VOWS OF MURDER

A bookstore owner’s last-minute wedding plans are complicated by dueling investigations into a local religious organization that may be a cult.

Most brides don’t dream of January weddings, but Jill Gardner, who’s already had to put off her vows with police chief Greg King twice, hopes the third time will be the charm. Of course, every day in South Cove, California, has all the charm to be expected from a cozy getaway town mixed with a little light magic of aura-reading and such. Since Greg’s mom has been too sick to travel until now, Jill is glad that Amanda can make the journey out for the wedding—at least, she’s glad until Amanda shows up a full week early. What’s Jill going to do with a mother-in-law she suspects may still hold a candle for Greg’s last relationship? But Jill, a can-do gal, gamely invites Amanda on all her pre-wedding errands. Jill even gets Amanda in to visit the New Hope community, a local group otherwise shrouded in secrecy and tight security. It’s not clear to South Cove residents whether the community, formally known as the Central California Society for the Advancement of the Mind and Body (“CCSAMB, or C-scam, as most locals called it”), is harmless or a cult. A distraught mother who’s lost her daughter to CCSAMB begs Jill for help and hopes to convince her to get involved. Though Greg doesn’t like Jill getting herself into trouble yet again, he’s diverted when newcomer Kane Matthews is killed. Do all trails lead back to New Hope?

Details may delight or distract in a series entry that pushes the main plot down the aisle.