Killer Wedding

Many people have approached Madeline Bean since she became rich, all of who want her to buy their catering or party planning business. None are as persistent as Vivian Duncan, who is ready to retire from her wedding planning business. When Vivian invites Maddie and her friends to an extravagant wedding held at the Nature Museum, they attend. But before Maddie can convince Vivian that she seriously doesn't want the business, Vivian is found murdered and hanging from the triceratops skeleton. Now Maddie is being pressured by Vivian's daughter to solve the crime and help keep the business going. Can she find the killer and not become Vivian's successor, both in wedding planning and death? Throw in a lawsuit over the sale of her first business and complications in her love life, and you've got a great read.This book continues the fun Madeline Bean catering series. All the great characters from the first two books are back and just as strong as ever. The plot moved quickly, deftly balancing twists, sub-plots, and development of the new characters. The climatic scene is a little cliché, but still a fun conclusion to a great entry in this series.If you're already a fan of Maddie and co., be sure to read this great book. If you've never met them, you're in for a real treat. Grab the first book (SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL) and hang on for the wild, and incredibly fun, ride.

I loved Jerrilyn Farmer's first two Madeline Bean mysteries, Sympathy for the Devil and Immaculate Reception, but in Killer Wedding Ms. Farmer has outdone herself! I laughed so hard I cried. The scene in which the murder victim is found hanging from the jaws of a giant dinosaur skeleton has got to be one of the best I've read. And the author's sendup of the whole Hollywood party scene, not to mention a bunch of wildly zany characters, makes this mystery pure fun from start to finish. I am now adding JERRILYN FARMER to my list of all-time bestseller faves including Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton and Diane Mott Davidson. Trust me, this writer is going to go far! BUY this book. You'll thank me.

Maddie Bean, in her third book, is an event planner who gets manipulated into taking a hand with a wedding that is to take place in a Natural History Museum. LA's top wedding planner is found dead on top of a dinosaur skeleton. Maddie is "forced" into the investigation. A top notch novel and the book, besides having a very good mystery, is full of wit and humor which in no way detracts from the mystery. Farmer gets better and better. Killer Wedding is quite a wonderful book and proves that Farmer continues to improve and certainly deserves her Agatha nomination for her second book, "Immaculate Reception."

When Madeline Bean & crew plan events - they usually do so with panache & style. This is what leads wedding planner diva Vivian Duncan to corner Maddie, forcing her to help out, while plotting to sell a reluctant Maddie the whole wedding consulting business. Realizing she's been set up, Maddie reconciles an arguing couple, gets invited to their over-the-top wedding at the L.A. Museum of Natural History only to find Vivian lying dead on top of a Triceratops skeleton. With a mysterious ice sculptor who disappears, the discovery of many of the wedding participants' former ties to a particular part of Africa, Madeline Bean finds herself involved in a complicated murder despite friend and would-be romantic partner Detective Chuck Honnett's misgivings. This is the third book in a series which only gets better. Not your typical "theme" mystery, KILLER WEDDING contains strong characters and a complex story while entertaining and amusing you at the same time. Jerrilyn Farmer knows her stuff!

Madeline Bean and Wesley Westcott co-own Madeline Bean Events, an enterprise that plans events for clients. Recently, the company organized a successful welcome celebration for the visiting Pope. This has led to a large demand for their services among the rich and famous. However, the courts have prevented Maddie from accepting any work due to an injunction filed by the owners of her former company. Los Angeles' most prominent wedding consultant Vivian Duncan wants Maddie to buy her out of her wedding consultant business. Though the thought of coordinating a wedding leaves Maddie with hives, she is unable to reject the offer to the vindictive woman.At the posh Silver-Bell wedding reception, Maddie decides to tell Vivian no. However, before she can complete her quest, Maddie finds Vivian's dead body. Someone obviously killed the wedding consultant and Maddie is determined to find out who the murderer is. Her search soon uncovers a wide range of suspects who had motive and opportunity to kill Vivian. Even as she conducts her own brand of sleuthing, Maddie finds time to be enamored with the lead detective and a jewel thief.With the enjoyable and witty KILLER WEDDING, award winning Jerrilyn Farmer seems heading towards another Agatha or Anthony nomination. The independent heroine is a role model who thinks for herself, is nonjudgmental, yet is not afraid to voice her opinions. The fast-paced story line includes other likable characters that have appeared in previous Maddie Bean tales. Anyone who reads this novel will become a Bean collector for the series contains one of the better amateur sleuths.Harriet Klausner