"Murder at the Wedding" By Christine Knapp: Review/Giveaway

Review by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Introducing…

Maeve O’Reilly Kensington is a nurse-midwife at Creighton Memorial Hospital in the seaside town of Langford, Massachusetts. She loves her job bringing babies into the world, even when the parents ask for mood lighting and music to herald their child’s birth. She’s married to Will, as in William Charles Kensington III, who instead of joining the family’s private equity firm opened a bakery and catering business, A Thyme for All Seasons. No children for the two of them, yet, but they have Fenway, a rescue dachshund that keeps them entertained. There’s a strained relationship with her in-laws, but she has a devoted older sister Meg, mother of a fourteen-year-old son and a successful real estate agent, and although she’s tried to bring a bit of fashion into Maeve’s life, it was to no avail. Maeve is just the comfortable sort. Her older brother really comes in handy as the Deputy Police Chief Patrick O'Reilly...just not in the ways one would prefer.


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Image Source Gemma Halliday Publishing
Murder at the Wedding
Earns 5/5 Fluted Glasses…Clever & Entertaining Gem!

The “Event” of the season is less about the wedding between Charlotte Whitaker and Brooks Hawthorne, and more about the impact it’ll have on A Thyme for All Season’s bottomline. Charlotte is the daughter of the chief of obstetrics at Creighton Memorial, a colleague/superior of Maeve’s, and he spared no expense to make the whole affair pink and perfect. Everyone was enjoying the celebration and the catered menu, surprisingly that included Will’s family, but, when the father of the bride rose to make his toast with champagne imported from France, it all went wrong…deadly wrong. Dr. Whitaker sips the liquid, turns scarlet, wheezes, and crashes to the floor. With a room full of hospital department heads, there was no loss of medical intervention, but the EpiPen is broken and CPR and a defibrillator were of no use. The father of the bride is dead, sure enough, and if the food is the culprit, Will’s livelihood and freedom are at risk. Ok, I know…priorities!

Debut Hit! Christine Knapp has greeted the world of fiction with an engaging first book in her Modern Midwife Mystery series. The mystery follows a traditional cozy formula, my favorite: an early discovery of the crime, main focus on the investigation, diverse cast of characters, juicy secrets, a surprise ending, and a theme that provides interesting details. With family issues all around, hospital drama from all angles, and challenges to the role of midwifery, there’s much to explore. Although Maeve attempts to use her familial connection to the police chief to get details and insights, it isn’t a given adding a layer of realism when dealing with law enforcement. Yet, the finger pointing toward Will’s catering crew would cause anyone to look closely at a crime, even if warned off. Maeve’s mission to uncover the truth is sometimes covert, other times out in the open, definitely a family affair with her sister, mother, and reluctant brother, and not without some scary danger.

Christine’s writing style is very entertaining with sensory laden description of the various environment, characters, and even the state of Maeve’s cookies and knitting. The banter does well to illustrate the different personalities, some good and some obnoxious. Each chapter begins with a tidbit about pregnancy and midwifery, and is filled with the interactions between midwife and mother, father, and a surrogate, sans any political stance, thank you.

Recipe! Enjoy making these delicious treats with these easy to-follow recipes: Will's Pasta Shrimp Salad, Will's American Chop Suey, Nora's Pot Roast, Mary Margaret Callahan O'Reilly's Date Nut Bread, and Maeve's Triple Fudge Cake.

Be a Big Fan of Christine Knapp!

For many years, Christine Knapp was herself a nurse-midwife, and now has taken that experience along with her passion for mysteries to write her first cozy mystery for Gemma Halliday Publishing.

Website: thoughtfulmidwife.wordpress.com

Be a Big Fan of Gemma Halliday Publishing!

Facebook—GHPublishing

Website—Gemma Halliday Publishing

To enter to win an ebook copy of Murder at the Wedding, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "wedding,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen July 23, 2022. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter.  If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you.  You can read our privacy statement here if you like.  

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode goes up next week.

You can use these links to purchase the book or click here. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

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