OCTOBER 2020 - AudioFile
At the beginning of this audiobook, when Mallory Shepard discovers a lace veil purported to have been made by Betsy Ross, it sets off a chain of violence in Port Quincy, Pennsylvania, that culminates in murder. Mallory, a professional wedding planner, finds herself in the middle of the investigation, which threatens to get in the way of planning her own wedding. It is hard to imagine anyone other than narrator Christa Lewis voicing the 30-something former lawyer who delivers the first-person narration of the story. Using pacing to build and ease tension, Lewis keeps listeners hooked. She contributes significantly to the overall fun of the listening experience. V.M.G. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-07-14
A priceless veil, a disastrous battlefield reenactment, a wedding fraught with problems—it’s just another day in the life of a bridal planner.
Mallory Shepard’s given scant thought to her own nuptials, planned for the coming autumn, until she and a client visit the Antique Emporium, run by mother-daughter team Claudia and June with some help from granddaughter Pia. Bev Mitchell is making purchases there for her own big day, but she and Mallory discover a gorgeous veil hidden in a suitcase that they purchase jointly, and the sight of a stunning sundress immediately leads Mallory to thoughts of moving up her own wedding date. Then Helene Pierce, at one time Mallory’s future mother-in-law, rushes into the store to berate Claudia over her plans to join a Revolutionary War reenactment the town has planned and goes ballistic when she sees the veil, which she claims is a stolen family heirloom made by Betsy Ross. The police decide that Mallory can keep the veil in her safe at Thistle Park until the matter is investigated, but it’s stolen anyway. Worn out by her mother, who is suddenly pressuring Mallory for grandchildren, Mallory still has high hopes for the reenactment, but when the site is covered with heavy fog, Claudia is shot dead, and both Mallory’s fiance’s father and Bev’s intended are wounded, Mallory’s problems increase to the point of chaos despite her attempts at sleuthing.
A plucky heroine is overwhelmed by too many mysteries and too many stressful situations.
