Death Takes a Honeymoon

MBR Bookwatch, April, 2005

Deborah Donnelly

Dell

ISBN 0440241308 $5.99, 335 pp.

Wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid is going through a rough patch professionally and personally. Her Seattle based businesses "Made in Heaven Wedding Design" is not making much money and her relationship with her commitment phobic significant other Aaron Gold is strained. She decides to attend the wedding of her college friend Tracy West because of the business contacts she will make there as Tracy is a big Hollywood star and her parents know all the movers and shakes. When Carnegie learns her cousin died, she decides that the wedding is the perfect place to get some answers regarding his death. Although Carnegie wasn't close to her cousin Brian Theale, she wants to know if his death was an accident or murder. A professional who examined the body thinks he was murdered but the sheriff and the task force classified it an accident. Brian's fellow smoke jumpers who were with him shortly after he died will be at the wedding so Carnegie will have an easy time questioning the suspects. To her delight, Aaron comes up for the wedding and since he is a journalist with skills that are needed to question suspects, they team up to find out the truth behind Brian's death. The heroine becomes the de facto wedding planner for the West wedding which gives her easy access to the suspects and her determination to find out if the cousin she didn't like was murdered is laudable. Doing her job while trying to scope out a murderer leads to some very funny situations and the comic relief is needed because the tension throughout the storyline is as tight as a high wire. Deborah Donnelly is a very creative writer whose mystery series is refreshingly innovative and totally exciting.