Murder on the Bride's Side

July 26, 2010
Loosely modeled on Sense and Sensibility, Kiely's pleasing second cozy to feature Jane Austen fan Elizabeth Parker (after 2009's Murder at Longbourn) may be short on plot, but is well populated with lively characters, in particular genteel Southerners. The morning after Elizabeth's best friend's wedding in Richmond, Va., the bride's aunt turns up with a knife in her ribs. Many members of the wedding party are suspect, but when a diamond necklace is found in Elizabeth's room, the police focus their investigation on her. For reassurance, Elizabeth looks to "Elinor Dashwood's almost transcendental calm in the face of chaos." Armchair sleuths will enjoy following the clues up to the surprising dénouement. The most shocking thing in this fun, featherlight read is that these Southerners persist in calling the bride's grandmother by her first name without the courtesy of a "Miss" in front of it.

August 1, 2010

A Jane Austen fan who's spent too much time with Sense and Sensibility tries to solve a murder at her best friend's wedding.

The friendship between no-nonsense Elizabeth Parker (Murder at Longbourn, 2009) and flighty Bridget Matthews dates back to their childhood. So it's no surprise when Bridget chooses Elizabeth as her one and only attendant at her wedding to Colin Delaney at Barton Landing, the Matthews family's Virginia mansion. Nor is it odd that Elizabeth and her beau Peter McGowan are invited by family matriarch Elsie to stay at Barton Landing—along with Bridget's parents Graham and Blythe, her aunt Claire and Claire's obnoxious husband David, and her wheelchair-bound uncle Avery and his gold-digging wife Roni—while other out-of-town guests are housed at the Jefferson Hotel. As at any wedding, tensions run high, especially after svelte wedding planner Chloe Jenkins confides in Elizabeth that she and Peter were once engaged. The stress escalates as Roni announces that she's just about persuaded Avery to sell the family business for oodles of cash. But it's her cruelty to her daughter Megan that pushes her stepson Harry over the edge, leading to a shouting match. Next morning, Elizabeth finds Roni stabbed to death. The Jefferson Hotel key card lying next to the body gives Elsie hope that the killer lies outside the family circle, but Detective Grant of the local police knows that too many Matthewses have too many motives for murder.

Less Elinor and Marianne Dashwood than Laverne and Shirley, Bridget and Elizabeth show little sense and less sensibility. 

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