Full disclosure – I was provided an advanced reader’s copy of this book by the author or their representative but have voluntarily provided a review. All opinions are my own.
Wedding Bells Brew Murder is scheduled for an August 29,2023 release
Finally married…. Or not
For Sara Cain and Sean McKinley their wedding day was to be the end of a long wait. Having denied their feelings up until just recently for professional reasons, the pair have both resigned from the police force and are ready to live a life of happiness chasing their dreams with their beagle Magnum. This day should be perfect, but when Darlene Day stumbles into the bridal suite minutes before the ceremony with a knife in her back, Sara’s world comes to a halt. A murder at her wedding is just about the last thing she had expected, but with Day’s final word being “icing” the intrigue rises. Calling in an old friend from the local police force to investigate, Sarah hopes this will open the door for her to join the investigation. But with both her and Sean mere civilians, their assistance is neither wanted nor welcomed. However, not ones who are easily deterred, the pair launch their own down low investigation. Even under the threat of arrest, Sara will not be deterred, but is the culprit a culinary rival of the deceased or is this a revenge attempt from someone from their past.? Dodging the bad guys and the good guys both, the pair have their work cut out for them to apprehend the culprit before any other lives are lost.
Sara and Sean are back in this second cozy mystery from author Carolyn Arnold. Finally, having made it through hardships and loss during Bowled Over Americano, the couple are finally ready to tie the knot in a meticulously planned ceremony surrounded by all their friends and family. But when the cake maker comes up murdered, their big day turns into a crime scene, and they try to unravel the clues to catch a killer. To make matters worse, the lead detective on the case seems to have a long-standing personal grudge against the pair due to a seemingly unrequited crush. Even this does not deter the almost-newlyweds and Sara in particular as she resolves to investigate the murder alongside the police whether they condone her actions or not. With the crime scene and suspects basically confined to the wedding venue, Arnold has crafted a “closed room” murder mystery that is not as easy to unravel as the reader may think. After following the duo in Bowled Over Americano and now with the events unfolding as it has in Wedding Bells Brew Murder, it is easy to imagine this couple establishing their own private detective agency going forward to investigate murder and other situations in a way that the policy force can’t.
If you are a fan of cozy mystery or police procedurals and love stories that jump off the page with their cast of easily relatable characters and situations, Wedding Bells Brew Murder will delight. And if you are new to this series, check out Bowled Over Americano, the first book for Sara and Sean’s origin story.
Jennly Reads 