Terror in Taffeta

January 4, 2016
When wedding planner Kelsey McKenna, the narrator of the pseudonymous Cooper’s entertaining debut, discovers bridesmaid Dana Poole passed out in a floral arrangement, it’s logical to think she drank too much at the bachelorette party, but Dana isn’t just hung over. Finding a murderer shouldn’t be Kelsey’s duty, but the mother of the bride, a momzilla extraordinaire, insists the crime falls under “dreadful, unforeseen situations,” and Kelsey decides it’s easier for her to become a snoop than to say no. Things are even more difficult because this is a destination wedding in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with very suspicious police officers Antonio Ortiz and Frank Nolasco and a multitude of potential suspects. Did ex-boyfriend Trevor Reckholtz hate the disagreeable Dana enough to kill her, or did someone outside the wedding group have reason to do it? When there’s another death, Kelsey and her helpful pal, Brody Marx, uncover hints of blackmail. Red herrings and intelligent sleuthing make this cozy a winner. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Agency.

May 30, 2016
The pseudonymous Cooper’s debut novel introduces Kelsey McKenna, a bright young San Francisco–based wedding planner, whose carefully crafted nuptial in the romantic Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende suffers a few unexpected setbacks. One of the bridesmaids is murdered, the sister of the bride is arrested for the crime, and the bride’s monstrous mother blames Kelsey for everything. The book is smart and witty, and respectable as a whodunit, but theater and television actress Nordlinger turns Kelsey’s self-deprecating narration into something even more delightful, a stand-up routine that is entertaining and often hilarious. Her version of the hapless wedding planner, in which she describes her awkward attempts at amateur detecting with a buoyant optimism, makes the misfortunes funny and charming rather than downbeat. The secondary characters, including a pleasantly snarky photographer named Brody, a couple of ill-tempered Mexican lawmen, a part-time smuggler who is almost a love interest, and the remaining wedding party, are all given distinctive voices. Yet they all sound a bit like Kelsey imitating them, which is appropriate, this being her breezy, amusing, fast-paced recollection of her first (and hopefully not last) planned wedding from hell. A Minotaur hardcover.

January 15, 2016
Last-minute jitters and a mother-of-the-bride-zilla are the least of a wedding planner's problems. A fabulous destination wedding has taken San Francisco-based wedding planner Kelsey McKenna to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Everything looks perfect until bridesmaid Dana Poole keels over dead in the middle of the ceremony. Kelsey does her best to smooth things over so Nicole Abernathy and Vince Moreno still have a near-perfect wedding, but when Nicole's sister, Zoe, is arrested for Dana's murder, Kelsey becomes a reluctant sleuth with the help of her wedding-photographer friend, Brody Marx. Dana was unpleasant to pretty much everyone in the wedding party, and when Kelsey finds and computer maven Brody unlocks a bunch of financial information she had hidden in a wedding present, lots of potential suspects are implicated. The police claim that Dana, whose room has been ransacked, was poisoned, and they're sure Zoe is the culprit. Since Nicole's mother considers her planner responsible for every aspect of the wedding, Kelsey is under considerable pressure to solve the crime, but the police ignore her information. While staying with a former boyfriend who has a house in San Miguel de Allende, she receives a threat warning her to leave town or else. Problem-solving is Kelsey's specialty, but is murder more than she can handle? This cozy debut introduces a competent new amateur sleuth whose profession is sure to provide myriad problems along with a cast of quirky characters and plenty of motives and red herrings that keep you guessing.

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February 15, 2016
Wedding planner Kelsey McKenna thinks her work is done at a San Miguel de Allende destination event; then a bridesmaid passes out. After sending the newlyweds and the rest of the party to the reception, Kelsey learns that the bridesmaid is dead. Police discover that the victim's room has been ransacked, and the bride's sister is arrested after poison is found in her belongings. The bride's mother, who at times skews stereotypical but at other times surprises, convinces Kelsey to work on finding the killer and proving her daughter's innocence. It's all a bit beyond her usual purview, but smart, caring Kelsey makes it work. The lush setting adds appeal, and the destination-wedding frame gives the tale a kind of locked-room dimension.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)