SLAY BELLS RING by Nancy Robards Thompson

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Holiday

4****

Blurb: It’s one thing to write a mystery, but when your daughter is the suspect — you solve it. Wedding planner Jenna Bell doesn’t panic when the groom is a no-show to the ceremony – even though he is her former high school sweetheart and this wedding is the small town’s event of the year. However, when he turns up dead and she is falsely accused… well, yeah, now it’s the time to panic. Jenna’s mother, Maddie, puts her cozy mystery writing skills to use to try to clear her daughter’s name, stepping on by-the-book Chief of Police Jackson Bradley’s toes in the process. No matter how enticing he finds her, he doesn’t want this writer-turned-amateur-sleuth interfering with his murder investigation. With nearly all of Hemlock, North Carolina, picking sides and the town’s own Gossip Brigade churning out the rumors, Maddie discovers the mystery isn’t very cozy when it hits this close to home.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this cozy. The characters are realistic and believable, as are their conflicts and issues. Jenna has moved back home and lives in a downstairs apartment with her mother upstairs. Her mom runs a bridal gown business and Jenna runs a wedding planner business. Since the two complement each other, they work out of the same office. They’re working on the biggest society wedding the town has ever seen. 

And then trouble rears its ugly head when the drunk groom shows up at Jenna’s claiming he’s still in love with her (they dated at one time). She takes him home but when he fails to show up for the wedding, she sends her mother and his father to get him – and they find him dead.

There are a lot of suspects and it turns out that the golden boy wasn’t so golden. And Jenna’s mom and the chief of police are in tight with each other since she depends on him for his expertise when she’s writing her book. There’s a lot going on in this book, but it’s a good start to what I know is going to be a decent series. I can foresee interesting things happening for Jenna and her mom Maddie. Note: This story is written in first person from both Maddie and Jenna’s point of view, but the author delineates who is the lead with headings so you know. 

Recommended.

Disclaimer: All opinions in this review are mine and mine alone. I was not coerced or asked to write a review, nor was I influenced by anyone or anything.