VANISHING INTO THE 100% DARK

By Amber Royer

Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Golden Tip Press

Pages: 288

Publication Date: March 4, 2025

Synopsis

Bean to chocolate maker Felicity Koerber has been invited to be part of a chocolate festival in Tokyo. It’s a big deal for a Texas gal with a chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand, so a whole group of her friends come along to support her. It’s intimidating enough to be giving a class on chocolate making with the help of a translator – she also stumbles across the scene of a murder, where a quirky group of international actors and stunt performers are making a monster movie. Felicity has already solved half a dozen murders back in Texas, so at this point her friends basically expect her to get involved – even before the young media influencer in Felicity’s group becomes the main suspect. Felicity has taken on the role of chaperone for Chloe, so she can’t imagine how she could explain what went wrong to the girl’s mother. Which gives her even more motivation to figure out the real killer.

In the meantime, things get complicated at the chocolate festival when a rival chocolate maker tries to get her disqualified from the awards competition – and claims that her amateur sleuth status is bringing undesirables into the festival. And things are even more complicated as the stress of being in an unfamiliar place brings out secrets about Felicity’s friends – and her fiancé.

Honda the calico cat makes an appearance on the movie set, making Felicity homesick for her pet bunny, left at home. But the cat may know more about what happened than she is letting on. Can Felicity solve the murder in time to keep Chloe from getting arrested, while making things right with the people she cares about, and presenting a good showing at the chocolate festival?

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Review

I enjoy this series a lot…probably because I am a chocoholic. Chocolate is my life! Or rather the enjoyment of it. This series taught me so much about making chocolate and what goes into the specialty bars we see in the stores. There is also a mystery to be solved in each book. I don’t think I have figured one out yet, and this book was no different.

Felicity and her friends travel to Japan for a Chocolatier Festival. I can only imagine attending this sort of festival. The book starts with a bang when her phone is stolen at the airport. The reason doesn’t make much sense to me, but I don’t know things about Japan and what is available to them versus the United States. However, that doesn’t keep Felicity down; she is determined to make this trip successful. Once she arrives at the Festival, she is verbally assaulted by another chocolatier accusing her of fraud. If you have read any of these books, you know that is the furthest thing from the truth. Things go okay until she finds the phone thief dead on the movie set. Events keep getting stranger and stranger!

I have not traveled to Japan, but the author does a wonderful job of being true to the language, the scenery, and the other little details that could be overlooked. There is even a time when Felicity is in a Kimono. I was surprised to learn that there are multiple steps to putting one on, as well as the intricacies of the outfit. Japanese words are peppered throughout the book to add authenticity to the storyline.

The mystery has multiple layers because it is not only who killed the phone thief but also who is trying to harm a former client of Logan’s. While the stories do not intersect, both need to be resolved somehow. I thought Felicity, Logan, and even Arlo were being pulled in multiple directions. Logan and Arlo use their police and detective skills to work with the Japanese police and help keep their friends safe. Many characters are in the background, but we see Ash helping a little more. I like that he and Felicity are not at odds. However, he acts like a typical journalist, and I question some of his actions (as I always do). Felicity also has to wrangle a teenager on this trip. Chloe is a good kid but impulsive. But what teens aren’t?

This book has many moving parts compared to some of the previous novels. However, the author does a good job of keeping the storyline flowing, and each portion is resolved in the end. I appreciate the care she takes in Felicity and Logan’s relationship. They may be engaged, but there is still a lot they don’t know about each other. Felicity is a worrier, but she grows in this novel as they move forward with their wedding and relationship. I have been #TeamLogan since the beginning and am happy to see them together.

While we don’t see much of Knightly in this book, I know he will return in the next installment. He is the store mascot, after all.

This is a great series, but make sure to start with the first book if you have not read any of them yet. Trust me on this!

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook for Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach.

Amber and her husband live in the DFW area, where you can often find them hiking or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs.  If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes.  Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing techniques and all things chocolate.

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