When I last dropped in on Jill Gardner, she was reeling after discovering a body when stopping to pick up a party gown, only to discover the person she thought had been killed alive and well soon after. This visit there's another body. Thankfully, Jill didn't discover it this time. Instead, the unidentified man sort of fell into the police station, I guess saving the police a trip to a murder site. It's this event that cuts Jill and her detective boyfriend Greg's vacation short.
The body remains unidentified throughout much of the book but the suspects are numerous and the side-stories intriguing. Are they related? It's unclear. Somehow it all seems to be related to one of Jill's shop workers, distracting her once again from wedding planning. Gee, will Jill and Greg ever manage to walk down the aisle? Author Lynn Cahoon remains a must-read for me, so I'm sure I'll be on the wedding invitation list, right?
I like Jill and Greg, who worries about her but without being overbearing, and the cast of supporting characters. I was definitely intrigued by Judith, a fill-in bookshop hire. Btw, as a bookaholic myself, I did have to laugh at Jill's idea that a heavy book in hand was better than no weapon at all. She even manages to stay out of danger's way, well, mostly. It wouldn't be a cozy mystery if our amateur sleuth wasn't in peril at some point, after all. That said, she does have the knack of being in the right (wrong?) place at the right (wrong?) time and is instrumental in discovering the identity of the dead man, not to mention his possible connections to others. She even gets to visit a shrine of sorts to actress Vivian Leigh in the process, which made me curious as she describes what she's seeing. Lynn Cahoon always manages to come up with intriguing characters to whet our curiosity.
Bottom line, an easy, interesting read with fun characters, mysterious bodies, reclusive wives, plus civic issues that also occupy Jill's time. I'm already looking forward to the next visit. Thanks #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for inviting me to catch up with Jill, Greg, and the rest but, oh, we can't forget, their dogs.
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