Book Review: Killer Wedding by Jerrilyn Farmer (Madeline Bean #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great characters caught in another great plot.

Cons: The ending is a mystery book cliche, but it does work.

The Bottom Line:

Wedding bell mystery

Catered with great amount of fun

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Be Sure to Attend This Wedding

Killer Wedding is the third book in the fun Madeline Bean mystery series. The series stars Hollywood party planner Madeline, her business partner Wesley Westcott, and their assistant Holly Nichols.

Many people have approached Madeline Bean since she became rich thanks to Bruno Huntley's will. All of them want her to buy their catering or party planning business. None are as persistent as Vivian Duncan, who is ready to retire from her wedding planning business. When Vivian invites Maddie and her friends to an extravagant wedding held at the Los Angeles Nature Museum, they attend. But before Maddie can convince Vivian that she seriously doesn't want the business, Vivian is found murdered and hanging from the triceratops skeleton. Now Maddie is being pressured by Vivian's daughter to solve the crime and help keep the business going. Can she find the killer and not become Vivian's successor, both in wedding planning and death? Throw in a lawsuit over the sale of her first business to Bruno's estate and complications in her love life, and you've got a great read.

This book continues a fun series. The series characters are great and continue to develop here. The three leads have a wonderful friendship that adds to the fun of the series and they work especially well together in this book. The plot moved quickly, deftly balancing twists, sub-plots, and development of the new characters. The climatic scene is a little cliche, but still a fun conclusion to a great entry in this series. The book is written in a breezy first person style, and Madeline makes a great tour guide to the absurdity that is life in LA.

If you're already a fan of Maddie and Co., be sure to read Killer Wedding. If you've never met them, you're in for a real treat. Grab the first book and hang on for the wild, and incredibly fun, ride.

Looking for more?  Here are the Madeline Bean Mysteries in order.