A Chick Lit mystery could borrow from the best of both worlds and really have something going. Sharp wit, off-the-wall adventures, and a tight mystery – what’s not to like? Sadly, this type of hybrid could also go awry and saddle the reader with a TSTL heroine and so much zaniness that by the time you even get to the mystery, the poor reader just cannot make herself care about it. While Dating Can Be Deadly certainly has its funny moments, it also has too many flaws to garner much of a recommendation.

Tabitha Emery is a receptionist at a Seattle law firm who dreams of leaving the front desk and becoming a legal secretary, preferably a legal secretary who is also the girlfriend of Clay Sanderson, a truly gorgeous criminal defense attorney in the firm. Unfortunately, she cannot seem to get the hang of getting to work on time or transferring calls without disconnecting people. Not an auspicious start to one’s career.

On top of her work problems, Tabitha has an unwanted talent: She finds herself having dreams and visions of various events. This clairvoyance can be anything from the sudden knowledge of a co-worker’s pregnancy to a graphic vision of a murdered woman’s body. This “gift” both embarrasses and unsettles Tabitha and she tries to cope by simply ignoring it. However, when she sees scenes related to a recent murder that even the Seattle police have not yet uncovered, she finds herself drawn into a murder investigation and brought to the attention of various occult dabblers and practitioners.

As one might expect, the Seattle police are suspicious of anyone who seems to have inside knowledge of a murder, so Tabitha finds herself spending more time with Clay in a rather professional capacity. Tabitha also wishes she could start a more personal relationship with Clay, but in this department she seems to be her own worst enemy. On top of all this, Lucien Roskell, owner of a local occult shop, is bent on helping Tabitha develop her talents – talents Tabitha is just as intent on burying.

Like most Chick Lit books, this novel definitely has its share of zany capers and I felt somewhat torn as I read the book. On the one hand, I did appreciate some of the one-liners and the unusual juxtaposition of bar-hopping and job angst with the Seattle occult scene is oddly appealing. However, the heroine – who tells her story in the first person – is often grating.

Tabitha is a rather typical dysfunctional Chick Lit heroine. Her unwanted clairvoyance is certainly an unusual twist, but the miserable job, office crushes, heavy drinking, and inability to cope with real life will seem like familiar territory to any reader of this genre. While Tabitha certainly seems to have some compelling issues in her background, the author does not really explore them and the result is a heroine for whom it is difficult to feel any sympathy. Tabitha’s musings seem more like whining and she lacks the comic timing of other heroines of the genre, so she really does not stand out as a person you can relate to or want to know.

The mystery here is interesting and well-plotted for the most part and Roberts does a good job of setting up the suspense and keeping the killer a mystery until story’s end. However, Tabitha and her friends and their capers often detract from, rather than add to, the suspense plot, making for an uneven read in which the mysterious doings I was avidly following were interrupted by the eyeroll-inducing escapades of Tabitha and her buddies.

Ultimately, while the author’s debut has fun moments and some good and suspenseful plotting, the heroine’s zaniness goes too far. Balancing suspense and humor can be as difficult as balancing suspense and romance and, unfortunately, that balance is simply not struck in Dating Can be Deadly. The result is a rather average novel, though someone who craves slapstick comedy with their suspense might enjoy this book more than I did.