Tart of Darkness is the debut of the Chef-to-Go Mystery series set in the college town of Normalton, Illinois featuring Danielle "Dani" Sloan. Dani has resigned from her position in HR at Homestead Insurance after having issues with the way a sexual harrassment claim was handled. Having a fondness for cooking but not wanting to disappoint her father any further with her career choices, Dani is halfheartedly sending resumes to other HR departments when an envelope arrives at her door.

Geraldine Cook had been Dani's grandmother's best friend. The two women had sworn to each other that they would look after each other's families should something happen to one of them. Upon her death Geraldine has left Dani her Victorian mansion, which is under renovation. The older woman had plans to open a Bed and Breakfast, but Dani isn't fond of having strangers coming in and out of her home.

Having lived in a college townhouse and befriended the trio of girls across the hall, Dani takes the girls into her home when they are kicked out of their apartment. The rent monies and the girls' agreement to help Dani get her fledging business Chef-to-Go up and running will allow them to all to stay in the old mansion.

When Ivy Drake, the youngest of the girls, joins a study group with the spoiled Regina Bourne, Dani has reservations. Regina is obviously using Ivy just to get her work done, and when she plans her annual Summerpalooza she gets Dani to cater the party so the at Ivy and her friends can attend. After a fire ruins the desserts, Regina kicks Dani and the girls out and threatens to destroy Dani's reputation. When Regina is found dead by the pool the next morning, Ivy and Dani become prime suspects.

With the help of Ivy's Uncle Spencer, retired FBI agent and now head of University security, Dani begins her own investigation to find Regina's killer and clear her own name. Dani uncovers plenty of suspects who hated the girl, but she is thwarted at every turn by the nasty Detective Mikeloff.

A well developed plot with interesting characters. The author does mention the name of the town and characters from another of her series quite frequently and not having read that particular series I wasn't too sure what relevance these people played in this series. The middle of the book does bog down a little with the internal musings of both Dani and Spencer on why they don't want to get involved in a personal relationship, they seem to dwell on these thoughts repetitively. Overall, a great start to a series and will look forward to more adventures with Dani, Spence and the girls.

I received a copy of Tart of Darkness from NetGalley via Sourcebooks Landmark. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion

Denise Swanson’s Tart of Darkness is an intriguing well-paced mystery with a great protagonist. It is a promising start to a new series. However, the book is a little disjointed and there are too many characters and sideplots.

Our protagonist is Dani Sloan who has recently quit her job in HR. She inherits a huge old house and starts Chef-to-Go, working as a private chef and caterer while also selling homemade meals to college students. Dani also rents out rooms in her new house to students and acts as their big sister. Things get messy when Regina, a nasty and wealthy college girl, is murdered after her party that Dani catered. An unscrupulous detective soon makes Dani his prime suspect. With the help of her friend’s handsome uncle, Spencer Drake, Dani must solve the murder before she goes out of business.

The book switches perspective between Dani and Spencer. While their voices are distinct, I didn’t like the different perspectives and I think the book would have flowed better if Dani was the only point-of-view. Additionally, I’m not completely sold on the brusque and somewhat stereotypical ex-cop Spencer and I don’t buy the instant attraction between him and Dani.

There is a lot going on in this book. For the most part, Swanson makes it work and keeps you entertained and intrigued with a nicely-crafted mystery. At first, I was doubtful about how Dani’s different roles would work but everything fits together. However, I miss the ‘clean’ charm of a traditional cozy as this book is more modern and a little bit darker than expected.

Dani is a great and well-developed character with an interesting backstory. She’s determined, hardworking and a genuinely good person. Many of the minor characters are also decently crafted. I like the abundance of interesting suspects who all have plausible motives. However, some characters and sideplots could have been trimmed or been more developed to better serve their purpose. Although I suspect that these mysteries will be resolved later, the sideplots with Dani’s slimy ex-boyfriend, Kipp, and Detective Mikeloff who has a vendetta against her could have been handled much better. Kipp’s drama about a missing book seems pointless and Mikeloff appears too irregularly to be a real threat.

Tart of Darkness is a great mystery with some nice twists. I couldn’t figure out the murderer’s identity until the reveal and I love how well everything came together. Although I wish some of the characters and sideplots were better handled, I enjoyed this book and I look forward to more in this series. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this book in exchange for an honest review.

A well written new mystery featuring a compelling plot, interesting characters and the right amount of romance. Dani Sloan has dumped her cheating boyfriend and quit her morally compromising job when she inherits a large house and decides to open a culinary business. To make ends meet and have help with the business she agrees to take in three college girls she had previously befriended. At the urging of Ivy, one of the college girls, Dani agrees to cater a party for a rich and obnoxious college girl, Regina Bourne. After an incident at the party Dani and her helpers leave but later that night Regina is murdered. The investigating police officer has it in for Dani because of something that happened at her previous job, and is intent upon making her the culprit, along with Ivy. Ivy's handsome uncle is the head of campus security and is determined to clear his niece. When Dani feels threatened she also begins her own investigation and comes up with the solution to the crime. This is an entertaining, fast moving story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tart of Darkness is a tasty start to a new series. We meet Dani, who has just quit her job and is spending her time trying out recipes and feeding her college student neighbors. When she inherits a house unexpectedly, she is able to start her own business Chef To Go. After catering her first big party, the hostess is found dead and Dani is thrust into the spotlight as the main suspect.
I really enjoyed this book. A first in new series can be hard, having to introduce the cast of characters and to set the stage for the current book and the rest to come, but the author tackles this perfectly. The characters are fun, the side plots are great and definitely keep the reader entranced with the story. The surprise at the end when everything ties together is unexpected but definitely fitting. I cannot wait to see what is next for all of these characters.

Things finally seem to be headed Dani’s way, she’s inherited a huge old house in a college town that will enable her to put her cooking skills to use. She launches Chef-To-Go, selling meals to hungry college students. To help make ends meet while she’s building her business , she rents out a couple of rooms to college kids who become almost like extended family. When one of them is murdered, Dani’s heartbroken, but even worse, she’s one of the suspects. This is a charming cozy mystery that will please Swanson’s fans

Dani's career hits a snag and she takes the opportunity to take a new life path. The path becomes clearer when she inherits a beautiful mansion from a woman she has never met. She decides to simultaneously open Chef-to-Go, a catering business that also sells pre-made, healthy meals, as well as renting out rooms in her new home to college students. A murder suddenly threatens her lifestyle and her freedom when an overzealous detective sets her sites on her. With the help of the handsome uncle of one of her roomers, Dani investigates the murder to clear both her name and that of his niece.

One word described this book for me. Disjointed. Most chapters are written from the POV of Dani, while there are a few written from the POV of "Uncle Spence." The book starts as a strong cozy, but then adds in a bit of thriller and romance. The time frame is off - it seems as though events just happened but Dani refers to months passing. I tend to judge a book by how soon I look at how much is left. In this book, I had only read a quarter of it. By half way through I just didn't care anymore. I also didn't appreciate the author throwing in references to her other books in an effort to sell more of that series. I had never read any of Ms. Swanson's other books (didn't even realize who wrote these until half way through the book) and this writing was not an incentive to read them. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the Sourcebooks Landmark but was pretty disappointed in it.