REVIEW: The Semi-Sweet Hereafter

The Semi-Sweet Hereafter
Author;  Colette London

**I was provided a copy of this book by Kensington Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review.**

Wealthy heiress Hayden  Munday Moore is an expert on chocolate. She terms herself a "chocolate whisperer'' as she travels the world, helping improve chocolate in all its forms. In this 3rd Chocolate Whisperer Mystery, Hayden travels to London to help improve chocolate pastries at Primrose, a posh pastry shop. Phoebe Wright, owner of Primrose, is married to a famous television chef. Hayden assures her friends, and herself, that this time she will be doing nothing but tasting chocolate and training kitchen staff. She does not plan to get involved in anything that isn't chocolate-related. Just as she is settling into the Wrights' guesthouse, plans go awry (as usual). Hayden returns from a shopping trip to discover Chef Jeremy Wright dead on the floor of the guesthouse. He has been bludgeoned to death with a stone metlapil. Suddenly Hayden is a murder suspect, along with a disgruntled former assistant, a rival chef and an overzealous agent. So much for her sticking to chocolate only while in London! Once again, Hayden is on the trail of a killer. She has to discover the murderer's identity to clear her own name.

This was a fun mystery to read! All the different facts and information about cacao beans, chocolate and cooking tips for baking with chocolate were very interesting! There are some yummy chocolate recipes at the end of the book as well! The mystery portion of the plot was well-written with multiple suspects, a few red herrings and some great twists and turns before the ending. I had to suspend reality a little bit to buy into Hayden's back-story, but that wasn't too hard to do. Although I seriously doubt there is a wealthy heiress in the world who travels constantly as a chocolate advisor, it made for a fun cozy mystery! Hayden is a strong, intelligent main character. It was nice to read a cozy that wasn't centered around a bookshop, library or cupcakes.

At times the author explained some British terms as an aside, which I thought was unnecessary. Most American readers know that "sacked'' means to be fired from a job or that a "desktop diary'' is a planner.

All in all, this is an enjoyable, light mystery with a great chocolate theme! Semi-Sweet Hereafter releases September 27th! Pick up a copy for a sweet, chocolately escape! :)

Colette London is a pseudonym used by best-selling romance author Lisa Plumley. Find out more about the Chocolate Whisperer Mystery series at www.colettelondon.com.