A high-end wedding on a private island off the coast of Seattle sounds like something out of a magazine. But for bestselling mystery author Kate Valentine, it’s more like a nightmare.
Why Kate agreed to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding is its own enigma, but she’ll plaster on a fake smile for two nights, with the aid of free champagne, naturally. And because the groom happens to be her editor, she’ll try to finish a draft of her latest Loretta Starling mystery as a wedding gift.
When the bride is poisoned and Kate stumbles across a dead body, she finds herself in a real-life mystery that eerily echoes the plot of her latest novel. And the only person who seems willing to help Kate catch the killer is Jake Hawkins, aka: the Hostralian; aka: Kate’s biggest romantic regret.
As the wine flows and the weather threatens to hold every guest hostage, bitter resentments and long-held grudges surface amongst the colorful crowd. Anyone could be capable of murder, it seems. What would Loretta do? Unfortunately, Kate doesn’t have a clue. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)
I loved this storyline. It was so well written and thought out, it flowed perfectly. I really enjoyed how the author wove the main character's current life into what has happened in the murder mystery books the character has written. I recently read another book that used this method and I find it to be such an incredible, yet intricate way to build the narrative of the story.
The setting on the private island during a major rainstorm was also perfect. It really set the mood for the macabre tone of the book, but also added to the mystery. The grand old manor that the cast was staying in for an exclusive blue blooded wedding weekend, was so easy to imagine and I loved all the details that were included in the descriptions of the home. It added so much to the overall feel of the setting.
All the characters were so different, yet I could not figure out who the antagonist would turn out to be. There were so many reasons to believe it was one person, and then boom, it turns out it couldn’t have been them. This one definitely kept me guessing until the very end. I could not read this book fast enough to find out which of the “suspects” actually turned out to be the killer.
I also enjoyed all the humor and wit in this book. The author did such an amazing job of creating well developed characters, it made it easy to get sucked in from the start. For the entirety of the story, I had a hard time deciding whom to trust and if I liked certain characters or not, which was kind of fun!
If you are looking for something that will keep you fully entertained from beginning to end, this is it! I will be adding this one to my list of favorites for 2025!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase She Doesn't Have a Clue here.
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