Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496736048
Kensington Publishing
368 Pages
$15.95; $9.99 Amazon
June 28, 2022
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Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties -- for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister's fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there's nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business's profile.
Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day -- which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder...
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Courtney has a store named Open Your Imagination that sells fairy gardens and all things connected. She loves her life, and is even starting a new romance with an old friend. When trust fund baby Misty Dawn asks her to throw a birthday fairy party at her home for her and her sorority sisters, Courtney is all too happy to do so. When one of Misty's sorority friends comes to town, it is none other than actress Farrah Lawson, and more than one person is happy to see her again. The birthday is for their friend Odine, who has her own store in town.
While having tea in Courtney's fairy garden, Farrah wants to take everyone -- Courtney included -- for a spa day. While at the spa, Courtney hears a scream and finds Farrah almost hysterical. It seems the owner's daughter who was waxing Farrah's brows, accidentally caused a problem and Farrah is upset, to say the least. When her screaming stops, Misty assures her it is fixable. Contrite, the daughter wants to apologize. But before she can do so, Farrah is found dead in her rental home. And Twyla, the daughter, is the main suspect. Now Courtney, with the help of her own fairy, Fiona, is determined to find the true killer and pull Twyla out of danger...as long as she doesn't put herself in harm's way, right?...
This is the third book in the series and I have read them all. I find the interactions with the different fairies quite enchanting. It is almost as if you want to look around for your own fairy in your own garden. The book is written wonderfully, and the characters are fun to be around. Everything isn't going as well as Courtney would like, however; an old 'friend' from the past shows up and disrupts her life. Also, there's a thief running around the town, stealing small items, but stealing just the same, and no one seems to have a clue as to the thief's identity.
But Courtney has to make the birthday party magical, even without Farrah, so she and her friend Meghan and employee Joss set about creating a garden worthy of many fairies. What Courtney discovers in Misty's yard surprises her, but she continues on with her task.
As the book progresses we learn a little more about the fairies and the different types, and Fiona is learning more as well. The descriptions of Courtney's garden make me want to go to tea there myself, and spend an afternoon just enjoying it all. (If I didn't live where it was hot quite a bit, I'd probably have a garden myself).
But the suspects abound, and Courtney has a lot of alibis to sift through; and no one wants to be truthful about their whereabouts. This gives her pause and makes her wonder what everyone is hiding, and who is the most likely to be the murderer. It takes her time and much thought to figure it all out, and when she does, the climax is indeed worth reading about. Courtney can think on her feet, as it were, and I appreciate that in a protagonist.
When the ending comes, it all comes together wonderfully; and there is an epilogue that gives us a hint as to more of the fairy world, and teaser chapters regarding the next book (hurry, please!). Highly recommended.
I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Daryl Wood Gerber's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/daryl-wood-gerber/
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