It is always a pleasure to find at second novel in a new mystery series that more than fulfills the promise demonstrated by its predecessor. Such is the case with Darker Than Any Shadow (Poisoned Pen Press, March 6, 2012 release), the follow-up to Tina Whittle’s first Tai Randolph Mystery, The Dangerous Edge of Things (2011).
The Dangerous Edge of Things introduced Tai Randolph, who runs an Atlanta gun shop inherited from her uncle. Tai meets Trey Seaver, an agent for Phoenix Corporate Security, when he investigates the murder of a woman whose body was found in the driveway at Tai’s brother’s home.
Trey, a former member of the police department’s SWAT team, still suffers brain damage from an automobile accident that occurred two years earlier. Now Trey survives by leading a logical and structured life devoid of emotional entanglements. Though attracted to Tai, Trey knows she will disrupt that order.
Tai is equally aware of their differences. In Darker Than Any Shadow she offers this explanation of their contrasting approaches to life. "I knew his process – start at the beginning. My process was different. I started by finding something with a lid on it. Then I pulled the lid off."
Tai pulls the lid off a murder in this second addition to the series. During a fire at a club hosting a national “slam poetry” contest, she finds Lex Anderson dead in the building's bathroom. Like Tai’s friend Ricco Worthington, Lex was a member of Atlanta's Spoken Word Poetry team.
Threats a former team member known as Vigil made against Ricco have caused Trey’s presence at the crime scene. However, Ricco soon realizes that the police now view him as one of their chief suspects in Lex’s murder – a fact that brings Tai into the investigation as well.
Darker than Any Shadow offers an intriguing mystery with plentiful suspects, but equally important to this novel is the developing relationship between Trey and Tai. Tai learns that Trey’s former partner, detective Dan Garrity, sees her as a threat to Trey’s recovery. She also wonders if Trey will ever be capable of returning her love and offering her a place in his highly systemized life. The emotional depth of this second Tai Randolph Mystery argues favorably for the next installment in Whittle's series.
FTC Full Disclosure: A review copy of this work was provided by Poisoned Pen Press.
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