Search

Search only in certain items:

Honeymoon with Murder
Honeymoon with Murder
Carolyn G. Hart | 1988 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Annie and Max’s Marriage Gets Off to a Murderous Start
Annie and Max’s wedding turned out beautifully, despite Max’s mother’s attempts to hijack the ceremony. Their plans to leave the next morning on their honeymoon are sidetracked, however, when they get a panicked midnight call from Ingrid, Annie’s employee, friend, and matron of honor. Ingrid is cut off before they can get much out of her, so they race over to Ingrid’s cottage, where they find a dead body in the middle of her living room but no sign of the woman herself. The victim is Jesse Penrick, one of the residents of the cottages that Ingrid manages. With the police looking to Ingrid to arrest her for murder, Annie starts her own investigation to find and clear her friend. Can she do it?

I was very impressed with Max in this book. While he did grumble to himself a bit about the way these days played out, he showed his love for Annie by digging in and helping out. We get the usual assortment of colorful supporting players and suspects strong enough to keep us guessing. The wedding doesn’t really slow down the beginning of the book, and the mystery is strong. It kept me guessing until Annie put everything together at the end. I know the series is known for its mystery author name dropping, but it did get excessive at times. Also excessive was the foul language. Still, I did enjoy this book overall and look forward to Annie and Max’s next case.
  
The Decorator Who Knew Too Much
The Decorator Who Knew Too Much
Diane Vallere | 2017 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Did Madison Find a Dead Body?
It’s been seven months since we last saw Madison, and she’s been enjoying her new relationship with Hudson James. When he suggestions they take a working vacation to Palm Springs to help his brother-in-law with a project he has going on there, she accepts. However, their first day there, Madison spots a dead body below the surface of the river that runs near the project site. By the time the police show up, the body is gone. The delays to the project and the suspicion that Madison just imagined what she said she saw begin to make the trip stressful. How can Madison prove she was right?

As I expected, I was caught up in Madison’s latest adventure once I opened the book. The stakes are soon personal, and I loved watching how everything unfolded. The climax was suspenseful and answered all of our questions. We do get some updates on someone back in Dallas, but the focus is, naturally, on Madison and Hudson for this book. The rest of the characters are just as sharp. The Doris Day movie that inspired this title was the only one I had watched before starting to read this series, and I enjoyed picking up on the Easter eggs from the film in this book. Not that you need to be familiar with the film to enjoy this story. If you are looking for a creative series that will keep you glued to the page, this is the series for you.