Cold Reading Murder

Lee’s chatty third Bridge to Death mystery featuring Rosalie, Miss., investigative reporter and bridge expert Wendy Winchester (after 2020’s Playing the Devil) opens at Wendy’s wedding reception following her marriage to police detective Ross Rierson. As she swans across the vast reception tent, she spots the table devoted to her five new bridge students, among them clairvoyant Aurelia Spangler. Aurelia, new in town, suggests that the next lesson be held at her home, where she proposes to give cold readings to each of the other bridge students. The day after the readings, Wendy stops by Aurelia’s house and finds the woman dead, a suicide note and a dusting of cocaine on the table in front of her. Refusing to believe Aurelia took her own life, Wendy sets out to find the murderer. Another death raises the stakes, but the detecting gets lost amid bridge games, Wendy’s father’s blossoming romance, and other personal developments. Cozy readers who can overlook the feeble mystery plot will have fun. [em]Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Mar.) [/em]