Murder’s No Votive Confidence
Author: Christin Brecher
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
3 ½ Stars

Murder’s No Votive Confidence is the first book in the new Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery. The main character, Stella Wright, is the owner of Wick and Flame, a local candle shop, where she creates one of a kind candles and candle scents. She has been hired by Jessica Sterling to create the candles for her upcoming wedding. The star piece of her creations is the unity candle.

Stella goes to the inn where Jessica is staying to go over some last minute details about the candles. While there, Stella notices that the unity candle has gone missing. Stella, along with Jessica and her mother, go in search of the candle. The last place the candle was seen was in the inn’s game room. When they enter the game room, the women are shocked to find Jessica’s uncle Simon laying on the floor with his head bashed in, and the unity candle lying next to him.

Bill Duffy, the hotel’s bartender, is arrested for the murder. Police captain Bellamy is sure he has the right guy and considers the matter closed. Stella is just as sure that Bill is innocent and decides she must find the evidence to set him free. Stella enlists the help of Andy, her long time friend and local cop.

This book has all the makings of a good cozy mystery: great characters, a well developed plot with a solid mystery, and a little romance.

I really liked Stella’s character. For one, I enjoyed her unique occupation, candle-maker. I also appreciated the vested interested she had in investigating this mystery. Not only does she not want to see her long time family friend railroaded, but she also wants to protect her business. Stella realizes that the fact that her unity candle was used as the murder weapon may have damaging effects on future orders. I also enjoyed her genuine and realistic relationships with the other characters. I’m looking forward to getting to know the recurring characters better in future installments.

The author has laid out a very solid mystery in this book. It’s filled with the twists and turns one expects, including buried secrets, hidden motives, and embedded clues. The ending, however, seemed a bit over adventurous and not quite believable to me.

The story has just a light touch of romance. Stella appears to have feelings for her long time friend Andy, but he is currently unavailable as he has a girlfriend. She also finds herself attracted to Peter, a new reporter for the local paper. It will be fun to watch these relationships play out.

I think fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this book. I know that I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #MurdersNoVotiveConfidence

Murder’s No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher is the first book in the new cozy Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series each book will have it’s own mystery to be solved so a reader doesn’t need to worry about cliffhangers and will get a full story in one book.

Stella Wright owns a candle store on the charming small island of Nantucket. With Memorial Day quickly approaching islanders know business will soon be picking up and Stella already has a big wedding event to prepare for where she will make a special unity candle along with smaller candles for the guests.

As Stella is finishing up last minute preparations the wedding guests had begun to arrive for the big event. When the bride has problems locating her uncle that is supposed to walk her down the aisle no one expected to find him murdered, and with Stella’s unity candle lying nearby she can’t help but want answers to the crime.

I had wavered between 3 and 3 1/2 stars for this opening book of the new Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. The story was a solid start but lacked a lot of depth to those around our main character so I have a feeling it will need some refreshing to my memory by the time book two comes along as only the charming setting stood out to me. I do think the series had potential as it continues though so I decided on 3 1/2 stars for this beginning.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the first in a new series set on Nantucket Island. Stella Wright is the owner of Wick and Flame a candle store on the island and she is also working with her best friend Emily who is a wedding planner on the island. Stella is providing the candles for Jessica Sterling's wedding. The wedding party arrives and the morning after their arrival Stella goes to the Melville Inn to double check the scent for the candles. As she meets with Jessica and her mother they go into the storage room to look at the unity candle only to not find it there. During the search Jessica's uncle Simon is found dead with the unity candle broke in half. Bill the bartender is arrested rather quickly and something doesn't ring true for Stella. She mentions this to Andy Southerland the handsome cop on the island and friend who called the "hound" growing up. Since the chief from the Cape made the arrest he has been told to focus on the weekend and FIGAWA (think that was the name) crowds and he continues to tell Stella to stay out out of it. Stella is helping her friend Emily as she has to take it easy as she goes into false labor but promises to be there for the ceremony. Stella just seems to come across clues and wants to find the real killer as she does believe Bill is the murderer. There is a famous actress on the island as well as a new reporter in town who is a possible love interest for Stella. Thought Andy was going to fill that role. Not fond of love triangles so hope this is not a long drawn out triangle. Think I am rooting for Andy. Andy came thru for Stella in the end and listened to her ideas and they worked together. There appears to be a lot of other potential colorful characters for future installments. The final showdown with the murderer was pretty dramatic but entertaining and seemed true to Stella's character. Looking forward to the next installment.

