Book Review: Fatal Fascinator by Jenn McKinlay (Hat Shop Mysteries #7)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great characters, good mystery, fun

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Wedding in castle

Fun visit with characters

A fast moving plot

Deadly Wedding of the Year

Jenn McKinlay is a writing machine.  Seriously, I don’t know how she keeps putting out all the books she does between her cozy mysteries and her romcoms.  That is one of several reasons why her Hat Shop Mysteries have taken a back seat in her writing schedule, but I always welcome a return visit to those characters.  We get a great return visit with Fatal Fascinator.

If you happen to be new to the series, it features cousins Scarlett Parker and Viv Tremont who run their grandmother’s hat shop in London.  Yes, it one of the rare cozies (or at least the rare cozies I read) that are set outside of the United States.

As this book opens, Viv is being hit up to create hats for what the bride promises to be the wedding of the year.  And that may not be far off the mark.  Heiress Piper May is marrying Dooney Portis, in a match that will give her family status and his much needed money.  Scarlett and Viv’s friend Andre is the photographer, and the entire wedding is taking place at a castle that’s been rented out for the weekend.  Scarlett is thrilled even if Viv and Dooney aren’t.

However, just a few hours after the trio have arrived, Scarlett finds Dooney dead in the library.  The local police as suspicious and requires everyone else to stay at the castle until the case is resolved.  Hoping to hurry that along, Scarlett can’t help but poke around a little.  Who killed Dooney?

It’s been two years since the last book in the series came out, but it felt like no time had passed when I picked up this book.  I was quickly back in Scarlett and Viv’s world, and I enjoyed catching up on what they and the other regulars have been up to.  If you haven’t read the series, you could easily jump in here since we get enough background to understand the characters and their relationships.  Frankly, I was happy with that since it helped me get back into the character’s lives that much quicker.

Since the majority of the book takes place outside the regular setting, not all the series regulars get as much page time as I would have liked.  In fact, a couple really just had cameos.  However, the characters are just as I remembered them, and it was nice to see a little bit of growth for some of them.  The book is filled with suspects, but I never had a hard time remembering them, and I felt these new characters were well developed.

The story never lags.  While it might take a bit of time for Dooney’s body to turn up, plenty is happening that will come back into play later in the story.  There are some interesting revelations and twists before Scarlett figures it out.  And the pages just flew by as I read.

Then there’s the humor.  Yes, the book has several great pun wars, which I always enjoy.  There are some other moments that made me laugh and grin as I was reading.

Fatal Fascinator is fun.  If you are new to this series, it will make you want to track down the rest.  And if you’ve been a fan of the series for years, you’ll be thankful for another visit with Scarlett and Viv.

Try on the rest of the Hat Shop Mysteries.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.