Source: Publisher
Description: Jill couldn’t love police chief Greg King more—so why does that engagement ring still feel funny on her finger? At least she’ll have a chance to show it off this Saturday at their engagement party. Just in time for the event, a new dress shop has opened in town, Exquisite Gowns for You, specializing in designer wedding gowns and other custom-fit dresses.
But Jill’s excitement turns to shock when she comes by to pick up her dress for the party and discovers a dead body in the shop. New owner Harper Sanchez is behaving strangely and becoming more mysterious than anyone expected. Despite Greg’s warnings to leave the case to him, Jill can’t help looking into the murder. Somebody in South Cove is dressed to kill—and if Jill’s not careful, she may not live to wear her wedding gown . . .
Genre: Mystery - Cozy
Why I Picked This Book: This is one of my favorite series and I'm always on the lookout for the next book.
My Impression: I think I might be in a bit of a mood because this is a the second book in a favorite series that I've a read in the last few weeks and the second book that just wasn't as good as I was expecting.
When a new character is introduced in a long running mystery series you know they're either going to be murdered or suspected of murder (and periodically actually guilty of murder) and this one is no different. Harper has opened a custom dress shop and while most people are excited vintage clothing shop owner and Jill's fiancé, Greg's ex-wife is making no secret of how angry she is to have a newcomer invading her turf as she sees it.
I enjoyed getting a bit more background info on Sherry. She's tough to like and the backstory didn't help me like her but it did help my sympathize with her. I also liked the development of Jill and Greg's relationship. Yes they've been together awhile but they've never really sat and worked out the details of how they are going to spend their future. They need to get a LOT better about communicating and at times Jill gets stuck in her own head which can get annoying.
The main thing that kept this book from being a winner with me was the weakness of the mystery. I did guess what was going on their pretty early and it lost a lot of page time because there was so much stuff going on in the characters personal lives. As well a character who is connected with the mystery's behavior is so bizarre that it makes the conclusion seem obvious as well as make me wonder how intelligent the character was.
Even the strongest series has some weaker titles and this is what I feel like happened here. I enjoyed visiting South Cove and Coffee, Books and More and seeing what was up with Jill, Greg, Emma, and everyone else.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Definitely! Even though this wasn't my favorite this is a series I always enjoy reading.
Would I Recommend this Book? I would recommend starting with an earlier book. Partly because this isn't the strongest book and partly because this series is so much better if you understand the relationships between the characters
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Would I Recommend this Book? I would recommend starting with an earlier book. Partly because this isn't the strongest book and partly because this series is so much better if you understand the relationships between the characters
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Man, that cover is super cute. Plus it has a dog on it, so it gets extra points from me!
ReplyDeleteI had the same thoughts as WendyW! Sounds like a good series and like you said, there are usually a few books in a series that aren't as good as you'd like.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind working out the mystery near the end but towards the front is not so good. At least you are willing to persevere with the series.
ReplyDeleteI have only read one of Cahoon's books but do want to read more. This sounds like a great series!
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