Murder's No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher is the 1st book in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery, and it's off to a great start. Stella Wright owns a candle store, Wick & Flame, that specializes in unique design and scented candles. Stella is very excited because she just landed a wedding, where she is making the unity candle and other candles for the event. When the unity candle goes missing, and is later found to be the murder weapon, Stella is determined to find the real killer. Quick read with a well developed plot and characters. I really enjoyed this new cozy, and looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

First in a new series. I had this book read in 1 day. Stella opens her candle shop and she specializes in weddings and special occasions. There was a murder at the inn. Hopefully you will read it I dont want to give any spoilers. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Happy reading

3.5 Stars
Murder's No Votive Confidence is the debut book in Christin Brecher’s Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. This quick and enjoyable read is steadily paced, but the adult language that slipped into this cozy was disappointing, as were several glaring inconsistencies. Since I read an ARC of this book, those issues may have been addressed prior to publication. The mystery is complex and well plotted. The cast of characters are likable but need more development.

Stella Wright is the owner of Wick & Flame, a small store on Nantucket Island where she makes and sells candles and holds candle-making classes. Stella’s cousin, Chris, and his wife bought a historic house outside of town which they restored. Chris, who is a contractor, converted the old carriage house into a garage, and Stella lives in the apartment above it. It’s Memorial Day Weekend, and a lot of tourists are expected to arrive for the island’s one-of-a-kind annual sailing competition. Stella’s looking forward to Jessica Sterling and Joe Handler’s wedding, which will take place on the same weekend. Two months ago, Jessica’s oldest friend, Emily Gardner, Nantucket’s top event coordinator, introduced her to Stella. In addition to providing decorative candles for the rehearsal dinner, wedding reception, and chapel, Jessica hired Stella to make a two-foot-tall unity candle for the wedding, and votive candles which were infused with a special scent created just for them.to give all of the guests. When the body of the bride-to-be’s uncle, Simon Sterling, who was supposed to walk her down the aisle, is discovered, the unity candle is found broken in two next to him. The Cape’s Police Chief, who happens to be visiting the island, takes over the investigation and arrests Melville Inn’s well-liked bartender, Bill Duffy, Stella knows he’s innocent and starts asking questions and snooping around on her own. Stella meets Peter Bailey, a recent hire of the island’s weekly newspaper, the Inquirer & Mirror. Stella and Peter, who is working on a story about the murder, agree to share the information they discover. Stella’s friend, Nantucket Police Officer Andy Southerland, is busy with the Memorial Day Weekend crowds and isn’t supposed to be investigating the murder, but Stella shares everything she’s learned with him and finally convinces him that Chief Bellamy has arrested the wrong person.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

Stella Wright, candle store owner, is excited to have an opportunity making candles for an upcoming wedding. But, the impending nuptials take a bad turn when Stella’s unity candle is found broken next to the dead body of the bride-to-be’s uncle. When a local bartender is arrested, can Stella find out the truth before it’s too late?
I really wanted to love this novel, but it never kept my interest. I would put down the book, and pick up something else. Then, when I wanted to return to finish this novel, I found I really didn’t care what happened. It just wasn’t for me. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Islands off the coast of Massachusetts seem to be my theme this month. Murder’s No Votive Confidence is set on Nantucket, an island east of Chappaquiddick. This is Christin Brecher’s debut novel in her Nantucket Candle Maker mystery series. I found it fascinating and had to limit the questions I asked her about the book, the setting, the characters, and how those characters related to one another.


Stella Wright is a native of the island. After college, she returned home and opened a candle shop, the Wick & Flame. Millie Wright, her mother, has a unique nose that makes her a perfume expert, and Stella has inherited that trait, which resulted in having the moniker, The Hound, bestowed on her in seventh grade by Andy Southerland, now a police officer.


When Stella creates a unity candle for a wedding ceremony and finds a member of the wedding party murdered, it isn’t much of a stretch that she noses around to find out whodunnit. And she has many reasons for wanting to do so.


