Marriage is Murder - A Posie Parker Mystery, Book 9

I did not realize it has been over a year since I read my last Posie Parker mystery.  I love this 1920s female sleuth, who shares the same last name as Mildred Wirt's teenage detective from the 1940s and whose name is the reverse of a certain American actress of today.  Author L.B. Hathaway has crafted a world and characters that draw you into the story so easily, and murder mysteries that will keep you guessing right up to the end!  The world Hathaway describes is so vibrant and real, it is so easy to picture in your mind, and the characters are so distinctive and well-rounded, that you cannot help but love or hate them (depending on what the story calls for).  When I got this ninth book in the series from Amazon, I will admit I was surprised at how thin it was - I did not realize when I purchased it that it was simply a novella - a short story that tells the story of how Posie Parker and Scotland Yard's own Richard Lovelace finally tie the knot.  But, of course there are some complications along the way...

 

Marriage is Murder?, and yes the question mark is a part of the title, is only 66 pages in length, but it sure packs a lot into those 66 pages!  It opens with what is supposed to be the most magnificent day of Posie Parker's life. With two previous fiances left behind, Posie is absolutely sure that Richard Lovelace is the one.  After all the dangers they have faced together solving quite a few murder mysteries, and now that they are adopting Katie, the little baby left behind with no family but Posie and Richard, there can be no doubt that the finest that Scotland Yard has to offer is the man who will finally become her husband. So, why, then, is she so nervous?  Is it simply pre-wedding jitters?  Or is a premonition that even the best laid plans never go off without a hitch.  And boy, is there a hitch or two (or three, or even four!) this time!

 

First, the flowers are wrong.  Posie arrives at the church to find yellow mimosa all over the place, instead of all of the white roses she had ordered and paid for herself.  Where did her flowers go, and who replaced them?  Then, who is that minister standing at the altar?  That's not Father Rene Hoffman, the French-speaking reverend who Posie and Richard had specifically hired for their ceremony.  And what in the world was that persistent knocking noise, that seemed to come from somewhere behind the minister?  And more important than any of those things, where in the world was Richard Lovelace?

 

It seems the mystery is one of a missing person.  Until they hear the faint cry for help from behind the wall in the cupboard.  Until the telephone call the Chief Inspector takes that provides a riddle as to Richard's whereabouts.  Until Posie goes racing off to find her betrothed, unaware of the guns being fired into the church sanctuary.  Until Posie arrives at Scotland Yard to find it completely empty - not just of law enforcement, but of all the criminals where supposed to be locked in their cells.  Until Posie discovers she has been tricked, led into a deadly game of cat and mouse.  Until she finally comes face-to-face with an old enemy, one she thought long dead - one who intends to make her his own wife and take her far away from England and the man that she loves. And that is when Posie does something she thought she would never have to do.  What is that, you ask?  Well, you really don't think I'm going to tell you and spoil it!

 

The story is a fun-filled romp from the blessed halls of God's house to the filthy boardwalk along the wharfs, with Posie running here and there and everywhere in her beautiful wedding down and veil.  Oh, and yes, this is the dead of winter, so it's freezing outside, snow on the ground, and a harsh snowfall raining from the sky.  As if things could not get any worse for poor Posie.  It's a thoroughly enjoyable read that flies by way too quickly.  It's a good thing I found a number of the remaining books in this series at my local used bookstore, because now I do not have to wait to receive them from Amazon in order to read the next book - I already have it in hand!

 

If you are not reading this series, you should.  You must!  Hathaway is an amazing author, her mysteries are perfectly plotted, and Posie Parker is definitely one of the finest female detectives out there - right up there next to Miss Marple and Nancy Drew!

 

RATING:  10 cases of mistaken identity out of 10 for a wonderful winter wedding murder mystery well worth the read! 

Dedication to Murder - the ninth Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery

I have been super fortunate to have made (online) friends with author Lauren Elliott, specifically in reference to her "Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery" series.  I follow her Facebook page and have shared all of my blog reviews with her as I have read through her series.  While not necessarily a fan of "cozy" mystery series, I have thoroughly fallen in love with Elliott's Beyond the Page series, as well as Lena Gregory's Bay Island Psychic series.  Both series have strong female sleuths, well-plotted and engaging mysteries, and characters that you can't help but be drawn into their lives.  Recently, I had the good fortune of winning a Facebook page contest, for which I received an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of Elliott's ninth book, which is not set to hit bookshelves until later this month (April 25th, if I recall correctly).  Elliott not only personalized my ARC, but she also sent along an autographed bookmark for her series, which I treasure now (and will use every time I read one of her books!).  So, since I had this treasure in my hands before the release date, I felt it only right that I open the pages and find out what kind of trouble Addie Greybourne gets herself into this time!

