Miss Merula Meriweather is not pining for marriage. She would rather be inducted into the butterfly "club" in society. But she's an unmarried woman so that's not really going to happen. But she can present her work as her uncle's. Too bad her first presentation ends in death. And her uncle accused of the murder. Luckily, Lord Raven Royston is willing to lend her a hand in her investigations.
At the end of the last book, Maggie Hope had been sent to Forbidden Island after a mission gone horribly wrong and after the discovery of a major war secret. At the beginning of this book, a society recruit with a penchant for killing is sent to the island as well. Basically, everyone on the island has been sent because they're a broken toy. And it ends up that with an island of broken toys, it can turn into an Agatha Christie mystery very quickly.
Larissa "Riss" Thorpe is a strong-ass woman who is going to find her joy where she can and isn't going to be slut shamed by anyone. Though she might get annoyed by... certain people. Ike Palmer being the one who gets under her skin. And now the truce they've called to help them get through their friends' wedding is off. And then Riss breaks her arm and Ike feels a strange compulsion to rescue her from her brothers.
First impressions can be crucial and cynical divorce lawyer Max Henderson sure blows his with wedding planner Charlie Love. But sparks still fly and the two have a fling. At least, that's what Charlie assumes. But Max's grinch-y heart has grown a size (he still has a ways before it's three sizes) and wants to explore whether there could be something more there.
Within three paragraphs of starting this book, I knew that Kristan Higgins was probably going to make me cry. It starts with three friends at a fat camp deciding what they would do if they ever became skinny. Sixteen years later, and one of them is dying. Her last wish? That the other two fulfill all of the points on their list.
The book starts with Lucy preparing for a new day at school. It starts off okay, meeting her friend Zara "Zeke" Kumar in line and then discovering that they are in the same pod (desks grouped together). Unfortunately, a monkey bar breaks, Lucy is injured, and it leads the principal to completely shut down the playground during recess. With the help of her new friends, Lucy decides to raise the funds to get a new playground. But the sixth graders don't want the team to succeed; they like having the playground to themselves.
In addition to her regular duties of blacksmithing, being a mother to twins, helping the mayor, Meg Langslow is helping out the Episcopalian priest while she's on bed rest. After a meeting one night, she sees light moving in the columbarium (crypt). When she goes to investigate, one of the most contentious lay officials has been killed and many of the niches destroyed.