DEADLY EVER AFTER

An unwelcome reunion with a former suitor has decidedly unsavory results for Outer Banks librarian Lucy Richardson.

A beachside engagement party for Lucy and her fiance, Connor McNeil, is marred by the unexpected arrival of Ricky Lewiston and his mother, Evangeline, the wife of Lucy’s father’s law partner, Richard Lewiston, who’s never given up her dream of Lucy marrying Ricky. Lucy is surprised and delighted to see her Boston-based parents, whose relationship with her has always been strained by Lucy’s preference for the Outer Banks. But everyone’s appalled to see Ricky, Evangeline, and her dog, Fluffy. The next evening, the two families share an uneasy restaurant dinner, made worse when creepy, litigious Gordon Frankland, one of Ricky’s clients who's also visiting the Outer Banks, comes to their table and drops some nasty hints. Then the body of Richard Lewiston is found outside. Lucy has a history with Detective Sam Watson, and although he warns her to leave this case to the police, he knows that his warning is in vain. Neither Ricky nor Evangeline, who left dinner early, has an alibi, but the unearthing of long-hidden secrets reveals plenty of other suspects. It seems Lewiston was deeply in debt, and his creditors included several mobsters. Lucy’s research, which turns up a possible illegitimate child and some doubts about Ricky’s parentage, also brings her to the attention of a determined killer. Over and above sleuthing and searching for a house she and Connor can afford in Nag’s Head, Lucy is stressed by having to take care of Fluffy, who's thrown out of the hotel for barking but turns out to be a heroine after all.

A comedy of misunderstandings and multiple motives makes for a happy read.