The Strawberry Thief might be my favorite of the Chocolat series. Vianne and Rosette have returned to live at the village of Lansquenet and have reopened her lovely chocolaterie. Anouk decided to stay in Paris to live with her boyfriend, which causes Vianne such heartache. Narcisse, the crotchedy florist across the street, dies and leaves behind quite a mystery. He leaves his oak wood and strawberry patch to Rosette and a confession to Francis Reynaud, which is slowly drawn out through the entire novel. Meanwhile, Narcisse's family lets the old flower shop to the mysterious tattoo artist, Morgane. Vianne immediately senses that Morgane has powers, which frightens her. Surprisingly, Vianne joins forces with Francis Reynaud against Morgane, which has consequences.

The Chocolat series has so much of what I love about the Armand Gamache series: a village full of quirky people and food. So much delicious food. I'm always inspired to get into the kitchen and cook when I read these books, which is a very helpful push! And I'm hoping that Joanne Harris writes more of these books. I simply adore them.