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lynguy1's review
4.0
Wedding Bells Brew Murder by Carolyn Arnold combines police investigation and sleuthing in this story filled with humor, a murder, a wedding, and inquisitive characters. It’s Sara Cain and Sean McKinley’s wedding day. When Sara opens the bridal suite door, Darlene Day, who make the wedding cake, falls into the room with a knife in her back.
Sara and Sean were homicide detectives for Albany, New York police department until recently and can’t seem to let go of their investigative instincts. However, they’re in Sara’s nearby hometown of Cotton Spring Falls and the lead detective isn’t being cooperative when they want to do their own sleuthing. With over 400 guests, this is a closed-community center mystery instead of a closed-room mystery.
Sara is smart, independent, grounded, and has faith in humanity. Sean is more guarded and skeptical, but he’s also positive, confident, and charming. For those who read book one in the series, Magnum is back. Sara and Sean have adopted the beagle and he shows up frequently in this story.
Once again, there are multiple story arcs to follow in this novel. Why was Darlene murdered? Was this a murder of opportunity? Did the killer a history with her or did she witness something and someone else was the intended victim?
The story flows well and includes a couple of suspenseful scenes. The plot is good, but I was disturbed by the main characters’ tendency to go into crime scenes when they shouldn’t. Nevertheless, I was drawn into the investigation. One thing that stood out to me is Sara’s and Sean’s sense of purpose for finding justice for victims. How will that ultimately play out in their lives since they are no longer police detectives?
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which was engaging, entertaining, and humorous. While it’s very different from the other series I have read by this author, I found the writing style relatable, vivid, and irresistible. This is the second book in the series but enough background is given that this novel can be read as a standalone.
Hibbert & Stiles Publishing Inc. and Carolyn Arnold provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for August 29, 2023.
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My 3.78 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.
Sara and Sean were homicide detectives for Albany, New York police department until recently and can’t seem to let go of their investigative instincts. However, they’re in Sara’s nearby hometown of Cotton Spring Falls and the lead detective isn’t being cooperative when they want to do their own sleuthing. With over 400 guests, this is a closed-community center mystery instead of a closed-room mystery.
Sara is smart, independent, grounded, and has faith in humanity. Sean is more guarded and skeptical, but he’s also positive, confident, and charming. For those who read book one in the series, Magnum is back. Sara and Sean have adopted the beagle and he shows up frequently in this story.
Once again, there are multiple story arcs to follow in this novel. Why was Darlene murdered? Was this a murder of opportunity? Did the killer a history with her or did she witness something and someone else was the intended victim?
The story flows well and includes a couple of suspenseful scenes. The plot is good, but I was disturbed by the main characters’ tendency to go into crime scenes when they shouldn’t. Nevertheless, I was drawn into the investigation. One thing that stood out to me is Sara’s and Sean’s sense of purpose for finding justice for victims. How will that ultimately play out in their lives since they are no longer police detectives?
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which was engaging, entertaining, and humorous. While it’s very different from the other series I have read by this author, I found the writing style relatable, vivid, and irresistible. This is the second book in the series but enough background is given that this novel can be read as a standalone.
Hibbert & Stiles Publishing Inc. and Carolyn Arnold provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for August 29, 2023.
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My 3.78 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.
constantreader471's review
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up for a book with flaws. I have read and enjoyed other books by this author. However, this book had flaws that upset me. I am retired law enforcement and attended required training sessions on handling evidence in order to safe guard the chain of custody. Sara and Sean are ex police detectives. They are about to be married when their wedding cake caterer is murdered. They notify the police but enter the crime scene despite the police detective telling them not to do so. They actually enter it twice and the detective arrests them the second time. This disregard for proper evidence procedure is upsetting to me, especially since they are former police officers and would be trained in evidence handling.
