Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781643855844
Crooked Lane Books
304 Pages
$22.99; $13.99 Amazon
May 11, 2021
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Nina Fleet might be new to the innkeeping business, but she's savvy enough to know that Cymbeline's tourists aren't enough to keep her fledgling bed and breakfast going. And so, Nina decides to tap into the destination wedding market by taking a booth at the Veils and Vanities Bridal Expo. The twice-yearly event is sponsored by the town's two wedding pros: Virgie Hamilton, the sixty-something owner of Virgie's Formals, and Roxanna Quarry, a Gen X event planner and Nina's new friend. But everything goes wrong during the expo's fashion show, when Roxana comes tumbling out of an oversized prop wedding cake, strangled to death by her own scarf.
Virgie is arrested for the crime, thanks to Nina's statement to the police about having overheard the woman accusing her partner of embezzlement. Meanwhile, the situation grows tense with her sometimes nemesis and current tenant, the dashing out-of-work actor Harry Westcott. Harry is concentrating on plugging his most recent side hustle...but he's not too busy to break the news to Nina that her ex-husband is engaged to be married again.
Certain that Virgie's only offense is a bad temper, Nina decides to do her own investigating. First, however, she and Harry retrieve Roxanna's now ownerless dog, planning to foster him until a new home can be found. But local gossip soon convinces Nina that others beside Virgie might have had a reason to murder Roxanna. As Nina gets close to the truth, she's putting her own life at danger. And when Virgie vanishes after being bailed out of jail by an unknown benefactor, Nina fears that if she can't find the dress shop owner in time, tying the knot will take on a whole new meaning for them both.
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Nina Fleet owns a Georgia B&B in the small town of Cymbelline. Her constant tenant is Harry Westcott, an out-of-work actor whom she's allowed to live for free in the tower room, where he spent summers as a child when the large Queen Anne Victorian belonged to his late aunt. While her business is thriving, she figures it could always use help, and signs up to host a booth at the bridal expo, offering her B&B as a wedding destination where couples could be married in her generous garden. While there, she hears two contentious arguments: one between Virgie and a local florist, with whom she apparently has a past, and another between Virgie and her friend Roxanna Quarry, who owns an event planning business.
But when there is a gown finale, when the large cake is opened, Roxanna tumbles out, apparently strangled by the colorful scarf she was wearing. Now Virgie is the main suspect in the murder, and Nina refuses to believe she's guilty. What's worse, after she and Harry pick up Gustopher, Roxanna's orphaned dog, Nina goes to Roxanna's home the next day to return an ominous item she accidentally picked up. But when she finds the home trashed, she calls the police and now she's smack in the middle of the investigation whether she wants it or not.
Then she learns that her ex-husband is getting married again, to a woman half his age. While she doesn't love Cam anymore, the fact still sends her reeling, and to top it off, Harry discloses a long-held secret that doesn't help. Now Nina needs to find a murderer among a roomful of suspects, and put her own feelings on hold. Easy to say, but doing might be harder when things are beginning to change...
This is the third book in the series and I have to say that so far it happens to be my favorite. I enjoyed the last one quite a bit, but this book takes us a little bit more into the lives of Nina and Harry, and it explains some things about him; I've always felt that Harry is aloof, and this book gives us a hint as to his past.
When we look for the murderer, we learn more about Roxanna, and it's not nice. The persona that she showed Nina isn't the same persona she showed other people, and even though Nina finds these things out, she still wants justice for her friend.
When we finally discover the murderer and the reason for the killing, it's believable and the climax is definitely worth waiting for. Then, life for Nina can go back to normal, or maybe it won't...a delightful read, and I eagerly look forward to the next in the series. Recommended.
More on Anna Gerard's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/anna-gerard/
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