Phyllis Newsom’s best friend & boarder, Eve, walks down the aisle for the fifth time. Shortly after the honeymoon, the bridegroom is brutally murdered & Eve is arrested for the crime. Naturally, busybody Phyllis must come to the rescue & save Eve from paying the penalty for someone else’s misdeed.

None of the characters are particularly appealing. Phyllis and Carolyn are bossy, gossipy, and prone to almost constant bickering. Phyllis’ significant other, Sam, is a pathetic caricature of an in-bred hillbilly whose cornpone lingo is simply nauseating.

The worst aspect of this book is the fact that the killer and the killer’s motive are obvious from the second the character is introduced. The author may as well have just had a marching band playing with a banner that said, “THE MURDERER HAS ARRIVED!” Once the murderer made a glaringly obvious entrance into the narrative, I immediately knew the who & the why of the crime. I didn’t see the need for reading any further, so I just skipped ahead to the final chapter, and—lo and behold!—I was correct. Not a lot of whodunit suspense to be had here, folks.

This is the second Livia Washburn mystery I have read, and I must say that Miss Washburn seems to have a serious problem subtly introducing the actual murderers into her storylines. In both books, Washburn really stumbles with making her villainous characters fly under the radar; instead, they sort of just clumsily trip onto the scene, flailing their arms in the air, shouting, “Here I am! I’m the killer, and here’s my motive!” It’s truly the one Achilles' heel a professional mystery writer should not have. ( )

It is almost Christmas in Weatherford, Texas, and retired schoolteacher Phyllis Newsom is busier than ever. After a whirlwind courtship, her long-time boarder and friend Eve Turner will marry her boyfriend Roy Porter on New Year's Eve. In addition to hosting the wedding, Phyllis is hosting Eve's bridal shower on Christmas Eve. Though she has misgivings about the speed of Eve's romance, Phyllis can see that Eve is happy with Roy.

After their honeymoon, the newlyweds settle down at a bed-and-breakfast nearby while they continue to search for a house. All seems to be going well until Phyllis's son, sheriff's deputy Mike Newsom, shows up at Phyllis's house, searching for Eve. It seems Roy has been murdered, stabbed through the throat with Eve's distinctive letter opener. The only fingerprints found at the scene belong to Eve, and she is promptly arrested for the crime.

Phyllis knows Eve, and she knows Eve would not murder Roy. It's up to Phyllis to clear Eve's name, despite the warnings of the district attorney to stay out of the case. At Roy's funeral, a private investigator shows up, hot on Roy's trail. It seems Roy was something of a con artist, and there are many people who may wish to see him dead.

I have read the previous books in this series, and this book was a slow read and a bit of a yawner for me. I figured out the culprit early on. There wasn't much action, and the reader never gets introduced to any other suspects in person except the bed-and-breakfast owners and the actual murderer. I liked most of the other books in this series, but this one was just so-so. ( )

Synopsis: Eve marries the man of her dreams, but less than a month later he's murdered. Phyllis and Sam have to figure out 'who done it'.
Review: This is a nice cozy mystery and it's nicely descriptive of the Weatherford area in Texas. The plot is not so difficult that you can't figure it out by about 3/4 of the way through the book. ( )

Another great whodunit solved by Mrs. Newsom! ( )

The rating for this fine book is more like 4.5 than 4. The best thing about this book, apart from a spellbinding finale, was the lack of too many suspects. In the last book I half thought Roy Porter, the future groom of Eve, was going to be the victim. Here, instead of cementing his place as a regular of the Newsome household, he keels over. Now I've read the blurb before reading, so I was pretty pumped for the story to reveal itself to me. My expectations were exceeded easily, as the case took on an unusual turn. With books like this, I'm amazed why cozies aren't ever on the New York Times bestselling lists. Shame on you men writers, being getting whupped by your female counterparts.

I liked how Sam Fletcher and Phyllis Newsome came to the solution of the murder together...Sam partly, Phyllis wholly. They make a really cute couple. They are quite believable. You get the feeling they are breathing inside these pages, waiting for someone to read them so that they can live. Maybe this book deserved 5 stars. And maybe there are 5 star books that would deserve, on a re read, less. I don't know why I'm holding back. Perhaps it's because I'm trying not to focus on the ending solely. This series is very consistent in its quality. I've struggled to established what I call a franchise. That is, a series of books that can satiate my reading appetite. I've made forays into thrillers written for men. But such a franchise has failed to establish. The women writers who have female heroes have the men beat. That's an affirming conclusion that grows in strength daily. More power to cozy writers. ( )