Dogwood Manor has been purchased and is being converted into a luxury hotel by disliked property developer Herbert Solomon. As Missy drives by the historic mansion, she accidentally hits Herbert’s Rolls Royce, partially hidden from view. When Missy enters the construction zone to locate Herbert and inform him of the damage, he’s too busy yelling at his crew to pay attention to her.

Later, Missy runs back to Dogwood Manor to check a few details for the bride who selected this location for a wedding. Her return trip turns into a nightmare when Missy finds Herbert dead. Missy also discovers her shop, Crowning Glory, is flooded, ruining much of her showroom. Between fixing her showroom so it’s presentable for her upcoming article about veil trends and working with the bride who was supposed to get married at Dogwood Manor, Missy has to don her sleuthing cap once again and locate a killer.

The plot of Death Comes to Dogwood nicely executed and solid. I enjoyed the multiple threads involving the murder, the magazine article, disasters, and the other storylines. There are many twists, turns, and diversions along the way. She also gives the reader plenty of viable suspects that I enjoyed investigating right along with Missy. The author did a great job concealing the real suspect(s) and the reason for the murder. The vivid descriptions allow me to formulate the story in my mind as I read along.

A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

Innocently driving down the road to her hat shop, Missy accidently hits a car parked in front of the beautiful Dogwood Manor. Is it still a beautiful house though? No, it's being reconstructed as a hotel by Herbert Solomon. Bad luck stirkes again, literally, as the car Missy hits is the property developer of the Manor, Herbert Solomon. Missy goes about her day and returns to the Manor to find some unfortunate business. The former property developer has died on his property, due to poison. Missy must refocus her efforts onto finding out the killer before her shop and herself goes under.

A great cozy mystery series with fantastic characters. I love the idea of a wedding hat/veil designer and wedding dress designer having a relationship too.

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor is the fourth book in the Missy DuBois Mystery Series by Sandra Bretting. I have not read the previous books, and while those that have will get more of the character and community dynamics I think I was able to catch on pretty quickly to fully enjoy the read.

While driving to her hat shop, Crowning Glory, Missy accidentally sideswipes a car parked in front of Dogwood Manor, an antebellum mansion being converted into a high-end hotel by the much-reviled property developer Herbert Solomon. Of course, the car is his Rolls Royce. But Solomon is too busy berating his contractor and interior designer to worry about a little fender bender. When Missy returns to check out the mansion’s chapel where her latest client will be married, she finds the developer dead on his property. After an autopsy finds poison in his body, Missy’s shop is then flooded right before it’s supposed to be featured in an article about wedding-veil trends. Now before everything becomes sheer disaster, she’ll have to train her sights on finding a killer.

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor is part of a cozy mystery series that I had somehow missed thus far. I really enjoyed the characters, and thought the connections between the characters and the town itself were very well constructed, with plenty of hints for new readers and reminders for returning readers who everyone is- without feeling buried in introductions or explanations. I think that the mystery was set up well, and explored with plenty of twists and secondary issues to keep the characters and readers on their toes. I loved that I was kept guessing about the culprit so long, and that I was actually surprised in how some of it played out. I do admit that there were a few loose ends that I wish had been tied up, none of them had direct involvement to the murder so they were not overly important, but little things like that stick in my head.I do not know that they will even register with anyone else.

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor is a solid mystery with a few good twists and turns, and interesting characters. I will be looking into reading more from the author.

Missy is back and the bells are not ringing for just weddings! I have adored this series from the start. It is a great definition of a cozy mystery. Missy comes off as a friend to the reader and stays a friend throughout. You can’t find a more charming gal in the south! Ambrose and Lance are two that add to the delight in this series and this book. Lance is that pal we all want. And Ambrose could make my non-wedding wedding dress any day. The mystery will keep you guessing to the end and I was saying “wow” when it was revealed. It is a must read for your TBR pile.

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor is the 4th book in the series. Unfortunately, this is the first book I have read so I found myself lost with all the different characters. I did not relate well to the main character, Missy, so that made the story hard to follow.
I may go back and read the series from the beginning, to see if my opinions change.

I volunteered to read and review an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley

First one of the series I have read and now the rest are in my TBR pile! Just a fun, southern cozy with eccentric characters and good sayings! I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

prepare to be up all night! ,I really liked this book. The characters are well developed and the writing is very good. My daughter and I love hats, which is why I chose this particular book. Will be reading more by this author for sure! Thanks net gallery for the arc and the opportunity to review this book. Athens opinion is my own.

Jumping into a series on book 4 can be a dangerous chance to take. You may miss too much, get too caught up with the author dragging you through summaries of previous books, and there is always the risk of spoilers. I don't think I'll have any problem going back and reading the previous books because I really felt as though Sandra Bretting did a wonderful job of writing this as a stand-alone and it's always a joy to find authors like that. You get just as invested in their characters and the world they live in so you want to go back and read the rest. Sandra Bretting definitely does a wonderful job of creating that type of experience. The ending has me pulling my hair out with a wonderful cliff hanger. I'm not always a fan of those but I enjoyed this one. The only thing that could possibly make it better would be some of those recipes that were mentioned. Yumm.