Dedication to Murder is definitely a game-changing book.  And when I say everything changes, I mean it!  Elliott definitely shocked the heck out of me with some of the revelations in this story, and after this one, there is definitely no going back.  Obviously, I'm not going to spoil those big shocks for you, but all I can say is that you better prepare yourselves.  If you have been a fan of this series from the beginning, like me, or even if you are a new reader who is just starting to get into the series, this one will rock you.

Elliott lulls you into a sense of security with the opening chapter, as Addie prepares to walk down the aisle and marry the man she has fallen in love with, Simon.  It's all sunshine and rainbows, and Addie is all aglow as she makes the last minutes plans for Pippi to be cared for while she and Simon are on their honeymoon.  The church is perfect.  The flowers are perfect.  The gown is perfect.  The day is perfect.  Addie's biggest worry is whether she left the price tag on the bottom of her shoes and did anyone see it.  Nothing could possibly go wrong!  Yeah, okay, right - this is a murder mystery series, after all, so what did you expect?  Did you really think the wedding would go off without a hitch?  In pure soap opera fashion, the minute the minister asks if anyone has any objections or knows of any reason why these two should not be married....

Well, from that moment forward, everything you ever thought you knew about some of these characters changes!  BIG TIME!

I so want to talk about those changes, but it would be unfair to those who have not read the book yet to spoil it.  But let's just say that the changes that occur have a major effect on two of the main players in this series, and both changes happen to center around the murders in this book.  Yes, murders, as in two - one in the present and one that is decades old.  And while Addie tries her best to keep her nose out of one of them, she has no choice but to focus her attention on the other - because it happens to be connected with a first printing copy of The Velveteen Rabbit that she finds in her attic.  A first printing that is inscribed to her great-aunt's granddaughter - which makes no sense, because as far as Addie was aware, her great-aunt had no children, which is why she left the house in Greybourne Harbor to her.  This leads Addie on a quest to solve a murder that happened over fifty years ago.

But don't think Elliott leaves her alone with that one mystery to solve.  Oh, no.  Soon enough, Marc comes calling on Addie to help him with the present day mystery - one that actually had its set up in the previous book when Addie was in Pen Hollow - and kudos to Elliott for setting that up (although, in all honesty, I knew some of the things mentioned in the previous book would come back into play, I just didn't realize it would be so soon!).  Just like in this book, it's obvious that there is a set up for a murder in the next book when Addie takes off for .... well, let's just say she's headed out for another great adventure!

I do love the idea of Addie's search for a killer from over half a century ago, and the solution did come as a surprise.  And the fact that the solution to that mystery also leads to the revelation of the killer's identity in the present - well, that was just icing on the cake!  Elliott did a magnificent job of tying the two murders together, all the while dealing with the fallout and drama of what is happening in the personal lives of these characters.  And if you thought this series had more than enough supporting cast, guess again!  Elliot introduces her readers to two new characters who are likely going to be around for a while - a young sixteen year old boy named Mason and Marc and Serena's young cousin, Nikki, who takes on a part-time position at Beyond the Page Books (and just in time, too!).  I look forward to seeing how these character mix things up (and how you know they will eventually be involved one way or another in some future murder mystery!).

This book literally has everything!  Two murders! A wedding!  Two long-hidden paternity revelations! A cover-up! A betrayal!  A rekindled romance! Lies! Secrets!  Basically everything a great soap opera has to attract viewers, this book has in spades!  There's so much I want to say about this story and some the things that take place (like the fact that with one event, it opens the door for something I've been wanting for a while to happen - whether it will or not, I guess we'll have to wait and see - the last book gave a very small hint that there was a possibility, and this book makes that possibility a reality, but we'll see what Elliott has in store).

If there's ever a book in this series to read, this is the one!

RATING:  10 first edition sets of Winnie-the-Pooh books out of 10 for rocking the reader's world with some of the most unexpected events all wrapped around a superbly-plotted murder mystery!