Wedding Bell Blues
Jill couldn’t love police chief Greg King more, so why does that engagement ring still feel funny on her finger? At least she’ll have a chance to show it off this Saturday at their engagement party. Just in time for the event, a new dress shop has opened in town, Exquisite Gowns for You, specializing in designer wedding gowns and other custom-fit dresses.
But Jill’s excitement turns to shock when she comes by to pick up her dress for the party and discovers a dead body in the shop. New owner Harper Sanchez is behaving strangely and becoming more mysterious than anyone expected. Despite Greg’s warnings to leave the case to him, Jill can’t help looking into the murder. Somebody in South Cove is dressed to kill, and if Jill’s not careful, she may not live to wear her wedding gown.
The Details
Series: A Tourist Trap Mystery – Book #13
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Genre/Category: Cozy – Book Store/Wedding
Publisher: Lyrical Underground
ISBN: 1516111087
Page Count: 185
Rating: 
The Review
This series has always given me issues: namely, the main character, Jill. I don’t like her all that much, and Greg isn’t much better. However, Wedding Bell Blues makes Jill more human and somewhat more of a pain. Buying a gown for an engagement party shouldn’t be as tricky as Jill makes it, and being her best friend and maid of honor isn’t filled with joy. When a body shows up in the new dress shop, Jill is on the case once more, or is she using it as a distraction.
Jill, Greg, and Aunt Jackie all return in this new addition to the “A Tourist Trap Mystery” series. What should have been the best time of her life has Jill wondering and worrying if she is ready for marriage instead of looking forward to her wedding day. Greg is busy trying to prove to her that everything will be fine, and Aunt Jackie is still keeping an eye on what Jill looks like to the point of being downright rude. However, when Greg’s ex is named a suspect in the murder of a gown maker, Jill reluctantly sets out to prove her innocent.
There are twists and turns throughout this story. Plenty of suspects and red herrings to keep readers entertained, even if some of them are far too obvious. I enjoyed the gown/dress shop as the setting. I like the story of the wedding prep, Jill would not be the first bride who second-guessed everything, but we get to see her slowly (perhaps a bit too slowly) come to terms with the future. Unfortunately, I knew how this book would end as soon as the body was discovered. The killer came as no surprise, and the reason for the entire mystery was evident almost from the beginning.
Overall, Wedding Bell Blues is a fun, easy read that fans will enjoy. The engagement gown Harper, the new shop owner, creates for Jill sounds beautiful. Watching Sherry get some of what she usually dishes out was priceless. Some things in this book and series could be better, but in general, the book holds true to the series and gives readers a few hours of enjoying someone else’s life with just as many, if not more, problems than their own.
The Author
Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho ex-pat. She grew up living the small-town life she now loves to write about. Lynn started her career writing sweet contemporary romances with heroes ranging from cowboys to warlocks. An over ten-year breast cancer survivor, she lives with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi River, where her imagination tends to wander.
Read more books from Lynn Cahoon’s delightful series, such as A Pumpkin Spice Killing from the “A Farm-to-Fork Mystery “ series or Two Wicked Desserts from the “A Kitchen Witch Mystery” series.
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