Genre: Mystery
Trade Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781953826008
Helium Press
254 Pages
$12.99; $3.99 Amazon
October 9, 2020
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
She can't skip town until her aunt makes it to the altar. When a killer crashes the party, can she save the bride-to-be from honeymooning in jail?
Glory Wells thinks her life can't get much worse after her con artist husband runs away with her money and her pride. Low on self-respect and high on misery, she reluctantly returns to her small hometown for her eccentric aunt's fourth trip down the aisle. But she finds herself in hot oil when the wedding planner is discovered dangling from the ship's mast like the fresh catch of the day.
With her food-loving aunt as the prime suspect, Glory sets out to rustle up the truth. But a pirate-themed wedding, a bedazzled chicken, and a zany cast of characters from her past may be a recipe for disaster. And as Glory struggles to manage this homicidal mutiny, the culprit simmers frighteningly close to home.
Can she pick up the pieces of her life, survive two weeks of Southern-fried family time, and solve the puzzle before she's the next overcooked victim?
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Glory Wells has a problem. Actually, she has many problems: once a successful event planner in Raleigh, her life went haywire when her soon-to-be ex-husband skedaddled from an event with all her money and disappeared. Now she's broke, nearly homeless, and jobless.
Then she gets a call from her Aunt Beverlee telling her she needs her to come home right away. Thinking Beverlee is ill, Glory heads to the place where she grew up. But when she arrives it's only to find Beverlee is getting married -- for the fourth time, and she wants Glory to help her. Once Glory meets the wedding planner, she's not impressed. The woman is surly and obviously doesn't even like Beverlee. But Glory is more stunned when she finds that Beverlee wants her wedding on an old crate of a boat -- and pirate-themed.
But later that night, Glory returns to the boat and finds the planner strung up like a ham. With Beverlee the main suspect, she's determined to find a killer and save her aunt from jail. Unfortunately, she also has to face her old boyfriend -- the man she left to go to Raleigh -- and things only go downhill from there. Now, with help from a group of eccentric people, Glory seeks a murderer...who might know that she's looking...
This is the first book in the series and I didn't know what to expect. I have to say that I was not only pleasantly surprised, I was entranced. The dialogue is witty and sassy, with plenty of sarcasm thrown in (which I love); the action is fast-moving and the story pulls you in from the very first chapter.
I do like Glory, even with all her self-deprecation and resentment; although I hope in later books she'll find her center again and pull herself forward; and I also love all the secondary characters, including home-bound Josie, who seems to be interesting herself. Scoots is hilarious, and Beverlee is the kind of woman you'd like to spend time with but be grateful when you get home again.
When Glory returns she discovers things have changed, and it makes her feel out of place even more. Since she's not fond of wearing earplugs and doesn't want to listen to her aunt and her beau during their, shall we say, escapades, she escapes to a small apartment that's near the boat her ex, Ian, lives on. More problems. Then she comes face-to-face with the woman who made her miserable during school; and Glory isn't happy about that.
But she's also finding that not everyone is dreading her return, and she plows ahead with the investigation, putting herself in unwanted situations but never in direct danger, which I liked. Glory can think on her feet, even though her aunt is willing to do unlawful things; Glory manages to pull them out at the last minute, and I did enjoy that.
When the ending comes and the killer is revealed it comes as a complete surprise, which is delightful. How Glory saves the day is pretty humorous in itself, and the ending was worth it. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.
More on Erin Scroggins's Books: https://www.amazon.com/Erin-Scoggins/e/B08K3QN665/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
No comments:
Post a Comment