Friday, November 11, 2011

The Cocoa Conspiracy-Andrea Penrose

The Cocoa Conspiracy


Andrea Penrose

Obsidian, Dec 6 2011, $7.99

ISBN: 9780451235312



Lady Arianna Hadley stops at Messrs. Harvey & Watkins Rare Book Emporium to buy an expensive book on chocolate for her husband Charles’ birthday present. However, a man accosts her in the bookstore insisting the book is his. Instead of swooning from the threats, Lady Saybrook kicks his butt. He flees and she purchases the book.



However before she gives Saybrook his birthday gift, she finds classified documents concealed inside the seam. Arianna fears her uncle-in-law has managed to step into it again. Meanwhile someone shoots at Saybrook wounding the former military Intel officer Charles when he is hunting. The Saybrook pair has quite a mystery to unravel as each incident is dangerous and personal.



The latest Lady Arianna Regency Mystery (see Sweet Revenge) is a terrific tale due to the unique kick butt heroine who is not afraid to brawl against tough rogues. Although starting each chapter with an Arianna cocoa recipe seems out of place with the non stop action (better to have fewer included in domestic scenes), the story line is fast-paced from the moment Arianna beats up a foreign thief in the book “shop” and never slows down as she works the case of the Cocoa Conspiracy.



Harriet Klausner

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