MAID OF MURDER

Some tales of murdered brides are pretty grim. Not this one.

Martin College librarian India Hayes is surprised when her childhood friend Olivia Blocken asks her to be a bridesmaid. She’s even more surprised at the horrifying bridesmaid’s dress her old friend has picked out. The pair’s friendship has been cool ever since Olivia dumped India’s math-whiz brother Mark in high school, but India feels a sense of duty to Olivia despite that dress. She also knows that, as a bridesmaid, she has a way to keep Mark away from the wedding—an important office, as he’s never really gotten over his feelings for Olivia. When Olivia is murdered days before her nuptials, Mark is the obvious suspect—obvious to everyone except India, who’s certain that her brother would never hurt a fly. As the Blocken family pushes hard for Mark’s arrest, India turns amateur sleuth in pursuit of evidence that will convince Detective Rich Mains of her brother’s innocence. Added to this are the complexities India has to deal with in her family: her liberal parents, throwbacks from the ’60s who want to stage a demonstration; her pregnant sister Carmen, who’s a bundle of combustible hormones; and Mark, who may be his own worst enemy.

The first bud in a new series that fans of Donna Andrews’s lighthearted Meg Langslow mysteries will be eager to see bloom.