Wedding Bell Blues - (Tourist Trap Mystery) by Lynn Cahoon (Paperback)

Wedding Bell Blues by Lynn Cahoon is the thirteenth A Tourist Trap Mystery. It can be read as a standalone since the author provides the main background details on Jill. Lynn Cahoon has a great writing style. It is casual and friendly. It makes her stories easy to read. I found Jill’s behavior odd in this story. I would expect a newly engaged woman to be proudly showing off her engagement ring. Jill, though, keeps forgetting her ring at home. Jill seems to be hesitant regarding the engagement and making wedding plans. She talks it over with her best friend plus Jill and Greg spend a lot of time talking about the subject. Jill does not wish to set a wedding date or discuss her wedding dress (which needs to be ordered six to eight months in advance). Everyone seems happy for the engagement except Jill. I know Jill loves Greg, but I believe her past failed relationship is dampening her joy and giving her self-doubts. You can always tell when Jill is stressed because she heads for the sweets (stress eating). Jill’s engagement dress sounded beautiful. The story consists of Jill working at the bookstore, reading, talking to her employees, running on the beach with her dog (Emma), eating, and watching television. The mystery was interesting. I liked that it was different. There are a couple of suspects along with misdirection. I loved that one of the suspects was Greg’s ex-wife, Sherry. I wish the solution had not been so obvious. I was annoyed with Greg during the investigation. He tries to control Jill during murder investigations. Greg had police officers escort Jill home (not letting her detour), he had people from city hall drop by the store every half an hour on the mornings she worked alone, and he kept telling her to keep out of the investigation. I feel that by now Greg should be used to Jill investigating and he should have accepted it (maybe even welcome her insights). I would have liked a better wrap-up of the whodunit. I was left with a couple of unanswered questions. Deek, one of Jill’s employees, has written a book and asks for Jill’s critique. Jill is worried that an unscrupulous publisher will take advantage of him. Jill also does not want to lose Deek as an employee (which was mentioned a few times). Wedding Bell Blues is a South Cove cozy with pretty party dresses, a mysterious murder, an enjoyable engagement party, readying for the readathon, tasty treats, a publisher problem, and a safeguarding fiancé.