Murder of a Wedding Belle

A Scumble River Mystery

By: Denise Swanson

Narrated by: Christine Leto

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

School psychologist Skye Denison reluctantly agrees to act as maid of honor in her California cousin's over-the-top platinum-style wedding - and is also expected to assist the control-freak wedding planner. But when Skye discovers the planner dead, just one week before the big event, Skye is suddenly working double-duty. While overseeing every nuptial detail, she's also helping the police find out who hated the bridal consultant enough to kill her.

Can Skye get her cousin to the church on time - and save herself from a killer who may actually be on the guest list?

©2010 Denise Swanson Stybr (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The best traditional mystery series being written today." ( CrimeSpree magazine)
"I enjoy every minute of every book of this series." (Charlaine Harris)

Cute Book Series

What did you love best about Murder of a Wedding Belle?

I enjoy a 'lite' read on ocassion and this series is a cute and entertaining listen

If you???ve listened to books by Denise Swanson before, how does this one compare?

This was one of my favorites in ther series

Brides Maids

What did you love best about Murder of a Wedding Belle?

I am not sure, I enjoyed this book but for some reason it really didn't excite me like all the other books I have read in this series have excited me. It actually took me longer to listen to this book than it has any of the other books.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No not really, even though there was a murder that took place, I thought most of the book was around the wedding and wedding party. I know the wedding planner was the person who ended up getting murdered but when Sky took over it just seemed that the whole book was just really about her planning this wedding, not until the end of the book did she start really getting into solving the murder. There were little times throughout the book where she did try and find out things about the murder but for the most part it was wedding stuff.

Which character – as performed by Christine Leto – was your favorite?

That is hard to say because there were many different characters that she had to give personalities to, and she did an amazing job at not only doing the regular character but all the extra characters from the wedding party.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No not really, don't get me wrong it was a good book but to me most of the book was about Sky planning this wedding and not solving the murder. I got spoiled and used to there being different mysteries to solve within each story and this one only had 1 mystery which was who killed the wedding planner and why.

Any additional comments?

None

Better than the previous

Bridezilla was over the top. Some of the characters were just too odd to suspend disbelief.

Wedding Bells Can Be Murder

I bought this because the premise was cute - I enjoyed hearing about the nuts and bolts of putting together big events and going along with the challenge of leaping into the middle of executing a major event combined with solving a murder was irresistible. I like the characters (I got the sequel, the continuing story line is interesting, too), the author put together a good story and didn't telegraph the villain. The Bridezilla wasn't too over the top, and the denouement was hilarious. It was well read, with a pleasant voice and good character definition.

Very unrealistic!

The narrator's voice when she spoke in a male voice was irritating.
Definitely not my type of murder mystery.

Not That Impressed

What was most disappointing about Denise Swanson???s story?

Story was ok but the rudeness of everyone Skye talks to gets on my nerves.

What about Christine Leto???s performance did you like?

She was fine.

A Wedding of Nightmares

It wasn't terrible, it wasn't great. Pretty good for reading fluff. My problem with it were the characters and the resolution of the story. The main character, Skye, a school psychologist and also the police psychologist in a tiny town (not believable in itself), didn't seem to be able to think beyond high school ability in her relationships and problem solving. I didn't buy it for a woman who had traveled the world and was supposedly a respected adult. Also, the premise being that she ends up being the wedding planner for her Godzilla-bride cousin and allows herself and her relatives to be treated like garbage by the bride and groom and just about everyone else, made me ill. If the bride had received some sort of comeuppance from this woman at the end of the book, perhaps, but no, suddenly the bride turned out to be just fine and all was forgotten. Twaddle.

Aside from that, this is the sort of book I could pick up and read in a hotel or on a trip and be OK with. It wasn't unreadable, simply unbelievable and unswallowable.

Miserable

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I don't know who would enjoy this book. Somebody may tolerate it but NOT enjoy it

Has Murder of a Wedding Belle turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Yes

Any additional comments?

This book was my worst book purchase. It was very boring and didn't hold my interest. I stopped midway through as I couldn't invest any more time hoping the storyline would improve.

Reaching the Point of Not Following This Series

We have listened to several of the books in this series while we travel but I am about ready to give up on it. The characters in the books are almost becoming caricatures of themselves. We have the overbearing mom, the down and out but still good-hearted family (Doozers), the dumb local police department, the transplant from Las Vegas (Bunny) and on and on. It has become a case of how many small town hicks can we cram into each book. And the character of Riley as the bride to be was unbelievable. I really don't know what else to say but I think we are done with this series.