Tags
5 stars, Book Review, contemporary, dogs, mystery, Paula Munier, romance, series
Review of The Wedding Plot
The Mercy Carr series is one of my favorites in contemporary mystery. It features former Army MP Mercy Carr and her retired bomb-sniffing dog Elvis. They have retreated to beautiful Vermont’s Green Mountains to heal their invisible wounds after the death of Martinez, Elvis’s handler and Mercy’s fiancé. When U.S. Game Warden Troy Warner and his canine search-and-rescue partner Susie Bear meet Mercy and Elvis, the four form a partnership as they solve mysteries in Vermont while quoting Shakespeare.
The Wedding Plot is book four in the series. You can read it as a standalone. But I was glad to know the background of these characters going into this mystery. Why? Because there are soooo many characters. Blame it on the wedding, I guess. Remembering who is who proved to be a challenge. That is my only complaint though.
The complex plot is packed with twists and turns which leads to much guessing about who the bad guys or gals are. Favorite characters from the series each played substantial roles, not content with being relegated to the background. And the dogs are always in the thick of things, uncovering bodies, evidence, and untrustworthy individuals while they zero in on all the dog lovers at the wedding. I admit, the dogs are why I read this series. Trust a good dog to sniff out villainy while helping us find the best in people.
The wedding background inspired the author to start each chapter with a quote about love. It also had Mercy’s family hinting that she and Troy might be ready to get married themselves. I have enjoyed watching Mercy and Troy get to know each other while they navigated their own personal demons. Maybe, the time is just right for them?!
Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.
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About The Wedding Plot by Paula Munier
Love never dies a natural death…
When Mercy’s grandmother Patience marries her longtime beau Claude Renault at the five-star Lady’s Slipper Inn, it promises to be the destination wedding of the year. Just as the four-day extravaganza is due to begin, the inn’s spa director Bodhi St. George disappears—and Mercy’s mother Grace sends Mercy and Elvis to find him. But what they discover instead is a stranger skewered by a pitchfork in the barn on the goat farm where St. George lived.
As Mercy tries to figure out who the victim is and where St. George is hiding, the bride and groom’s estranged relations gather for the first of the pre-wedding festivities. Long-buried rivalries and resentments surface—and Mercy realizes that they’re all keeping secrets that could tear both families apart. When Elvis interrupts the escalating melodrama to alert Mercy to an intruder on the estate, she finds a wounded St. George in the cottage where she and Troy are staying. St. George is not who he says he is—but when he escapes from the hospital and disappears again, Mercy thinks he’s gone for good. With the wedding imminent and the families at each other’s throats, she decides finding St. George will have to wait.
The big day arrives—but the danger is far from over. With the families and the festivities still under threat, it’s up to Mercy and Elvis together with Troy and Susie Bear to stop the killer and save the bride and groom—before death do they part.
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