Title: The Bridesmaid

Author: Cate Quinn

Description: The Kensingtons invite you to the society wedding of the decade. There’s just one hitch. You might not make it out alive.

Book Review

What would you do if you were a goth forensic freelancer and someone turned a society wedding into a crime scene? Easy, you’d solve it, right? But what if you knew the victim in question? Still solve it, obviously, but now it’s PERSONAL.

That’s the mess Holly Stone walks into in The Bridesmaid by Cate Quinn. One minute she’s skulking around like she just got sponsored by Darkness™, the next she’s undercover in Adrianna Kensington’s bridal circus, where everything sparkles, except the body count.

Adrianna, the heiress with a history of being kidnapped, is dead set on throwing the “wedding of the decade.” The problem? A dead body is found at her demo wedding. Suddenly, it’s less bridal bliss and more true-crime special. To make matters worse, the killer, who sounds a bit too familiar to the bride, is after Adrianna. And this killer? Yeah, they’re not satisfied with just one murder victim. Nothing makes sense, something’s not right here, and the only question left is: will everyone make it out alive… or will this wedding be the guest list’s final destination?

Highlights:
Twists On Twists: Don’t bother guessing, you’ll most likely be wrong. Every time you think you’ve found the killer, Quinn yanks the rug out from under you and shoves another bloody bouquet in your face.
Multiple POV’s: Were included, and while I didn’t like every character, it helped to know why they were how they were.
Forensics: Is detailed enough to feel legit without turning into a CSI textbook.
Who was the best POV? That would be the main character, Holly, because she wasn’t trying to be perfect like the others. She’s spiky, sarcastic, and allergic to pretense, which makes her the perfect foil for the Kensington glitz.

This investigative story with a gothic twist got a 4.5 out of 5 bloody bouquets. Thriller junkies who want to trade the cliche detective for a heroine who notices the blood spatter and delivers deadpan commentary about it will want to read this book. I would RSVP “yes” to another Holly Stone mystery, and you should too!