Wedding Bell Blues

June 13, 2016
At the start of Moose’s busy, sometimes disjointed sequel to 2014’s Doing It at the Dixie Dew, Beth McKenzie, proprietor of the Dixie Dew B and B in Littleboro, N.C., receives an urgent call from homeless lady Crazy Reba, who claims she’s killed God. Meanwhile, the wife of missing Butch Rigsbee roars into town, determined to find Butch and whatever floozy he’s taken up with. Victims and suspects abound as Littleboro’s mayor, Calista Moss, tries to carry on with their First Annual Green Bean Festival, and Beth prepares for the wedding of her friend Juanita and Littleboro’s new police chief, Ossie DelGardo. In addition, a firebug appears to be on the loose. Stir in a little snooping and a hint of romance with musician-turned-handyman Scott Smith, whose ex has become a big-time singing star, and Beth has an overfull plate. Too much action in too many directions makes the plot difficult to follow, though the variety of personalities makes for a fun cast of characters. Agent: Gail Fortune, Talbot Fortune Agency.

June 15, 2016
Murder and mayhem visit a little North Carolina town.Beth McKenzie has returned from years up North to restore her family home and open it as the Dixie Dew Bed and Breakfast. Her high school friend-turned-lover, musician, and handyman, Scott, and her right-hand woman, Ida Plum, help her keep the place going, but it's a battle to continue the restorations. All Beth needs is a frantic call from Crazy Reba, the town's mentally troubled homeless woman, claiming she's killed God. Upon discovering Reba trying to revive a scrawny guy with not a mark on him, Beth is forced to call Police Chief Ossie DelGardo, a thorn in her side ever since they crossed swords in an earlier murder case (Doing It at the Dixie Dew, 2014). Beth has helped maintain the fiction that Reba, who sports a large fake ring, is soon to marry, but when she finds a Motel 3 key next to Reba's cellphone, she finds that the room has been taken not by the scrawny fellow but by Butch Rigsbee, a trucker for General Overnight Delivery (explaining Reba's idea about G.O.D). Ossie arrests Reba, but Beth, certain she's not guilty, adds sleuthing to her regular duties, which include catering the DelGardo wedding, helping out with the Green Bean Festival, and finding Robert Redford, her hospitalized neighbor's pet rabbit. When one of the festival judges dies at the Dixie Dew and Beth is threatened by Rigsbee's tough-looking wife, she has to dig deep to get herself and her friends out of trouble. Plenty of quirky characters and Southern charm don't quite make up for a scattered plot and a weak mystery.

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