Flashback Friday – Bodice of Evidence by Nancy J. Parra – #Review/ #Giveaway

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Shopping for a wedding dress is supposed to be fun but it can be quite stressful to find the “perfect” dress. Pepper knows shopping with her sister, Felicity, for her dress is going to interesting but she never expected that when they arrived for their last appointment the shop’s owner would be dead. Dead, as in murdered in the alley behind the boutique. They had arrived a little late and Pepper feels if they would have been on time they could have saved the woman. But they also could have become collateral damage. She just can’t help doing a little investigating on her own and that could end no where near perfect.

Pepper’s business sounds like a really great job. Her business, Perfect Proposals, sets up events for the perfect engagement proposals. It is always a surprise to the party being proposed to. It can be a proposal while skydiving, or at a movie theater, or anything the couple likes to do. Pepper wants the proposal to be special and she works hard to make that happen. Her business is taking off now that people have heard about her sister’s proposal. The whole family dynamic rings so true for me. I love her mom, very opinionated, and dad, knows when to back off, the sister, a little over the top.

I really enjoyed this story. A little twist has the detective in charge of the case actually happy with the information Pepper is providing. The suspects all seem to be family, an employee and her boyfriend, but Pepper just can’t figure out why they would want the woman dead. She is determined and goes back to the shop several times trying to get the answers she needs. I liked the way she handled it though, she always had a good reason to be there, dress fitting, payment on the dress, etc. And she purchased one pricey maid of honor dress! good thing they had a payment plan.

The mystery itself was well written and entertaining but I enjoyed the Perfect Proposal planning and events just as much. Together there was always action and drama making the pages absolutely fly.

It should be noted that while Nancy J. Parra is the name on the cover, Nancy, who also writes as Nancy Coco and Julie Hyzy, of the Manor House Mysteries, work in conjunction to write this series. I enjoy their other series’ so it is not a surprise to me that enjoy their writing together as well. The know how to set the scene, create realistic characters, and put them in drama filled situations. The also know how to add the perfect amount of humor to their stories.

This Perfect Proposals Mystery is a perfect escape!