fifties who are quasi-professional dancers. In this book, they have somehow gotten hired to do a number with the Rockettes in New York, and on the first day, they find a less then warm welcome from the regular dancers. Things actually get worse when the director, Glenna, gets murdered, and every time Mary Louise gets a dancer to confide in her and help her with clues to the identity of the murderer, that dancer ends up murdered herself.

All five friends, Mary Louise, Tina, Janice, Gini, and Pat are excited to dance with the Rockettes, and must travel to New York to practice and exercise daily. The new director, Marlowe, is negative and obviously against the Hoofers dancing with them. She prides herself in making it difficult for the friends to compete. Besides trying to solve the murder, all five friends have things going on in their personal lives. As in most mysteries, the main characters are generally endangered, and these amateur sleuths, especially Mary Louise, just may be the next target.

Since this is a cozy, there is no graphic sex, violence, or language, but that doesn’t prevent suspense from building. The novel is lighthearted and fun, yet serious enough to keep readers interest. Even though the dancing takes center stage, this can also be considered a culinary mystery, and there are some mouthwatering recipes to cook at the end.

Although the book is well-written, the story-line isn’t particularly viable, and the murderer’s identity isn’t hard to guess. However, there are enough twists, turns, and surprises to keep readers wondering if they got it right until the very end. High Kicks, Hot Chocolate, and Homicides is a nice addition to the series; it’s a fast and lighthearted read, and is suitable for most ages of suspense/mystery lovers.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.