Dangerously Dark
Chocolate whisperer Hayden Mundy Moore has just arrived in Portland, Oregon, where she’s about to scarf soufflés and sip cacao-based cocktails at her friend’s engagement party. Fresh from nabbing her first candy-covered killer, the last thing Hayden wants to do is mix her love of chocolate with criminal mischief again. But then the groom-to-be turns up dead before beginning his renowned Chocolate-After-Dark tour…
Hayden’s friends insist that Declan’s death was a freak accident, but she knows there’s no mistaking the bitter aftertaste of homicide. In the midst of habañero hot chocolate and mocha-chunk gelato, a choco-crazed killer waits to strike again. Hayden will need to use more than her extraordinarily gifted taste buds to bring this murderer to justice, but she just might have bitten off more than she can chew in the process…
Hayden Moore is my kind of woman. She isn’t a morning person; she is a
freelance chocolate whisperer (I love chocolate) and has a knack for stumbling
on murder mysteries. What’s not to like?
Dangerously Dark
is a fun read. The suspense and intrigue
holds the reader’s attention for the most part and surprised me at the end. There is a lot to like about the story and only
a few things that didn’t feel right for me.
What I like:
A murder mystery, an interesting cast of potential murderers,
an amateur sleuth who fumbles around a lot before solving the mystery and
chocolate, lots of chocolate.
The general premise of the story—that fact that Hayden
travels the world to help chocolatiers gives her a number of opportunities to
happen upon a murder. It will be
interesting to see where she is headed in the next book and who is going to be
murdered.
The characters. I
like Hayden even if she is a little ditzy.
She has major skills with chocolate and is in demand. The sexual tension
between Hayden and her longtime friend and current body guard, Danny. They have a history and it is obvious that
Danny wants more. He is one of those
characters that pull the reader into the story I want to know more about
him. (I haven’t read the first book in
the series so I’m headed back there to see what I can glean about Danny.) The mysterious Travis, who manages Hayden’s inheritance,
is a secretive character that makes the reader wonder what he is hiding. (Again there may be hints in the first book.)
The suspects are very colorful and developed in such a way
that it takes the reader most of the book to figure out who the killer is. I found myself going back and forth between
not liking then liking some of them.
What I didn’t like:
The beginning of the story is a little slow. There is a lot of repetition from the first
book that doesn’t seem to fit. I think
this is supposed to fill in the blanks for those of us who missed book one but,
for me, it is confusing. At one point I said to myself I get it your
friends don’t want you looking for a murderer because you did that before. Now let’s move on to this story.
The triangle and unrequited love between Hayden and Danny,
while ok right now, I can see it getting old after a few more books. I notice that some authors get their
characters stuck in that state and there isn’t any growth or relationship
development. I hope that doesn’t happen
here; there is potential to make these two into a fun crime solving team. I get that Danny is a little jealous or
envious of Travis but I hope it doesn’t continue for a long time.
In general this is a good story, a great mystery with fun and unusual characters and ends with some chocolate recipes. (I tried the (Almost) Instand House-Made Double-Chocolate Pudding. It was a hit.) The story is developed in a way that the reader wants
more. If you are a mystery lover give Dangerously
Dark a try. I recommend the book.
3.75 STAMPS
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