Wendy Rierson is back in RJ Lee’s fourth Bridge to Death mystery series volume. Wendy has been invited to a party at the house of Rosalie elite, King Kohl. Young King Kohl (approx. 30) is known for giving great parties and he’s decided to throw another and has invited our intrepid Mrs. Rierson to this one, among other frequent guests at Kohl Place soirées. Just before the party is to occur, King decides to cancel and instead summons Wendy and a few others to meet him at his place. When Wendy arrives, she learns that King has been murdered and she plunges head-first into the investigation.

Wendy’s intuition once again serves her well and she does figure out who murdered King. I also figured out whom the killer was before it was revealed, though I’m sure that was meant to be a twist. I still enjoyed the read, as I liked “seeing” how the author was going to guide me to the solution that I already envisioned. I look forward to reading another book by Mr. Lee in this series (if there is one) in the future.

In R. J. Lee's A Bridge to Death Mystery series, the author has created a group of primary characters that have great potential for the future by developing new and creative stories centered around the card game Bridge. In the fourth book of this series, The King Falls, the protagonist Wendy Rierson has seen growth and acceptance for the bridge club that she founded after the first book in this series. One of the members has invited several members to a special bridge party that he is hosting to break some news to them all. After further contemplation, he decides to cancel the party and instead give each person the news separately as he is not certain how each is going to react. Unfortunately, before he can meet with any of his guests, he is found murdered in his own home. Wendy, an investigative reporter, along with her new husband Ross and her father, both of whom are police detectives, begin to investigate the case from all possible angles discovering numerous suspects with potential motives making the final reveal a big surprise to all.

This author writes in such a way as to enable even non-bridge players to gain a modicum of knowledge of the game so as to better understand the characters and story. With the in-depth creation of his characters and storyline, he also keeps the reader engaged by not revealing too much too soon as to the real identity and motive of his killer but still maintains the underlying connections within the community of the characters who continue throughout the series. I do feel though that if this series continues, it might be prudent for the author to include a basic list of bridge terms for the non-players to be able to refer to and perhaps develop an interest in the game.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Be Careful What You Say and Who You Say It To...

King Kohl is known for his wonderful parties! King has a reputation as a ladies man and his parties always include plenty of food, drink, and bridge games. Wendy Winchester Rierson is looking forward to the party King has recently announced. His parents are hoping he will be announcing wedding plans with one of his many girlfriends.

Suddenly, without any warning, Wendy receives a text from King to be at his house at a specific time and not to be late. She wonders what it means and what King wants to discuss. Upon her arrival, she almost collides with Marcus Silvertree as he is running out of the house in a panic. Marcus tells Wendy that he found King in the house dead, but insists he did not kill him. Marcus was the main real-estate rival of the Kohl firm and had had numerous confrontations with King.

Who killed King? Is Marcus telling the truth? Was he being set up? Was he killed by a "woman scorned"? Can Wendy untangle the clues and solve the mystery?

R. L. Lee has created another wonderful mystery with this latest entry into the Bridge to Death series. There are plenty of twists, turns, and red herrings to keep the reader engaged throughout!! In addition, even if you think you know who killed him, the question becomes WHY?

The King Falls is the 4th book in the Bridge to Death Mystery series by R.J. Lee. In this book, I was pleased to meet bridge expert and investigative reporter Wendy Winchester Rierson again, who lives in the Mississippi River.

Wendy is very busy with her full-time job at Rosalie Citizen newspaper, also having married Detective Ross Rierson. She has been invited to an exclusive bridge party, as she is president of the Rosalie Country Club Bridge Bunch in Mississippi, by King Kohl, an heir of the Kohl and Son real estate firm. But before the event, King Kohl is found dead...by a rival realtor.

Although book 4 in the Bridge to Death Mystery series, this can be enjoyed as a stand-alone. With a compelling plot, drama aplenty, a great bunch of characters, and oodles of mayhem added to the mix, this was a fantastic read that kept me on my toes. R.J. Lee's fun writing style is a good fit for me. Trying to unravel the mystery in the pockets of Wendy was a blast and I welcomed the comfortable pace. I would like to read the first books I've missed in this series as I thoroughly enjoyed The King Falls and I’m game to see what shenanigans Wendy and the Mississippi River rabble get into next. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Extraordinarily written, zany, and utterly engrossing. The dialogue can be a bit clunky at times, but my God if I was not sold from page one. Perfectly written and executed, I could not ask for more. I eagerly await what Lee has to write next.

