ALL SIGNS POINT TO MURDER

An astrologer looks to the stars to help her solve the shocking shooting of a friend’s sister.

The Moon-Mars-Pluto connection Julia Bonatti sees in the sky on her friend Geneva Leary’s wedding day seems ominous enough, but the day turns out to be even worse. First, Geneva’s rebellious sister, Moira, delays the ceremony by mysteriously disappearing from the Sonoma County site moments before things are supposed to start. When Moira is located, she seems to be drunk and disoriented, and she’s not the only one in that state once the reception starts: wedding planner and type A organizer Sally Stark also appears to have used the time to cut loose and drink too much. The wedding guests, however, realize that Sally’s not drunk but in need of some sort of medical help, and she’s quickly rushed to the hospital. When the night winds down, Julia wishes she could return home, but after all the drama, she’s talked into staying over with a group of guests including Moira. In a commotion in the middle of the night, Moira is shot and killed, shocking the other guests and sending Julia into investigative mode. After all, Julia’s had some success looking to the stars to help her solve crimes (The Madness of Mercury, 2016), and perhaps her unique set of skills will help identify the motive that could drive someone to kill a woman barely making it on her own.

It would be great to report that di Marco hits her stride in this sophomore installment. But her failure to connect her plot more closely to her astrological premise leaves her story disappointingly flat.