Brenda H. (booksinvt) - , reviewed on 5/8/2016 + 465 more book reviews

Engaged in Death is the first in the new A Wedding Planner cozy mystery series. Mallory Shepard is struggling hard to become a partner in the law firm of Russell Carey and trying desperately to regain control of planning her wedding to fiancé Keith Pierce.

Mallory "Mall" is having a difficult time getting along with soon to be mother in law, "Hurricane" Helene Pierce. Not quite up to Helene's societal expectations, the woman is doing everything she can to make Mall's life miserable. The only saving grace is Keith's grandmother Sylvia who can't stand Helene either.

Just three weeks before her nightmare of a Country Club wedding in Port Quincy, Pennsylvania, Sylvia suddenly passes away and Mall receives an unmarked envelope containing pictures of Keith in a compromising position with his mentee Becca Cunningham. Calling off the wedding to her cheating fiancé, Mall isolates herself in a hotel room until her sister Rachel appears on the doorstep. Mall is determined to attend Sylvia's funeral and following an ugly confrontation with Keith and Helene at the service, she and Rachel visit Garrett Davies, the executor of Sylvia's estate who had been leaving frantic messages on Mall's cell phone. It seems that Syliva has deeded her mansion, Thistle Park to Mallory.

Thistle Park has been abandoned for the past 4 years while Sylvia was ensconced in the nursing home and the house has gone to ruins. With nowhere else to go, Mall and Rachel move into the home in hopes of fixing it up to sell. There's quite a lot of interest in the mansion and it's land, Lonestar Energy wants to buy the property, raze the house and install drilling wells for fracking, Helene and Keith want the house to sell to Lonestar, and there is a shroud of mystery regarding paintings there were purported to be hidden in the house by Sylvia's mother, Evelyn McGavitt.

Sylvia had been adamant that she did not want the fracking company on her land, and Mall is determined to adhere to the elder woman's wishes. Instead, she and Rachel begin to fantasize about fixing up the mansion and turning it into a B&B that caters to wedding parties.

When Lonestar rep, Shane Hartley turns up dead in their front yard, Mall and Rachel set off on a whirlwind adventure to find the man's killer. Someone is determined to scare the girls away from the house, leaving threatening messages on their walls, and sabotaging their car. When another dead body turns up in the kitchen, the girls seriously begin to question their plans for the future.

A delightful cast of characters includes next door neighbor Garrett, his daughter Summer and his father Truman, who also happens to be the Chief of Police. The girls quickly make friends with local historian Tabitha Battles and seamstress Bev Mitchell. Nobody in town is fond of Helene or her son Keith and soon the girls discover that the locals are routing for her to keep the mansion out of their hands.

A fun filled mystery with separate plotlines that all tie together nicely in the end. A family of cats and a hint of romance. Definitely looking forward to the next in the series Murder Wears White releasing in 2017.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am more than happy of offer my honest opinion.

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