cover image Marsh Madness

Marsh Madness

Caroline Cousins, .. John F. Blair, $22.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-89587-315-6

In the pseudonymous Cousins's fizzy second adventure (after 2003's Fiddle Dee Death ), South Carolina cousins Lindsey Fox, Margaret Ann ("Mam") Matthew and Bonnie Lynn Tyler get together for a grand wedding at Pinckney Plantation on Indigo Island. When one of the bridesmaids, aspiring actress MaryMar Futch, goes missing and her look-alike assistant is found unconscious, the three amateur sleuths soon find themselves tangled in a kudzu-like mystery. The pace quickens after the assistant dies and someone steals Mam's identity. When MaryMar shows up claiming she's being stalked, Lindsey's not-so-secret beau, Maj. Will McLeod, hides MaryMar at Lindsey's for safekeeping. As Mam goes overboard on the wedding floral arrangements, MaryMar tries to seduce Will and puts on beauty queen airs. Lindsey tries to keep life on an even keel, but is plagued by jealousy and insecurity. Full of Southern charm, Low Country imagery, snappy humor and the requisite secrets and lies, this cozy shows that three heroines aren't too many; they are a triple treat. (June 3)