Shiveree: An Eclaire Mystery

This the fourth title in Sophie Dunbar's Eclaire Mystery Series.Ho, Ho, Ho, someone has been naughty and I don't mean in the way Claire and Dan perceive naughty. When Dan and Claire's friends Charlotte and Foley decided to marry on Christmas Eve everyone shows up the event, including the ex-wife. Poor Daltons meet up with rich Daltons, artists, who are also guests, put on a show all their own. The brides mother is wants a true-to-form baptist minister for the wedding, but Dan provides one with a little extra spirit in him. I had to laugh at Ms. Dunbar's characterization of Claire's maid, it is hysterical. Oh, did I mention the panty raid lead by Dan?I found this one to have a strong plot with plenty of suspects and twists and turns - I think it's because of all the strange wedding guests. This has been the most impressive mystery I have read in the Eclaire Mystery Series. Readers can expect this one to be just as titillating, humorous and colorful as Ms. Dunbar's past mysteries.

Knowing I would not get another installment of Claire and Dan's exploits for a while, I savored Shiveree, drawing it out over several nights. Dunbar's trademark prose is still here, her characters as quirky and delectable as ever and Dan and Claire are still steaming up the pages in between hunting for clues in the latest murder investigation.What kept me from awarding Shiveree 5 stars is the ending. Not that the reader isn't left guessing until the very end, not that Ms. Dunbar hasn't thrown in a slew of red herrings. The book just ---- ends! It's almost as if there is a chapter missing. I was quite let down, expecting a neat wrap-up, some cozying around the Christmas tree with Claire and Dan, maybe getting to find out what was really in the gaily wrapped packages. Maybe learning something more about Charlotte and Foley. But, nothing! I'm not happy. Ms. Dunbar, you really need to do something to correct this. We need another Eclaire mystery ASAP. Please don't leave us Claiborne groupies behind.

Though the wedding was switched from Atlanta to the New Orleans newly opened Riverside Manor Hotel, Claire and Dan Clairborne are happy for the couple. With less than two weeks before the Christmas Eve nuptials, Claire's best friend Charlotte Dalton is marrying Dan's friend and legal partner Foley Callant. However, Claire's thoughts of bliss change when the guests begin to arrive. The Dalton gang clearly divides into two seemingly armed camps, who loathe each other. The "Swamp" Daltons and the "Society" Daltons do not allow a happy event to interfere with their long standing feud. Though not an invitee, Foley's former wife arrives to cause even more desolation and destruction among Charlotte's side of the gathering group. All that wrangling seems like mere child's play when a murder occurs. Amateur sleuth Claire, who has helped in prior homicide investigations, cannot resist sleuthing. SHIVAREE is a humorous amateur sleuth cozy that provides readers with interesting, spiteful, and badmouthing characters ready to orally assassinate someone else. The lead protagonists remain a warm couple (see BEHIND ECLAIRE'S DOOR) and their best friends deserve a nicer ceremony. Readers who enjoy a jocular look at a large wedding will relish the "Eclaire" mystery. However, those readers who prefer their novels filled with non-stop action and suspense need to stay away from red velvet cake and diet on some other fare.Harriet Klausner