A swarm of cliches threatens to overwhelm the latest in this long-lived cozy franchise.
Murder mars the opening of a summer wedding venue in Maine.
From Father’s Day through Columbus Day, the Snowden Family Clambake entertains visitors to rustic Morrow Island. This year, the Snowdens have added a new feature: Their historic family home, Windsholme, is now hosting catered events. Ceramic artist Zoey Butterfield takes advantage of her long-standing friendship with Julia Snowden to book the newly renovated mansion’s very first wedding, and Julia couldn’t be happier, or more nervous. Not only is she serving as host and event planner, but she’s Zoey’s maid of honor, and is therefore determined to make sure that her parentless, siblingless best friend has the traditional wedding she’s always dreamed of. The odds aren’t in Julia’s favor, though, since the storm forecast for the night of the rehearsal leaves only a narrow window to ferry 100 guests to the island for dinner, return them to the mainland for the night, and then get them back for the ceremony the next day. But the death of a guest at the rehearsal dinner makes the schedule even trickier. A handful of other guests, including Julia’s boyfriend, Tom Flynn of the Maine State Police, unexpectedly need to stay on Morrow Island, and the storm knocks out all the power, including cell service, so no one can contact the medical examiner. Worst of all, no one can identify the deceased guest: The groom’s family thought he belonged to the bride, and the bride’s family assumed he belonged to the groom. It’s hard to solve a murder when no one knows who the victim is or what he died from, but redoubtable Julia rises to the challenge.
A swarm of cliches threatens to overwhelm the latest in this long-lived cozy franchise.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9781496735737
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.
Stephanie Plum’s 31st adventure shows that Trenton’s preeminent fugitive-apprehension agent still has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, and needs every one of them.
The current caseload for Stephanie and Lula—the ex-prostitute file clerk at her cousin Vincent Plum’s bail bonds company, who serves as her unflappable sidekick—begins with two “failures to appear.” Eugene Fleck is suspected of being Robin Hoodie, who robs from the rich and, yes, distributes the proceeds to the poor. Racketeer Bruno Jug, who’s missed his court date on charges of tax evasion, is also suspected of drugging and raping a 14-year-old. But neither of these fugitives can hold a candle to Zoran Djordjevic, aka Fang, a self-proclaimed vampire wanted in connection with the gruesome fate of his late wife and three other missing women. As usual, Stephanie’s personal life is just as helter-skelter as her professional life as a bounty hunter. She’s managed to get herself engaged both to Det. Joe Morelli, of the Trenton PD, and Ranger, a former Special Forces agent who runs a private security firm; she thinks she may be pregnant; and she’s willing to marry the father, whichever of her fiances that turns out to be. On top of it all, her nothingburger schoolmate Herbert Slovinski suddenly pops up at one of the funerals she ferries her Grandma Mazur to, hitting on her relentlessly and gilding his importunities by cleaning and painting her shabby apartment and laying new carpet. Luckily, Lula’s on hand to offer cupcakes that stave off the worst disasters, and whenever this hodgepodge threatens to slow down, another FTA appears, or fails to appear.
As usual, Evanovich handles the funny stuff better (much better) than the mystery stuff.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781668003138
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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