I’m not going to spoil the ending, but it was one of the best culminations of a mystery I’ve read in a long time. Really fun!


Please welcome Christin Brecher to WWK E. B. Davis

How far is Nantucket from the mainland? How long does it take to get there by ferry? Would you describe the island for our readers?


Nantucket is 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Sometimes referred to as the Gray Lady because of the fog that often shrouds her, she is small, but mighty! Arriving to the island feels like a step back in time. Even when the summer traffic is crazy, and the prices are sky high, the charm of the island’s aesthetic is timeless with cobblestones on Main Street, shingled homes, bikes, dogs, and gorgeous beaches. And the ice cream at the Juice Bar is not to be missed!


When I was a kid, we took a two-hour ferry to get to the island after a five-hour drive from New York City. It was both torture and magic to spend those hours on the boat. You realize how far out to sea you are, and once the small island’s skyline comes into view it feels as if you’ve found Brigadoon. These days there’s a fast ferry that takes an hour, and I confess I take it all the time! Tons of flights, too. But if you have the time and patience, a slow ride across the seas is worth it.


What is the historical significance of candles and candle making on Nantucket?


Nantucket became one of the wealthiest communities in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries because of its success in the whaling industry. Nantucketers discovered the value of spermaceti oil, found in the brain cavity of the sperm whales. This precious oil was used, among other things, to make candles which were considered to be the cleanest, whitest, and longest lasting candles in the world. Fast Fact: On a recent visit to Nantucket’s Whaling Museum (right across the street from the Juice Bar!), I learned that at one point the island’s candle industry accounted for one third of its economy, with exports around the world.


Although Stella has many relatives on the island, she doesn’t resemble any of them. Why?


Stella is part of a close-knit family that has lived on the island for generations. They are easy to spot because of their trademark fair skin and red hair. Stella, however, stands out from the crowd with her olive complexion and her thick mane of dark, wavy hair.


Her markedly different appearance relates to a mystery in Stella’s own life – the identity of her father. Her mother, Millie Wright, was an adventuress in her twenties, travelling the globe in search of unique scents to make perfumes, her passion. One day, she returned to Nantucket with “a treasure that trumped them all,” Stella. Although her mother never talks about Stella’s father, Stella has some ideas about her roots. Perhaps one day, she will set off to solve this mystery, too!


The wedding reception is being held at the Melville Inn. Is the inn based on a real hostelry?


I am too superstitious to set a murder mystery at a place where so many couple actually have their weddings, so you will not find the Melville Inn on Nantucket. You can, however, find a gorgeous hotel that’s pretty darn close: The Wauwinet Hotel.


Jessica Sterling, the bride, asked her late father’s brother, Uncle Simon, to walk her down the aisle since her father died. I was surprised she asked him since it seems the brothers were estranged. Why did she ask him?


Emily tells Stella about the bride’s decision to invite Simon to walk her down the aisle. A bold choice, it was made by a gal in search of a fairy tale wedding, replete with family and tradition. Unfortunately, her father and her fiancé’s parents have passed away, so her choices for a family member to stand in are limited, and Uncle Simon wins the honor. Although Simon Sterling seems, at first, to be a thoroughly unlikable character, there’s more to him than meets the eye.


Uncle Simon had contraband in his room—a cat named Tinker. Tinker always shows up at the right place where a murder clue appears. How does he do that, and does Stella appreciate his pointers, even though she isn’t fond of cats?


Tinker is a savvy dude who knew the victim, Uncle Simon, better than anyone at the wedding. Although Stella has little experience with cats, and their introduction to each other is less than cordial, she soon realizes that Tinker has one paw up on everyone. She can’t help but fall for the little guy.


When Uncle Simon is found murdered, the weapon appears to be the unity candle Stella made. Would a candle be strong enough to kill?


A typical taper candle or pillar candle would not be strong enough to kill a man. Stella’s unity candle, however, is a force. Designed to be the centerpiece of the Sterling wedding ceremony, it is two feet high, six inches in diameter, and made of a strong, dense wax. Beautifully decorated to match the bride’s beaded gown, it looks precious. If someone whacked you across the head with it, however, you wouldn’t stand a chance.


Why did Stella compromise the crime scene?


