Author: Lee Hollis
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496724939
Kensington Publishing
307 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
March 31, 2020
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It may not be front page news, but Island Times food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell is now happily married. Before she can set sail on their honeymoon cruise, however, Hayley's mom, Sheila, pays an impromptu visit -- and promptly becomes the prime suspect in a murder.
The victim is Sheila's old high school rival, Caskie Lemon-Hogg, known for her homemade blueberry pies and her home-wrecking flirtations. As Hayley teams up with her BFFs Liddy and Mona to clear her mother's name, Sheila reunites with Liddy's mom Celeste and Mona's mom Jane for their own amateur sleuthing. The race is on between the moms and the daughters to find out who served this blueberry tart her just desserts...
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Just as newly-married Hayley Powell and her husband Bruce Linney are about to go on their delayed honeymoon cruise, Hayley's mother Sheila calls from the airport telling her she'll be there that day. It seems she recently broke up with her boyfriend, and wants to visit her daughter to lick her wounds. But shortly after her arrival, she starts making Hayley crazy, so Hayley suggests that she and her friends Celeste and Jane (Liddy's and Mona's mothers, respectively) plan a high school reunion at Hayley's brother's bar, Drinks Like a Fish.
Tickled by the idea, the three women do so and are having a lot of fun, especially Sheila, who's reconnected with an old boyfriend from school. But things take a turn when Sheila notices that Caskie Lemon-Hogg seems to have her claws into this man, much as she did when Sheila was in school and interested in someone else. But that's not all: both Celeste and Jane remember Caskie from their own various problems back when, and the three women have had enough. They tell her off in the bar, and Caskie runs out crying.
Unfortunately, it's the last time the three of them see her alive. When Caskie is found dead, Sheila is chosen as the main suspect, and now Hayley and her best friends are out to prove her mother innocent. But so is her mother and her best friends, no matter how hard Hayley tries to talk her out of it. With a husband who's becoming frustrated, and people who won't answer her questions, Hayley's stymied. But when another murder occurs, it's apparent someone is out to silence anyone who might know what's going on, and Hayley could very well be next...
Having read this series from the beginning, it's turned out to be a very good one indeed. This time we have the mothers of the three best friends, and they get up to as much trouble as their daughters. They're also a lot like their daughters, which the daughters won't believe. Go figure.
Anyway, in this book I actually laughed out loud at a couple of the scenarios; they were that funny. Sheila is a hoot, even though I'm glad I don't have her for a mother, but she's a master at backhanded compliments, even acting like she didn't know what she said was an insult. I actually felt sorry for Hayley in this book having to have been raised by the woman, all the while thinking some of the things she said and did were funny. So sad on my part...
Anyway, when we get to the meat of the story, you start to put the pieces together and then it becomes apparent who the only person was who could have killed Caskie. But watching Hayley voice it was still interesting, especially since she was voicing it to the killer. The kicker came at the end of the climax, and it certainly was humorous all around. I think that this might be my favorite book of the series, and I plan to read the next one soon. Recommended.
More on Lee Hollis's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/lee-hollis/
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