Obsession Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate by Kyra Davis

Best selling author, Sophie Katz is up to her neck in trouble for a third time in this caffeine charged novel. After getting some first hand experience in solving murders in SEX MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE and PASSION BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS, Sophie fancies herself a bit of a detective. So when an old friend thinks her husband might be cheating, Sophie is willing to use herself as bait to find out if he’s really a philander or true blue.

She gets more than she bargained for when he dies in her arms, a victim of a drive-by shooting. Could his murder have anything to do with his work for a political campaign? Sophie wants to find out. Especially before her ex-lover, private detective and Russian hottie, Anatoly does. Showing her ex that she’s the better detective and helping out her friend sounds like a win-win. But Sophie is about to find out more about politics then she ever imagined. Sometimes politicians make for strange and “furry” bedfellows.

This is the third book in Kyra Davis’ laugh out loud series. It could be read as a stand alone, but the reader would definitely benefit from following Sophie Katz’s antics from the very beginning.

I hate to say it, but this book made me tired. There was a lot of political jargon and opinions loosely disguised as satire both of which got very old in a short amount of time.

Sophie, while usually a lot of fun, became irksome when she waxed poetic about political party hypocrisy while drawing attention to her unattractive lose morals and hurtful habit of lying to further her personal goals. I’ve always liked Sophie’s ambition but in this novel, she’s in danger of becoming unlikable as she steps on vulnerable people simply to find a clue before Anatoly.

In the times we live in, I would personally enjoy fiction that brings people together instead of dividing them further. Author’s I’ve encountered lately seem to be under the false impression that their readers agree with their political view point and leave the rest of us feeling alienated. Not a good way for a reader to feel.

However, one of the saving graces of this book is the quirky supporting characters who bring more fun and depth to the story. Marcus, the hair guru and voice of reason; Dena, who brings out Sophie’s wild side (just in case we didn’t get enough already), and Mary Anne, whose sweetness and naiveté brought Sophie another perspective. It was also great seeing her sister, Leah bounce back from her debacle in PASSION BETRAYAL AND KILLER HIGHLIGHTS. The Katz women are strong and resilient if they are anything! And one of the biggest supporting characters? The Starbuck’s frappuccino flavor of the week! Where would Sophie be without her caffeine? I don’t think we want to know.

While Sophie’s character left me disappointed this time, and I didn’t enjoy the subject matter, the series keeps getting better and better and I still enjoyed the book overall. I will look forward to Sophie Katz’s next mystery in the hope we have more fun with her reminiscent of SEX MURDER AND A DOUBLE LATTE, her first, and my personal favorite.