The crime scene is a mess. Eight people who have never seen a murdered man find themselves in the inn’s Game Room, beside Uncle Simon. They are shocked by the violence that has taken place at the peaceful Melville Inn, during the perfectly planned Sterling Wedding weekend. In a panic, they all make mistakes. Stella’s is to pick up her unity candle. Although she quickly realizes her error, her action is a desperate attempt to erase the fact that her beautiful creation was used as a murder weapon.


When the bartender, Bill Duffy, is arrested for the murder, Stella thinks they rushed the arrest and took the expedient suspect. Since she babysat for Bill and his wife, Maude, who also works at the inn, Stella thinks she knows the couple. What does she find out about Bill that makes her break into their house?


As Stella searches for the murderer, she learns that everyone at the Sterling wedding has a secret. While the revelation of some of these stories has nothing to do with the murder, others lead her closer to the killer. In spite of her affection for Bill and Maude Duffy, Stella learns that even they have secrets, and she knows she must follow up every lead. As for what she learns? I’d tell you, but…


What is FIGAWI?


The Sterling Wedding takes place Memorial Day weekend, which is also the weekend of FIGAWI, the island’s one-of-a-kind annual sailing event. FIGAWI stands for “where-the-fug-ah-we?” Now an international event, the race started decades ago as a dare between two friends who got lost en route from the Cape to the island, hence the name!


As astute as Stella is, she is totally blind when it comes to Andy, especially his reactions to her dating new island journalist, Peter Bailey. Why can’t she see how interested Andy is in her?


Two words: Friend Zone. Andy made the mistake of giving Stella an embarrassing nickname, “The After a few subsequent pranks back and forth, they settled into a lifelong, but often antagonistic, friendship. Andy is happily dating a woman named Georgianna when Simon Sterling is killed, while Stella is ready for a new love in Peter Baily after having suffered a heart-breaking disappointment the year before. While solving Simon Sterling’s murder, however, new feelings, perhaps long-buried feelings, begin to bubble for each of them. I’m curious to see how these two redefine their friendship now that Stella has discovered her talent for sleuthing.

Hound,” when she sniffed out a gas leak in science class in seventh grade.


Why does Stella take over some of her best friend, Emily Gardner’s duties as an event coordinator for the wedding?


Emily Gardner is Stella’s other life-long best friend. Emily is married and expecting her first child’s arrival soon after the Sterling wedding. Unfortunately, third trimester complications hit her during the weekend event. Because Stella has been hired to lead the wedding’s candle design and knows the wedding plans so well, Emily leans on her when things get tricky.


Why does the inn have its own boat?


The Melville Inn is a swanky spot, with every amenity to make the guests’ stay special. The launch is one example. Since the inn is secluded, but on the harbor, it’s faster to shuttle guests to town via a launch than by car. On board, they can enjoy the sparkling waters, while reaching town in only minutes


How do you name your characters, which are perfect, BTW?


Thank you!

I have fun naming characters, especially after I’ve spent time with them. Often the names spring to mind, but Stella Wright was a calculated decision. Stella means star in Italian, and I just wonder if Millie had that in mind when she named her daughter. Wright is inspired by the right whales, which launched the island’s famous trade. These whales used to swim off the shores of Nantucket and were named because they were “the right whale to kill.”

If you are familiar with Nantucket, you will also notice that a couple of names (eg. Gardner) are old island names, but all of the characters are fictional – none of them based on people I know.


Your cover art is enticing. Did you have any input into its creation?


I had no input on the cover, but the designers at Kensington know exactly how to design a cozy mystery, I agree! My favorite part of the cover is the title image, which is inspired by the quarter board signs which are common on Nantucket. Best of all, this title design is going to be featured on each book.


What’s next for Stella and her cronies?


You’ll find out on February 25th, when the Nantucket Candle Maker Mysteries continue with Murder Makes Scents!


Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It’s a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker. But lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.


After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked. Their croissants continue to crumble when Millie suffers a blow to the head. Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France—and threatening her life if it isn’t returned. Now Stella’s picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked.

Not so much a unity candle when it's used to murder someone! This is a nice start to a new cozy series. It's got all the elements- Stella makes candles on Nantucket and has two love interests (long time BFF Andy, who is law enforcement, and Peter, a reporter). Stella's very happy to have gotten the job of making the candles for Jessica's wedding but now, with the murder of Jessica's uncle, things are looking not so good. Of course she's going to investigate! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Love the Nantucket setting, the characters are well drawn and will round out in future installments, and the mystery was just twisty enough.

