Danger at Darkmoor Park
(The Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke & Fire #3)
By Syrie James
Historical Romance, Cozy Mystery, Suspense
Paperback & eBook, 375 Pages
October 28, 2025 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Summary
Hidden treasure. Murder. Mystery. Romance. All while snowbound at Christmas.
While trapped by a blizzard at a remote country manor house over Christmas, a school headmistress teams up with a charismatic doctor to solve a murder and hunt for hidden treasure.
But can she trust the man who has stolen her heart?
Selena Taylor is thrilled to cohost a Christmas house party at Darkmoor Park, the beautiful Yorkshire estate she will one day inherit. But a massive snowstorm hits the area, and no one can leave. When one of the guests dies after giving Selena a cryptic clue to a cache of hidden money, she suspects that he was murdered.
Dr. Adrian Scott arrives out of the blizzard and he and Selena, fueled by a burning mutual attraction, become partners in investigating both mysteries—a thrilling hunt for hidden treasure and the search for a ruthless killer—while trapped with holiday guests who all seem to be hiding a secret.
When another guest dies and she starts receiving threatening notes, Selena realizes that she is in terrible danger, pursued by a relentless villain and involved with a man whose touch makes her heart race but who may be hiding a deadly secret of his own.
Tropes you'll love:
- Amateur Sleuth Duo
- Murder Mystery
- Snowbound Romance
- Gothic Suspense
- Dark Secrets
- Strong Heroine
- Secretive Hero
- Woman Sleuth
- Forced Proximity
- Victorian Mystery
- Murder Mystery
- Snowbound Romance
- Gothic Suspense
- Dark Secrets
- Strong Heroine
- Secretive Hero
- Woman Sleuth
- Forced Proximity
- Victorian Mystery
Perfect for fans of Julie Klassen, Mimi Matthews, and Claudia Gray who enjoy romantic historical suspense with a Gothic twist.
Read in Kindle Unlimited!
The Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke & Fire
Book 1 - The Mysteries of Pendowar Hall
Book 2 - The Secrets of Thorndale Manor
Book 3 - Danger at Darkmoor Park
(Affiliate links included.)
My Review
DANGER AT DARKMOORE PARK is the third and final sister to have her own adventure in this series. Fans of the series will enjoy getting to see how the happily-ever-after comes about and those new to the series will be able to read and enjoy this story on its own. There is a motley crew of characters all gathered for a house party when death strikes and mystery ensues. Fans of cozy historical mysteries with a good dose of romance should enjoy this one.
I've enjoyed this series to date, with the first book being my favorite of the three. This third installment ties things up nicely as fans of the series get to see how Selena fairs. Life has progressed a bit since the last book and Selena now lives at Darkmoor Park where her and her sister's girls school also runs out of. She's there to help her benefactress hold a Christmas house party. There are a lot of different personalities in the group that comes with also a surprise guest in Dr. Scott. Some "accidents" happen and theories arise as too the why, which Selena can't let go. Her and Dr. Scott do some amateur sleuthing to seek hidden money and find out if there is a murderer.
This was a fairly light read with some overall suspense and mystery and some delightful sparks between Selena and Dr. Scott. I liked all the characters and found them to not be too similar as they had their own personalities. The relationships between them all were interesting, especially watching Selena's and Dr. Scott's unfold and develop into a romance. The romance did feel a bit quick to me, so I would have liked a bit more time to have passed, but it still worked and I felt like it had slightly less weight to the rest of the story. The author did a good job in hiding the villain until towards the end, which can be fairly difficult to do, and provided plenty of red herrings. There was a bit of drama and some missteps by Selena and Dr. Scott, as they were trying to figure out what was going on which leant some genuineness to the story.
I did want a bit more depth and development. Some parts felt too cheesy to me and I didn't connect as well to Selina as I did to her sisters in the other books. Some parts felt a bit unrealistic to me as well.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was an overall enjoyable story. Mostly light and sweet except as the suspense grew towards the end.
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Austenprose PR, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Other Books in the Series
(Linked to my reviews.)
Are you a cozy romantic mystery or historical romantic mystery fan? Have you read any of the other books in this series or by this author?
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