A Rather Charming Invitation

What a most delightful and charming read. I love the twists and turns that keep the reader guessing as to the outcome of the story. I was engaged from the beginning to the end in this thrilling yarn. Penny and Jeremy are such a likeable pair with a great future ahead of them. The secondary characters, at times, remind me of a bunch of misfits that come along in many household families. C.A. Belmond pens a down to earth good book that makes the heart sing with joy. A Rather Charming Invitation keeps the reader engaged. It is without a doubt a wonderful book to grab a chair, put the feet up and just sit back and enjoy every single delightful page while taking a journey with the characters. - Linda L.

C.A. Belmond writes another luxe mystery for readers who want a wonderful escape interlude. Seriously, I feel I should read this while reclining on an elegant art deco chaise lounge like you might find on a movie set for Carole Lombard or Myrna Loy. Truly escapist literature that takes you from the London Bloomington-area style salons to the French Riviera aboard an antique roadster or a one-of-a-kind train journey. In fact, I actually read this during one of the dreariest February winter weeks in recent memory and really enjoyed not only the journey that Penny takes from one PLACE to another, but also the journey her fears travel while deciding if marriage is the culmination or the end of romantic love. It made me remember my own sense of concern - not whether my husband (of 35 years now!) might not be right for me, but whether marriage itself was a doomed character. This is a fun book. Lighthearted, romantic, makes-you-wish-you-could-be-there reading which follows two equally enjoyable novels with the same characters. If you haven't read the first two books yet, READ THEM. And Ms. Belmond, do keep writing! So many novels today are just DREARY, they have no fun, and the characters aren't anyone with whom I'd care to spend my time. I really like Penny's optimistic attitude toward people and I love vicariously experiencing her lovely, curious, and charming adventures.

A Rather Charming Invitation begins with Penny and Jeremy planning their wedding and soon twists and turns through family history and mysteries. Penny and Jeremy travel through England, France and Monaco trying to solve the crime and you, the reader, get to travel along. Everything is described in such wonderful detail that I felt like I was right there with them. Just when I thought I had it figured out it would take another turn. There was enough intrigue to always keep me guessing and keep me reading (me: "yes, I know it's 1 a.m., but Penny and Jeremy are being held hostage on a boat and I have to make sure they are ok" Husband: "groan"---rolls over and tries to go back to sleep). I can't help it, who needs sleep when there is a great book to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys wonderful characters and a page turning mystery.

American heiress Penny Nichols and her fiancé London barrister Jeremy Laidley are planning their wedding when her French cousin Honorine arrives in England. They need to return her young relative to her parents in Mougins, France. There her Aunt Leonora and Uncle Phillipe offer the use of an ancient bridal tapestry and their chateau for their wedding vows. However, Jeremy's very British grandmother wants the ceremony in England so the couple has to convince her to cross the Channel. As they struggle to persuade his family's matriarch that her specific demands will be met in France, the tapestry is stolen. Jeremy and Penny return to France to investigate who robbed her family's valuable heirloom. The third Rather tale (see A Rather Lovely Inheritance and A Rather Curious Engagement) is an engaging contemporary that contains several mysteries re their respective families' secrets and obviously the missing tapestry. The story line starts slow yet is insightful as Penny is a nervous wreck and it picks up once the heirloom is stolen. Although the whodunit has too many holes, fans of the Rather charming saga will enjoy the latest entry wondering if Penny needs to wear rubber underwear when she says oui. Harriet Klausner