Darker Dawn

by Fiona Manning

Can Tiare save Lei Texeira from a crazed killer?

Maui Police Department Detective Pono Kaihale’s wife Tiare is training as a forensic nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. It’s tough being away from her beloved family but she and her friend, Kalu Hannigan, are learning some astonishing things about ritual folk healing from around the world.
Tiare is also catching up with her female buddies, including Pono’s partner, Lei Texeira who is in town for a friend’s wedding. Things soon turn weird however when Kalu and Tiare go to meet Kalu’s daughter Jess at the Fort Street Mall.
Kalu vanishes.
Tiare hunts all over the strange little mall for her, stumbling on a macabre scene in a supposedly abandoned building.
Seven altars the likes of which she has never seen, appear to be Santeria-like. They’re in even more sinister: Palo Monte—black magic, rarely seen on the mainland, let alone the islands.
Not only that, but one of the altars carries a direct threat to…
Lei Texeira.
Tiare is thrown into a world she knows nothing about, her nursing skills and sharp instincts a necessity now she’s facing a deadly opponent, a “Palo Princess.”
But who is she, and why does she want Lei dead?

152 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 29, 2016

Reviews

[Anima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was asked to read this story, a sequel to Tiare's Dark Dawn, and am writing this review voluntarily. Tiare is the wife of Pono, Lei's partner from the Lei Crime Series, and she's a nurse/wedding coordinator/mother. While take a course at the hospital she has to stay on another island and rent a room. She is sucked into the problems of her roommate and takes us on a crazy stressful adventure. Honestly, I found it a bit complicated at times but stick with it and it comes together at the end. If you have read other Kindle World books from this series a few characters will be familiar.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a sequel to Dark Dawn, I was excited to read more about Tiare. But somehow, although a gripping story, I did not feel as drawn into this story. Perhaps it was because it somehow seemed rushed in the telling ? However, I did enjoy it enough to continue to the end. Who knew that so much "black magic" style existed on Oahu? As a forensic nurse, Tiare is attending a training course away from home with some fellow nurses. As they learn about cultural practices from other countries, Tiare feels unsettled. As they move onto the second day, her friend disappears, and Tiare cannot find her. Strange things start to happen - comments made by her friend prove to be totally untrue. Tiare has to try to find out what has happened before someone close to her is killed.