They do solve the murder, but the potential for a defense lawyer to get his client off by accusing them of planting evidence would be a possibility in the real world. Sean and Sara impress me as being entitled and foolish. I won't read any more books in this series. Fans of Carolyn Arnold and/or cozy mystery fans might like it if you are not bothered by Sean and Sara's unrealistic behavior.
Thanks to Hibbert & Stiles Publishing Inc. for sending me an eARC through NetGalley.
#WeddingBellsBrewMurder #NetGalley.
Update August 29, 2023: My wife, who is a big fan of Carolyn Arnold's books, has just finished this book and is very disappointed in this book. She rates it 2 stars. She has read 26 books by this author and I have read 7. She says that this book is not up to the previous standard of writing in the previous books by Arnold. The style of writing bothered her more than the crime scene issue.
They do solve the murder, but the potential for a defense lawyer to get his client off by accusing them of planting evidence would be a possibility in the real world. Sean and Sara impress me as being entitled and foolish. I won't read any more books in this series. Fans of Carolyn Arnold and/or cozy mystery fans might like it if you are not bothered by Sean and Sara's unrealistic behavior.
Thanks to Hibbert & Stiles Publishing Inc. for sending me an eARC through NetGalley.
#WeddingBellsBrewMurder #NetGalley.
Update August 29, 2023: My wife, who is a big fan of Carolyn Arnold's books, has just finished this book and is very disappointed in this book. She rates it 2 stars. She has read 26 books by this author and I have read 7. She says that this book is not up to the previous standard of writing in the previous books by Arnold. The style of writing bothered her more than the crime scene issue.
amomthatreadsbooks's review
5.0
I loved this cozy mystery! Something about it reminded me of Psych which is still a favorite show of mine. I think the fact that the two focus characters were detectives helps and then add to that we jumped into the murder within a few chapters and it kept rolling effectively from there. No breaks for little things like eating and all that which would be in your typical cozy mystery.
karen_the_baroness's review
5.0
In Wedding Bells Brew Murder by Carolyn Arnold, we celebrate Sara and Sean's wedding.
Who killed Darlene? What is in the icing?
Sara and Sean
Sara Cain can't wait to begin her new life as Sara Cain-McKinley. Except that might have to wait as it's minutes before she's about to walk down the aisle when Darlene, the baker, comes to her suite with a knife in the back. Sara reluctantly pauses her wedding to figure out what happened to Darlene Day. I have to say that I liked Sara even more in this book as she has to get used to doing things without a badge. Another thing that I liked is how she was able to solve the case faster than the guy she called in.
Much like Sara, Sean McKinley can't wait to get married but wants the case solved mostly because everyone at their wedding is a suspect, including them. He can look at the case levelheaded, unlike Sara, but not by much. Sean is a great detective, even without a badge, and is able to rifle through clues they find that help them find the culprit.
I have to say that I liked seeing the two of them working together without their badges, as it was great to see. Especially with Magnum in tow with them.
The Mystery
We have several mysteries to weed through this time. The first is who could have killed Darlene and why? Could it be that she didn't want to sell her bakery to them, or did she hurt someone else in the past that they never thought of? It could have been multiple reasons why, especially some of the villagers who wanted change but not her. The second mystery is what is wrong with the icing, and could it be that Darlene wasn't the intended victim but Sara and Sean themselves? Then there is the third mystery of what happened with some of their security detail for their wedding.
I have to say, even with all of these mysteries, I could follow along quite well, and I figured it out. Granted, I figured out the main one but not so much the other. Let's hope Sara and Sean can have a lovely honeymoon without finding a dead body.
Five Stars
I am giving five stars to Wedding Bells Brew Murder by Carolyn Arnold, and I'm recommending it as well. Ms. Arnold has a great series, and I love these two characters. Sara and Sean are a great team as detectives and lovers. I hope that they get a bit of a married life before finding any more dead bodies, except I think that these two actually like being able to solve mysteries despite not being police detectives anymore and running at least some of their thirty-three companies.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Wedding Bells Brew Murder by Carolyn Arnold.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
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