Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496721396
Kensington Publishing
282 Pages
$7.19; $4.99 Amazon
June 25, 2019
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jessica Sterling's candlelight-themed nuptials promises to be the perfect kick-off to the summer's first official holiday weekend. Stella's thrilled to have been chosen to provide the decorative centerpiece for the wedding ceremony: a two-foot-tall scented unity candle -- a symbol of the happy couple's love. But it looks like the bride-to-be's uncle won't be walking his niece down the aisle after he's found dead. The murder weapon is Stella's seemingly indestructible candle, now split in two.
When a beloved local bartender is arrested, Stella's sure a visiting police captain running the case made a rush to justice. With superstitious brides-to-be canceling orders and sales waxing and waning at her store, the Wick & Flame owner decides to do some sleuthing of her own. Abetted by a charming reporter and challenged by the town's sexiest cop, Stella's determined to shine a light on the truth and uncover a killer who;s snuffing out her own flame.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Stella Wright owns Wick & Flame, making handmade candles. She's expanding her business, and is creating a unity candle for bride-to-be Jessica Sterling. She's also helping her pregnant best friend Emily Gardner, who's the wedding planner. So Stella has a lot on her plate, trying to get her candles finished and help Emily where she's needed.
Stella's very proud of the two-foot-high candle that she's created using a special wax so that it will be strong enough not to crumble when lit. But she's not so proud when she and members of the wedding party walk into a room at the Melville, where the wedding is to be held, and find Jessica's Uncle Simon dead - struck by the heavy candle.
Now Stella's also caretaker of Simon's cat, Tinker, who seems to be a wonder in himself; her friend Andy Southerland, a police officer, is trying to keep her out of the investigation, which is headed by an out-of-town detective, and she's trying to keep customers, who seem to think the candle might portend bad luck for their upcoming weddings. As if that weren't enough, an international movie star is staying close by and the woman seems to have taken a liking to Stella. When one of her friends is arrested for the crime, she knows she can't keep her promise to Andy and sets out to find the real murderer, who just might be closer than she ever imagined...
This is the first in a new series, and for the most part, it was pretty decent. So I'll get the bad out of the way now: Stella seems to be interested in Peter, the new reporter for the local newspaper, but there's a hint of a love triangle to come. I absolutely abhor love triangles, as I've said ad nauseam. There's no reason for them at all. If a man were stringing along two women, you'd think he was a dog, or worse. So why is it okay for a woman to string along two men? Why do the men go along with it? It's not attractive, and it doesn't say much for the woman in question. Only that she doesn't care about their feelings, but her own. So if this series goes in that direction, then I will be done with it. There are plenty of series out there that are just as good to read.
So, that being said, I do like the fact that Stella is a candlemaker. I make them myself, so I know how time-consuming and difficult it can be to get them right. I also love Tinker. Hopefully he won't be relegated to the one-book character and just hang around, but "help" Stella in other investigations, too. I did like the secondary characters, especially Andy. He's a solid soul, and really cares for her, even if she doesn't know it.
The mystery was very good, giving us several suspects - the entire wedding party, in fact - and I was thrown off the mark a couple of times before I figured it out, so that's always good. It's not much fun if you know the murderer the minute they step onto the page. I also liked the descriptions of Nantucket, and I really like the fact that Stella has a thriving business and didn't run home because her relationship broke up and so is she. It's quite refreshing to see this.
In the end, when the murderer is discovered, it's so very sad about everything that transpired the way it did. But murder never makes sense anyway. As I stated above, I really enjoyed this book and will read the next in the series to see where it goes. Recommended.
https://www.amazon.com/Murders-Votive-Confidence-Nantucket-Mystery/dp/149672139X/ref
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3319745468
More on Christin Brecher's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/christin-brecher/
No comments:
Post a Comment