Someone has murdered real estate mogul King Kohl (I know I know) and Wendy is determined to figure out who. She's both a bridge whiz and a reporter for the Rosalie, Miss. paper. She's also newly married to Ross, a detective, and the daughter of Max, the chief of police. So who called and asked her to come early to the bridge party King was hosting? Cozy fans know that it isn't his rival who Wendy passed on her way in and that King had a lot of people who didn't like him. No spoilers from me. I like this series for the characters as well as the mysteries- and for the bridge. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Will be fine as a standalone and I'm looking forward to the next one.

This is the 4th book in the series, and maybe coming into late was part of the problem. For me the start was sooooooo slow, I had to keep putting it down, and trying a few more pages at a time. It eventually picked up speed, but honestly by then, I wasn't connected to the characters, but rather saw them as 'set pieces' that moved the mystery on. Not sure if it was the storyline, or just the slow start. The mystery was decent with the right amount of red herrings for a cozy, it just ended up not being my cup of tea,

Wendy Winchester Rierson is a bridge player, a reporter, and an avid private detective with a father and husband on the police force. Naturally, when a bridge party planned by a prominent citizen of her small Southern town leads to murder, she's in the thick of it.

The writing is florid, but the story is exciting, with lots of twists and turns before the exciting denoument. The ending is full of surprises.

After what seemed a slow start to me, once some invisibly switch in my brain clicked on, this one really kept me guessing until the end. The view point switched periodically, even sharing thoughts of the victim and his pondering over how to share his big news, all while, of course, not revealing what the big news was. There were countless red herrings and suspects, all with possible reasons to kill the victim. I was new to the series and thus fuzzy on some of the background and relationships but it really didn't matter. This one worked nicely as a stand-alone.

I swung rather wildly between possible suspects, often within a few pages, and even fingered the right party at one point before abandoning that thought, so this one will definitely keep you guessing. Who killed King Kohl? Who came up with that name anyway? Was King's tallness really important? What was wrong with his mother? Could a parent kill their own child? Could a person kill someone they claimed to love and might marry? How tormenting must it have been for the priest to know the "big news" that might be relevant to the solving of the crime but be unable to share due to his position? Did the big news even matter? If so, to who? Why? And, what the heck makes Wendy, who seems tough as nails, faint?

If you're like me, you'll waver from one suspect to the other as the plot moves along but never have a real clue to the "Why?" of the murder. The clues are all there, however, and I thoroughly enjoyed the back-and-forth musings on the case between Wendy and Ross, not to mention Bax. Thus, despite the it taking a bit for me to get into the book, I thoroughly enjoyed it and, hey, you don't even have to play bridge to enjoy it.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for the ARC.

There's always lots of twists and turns along with plenty of suspects in Lee's mysteries. This the 4th in the series continues the fun action pace that readers like me love. You'll be guessing like me until the end. Thanks #netgalley and #Keningston for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Wendy has received an unusual invitation from King Kohl for a bridge party but shortly before the party King cancels and texts Wendy to come to his house that morning. When she arrives one of King's rival realtors is rushing out horrified because he just found King dead inside. King was supposed to be making an announcement but what was it?

Wendy, in reporter mode, interviews many of the people that were also invited to the bridge party while her husband, Detective Ross Rierson, investigates. Together can Wendy and Ross determine who killed King and why? What was the announcement to be made?

This was a tremendously intriguing mystery because until the end the "announcement" is still hidden away. The reader is given numerous clues but they have to be put together like a puzzle to get the real picture. The regular characters are growing and the writing is well done.

I love a good cozy mystery and am always up for reading a new author, so I was excited to see a new author for me to get acquainted with. Though it started off slow for me, I did get caught up with the red herrings and kept shifting all over the place as to whodunit. THAT is a major plus for me.

I think I’ll be reading the next in the series as I find sometimes a new author, while exciting to explore, can leave me a bit off the first time as their writing style is new to me. That said, i say read it and decide for yourself. You may join me in reading the second book as well.