Murder at the Wedding

As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.

Everyone who’s anyone in the small New England town of Langford is at the wedding of Charlotte Whitaker, daughter of the chief of obstetrics at Creighton Memorial Hospital. Maeve Kensington, one of the hospital’s midwives, is among the crowd at the reception. She greets her wealthy in-laws, who disapprove of her, and she pops into the kitchen to encourage her husband, Will, who is catering the event. Every detail is perfection and no expense has been spared. But when the father of the bride is giving his toast, he suddenly grasps at his throat and falls. The Epi-Pen he always carries is defective and won’t work, and he dies, throwing the entire town into panic.

Maeve and her sister Meg are determined that they can put their heads together and solve this. Their older brother Patrick is head of police, but they ignore his pleas to leave it alone. After all, Will’s catering business is now in peril, and the acting head of obstetrics is trying to get rid of midwives at the hospital entirely. They use their own skills as well as small-town gossip to dig deeper, but their adversary is crafty and intelligent. Can they emerge unscathed?

Author Christine Knapp creates appealing characters that draw us into their lives. She does love descriptions–we learn what every character is wearing every time we see them, and we know how every room is decorated and what every garden is planted with. However, this didn’t slow things down as much as you might think, and it ended up adding a layer of visual attention to the story. The story also takes us into Maeve’s visits with pregnant and laboring women, and we enter into the joys and sorrows of a midwife’s daily rounds.

Murder at the Wedding is a really enjoyable read, with colorful characters and a gripping plot. I really like Maeve and Will, and I’m looking forward to reading more of the series. Highly recommended.