Query - The Cacao Conspiracy - newest version in post 16

[Bron]

I re-read this tonight and made some further changes. They're all pretty minor but I thought I'd post it for comment:

Peta Blackman is assisting on a documentary about chocolate when she witnesses the murders of an Ivorian cacao collector and a Parisian chocolatier. The Frenchman’s last words suggest the documentary makers are on the cusp of exposing a chocolate secret, so Peta investigates.

She discovers the murderers are members of a secret society led by chocolate tycoon Theo Daniels. But a society member spots Peta spying on their meeting and kidnaps her. Peta escapes to Mexico City, where she meets an archaeologist unearthing Aztec artefacts.

But Peta can’t avoid the society for long. Theo visits the archaeological dig, desperate to possess a sacrificial vessel. Through Marie, the granddaughter of a deceased member, Peta learns why - the society believes cacao was cursed in Mesoamerican times and they’ve hit on the perfect recipe to break it: sacrificing a woman, Aztec-style.

Their secret revealed, Theo and the society hunt Peta down. She escapes once more, but the society murder Marie, before using their influence with the President-elect to ensure the blame falls on Peta. Now, she must prove her innocence before the authorities catch her… or before she’s the one being strapped to a stone altar in Central America.

THE CACAO CONSPIRACY is a thriller of 79,000 words.