Thank you to Sandra Bretting, Lyrical Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this wonderful story so I could share my opinions with my friends.

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor by Sandra Bretting was a great southern fun mystery. I loved the main character Missy and the unbelievable things she goes through in this book is while unbelievable at first it all falls into place and out of place and the ending is not to miss. This one is out now and was kindly sent to me as an ARC.

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor by Sandra Bretting is the 4th book in the Missy DuBois Mystery series, and a fun read. Missy DuBois is a hat designer in Louisiana, owner of Crowing Glory hat shop that specializes in custom made hats for the elite. Missy and her boyfriend Ambrose “Bo” Jackson who is a wedding dress designer,work next door to each other. When Missy finds another body, she is determined to find the murderer before it ruins her business. Not only is this book funny, it has a great mystery, with wonderful southern charm. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a very good read. I loved the history of hat making and the characters were bright and smart. But it was the ending that I loved the most. Original and a true surprise. I am eager to read more from this author.

This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. The story flowed very well and was very enjoyable. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises.

DEATH COMES TO DOGWOOD MANOR is the fourth book in the Missy DuBois Mystery series by Sandra Bretting, I was transported to the gentle South and its lovely mansions… and to its heat and humidity. The author’s descriptive voice pulls the reader in so I could fully envision (and almost) feel what the characters experience. I loved the charming Southern sayings that Missy and the Bleu Bayou residents spout off for any given situation. I could hear the lyrical, slow-drawl in their conversations and practically taste the sweet tea they consume to keep the heat at bay. Missy is a likeable protagonist and I adore her hat and veil shop, The Crowning Glory. In addition to the title of Missy’s shop, the author has created other pun-y type of companies such as “Been There, Dump That” trash company. The puns add another layer of humor to this entertaining read.

When Missy stumbles upon the murdered body of a greedy developer, the town’s law enforcement officer (who is also her friend) asks her to keep him informed of any leads she might find. Missy is not only curious but people seem to open up to her which helps in solving crimes. But with wedding season in full gear, Missy has her hands full placating difficult brides, redecorating her shop to prepare for a feature article in a popular bridal magazine, and maintaining her relationship with wedding gown designer extraordinaire, Ambrose Jackson. Yet as busy as she is, trouble seems to find Missy and she’s pulled into the investigation whether she has time or not. The plot flowed and while I guessed who the culprit was, I wasn’t sure why the crime was committed. The reveal provided an added historical twist which I enjoyed. It made me jump right on to the internet to read more about it! Ms. Bretting adds a teaser at the very end of the book but I didn’t find it detracting since the murder mystery was satisfactorily resolved in this newest release. Instead, it makes me anticipate the next installment in this charming series!

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor is a cute cozy mystery centering around hat and veil designer Missy DuBois and her best friend Bo Jackson in Blue Bayou, Louisiana. I have to start off by saying that the setting of the wedding business in the deep south was a charming part of this book. I loved that the two best friends owned cooperating businesses. Ironically, the murder also deals with a wedding affair as well. As it so happens, the owner of the chapel is murdered and Missy puts her sleuthing skills to work along with her friend Detective Lance LaPorte.

I enjoyed the book and thought that the pacing was good and the plot was well-developed for a cozy. The ending was left open, leaving readers like myself eagerly wanting to read on to the next book. Well played!

Death Comes to Dogwood Manor by Sandra Bretting is the fourth book in Missy DuBois Mystery series but can be read as a stand alone.
Missy is a miliner, working hard to take her business to a next level, in a happy relationship and generaly enjoying life. She however has the misfortune to stumbleupon dead bodies. Good thing is that town's detective happens to be her friend who lets her get involved as she has proven to be a good investigator.
This time local biliionare is poisoned. There are so many suspect as the man was not liked. Very influential bridal magazine is coming to town to write report about Missy's shop and she is dealing with obnoxious brides all the time, its being wedding season an all.
Even though this is the first book in the series that I have read, it is really easy to follow. Characters are well introduced. The story is reasonably paced, plot is clever enough. I also enjoyed getting familiar with Missy's business and private life as well, not just her sleuthing skills.
Very enjoyable and entertaining read which I highly recommend.

Herbert Solomon, in addition to renovating Dogwood Manor, managed to irritate a LOT of people in Bleu Bayou Louisiana, where Missy, our intrepid heroine has a millinery shop and a wedding business with her beau Bo. When Missy finds him, she has to investigate, of course, but unlike in some cozys, she has a good relationship with local law enforcement. There's some good back and forth with Lance, who welcomes her assistance. Missy's also prepping for a big magazine interview when her shop is flooded. Don't discount this as a side plot. There's some twists and the end was a little surprising. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is part of a series but you'd be fine with it as a standalone. Nice atmospherics!

Missy the milliner solves murders. A delightful series. Southern charm and a clever plot will keep you entranced. This was a quick read. Entertaining and engaging.