Paula Munier: The Wedding Plot
Paula Munier’s insanely readable Mercy Carr series has so far never disappointed, and The Wedding Plot is no exception. As the book opens, Mercy’s mother, Grace, has been meticulously planning her mother’s wedding to her long-time beau Claude at the swanky inn her aunt Prudence runs (with an iron fist). Between these two intimidating ladies, the wedding is proceeding on a path that looks to have Mercy in bridesmaid’s satin pumps and a blowout hairdo before she knows it.
It would not be a mystery novel, however, if all went as planned. Frist, the spa’s yoga instructor disappears, and Mercy is pressed into service, leading the wedding guests through the classes he was supposed to take on. And while all this sounds slightly like a cozy set up – wedding, yoga instructor (and wait, there are goats) – it’s far from it. Munier takes a normal domestic situation – a wedding, something everyone has experienced as guest or participant – and turns it into an action novel.