#Review / #Giveaway – The Final Vow by Amanda Flower – Great Escapes Book Tour @midnightinkbook

The Final Vow (A Living History Museum Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Ohio
Midnight Ink (May 8, 2017)
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0738745923
E-Book ASIN: B01LWKJTY7

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Barton Farm’s picturesque church is the perfect place for a summer wedding but the next wedding on the calendar is not one Kelsey Cambridge is looking forward to. The wedding planner Vianna Pine is a perfectionist but Kelsey can handle that, it the bridezilla she can do without. Krissie Pumpernickel, her ex’s fiancee is driving both Kelsey and Vianna crazy with her demands. Going so far as to ask the the flowers be removed from the gardens because they draw insects and have lights strung up the steeple. Vianna is bending over backwards to please her client but Kelsey has to think of safety and the farm’s credibility first, no matter what sort of tantrum Krissey throws.

When Kelsey is notified that there is a dead body by the church she hustles over to find it is Vianna. This sends the wedding, the wedding couple, and the bride’s family into a tailspin. They are more concerned about their special day than the dead wedding planner. Her death could mean that Barton Farm could be shutdown. Everyone including the board of trustees turns to Kelsey to solve their problems. They expect her to pick up where Vianna left off with the wedding, save the farm and find the killer since the police seem to think Krissey makes a pretty good suspect. Will the church bells be ringing or will the bride be behind bars??

Amanda Flower brings on the drama in this 3rd  Living History Museum Mystery.

Kelsey Cambridge has the patience of a Saint. Single mom, manager of Barton Farm, Eddie’s ex, meaning she has to stay on his and Krissey’s good side because they are rumbling about changing the custody arrangement, friend, daughter, girlfriend, amateur sleuth. She is juggling all these balls in the air and now we add wedding planner. When does this woman sleep? She also does all this with a smile on her face 99% of the time.

The characters in this series are so well crafted. They do leap off the page. The staff at the farm has each other’s back. They work well together and try to protect each other. At least most of them. We saw a different side of Eddie, he truly loves the woman he is marrying. Krissie, while not my favorite character by a mile brought so much to this story. She was almost beyond the term bridezilla. It is a diverse cast of characters and they are all very interesting and truly entertaining. I loved the addition of the Abraham Lincoln reenactor, played by a man who is a little to fond of alcohol. Krissie loved him too. It was a small part but he and Krissie’s reactions made me giggle.

As I said the story is full of drama including a terrifying twist at the end. There were so many turns throughout the story that as the story reached its peak I was totally surprised. The plot was very strong. In addition to the murder mystery some artifacts have gone missing from the museum’s storage. This means law enforcement spends a lot of time there. The pace of the story was very steady until the reveal, then my heart was beating rapidly and invisible steam was coming out of Kindle as I was quickly flipping pages.

For me this book was another Perfect Escape. Each story tops the one before. I can’t wait for the next installment.