A review by mochitoazuki
Whispers in the Dark by Eleanor Taylor Bland

3.0

I was intrigued by this book because it's not too often you hear about African American detective stories, especially ones where the lead detective is a black woman. As someone who also grew up in the Chicago area I decided to give it a go. The tale is about Marti and her partner Vik's journey to discover who murdered and dismembered 3 arms and hands. Their journey takes them into the art world were everything involving race to mommy issues ensue. The other part of the story is about Marti's idiotic bff who ran away and married Mr. Not-So-Perfect and eloped to the Bahamas. Little did BFF, Sharon know, her boo, DeVonte is a psycho serial killer. This ends up being an unbelievable 'gotta find them' story. I'm all for fiction, but if you're going to make the first half of the book have a realistic pull, the second part should also. These two stories weren't related in the slightest and while I'm all for a multi-story novel, neither part truly held my interest. I ended up skimming the last 30 pages because I wanted to be done with it. That being said, I do find Marti to be an interesting and realistic character. I didn't care much for Sharon, I guess I dislike stupid women. It started off tolerable but seemed to drag on in places that weren't necessary. I'll try reading the first Marti McAllister mystery novel and see if that's any better.