Murder Takes a Dare - The Second Marisa Adair Mystery by Jada Ryker

This is book 2 of the Murder Takes a Dare series, continuing the adventures of Marisa Adair, a feisty, likeable woman who is recovering from substance and sex addiction. I truly relished the first in this series, but absolutely loved this subsequent novel. The characters have been further developed and are seen with more of their weaknesses on show, the quirks and inadequacies remaining evident to the reader, who falls in love with them anyway. Marisa is a woman with many faces but there is a thread of vulnerability, which kept me going back for more, cheering her on and genuinely wishing her well. The novel is a clever dovetailing of two storylines, the ones with Marisa and her generation of forty-somethings who seem to attract trouble like a magnet - and that of Clay and Althea, who manage to get involved in crime fighting even from their old folk’s home setting. As in the first novel, the crimes are irrevocably linked, in addition to Marisa’s relationship with Althea, her kindly primary school teacher, who mothered her and kept her safe when the adults around the child Marisa failed to. There are secrets aplenty in this novel, spewing out of the proverbial closets in their droves, wreaking havoc and staining lives. There are some interesting character studies relating to prejudice, which added a serious note to something which is generally light hearted and at times, slightly crazy. Issues of sexuality are explored more in this novel than in the last and the consequences of addiction are far more telling. The novel ends on a cliffhanger which is a great draw for the next novel. I enjoyed it and positively devoured it.

 

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