A wedding party gathers on a remote Swiss mountaintop, where the uninvited guest is murder.
Leaving her friend Carabinieri Capt. Marco Quattrocchi behind in Italy, Virginia-based history professor Dotsy Lamb travels to LaMotte, Switzerland, to attend her youngest son Patrick’s wedding to Erin Toomey. Since Dotsy’s husband, Chet, has dumped her for Stephanie Merz, staying at the Chateau Merz is a necessary evil. The chateau’s remote, high-mountain location is accessible only by a snow cart or an elevator hidden in the mountain. No sooner is Dotsy settled in than Stephanie is found shot dead in the bunker where extra food is stored along with weapons left over from the war. Outside the bunker is the body of Gisele Schlump, the attractive cook who appeared to have had a cozy relationship with Stephanie’s brother Juergen, an intrepid adventurer who had to give up his exciting life to run the family business. The police make Chet their #1 suspect, but all is not well in the beautiful chateau. A scribbled note left by Stephanie leads to the discovery that Erin was briefly married but not divorced and the consequent cancellation of the nuptials. Dotsy’s son Patrick, who runs Chet’s John Deere dealership, has discovered several million missing and is sure Stephanie took it. Dotsy and her friend Lettie, Patrick’s godmother, who’ve had prior experience solving murders (Death of a Lovable Geek, 2008, etc.), get help from Marco, who arrives just in time to help solve the crime.
To the series’ usual attractive locations seasoned with a dash of history, Hudgins adds a mystery with an intriguing group of suspects.
