It was nice read, it just didn't standout to me. There are so many cozies that fit this genre that I was excepting new, refreshing and this book just wasn't it for me.

Max Walters is a talented bridal gown designer, at least many others think she is even if she lacks the confidence. While being left in charge while her boss/dress boutique owner is on vacation, Max works with a difficult bride who passes out during her final fitting. Final in more ways than one, since the never wakes up and now Max's former crush and lifelong friend has been accused of poisoning the wedding cake samples. In addition to all of this Max is offered a job with her old design firm in Manhattan for a promising position with great possibilities, much better than her former one of pattern cutting. She can't just sit around ad do nothing besides as acting store manager she hires a quirky and artistic assistant who is happy to help her investigate. Which is not what her falsely accused friend Andy wants, or the hunky Detective Cruz. An excellent read and one of three. Max is a wonderfully rounded character who is down to earth and easy to relate to. She is easy to identify with and the interactions of the other characters flow nicely as the story develops. Nothing is given away too soon and I had no idea who had "done it" until the end.

Murder in White Lace, by Karen Sue Walker, is the first of a series entitled, "Bridal Shop Mysteries". Max Walters creates gorgeous custom-made bridal gowns in a coastal California town. Her name is Max, not Maxine. Most of her customers are the typical excited and/or nervous brides. Some, however are bridezillas. Such is the case with Jennifer Burns, a rude, snobby, condescending, real estate agent who made her way by stepping on and over her co-workers.

When Jennifer came for a final fitting, collapsed in her wedding gown, and later died at the local hospital, it was assumed she had been poisoned. Max's childhood friend, Andy, was arrested, and Max made it her mission to clear his name. Jennifer was not well liked, so there was no shortage of suspects.

Max had previously helped the local police solve a crime, and couldn't resist working behind the scenes on this one. Detective Jason Cruz made it clear Max should mind her own business, but she simply couldn't resist. There was some tension between Max and Jason that may have been chemistry.

Then there is the fact that Max is offered a position as a junior designer at a New York fashion house where she had once worked as a pattern maker. She is happy in her home town, and finally realizes she is already a designer in her own right. Will she move back to New York, or will she stay at home near close friends and family, and the beach she loves? Will she hang around to see if anything can come of her friendship with Jason? Who killed Jennifer?

This was light, easy reading, which I especially enjoyed after reading some pretty heavy stuff. The characters were believable and likable. The story contained a good mystery, as well as the author's voice on several important issues, such as Max commiserating on historic cottages being replaced with McMansions. Also, Max thought to herself that she couldn't guess how old a local man was because he had spent too much time in the sun; and she told her friend who offered pastries how much better she felt whenever she stayed away from sugar. As a public health educator, I appreciate it whenever an author plants tidbits such as these into the dialogue.

What Makes This Reviewer Grumpy?

Far, far too many sentences began with the conjunctions "and" and "but.

The Bridal Shop mystery series is off to a great start with MURDER IN WHITE LACE. Filled with a crazy cast of characters, the story moves along in a breezy and fun pace. Max creates custom wedding dresses and is running the shop in her boss's absence. When one of her high-maintenance customers is murdered in the shop, Max finds her inner Nancy Drew coming out when her best friend becomes a person of interest. The author's description of the dresses lets me see Max's creations. I enjoyed so many characters like Max and Keiko. I loved the story, but my only complaint would be that sometimes Max blurts out her suspicions which is something that could get her into a lot of trouble, otherwise, she does have a knack of searching for clues.

I received a review copy from NetGalley for my honest opinion

I was unaware that this book was part of a series. Apparently, the main character, Max, was an amateur sleuth, in addition to being a budding clothing designer. I enjoyed this book so much that I will definitely read the first one.

The author developed the characters of Max and her father, Richard. There was some backstory about her deceased mother, who recently passed, after suffering from cancer. There was an interesting ensemble cast of characters, Andy, her first love, and his wife, Stacy; Eric, her longtime friend; Teresa and her sister, Fiona; her friend Olivia; and Keiko, her new assistant. There was even a black cat named Josie that made an appearance towards the end of the book. The story centered around the mysterious murder of Jennifer, an extremely unpopular bride to be, who died during her fitting at the bridal salon where Max was employed. The fiance, Chad, was a somewhat shady character and one was unsure about his true motives for marrying Jennifer.

I will not disclose the additional suspects, as I do not want to spoil the story for anyone. I enjoyed the book and was in suspense until the killer was revealed at the end. I had thought of the person, briefly, as the killer, but it was not until the end that the truth was revealed.

There were hints that Max may have found a future love interest but nothing was developed in this story. Maybe in future books.... Anyway, I definitely plan to read any future installments about Max and her charming town. I would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a clean, profanity-free read about a sleuthing designer and an interesting town of characters.

A typical cozy mystery with a bridal shop setting. Bridezilla potential! Hunky cop, wrongly accused friend, and nosy protagonist all add up to a delightful tale. Entertaining light reading.

Cute, light fun read, I read in an hour, enjoyed it! My review is up on Amazon under my name Kimberly-Aisha Hashmi

Quickly and cozy read!!

Reminded me a bit about my Nancy Drew reading days - but in a nice way! Small town setting, simple story, cute characters and a not so intense mystery!