A good start for a new series. I appreciated the setting, the likable and well developed cast of characters and the candle making.
The mystery was good, no plot hole, and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to reading other books in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Murder’s No Votive Confidence is a good start to the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series. It revolves around Stella, a candle maker, and the wedding she’s currently involved in providing her candles for. It was interesting for me to read about Stella’s candle-making as it’s not something I know much about. I’d have liked it if we’d seen a little more of that rather than focusing on the wedding guest so much.

I liked Stella as a character and a narrator. She really seems dedicated to her business, her craft and to seeing the wedding go well. Her relationship with her friend (and the wedding planner) Emily was great and really supportive. It also gave reasonable excuses for Stella to spend so much time involved in the wedding and for poking around the hotel.

There’s quite a lot of side plots and other mysteries going on during the book and I liked the way it was brought together in the end, resolving the main mystery while leaving some of Stella’s plot lines open to carry one into the rest of the series. I did guess the murderer, but I felt like there were a lot of red-herring and twists to keep me from guessing the murderer too early on. In a cozy mystery, I don’t think the whodunnit is the most important thing though, so I was pretty content to watch it play out.

However, as it’s the first in a new series there are a lot of characters to get to know and on top of that there’s the wedding party and hotel guests. I felt that perhaps there were too many characters milling around for me to really connect to anyone and it made everyone a little difficult to keep straight. Maybe a smaller cast in this first instalment would have been stronger, and the wedding plot could have been a second book?

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Kensington Books, in return for an honest review. This is the first book in a new series. This book is worth the time to read and enjoy. I wasn't sure how if I'd like a book with a candlemaker protagonist as interesting; Ms. Brecher does a great job with this and it's worth the read! Stella makes candles at her Nantucket shop and is one of those people with a highly (highly) developed sense of smell. She's providing the speciality candles at a high season wedding at the local inn, supporting her best friend who is the wedding planner and is also 9 months pregnant. Unfortunately, a member of the bridal party is killed, apparently by Stella's unique wedding unity candle. To save both her candle business as well as the wedding, Stella decides to solve the murder. She's added by the local deputy, Andy, and a new reporter, Peter. Other characters are well written and clearly developed in the story which adds in the story's development. I recommend this book if you like something a little different with your protagonist and setting; there's a slight touch of romance (is it Andy or Peter?) and a fabulous location. I look forward to reading more stories by this author and returning to Nantucket or wherever Stella's adventures take her!

What a great promising start to new series! I read the book in one day.
Stella Wright, a local candle maker, is hired to decorate a lavish wedding. Things go South when the bride's uncle is found bludgeoned to death with her candle. When the local bartender is arrested and her business is threatened Stella teams up with her best friend Emily, her former classmate and the current police officer and the new reporter in town to find the real killer. The list of suspects grows by the minute- is it the best man? The bartender's wife? The mother of the bride? Even the groom has a potential motive. Added by the deceased's cat Tinker who seems to have picked Stella as his new owner, she sets out to find a killer, uncovering deeply buried family secrets in the process.

"Murder's No Votive Confidence" by Christin Brecher felt like it was very familiar and I wondered if it was a republishing but not that I could find, either way I really enjoyed it.

Nantucket candle store owner Stella Wright specializes in creating unique candles for every occasion. But someone sets the stage for murder when a Memorial Day celebration becomes a wedding to die for . . .

Jessica Sterling’s candlelight-themed nuptials promises to be the perfect kick-off to the summer’s first official holiday weekend. Stella’s thrilled to have been chosen to provide the decorative centerpiece for the wedding ceremony: a two-foot-tall scented unity candle—a symbol of the happy couple’s love. But it looks like the bride-to-be’s uncle won’t be walking his niece down the aisle after he’s found dead. The murder weapon is Stella’s seemingly indestructible candle, now split in two.

When a beloved local bartender is arrested, Stella’s sure a visiting police captain running the case made a rush to justice. With superstitious brides-to-be canceling orders and sales waxing and waning at her store, the Wick & Flame owner decides to do some sleuthing of her own. Abetted by a charming reporter and challenged by the town’s sexiest cop, Stella’s determined to shine a light on the truth and uncover a killer who’s snuffing out her own flame.

