Author: Stephanie Blackmoore
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Other Formats Available)
ISBN #: 9781496704825
Kensington Mystery
353 Pages
$7.99; $5.99 Amazon
January 30, 2018
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Actress Dakota Craig is set to tie the knot with her famous musician boyfriend at Mallory's Pennsylvania B&B on the most romantic day of the year. Best of all, the whole thing will air on the reality TV show I Do. But the maid of honor has dropped out of the wedding party -- by dropping dead.
A lot of people insist the show must go on, so Mallory's investigation keeps getting sidetracked by everything from a meddling mother to a foot of snow to a side project making arrangements for a high school Winter Ball. But if she doesn't catch the noxious culprit, the bride might wind up with a funeral wreath instead of a bouquet...
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Mallory Shepard is settling in nicely in her mansion, deeded to her by her ex-fiancé's grandmother. She's turned it into a thriving B&B and wedding planning business, along with her sister Rachel, who does the baking. She's agreed to host a wedding for a TV reality show called I Do, with the celebrity wedding to be actress Dakota Craig and her country-star boyfriend, Beau Wright. But she was also strong-armed a while back to host the Winter Ball for a girls' academy by her almost-ex-mother-in-law, Helene Pierce, and it coincides with the show, so she's doubly busy.
When everyone arrives, she's happy to see that they're pleased with her ideas, making things go a bit smoother. But when the maid of honor turns up dead the night of the Winter Ball in Mallory's office, suddenly things go haywire. Now Mallory has another murder on her hands - to the consternation of police chief Truman Davies. As if that's not bad enough, she's discovered that the host of the show is her boyfriend Garrett Davies' ex -- and mother of his daughter Summer. Not to mention that her sister has a one-track mind and is hounding Mallory for another reason. Now she's trying to figure everything out, including if running the B&B was such a good idea in the first place...
This is the third book in the series, and I felt that in many ways it was better than the second. But, I still do not like Rachel. She's manipulative, selfish, self-centered, and spiteful. She attacks Mallory with snide remarks, and even thinks it's fine that Mallory suffers as long as she gets what she wants! What a sister. I wouldn't have anything to do with her. I'd tell her to get out and hire another baker. Especially since Rachel doesn't help Mallory with any of the cleaning duties, either. She's practically worthless, as far as sisters go.
Unfortunately, that made parts of the book irritating. Even so, I still enjoyed the story line, and Mallory definitely had her hands full with trying to plan a wedding -- several times over -- and keep everyone happy in the process. Her relationship with Garrett is undergoing a few problems because of the ex, but she does try not to let it bother her. And yes, we do have Helene Pierce throwing her weight around occasionally -- I wish she'd just go away, too. I really abhor the 'evil nemesis' in books, almost as much as I abhor love triangles (and try to avoid books that have them).
But finding a killer isn't all that easy when there are so many suspects -- a houseful of them, actually -- and trying to figure out who had motive to kill the woman is difficult, especially when Mallory thinks that everyone loved the woman. But when it comes down to the wire, Mallory figures it out almost too late, and of course the murderer is apprehended (as we know they will be) and we're given a taste of what is to come next in the series. Recommended.
More on Stephanie Blackmoore's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/stephanie-blackmoore/
No comments:
Post a Comment