Victoria Trumbull is a 92 year old amateur sleuth who has promised to host a reception for her cousin Penny Arbuthnot’s upcoming wedding. Victoria plans on lemonade and cookies, whereas Penny wants a catered affair with waiters and champagne. Their difference here sets the stage for a mystery that begins when Victoria’s hired help finds a dead body in her cellar. It becomes kind of strange because we don’t know who the victim is and why he was killed. Many characters are introduced, but other than Penny, Victoria and Penny’s fiancé Rocco, none of them is developed enough for the reader to really get to know them. Rocco has portrayed himself to Penny as a millionaire, but he isn’t because he has been disowned by his wealthy father. Rocco is basically just living off others and plans to wed Penny for her money, which she doesn’t have either. Lots of deception going on there that left me wondering how much time this engaged couple actually spent talking to each other. The plot jumped around a lot between diffferent characters and scenes, so that was off-putting and made it difficult to follow. If I put the book down for a day, I had to go back several pages and scan to remind myself about what was happening because there was a lot of confusion as to what was going on. The quirky characters did keep me interested enough to continue reading and the conclusion was satisfactory although not unexpected. All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I will look for other books in this series to read for pleasure.

This series features one of my favorite characters, Victoria Trumbull. And Victoria has no idea what she has let herself get involved in when she agrees to provide her back garden for her distant cousin's wedding reception.

When a body appears in her cellar, people start popping out of the woodwork and plopping themselves down at Victoria's home. 

There are numerous people who would love to see the groom dead and buried. First among them, the fiancée' back home having wedding invitations printed while he is marrying someone else. And none of them have a problem with telling Victoria they plan on killing him. But still, who is the body in the basement?

I am not exactly sure what went on with this one. Definitely not a cozy mystery. And what about Elizabeth? She lives with Victoria, we know. She is in the first chapter and then we don't hear or see her until many chapters later. The house is overrun with  strangers and cops, but where is she? 

This one was quite a bit different from the others in the series. Stiff dialogue, not being sure of who was talking when, I'm just not sure but this one did not resonate with me.

We will check the next one however!

NetGalley/CrookedLane

June 12th 2018 by Crooked Lane Books

Widow’s Wreath takes place in Martha’s Vineyard. Penny Arbuthnot asks her 92 year old poet cousin if she can hold her wedding reception in her backyard. Penny and her groom to be are both under the impression the other person is rich. The electrician comes to install outlets for the reception and finds a dead body in the cellar, hanging from the rafters. The police has put a halt to the wedding until the victim is identified. The murder investigation quickly turns to Rocco whose relatives are on the island and looking for trouble. Another suspect is Penny’s 92 year old feisty aunt. Daphne decides to investigate on her own to protect her Aunt and find the truth. This is a fast moving drama which keeps you turning pages. It was very interesting. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read an advance reader copy.

I was hoping I would like this story, but nope. I would pick the book up and wouldn't get far before would lose interest and put it back down, after a month of this I have gotten nowhere, so its time to move on.

Couldn't get into this book. I tried but it just wasn't a good read for me.

Thanks to Publisher/author/netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read this book.

The book started with most elements of cozy mystery, nice island, wedding, 92 year old lovely main character then goes on to italia mob etc. The number of characters could have been less and that would have increased the pace of the mystery.

I was able to look past the spelling errors early in the book, but when I got to the "F" word, I stopped reading. Since there's so much anger and ugliness in this world already, I find it curious that cozy authors want to spread darkness and not light in this one genre that has traditionally been reserved for lighter fare. That's their choice (and one I have long supported, actually), but I do question why they feel the need to do this. Sure wish authors like this one would choose to use their talents for good.

This book started out with an interesting plot and characters. However, I found it got quite confusing and repetitive in various places. Victoria was my favorite character and I enjoyed her part in the book. I have not read any other books in this series by this author.

Who is the dead body in the basement? Why does no one know who he is? Is he tied to the wealthy groom? Victoria is out to solve the murder since the body was found in her basement.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley for an honest review

What I like about Widow’ Wreath is the way the author painted the perfect villain. There are a fair amount of unusual characters and situations to keep the reader interested. There are two victims in this book, increasing the suspense factor. The story takes place on an island, which really piqued my interest. I generally find islands and weddings interesting settings for cozy mysteries. However, it didn’t quite feel like a cozy mystery to me and some of the dialogue seemed a bit stilted at times. I received an advanced reader copy provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley, which did not affect my rating. I have provided an unbiased and honest review.

Cynthia Riggs has written an entertaining story about murder at a wedding in Widows Wreath.
She has an exciting cast of probable killers, two jilted brides and a mob family to make it fascinating and a crazy fun read.
This a great four star read.

Despite the stereotypical representations of Italians, and a most unconvincing and unlikely plot - I found myself wanting to know what happens. Whether this was due to my intrigue at how the author would solve sorting all the balls in the air or wanting to know who was intent on killing the money-grubbing debtor's love travails and murder, hiding out etc. - and then to add to the concoction a wronged autistic young woman whose special 'idiot savant' skill is murder appears - my own desires to find out were a myself to me too! . Overseeing all the shenanigans of her nieces is the Englishwoman touted to be smarter than the shambling cop on the beat (who is no mean susser-out of lying). Very readable ... the stereotypes might please some readers - they seem lazy but are pleasing

Reviewed on Goodreads. Once again Victoria Trumbull is pulled into a mystery. I was a bit surprised that she was railroaded into hosting a wedding and then putting up complete strangers in her house. Victoria was intrigued by her visitors and curious to see what motivated them. The introduction of goombas gave the book a godfatheresque feel that was very different from previous books in the series. I missed Casey in this book and Elizabeth was fairly absent as well. Victoria was less represented as the focus seemed to be on the lying wedding guests and terrible groom. The gardening and plant focus was minimized as well. Still and all another interesting foray into Victoria's Martha's Vineyard.

I am a bit bewildered. This should be a cozy mystery but the cozy part is somewhat lacking and the mystery is a bit confused.
There is no heroine asking questions but a set of scenes and different stories. Being a bit confused I don't know if I liked or not :(
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley

First in this series for me, and I found it to be an ok read, Would have liked more family history and better investigating. Hopefully the rest of the series is better.

I'm a big fan of Cynthia Rigg's mysteries, love her main character, Victoria Trumbull, and the setting on the Vineyard. I wholeheartedly praise her other books and highly recommend them for a good read, but found Widows Wreath lacking. Rocco has come to the island to be married to Trumball's distant cousin, with the reception to be held at Trumball's home. He brings along several friends and his brother while other uninvited family members come to the island as well. With good reason all hate Rocco and are there only to kill him. Just before the wedding a body that looks like Rocco is found hanging in Victoria's cellar.. There are too many suspects and the police are lackadaisical even when a second murder is,committed. My complaint with the book is the lack of formal investigation by the police, even when they have reason to haul each suspect in for questioning, the plot too shaky, and the ending is implausible and too,abrupt.