Author: Stephanie Blackmoore
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Other Formats Available)
ISBN #: 9781496717511
Kensington Mystery
336 Pages
$7.99; $1.99 Amazon
December 18, 2018
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mallory's fine -- really -- handling the wedding arrangements for her ex, Keith. But his fiancée, Becca, has at the last minute decided to switch from a Japanese-cherry-blossom theme to a Gone with the Wind theme. She wants to honor her ailing grandmother, who owns an impressive collection of GWTH memorabilia -- and who is fiercely at odds with the groom's mother over the nuptial plans.
But among other complications, Becca gets into a fight with an old childhood rival over a replica Scarlett O'Hara wedding gown. She wins the dress -- but soon becomes a murder suspect when the other woman is found dead in Becca's swimming pool. And it's up to Mallory to solve the mystery behind this unhappy occasion, before a different kind of civil war breaks out...
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Mallory Shepard owns a large mansion she's turned into a B&B and runs it along with her younger sister, Rachel. Currently, they have their hands full with a baby shower, Mother's Day tea, and two weddings coming up - those of Mallory's ex-fiancé Keith and Becca; and another couple who are arriving from Columbia, Eric and Piper.
While wedding dress shopping with Becca, Becca spots a dress that looks like it stepped right out of the film Gone with the Wind, and decides she must have it for her wedding. But then Becca's old enemy Felicity sees it and a fight ensues, with Becca winning the dress. Mallory hopes that will be the end of it, but no such luck. Things get worse when Felicity is found floating in Becca and Keith's swimming pool wearing the dress. Now there's a murderer on the loose, and Mallory knows this could spell disaster. But things soon dissolve into chaos, with arson, attacks, threats, and a shooting -- and Mallory is stuck right where she doesn't want to be -- in the middle of it. Hopefully, police chief Truman Davies will be able to solve the crimes before Mallory becomes another victim...
I have been reading this series in order and so far this is my favorite book. However, what I have never understood is Keith's malice toward Mallory. He's the one who ruined their engagement, so he should be somewhat remorseful, and at least civil toward her, but he's more malicious instead. How long can someone hold a grudge for something they did?
I did like that the plot was filled with several red herrings, and suspects almost everywhere you looked. It left me to my own devices to see if I could ferret out the killer, and I was right in nearly everything, but still it was a bit of a surprise when the murderer was discovered. The climax was as I would expect it to be, with peril to innocent people, but it all came about right in the end, as we knew it would. I will continue to read this series and look forward to the next. Recommended.
More on Stephanie Blackmoore's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/stephanie-blackmoore/
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