Book 11 of this series and it's one of the better ones. The main character, Gemma Doyle, is written as an acutely observant person who sometimes lacks discretion about sharing her conclusions. She has the tendency to be overbearing, especially when she is pursuing a line of inquiry. Delany has written her this way on purpose, as the Sherlock Holmes stories feature prominently in this series and Gemma is potentially related to Arthur Conan Doyle. It's hinted that she may be very much like his famous creation.
Often Gemma drives me a bit crazy with her obtuseness in her treatment of other people. In this novel, however, she is blunt and a bit pushy from time to time, but not obnoxious about it. I liked this version of Gemma and that's why I keep reading this series. To quote the nursery rhyme, when she's good she's very, very good and when she's bad, she's horrid.
Gemma is extremely happy that her best friend and business partner, Jayne, is marrying a local restaurateur Andy. The couple seem perfectly happy. Jayne's birthday party is going well, until Gemma realizes that Jayne's ex is working the event as a waiter. It's obvious from watching him that he is jealous of her happiness and hates Andy. If that wasn't enough, an ex of Andy's crashes the party, hoping renew their relationship. Andy is not pleased to see her. When she ends up dead at the end of the evening, Andy appears to have the best motive of anyone to kill her.
Gemma pulls out all the stops to save the wedding. With her eye for detail, she combs through online news, records, and social media accounts. Can she determine who benefits from this death? Delany provides a couple of very plausible red herrings. At least this time, Gemma has the sense to keep her detective boyfriend informed and near by.
A very enjoyable installment of this long running series.
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