Review: Murder on the Bride's Side by Tracy Kiely

Amateur sleuth Elizabeth Parker is at it again. Readers were first introduced to this clumsy, Austen-quoting character in Tracy Kiely’s debut novel, Murder at Longbourn. In the second book in her series, Murder on the Bride’s Side, Kiely brings Elizabeth, her detective skills, and her boyfriend, Peter, to Richmond, Virginia for her best friend Bridget’s wedding.

From the onset, death is all around. Between Bridget’s dream and her grandmother’s premonitions, both are certain that a death is imminent. But whose? When Elizabeth stumbles upon Bridget’s Aunt Roni’s dead body, everyone is shocked, but no one is disappointed. It appears most of the Matthews’s family each had at least one reason to knock off the narcissistic golddigger. It’s now up to Detective Grant to uncover the murderer amongst a plethora of suspects. Will he find the actual killer, or will someone be framed?

Detective Grant’s chief suspect is Roni’s stepson, Harry Matthews. Having known Harry pretty much her whole life, Elizabeth knows he could not commit such an act, and she sets out to uncover the real killer. However, with skills that are reminiscent of Lucy Ricardo rather than Nancy Drew, Elizabeth faces quite a challenge.

While in the midst of trying to clear Harry’s name, Elizabeth is also fighting a personal battle. Peter has reconnected with an old flame, an attractive, sophisticated, leggy blonde. Guided by her emotions, not unlike Marianne Dashwood, how is Elizabeth going to respond to Peter’s open and amiable demeanor towards his ex-lover? Can Elizabeth summon her reasonable Eleanor Dashwood side and get to the bottom of both the murder and Peter’s heart?

While the murder investigation is taking place, the author maintains an amusing and entertaining feel through the snide remarks between the suspects, while at the same time, I am anxious to discover who the killer is. From the very beginning, Kiely strategically sprinkles the text with little nuggets of information, intended to keep the reader speculating on what is going on between certain characters and guessing who could be the real killer. After all, nobody liked Roni.

Murder on the Bride’s Side is a clever and entertaining mystery. I find it diverting trying to pick out Austen quotes when an author sneaks them in. I relished picking out the Sense and Sensibility quotes just like I did with the Pride and Prejudice quotes in Murder at Longbourn. I am looking forward to reading the next in this series, Murder Most Persuasive as I enjoy Kiely’s writing and adore Persuasion. 

Stay tuned for my Murder on the Bride's Side vlog later this week! 

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Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my own reading pleasure