Just what you need sometimes :)

NB: Got a free copy of the book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is a solid cozy debut for a new series. The characters are quite likeable especially the shop assistant, Keiko. Suspects abound when our protagonist, Max, discovers one of her bridal gown clients, Jennifer, unconscious and later dead , poisoned by an unknown murderer. The setting is an usual small town and I will probably buy the next book.

What puzzled me was that the book felt like it was a second entry in this series. Several characters including Max's dad and her best friend, allude to Max's ability to find lost things including a runaway child. I seemed to be missing minor pieces to the plot and reread a few chapters several times. There was also a backstory about Max and the main suspect (her former best friend whom she fell in love with). I had to double check to make sure this was the first book and not the second one. Also the length seemed short. On several book sites, it will cost almost $3 but there are less than 200 pages. It seems pricey for the amount of book.

This book was immensely entertaining, I love it, especially the characters Keiko and Max. They made a wonderful fashionable detective duo being fashion designers. The mixture of romance was the right dosage which kept the balance of the storyline interesting and intriguing. Andy was the one who was hurt the most in this story; to love so true and yet be hit with such a shocking revelation about his wife it’s so sad what he had to deal with. This murder mystery was indeed a cosy one, I truly enjoyed it

Fun and short read. I love cozy mysteries and this book did not disappoint. Perfect for a beach reading book!

Thank you NetGalley for this book.

I agree with most of the reviewers here! Murder in White Lace is a nice but not outstanding cosy mystery. I especially liked the characters of Jennifer (!) and Keiko. Max herself, I don't know. She is nice, and a hard worker, and sometimes quite clever, but she didn't stand out so much. She eats oatmeal for breakfast (yuck) but she also likes vodka.
I hope Karen Sue Walker will go on writing though, because there is potential here!

Murder in White Lace by Karen Sue Walker is a great book.
Max Walters is a designer, she loves the feel of lace and silk, and when her thoughts connect to her hands, the bridal creations she dreams of turn into reality.
Working as a bridal consultant may not be a dream job, but the ability to create beautiful pieces for brides and their attendants makes it worth it.

When the bridal store owner goes away, she leaves the store in max's hands, something Max is more than capable of.
Things get complicated when a bridezilla continues to change her wedding gown design.
Max is working hard to keep her cool and when the bride to be passes out in her stunning gown, Max is terrified that her boss will blame her.

When the detective on the case points his finger at Max's childhood crush, Max refuses to believe it and insists the detective is wrong.

Will this be the end to Max's career in fashion or just the beginning?

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

This book fits perfectly in the chick lit mystery genre. While the book was poorly edited, it was s fun, fast read. Overall, it was a bit predictable, but I liked most of the characters and found myself rooting for their success.

Witty, unique and fabulous. The mystery was well written with strong characters, intriguing plot and flowing prose. I loved it and would recommend it to everyone. The book is a must read for every one

I’ve read lots of cosy mysteries. Coffee stores, yarn stores, bakers. None of the settings have given me nearly so much joy as the bridal boutique managed by Max. Brides come in looking for a dress and then Max makes their dreams come true. Even for Tiffany, the Goth who is in love with an accountant.

Every bride-to-be, except Jennifer. She is rude, demanding, and constantly changing her mind. At last, she’s happy with her wedding gown – then falls down dead in the fitting room. Suddenly, the supporting cast of hundreds (individually charming but a bit overwhelming) insist that Max investigate, because apparently she’s great at that. The sexy police detective insists she leave it to the professionals before she even decides to ask around, but as they come across as incompetent and short-sighted, I don’t blame her for doing her own thing. If a threatening note comes while you have the alleged killer in custody, might that not be a hint that you have the wrong person?

Murder in White Lace follows all the rules of a classic cosy mystery: small town murder, main character investigates to clear own name or name of friend, lots of suspects with motive, main character considers leaving but eventually stays due to friendly persuasion or act of God, and romantic lead is set up for following books.

The strength of this book lies in the setting and the characters. The bridal boutique, as mentioned previously, is adorable, and Crystal Shores comes across as a town where everyone knows everything about everyone. It’s not gossip if it’s just two friends catching up, you know? There are a lot of supporting characters in this series and most of them drop by the store early on to be introduced – I probably should’ve noted them down because they pop up again at game nights and at restaurants. Their abundance does not make them any less charming, however, and I hope they stay in Crystal Shores.

I wasn’t terribly impressed with the chemistry between Max and Detective Cruz and the ending was a tad bittersweet for my tastes, but you know what? I enjoyed this book. It’s fun, fluffy, and fashionable, and I look forward to reading the next one.

This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

Murder in White Lace by Karen Sue Walker is the first book in the Bridal Shop Cozy Mystery series. Max works at a bridal shop in her hometown but has dreams of returning to New York City. A bride collapses while trying on her bridal gown and later passes away at the hospital. When her friend is arrested, Max steps in to solve the mystery. This cozy mystery was not unusual but at the same time I could not put it down. I read the entire book in less than 24 hours. The characters worked so well together. I wanted to stay longer in Crystal Shores and look forward to a return trip with the next book.

Max is a talented designer who is working at a bridal shop and designing dresses after coming home to be with her dying mother. Her mother has passed and Max is still working and dreaming of going back to New York. Everything changes when one of Max's bridezilla clients ends up dead at the bridal shop and her best friend is arrested. Can Max find the killer or did her best friend do it? This is a really fun read and I can't wait to read about more of Max's adventures!