Author: Lauren Henderson
Series: Scarlett Wakefield #3
I'm so glad that I had a couple of uninterrupted hours in which to read this book, because I would not have been happy to have to put it down. Kiss in the Dark is a fun, quick read with a perfect blend of boarding school drama and murder mystery. Oh, and Britishness. It gains lots of awesome-points just for the sheer Britishness of the characters and the story.
Kiss in the Dark is the third book in a series (the first two are Kiss Me Kill Me and Kisses and Lies), but it's not really essential to have read the first two to understand and enjoy this one. I still definitely recommend reading them in order as it provides a lot of the characters' backgrounds and explains events that are referenced in this one (plus, who wouldn't enjoy two more books of Scarlett?), but at the start of this book, the major events of the first two books are firmly in the past. Scarlett thinks she's starting over now that she's solved the murder of Dan McAndrew, except now Plum Saybourne, her ultra-popular nemesis, has transferred to her school.
Within a few weeks, Plum has the other girls at Wakefield Hall practically worshiping her, and Scarlett and her best friend Taylor are left to deal with it on their own. The verbal battles and the power struggles between Scarlett and Plum are certainly entertaining to read about. Scarlett's a strong character who knows how to stand up for herself, so the conflict escalates rapidly. In addition to all of the popularity struggles, Plum's out to destroy Scarlett's relationship with the gardener's son, Jase. But it turns out Plum isn't the only one who's not pleased with that relationship: Jase's father and grandmother and Scarlett's aunt have all indicated that the two should not be together. Scarlett's already trying to solve that mystery when she and Taylor stumble onto a dead body.
I felt like the mystery was really well-done - both mysterious situations, the murder and the objections to Scarlett's relationship with Jase, are handled realistically and thoroughly. My only complaints wer that in places it felt like Scarlett was a way better detective than she should have been, so it was a tiny bit inconsistent, and it was a little more predictable than I liked. There's enough of a conclusion to make Kiss in the Dark tell a complete story all on its own, but with enough questions left unanswered that I'll definitely read book four when it comes out.
The characters are great, too; I feel like the character development in this book is a lot stronger than in the first two, which is nice. I especially love that we get to see a new side to Taylor's character, as she's probably my favorite. And I love these books' approach to strong female characters. Kiss in the Dark is a great continuation of the series, and I definitely recommend the entire series to any teenage girl looking for a fun, quick read. Especially if you like Britishness. (They kick bums instead of butts! It's awesome.)
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