cover image Shadow Waltz: A Marjorie McClelland Mystery

Shadow Waltz: A Marjorie McClelland Mystery

Amy Patricia Meade, . . Midnight Ink, $13.95 (312pp) ISBN 978-0-7387-1249-9

At the start of Meade's diverting third Marjorie McClelland 1930s cozy (after 2007's Ghost of a Chance ), Marjorie agrees to help an anxious young wife, Elizabeth Barnwell, find her missing husband, Michael. When Marjorie and her fiancé, wealthy Englishman Creighton Ashcroft, discover a dismembered body that turns out to be Michael's mistress, the philandering husband surfaces shortly thereafter and is arrested for murder. Marjorie, though, suspects the police have the wrong man. Meanwhile, the members of Marjorie's church in Ridgebury, Conn., have planned a wedding reception for her and Creighton complete with Mrs. Shutt's “revolting” Perfection Salad. Can they gracefully get out of this without hurting any feelings? While weak on period detail, this light whodunit does offer a surprise closing twist. (Apr.)