The setting of Nantucket was great, I always like a small town setting where almost everyone knows one another until tourist season. Makes for fun and often quirky characters, also throwing in a crafty theme is even better.

The Protagonist Stella is well developed (although hoping more back detail why she came home in next book), likeable and her BFF Emily, cousins, along with childhood friend now policeman Alex, are all likeable side characters.

I found that the story was well paced and if not for my migraines I would have finished in one sitting. I couldn’t put the book down as I wanted to know who the killer was. The description of the setting and crime scenes are strong and really drew me in. The ending was unexpected although I had sort of figured out whodunit around the same time as Stella.

Highly recommended. A fabulous first book for an author I will definitely follow in the future.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Murder's No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher is the first book in Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series.

Stella Wright lives and creates handmade candles on a beautiful Nantucket together with her best friend Emily who is a wedding planner. When one of the guests at the lavish wedding to be ends up murdered and an old friend of Stella's arrested, she simply can't stay on the side. Helping her are a local policeman and an investigative journalist with a keen interest in Stella.

Lovely mystery, set on the breathtaking and history rich island make a perfect combination for a whodunnit.
Set of charming and quirky characters are so well depicted I could immediately see them in my mind. I also liked how closely connected community was but without that ugly backwardness that usually accompany small places. Likable and friendly people and gorgeous setting for me make a big plus.

It is interesting to follow leads and reveal clues along with the main character.
There were several quite scary scenes that sent chills down my spine.
Well presented with many twists and turns and even more possible suspects this is a rare treat for fans of cozy mystery.

Murder’s No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher.
I always enjoy a first cozy mystery to a new series and this was no exception, a great new author for me to add to my collection
I loved reading about the candles and how they are made they are so unique.
Nantucket sounds beautiful island to visit.
A surprise ending who the killer was,I never guessed, plenty of suspects in this cozy.
Great characters hopefully this isn’t forming into a love triangle between Andy, Peter and Stella. That might spoil the mystery for me.
Nevertheless a very deserving 5 stars.
Looking forward to the next book.
Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for a copy and my review is all my own.

First book I've read by this author. It did take me a while to get into the book. However, I ended up enjoying the setting, the characters and the murder kept me guessing. I look forward to more in this series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. I loved the unique occupation of the main character and her ability to smell things most people don't notice. Loved reading about the making of the unity candles and the tips in the back. This was a fun mystery with lots of twists and turns. Very refreshing. Can't wait to see what's next in this series.

As a series debut, this story has done its job of keeping the readers hooked on and looking for more. Stella is clumsy too. She wants to prove that she's a world class detective. So off she goes poking her nose and accusing people (mostly innocents) of killing Simon.

Stella's single and 29. Emily, her best buddy thinks Stella is a spinster (at the age of 29!!!) Andy and Stella have been best buddies since school. Peter is a handsome reporter who has come to Nantucket to report on the Sterling wedding. He's handsome and single, unlike Andy who's dating an environmentalist or someone like that. I wouldn't call it a love triangle, not yet at least, but Stella feels weird when she's with Andy and Peter. There's also a celebrity in the story - Gina. Stella and Gina form quite a bond!

I liked the mystery behind Simon's death. The identity of the killer was an interesting choice! Unexpected and surprising, too! The story is well paced. The characters are interesting and likeable. Even the killer is portrayed in an interesting way!

Overall, this was an entertaining and enjoyable read. Also, this was something different from the cozy mysteries I have read so far. As a series debut, there was equal importance given to mystery and character introduction. I am looking forward to reading more of Stella's stellar performances!

4.5/5

This novel is a cute cozy mystery about a woman named Stella who owns a candle shop on Nantucket. Her best friend runs a wedding planning business, and the two of them were hired to work together on the event. The bride's uncle is murdered and both women are convinced the police have arrested the wrong man, so Stella does some sleuthing of her own.

It's a fun story, but I wish there was more backstory about the protagonist and her family. Most cozies I've read focus quite a bit on the main character so the reader feels a connection with them and their story, but this one seemed to gloss over it a bit. I will continue reading the series, and I hope the next book has more personal details about Stella.