Dead in the Dark

Maddie Swallows Mysteries #6

by Kat Bellemore

Marriage is scary. Dead bodies are worse.

Newly engaged Maddie Swallows has done the marriage thing before, and she’s terrified to do it again. Even with someone as perfect as Benji.

In an attempt to help calm her nerves, Maddie’s mother arranges for Maddie, Benji, and the kids to go on a road trip to Carlsbad Caverns.

But what begins as a wonderful adventure quickly takes a horrifying turn when, at the bottom of the caverns, the lights go out. When they turn back on, their tour guide is dead.

Trapped with a murderer in the deepest part of the caverns, with no ability to contact help, Maddie and her family must pull together to find the killer so their group gets out safely, and there isn’t a second victim.

Dead in the Dark is the second book in the Maddie Swallows mystery series. If you like humor, family adventures, and mysterious deaths, you’ll love this book.

Pick up Dead in the Dark and be swept up in this New Mexican mystery today!

174 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 29, 2024

Reviews

[Susan Hamann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maddie, her fiancé, and her two kids are on a trip to Carlsbad Caverns to calm her pre-wedding nerves. They decide to take a long underground tour that is led by a Park Ranger. This tour is through an undeveloped par of the caverns and the path is marked by plastic tape. The tour is lighted by lamps on the helmets of tour participants.

For a moment or two, the lamps are switched off. When they are turned back on, the ranger is dead - and the plastic tape is gone. Everyone who had been on the tour is still there. The murderer must be part of the tour group. It's not easy for anyone to be so far underground, in darkness and cold, knowing that the murderer is among them. When another person is killed, the freak out level grows.

Maddie and her kids, as well as the other participants are trying to figure out how to find their way out and who the murderer(s) might be.

Fun, cozy mystery. Maddi's family is an interesting crew.

[Javon50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pre-wedding vacation at Carlsbad Caverns for Maggie, her fiancé Benji, and her children Flash and Lilly sounds exciting and a good time to get away and relax. Sounds like a great plan until their tour guide is killed and there is no way back for the travelers without a guide. Knowing that there is a killer among them, all the tourists begin to take sides and accuse each other of the murder. When a second murder occurs, no one is sure they will get out alive. This terrific series does not disappoint. While down in the caves, it will take some sleuthing to survive the trip that has taken them deep into the caverns. This is my honest, voluntary review of an advanced reader copy of this book.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Mystery with Great Characters
This 6th book in the Maddie Swallows series was an enjoyable read with a storyline that kept me guessing until the very end. I was delighted with the way the author worked this mystery into a family trip, and how each member of the family helped (or tried to help!) solve the mystery. And oh, that epilogue! What a cliffhanger! I can't wait to read the next book in the series. This is a series that I've purchased and highly enjoyed in the past; however, I received this particular book for free and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have recently visited Carlsbad Caverns. I am glad I was not part of the tour group in this book. I would never have survived only having a small light on my head to see in the awful darkness of the cave. Then to have a murder happen! Scary! Solving the mystery in this story is far different than any mystery I have read to date. So exceptional and intriguing. I so much enjoy Ms. Bellemore's writing. Each book in this series gets better than the previous one.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[J Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead..way..way..down!

A family vacation to Carlsbad Caverns becomes a murderous misadventure in the dark. Lost in a wild cave with a murderer is not what Maddie had planned. They must find the killer before they become the next victims and every person in their tour group is a suspect.

Good suspense and a good plot! Everyone needs a son like Flash to keep life interesting. I received an advance copy but my review is honest and voluntary.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family vacation to settle wedding nerves turns into survival mode when murder comes calling deep beneath the surface. Maddie, her kids and Benji must be at their best if they want to survive to reach the surface again.
This is an extremely clever take on a locked room mystery. Trapped in a cave with no one to lead them out. Full of surprises this story was delightful!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bernadette Cinkoske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead in the Dark is a twisty, closed location, intriguing, cozy mystery. Maddie’s pre-wedding trip to the Carlsbad Caverns with Benji and her kids quickly becomes the scene of another body, their tour guide! Knowing that they are trapped deep in the caverns with the murderer is not keeping anyone calm! You do not want to miss Maddie unmasking the murderer and how they get out of the caverns. I could not put the book down!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my worst nightmare come true. We used to go all over the country and my dad would always take us to these caverns. The way you described them with such clarity, even now, it gives me chills. The thought of being trapped and then being trapped with a killer in your midst. Terrifying! This was a great book. Parts scared the bejesus out of me but that's the point, right? Thank you Kat for another great book. Can't wait for the next one.

[MaryEllen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead in the Dark is the sixth book in the series. We know the family from previous stories. Their interaction does not disappoint.

The mystery element was really interesting and fun.

This is my voluntary review of a copy I received from Booksprout.

[Lavender Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is truly amazing. It has great characters (I love the Swallows family and Benji), an entertaining story, high suspense to the very end, and a jaw-dropping epilogue.

A review copy of this book was sent to me by the author. All of the above opinions are my own.

[Craftyhj · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read

I find this an easy series to read with enjoyable plots and sympathetic characters. This one was a little different in that the threat is clearly at the lead characters family as much as anyone else.

[Patricia A Spring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cosy murder mystery

This one is the best of the series so far, quite a plot twist. The characters were a bit unbelievable but it is a fiction