Murder of a Mail-Order Bride (A Love Is Murder Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Ohio
Berkley (August 2, 2022)
Mass Market Paperback : 272 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593201582
ISBN-13 : 978-0593201589
Kindle ASIN : B09HT9KWZW
When real life starts mimicking the plot of one of the romance books that line the shelves in her bookstore, it’s up to Lizzie Hale to catch the killer, in this riveting new Love is Murder mystery.
Lizzie Hale thought mail-order brides existed only between the pages of the historical romances she stocks in her bookstore, Love Under the Covers. But when not one, but two local men introduce her to their respective new wives, she’s forced to reevaluate that notion.
Lizzie is surprised when Al Little, the owner of the local hardware store, asks Lizzie and her aunt Charmaine to help Svetlana, his new bride straight from Russia, to settle into Tinker’s Creek, but they agree.
Everything is going swimmingly—until a wrench gets thrown into their plans when Svetlana is found drowned in the creek.
With Al’s suspicious best friend—who has his own mysterious mail-order bride—and the secretive matchmaker who put them together, Lizzie’s got more suspects than she knows what to do with. But she’ll have to nail down who the killer is fast, before someone else winds up dead.
Dollycas Thoughts
Love Under The Covers owner Lizzie Hale is surprised to learn that two local Tinker’s Creek men had done something she thought only happened in historical romance novels on the shelves of her store. Local contractor Dan Cameron has been married to his Russian mail-order bride Galina for a couple of years. Now, Al Little, the owner of the hardware store is expecting his mail-order bride Svetlana very soon. He has asked Lizzle and her aunt Charmaine to help him welcome her to town and soon Charmaine is planning their wedding and Lizzie is the maid of honor.
Things seem to go off with a hitch until the bride is found drowned in the creek.
Lizzie comes up with plenty of suspects but Al thinks Dan Cameron may have killed Swetlana to cover up something about his own marriage. Lizzie has Dan and his wife on her suspect list too so she is going to find the killer as quickly as she can and stop the craziness that has come to Tinker’s Creek.
I really like Lizzie, she is such a fun protagonist and she has to be with all her Aunt Charmaine’s antics. She does get a little distracted though when Park Ranger Max Alvarez enters the picture, in person or in her daydreams. Their relationship is definitely moving in the right direction. Charmaine has an opinion on everything and feels free to share it at will including every bit of gossip she hears around town. All the main characters are developing nicely.
The supporting cast is full of the type of people you find in any small town. Some are reserved and quiet and others are quirky as can be. The new characters introduced came to life very quickly. I think Lizzie’s “large dog of questionable parentage” Violet was featured more in this book than in the first. I love how Lizzie has grown so attached to her.
The mystery plot is tightly adhered to the romance subplot. At times the romance gets more attention than I normally like in my cozies mysteries but this author is a pro at twisting plot lines together. I enjoyed that history was brought into the mystery along with an item that set things in motion. The twists including some misinformation were placed well and set up an exciting ending.
Murder of a Mail-Order Bride
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About the Author
Mimi Granger began her publishing career writing historical romance. Many years later, there’s still nothing she likes better than a happily-ever-after…as long as there’s a little murder and mayhem thrown in. Her Love is Murder mystery series provides the perfect opportunity to salute the two genres she loves most—romance and mystery—and to play out every reader’s dream of owning a fabulous bookstore. Mimi lives outside of Cleveland with her own personal romance hero and two dogs: Eliot, an enthusiastic Airedale, and Lucy, who provides the inspiration for Violet in her stories (including the incredible amount of shed fur).
Mimi Granger is a pseudonym for Connie Laux and writes as Kylie Logan. Lucy Ness, and Casey Daniels too. She is the author of the League of Literary Ladies Mystery series
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Sounds very interesting. Added to my wishlist.