The Semi-Sweet Hereafter by Colette London

Blurb

As an authority on all things chocolate, Hayden Mundy Moore is traveling across the pond to lend her expertise to the owner of a posh London chocolaterie-pâtisserie. From coconut truffles to chocolate flapjacks, Hayden's mouthwatering creations quickly impress her client. But her knowledge doesn't end there. The detective constable is taken by surprise when she identifies an exotic murder weapon: a stone metlapil, used to grind cacao beans—and apparently to bludgeon someone to death—in Hayden's own lodgings, no less… The victim is a sexy celebrity chef who just happens to be the ex-husband of Hayden's client. Now, amid the terraced town houses and local pubs, a killer is lurking—and the police have an assortment of suspects: a culinary rival, an ambitious agent, a recently-sacked assistant, and unfortunately, Hayden herself. The talented chocolate whisperer will have to find out what sort of nutter clobbered the famous cook—or her career may come to a bitter end…

Review

Following the trend of the MC being a baker, this novel puts a slightly different slant on the subject, combines it with a cosy murder/mystery, and adds a touch of love interest just to spice things up.

I read this as a stand-alone novel, having not read any previous ones in this series, and I have no idea where this story fits in. I did feel I lost a little something from not having read the other(s) due to the intriguing backstory.

Hayden has my ideal job – as a roving chocolatier trouble-shooter (though I’d be just as happy being a simple chocolate taster – anyone? Please?) She seems to have a penchant for attracting corpses and it did leave me kind of wondering just how much trouble can a chocolatier get into. That said, the whodunit part was handled well and even though I tend to avoid novels where the police appear to be incompetent, and the protagonist does do all the investigating in this one, the police are more proactive and able than appearances suggest.

I’d love to have the Hayden/Travis/Danny triangle resolved but I suspect I will have to read more of this series to find out what happens between them, the love interest acting as a thread running through the books.

About the Author

Colette London is the pseudonym of a best-selling novelist who’s published more than three dozen books worldwide. Her Chocolate Whisperer series kicked off with Criminal Confections and Dangerously Dark and continues with The Semi-Sweet Hereafter in October 2016, all from Kensington Books.