Author: Vicki Delany
Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781639108793
Crooked Lane Books
288 Pages
$29.99; $17.99 Amazon
September 24, 2024
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Rudolph, New York shop owner Merry Wilkinson's best friend Vicky Casey is newly engaged to Chef Mark Grosse and is moving into the historic Cole House -- a home surrounded by drama, intrigue, and a possible haunting that is in desperate need of renovation. The wedding is just three weeks away, but all is not bliss for the newly engaged couple as estranged relatives of the late owner fight over her will. The, late one night, Vicky and Merry come across a dead body in the garden of Cole House -- and Mark is the one standing over the corpse.
As Detective Diane Simmonds focuses on Mark as the prime suspect, Vicky asks for Merry's help to clear her fiancé's name in time for the wedding. As they dig deeper into the connection between the house, Cole relatives, and town residents, past and present, it becomes clear that plenty of people wanted the victim dead.
With a bakery to run, the busy Easter weekend fast approaching, a house to renovate, and a fiancé to clear of a murder accusation, Vicky's wedding may end up on the chopping block. It's up to Merry to put aside the chocolate bunnies and stuffed rabbits and help her best friend save her wedding -- and her life.
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Merry Wilkinson lives in Rudolph, New York, deemed "Christmas town" and owns Mrs. Claus's Treasures, a gift shop. She's also best friends with Vicky Casey, who owns the local bakery. While talking with Vicky one day she learns that Vicky and her fiancé Mark Grosse, a chef at a local inn, are purchasing a long-vacant Victorian mansion that has been dubbed as haunted. Not wanting to say anything, she just congratulates her.
But then the troubles begin: a man accosts them in the street, claiming the Vicky stole the mansion out from under him and he is the rightful owner. Even though neither of them believes it, Vicky is a bit shaken up. Later Merry learns that Vicky -- and Mark -- have been hearing noises at night, more creaks than an old house should offer up. There's also knocking at both front and back doors -- but no one is there. After Mark arrives home from work, the women tell him, and he starts to search outside -- but not for long. A body is discovered, and Mark has the person's blood on him from trying to turn it over. Now he's a suspect in the murder, and Vicky asks Merry to help clear his name. But in doing so, will she once again put herself in harm's way?...
I have to be honest and say that I have not read every book in this series, but I wish I had. I love Ms. Delany's other series, and this book has the same charm as the others. It pulls you in at the beginning and makes you want to continue to read it all in one sitting. The characters are believable, the settings descriptive; so much so that I want to visit Cole House myself. I love Victorian homes, and I love old mysteries within mysteries, so this book was perfect for me to read.
I love the fact that the author managed to convey both sadness in the previous owners of the home while encouraging the happiness of a new couple who would be beginning their lives together soon. But will the wedding occur with the death hanging over them? It becomes apparent that this was a homicide, and Mark may have had a motive -- or did he? That's the pleasure of reading these stories. You are given a plethora of suspects, and then you must weed them out to find the true culprit. And, of course, Merry does -- as we know she will do.
The climax of the story is suspenseful, as it should be. There is nothing light about it; and it is not until the epilogue (last chapter) that we see the new beginnings come into focus. When we discover the reason for the killing it seems tragic at the very least; and it lets us see that almost anyone can be deranged in their thoughts. A definite plus for the ending. I am glad I read this and now will have to go back to the ones I missed and start all over. Highly recommended.
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Vicki Delany's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/vicki-delany/
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