It’s landscape architect Tory Bening’s blissfully happy wedding day to Miles Spinelli. After the ceremony she and lifelong friend Ashley change into party dresses for the reception. Miles texts her to say he’s taking their Pomeranian home before the reception, but never returns. To make matters worse she discovers her dog is still at the reception which makes Milo’s text a lie. Stunned and broken hearted, Tory’s not sure whether he ran from cold feet, or something horrible has taken place. As signs point to murder she’s determined to find out what’s happened. And there are more troubles she’s going through with the recent death of her father, and the embezzling of her family company.
This is the first book in a new series. There are several mystery’s in the book, and they’re clever, and character development is strong, with the main characters interesting. I can easily see more books as part of the series.

I have two big complaints however. The first is Tory immediately starting to fall for someone new, and Miles has only been missing a month. She’s not even sure he’s been murdered yet. The second is the complete shallowness and one dimension of her best friend Ashley. She’s a lawyer, so we assume she has brains, but all she thinks and talks about is the hotness of every guy she sees, as if this is the end all be all. Please take her off this tack, and let her be an intelligent character, with more on her brain. She feels like a throwback to a time when all women were supposed to think about was finding a man.

I received a free copy of MURDER IN THE SECRET MAZE (Book 1 of the Tory Benning Mysteries) by Judith Gonda in exchange for an honest review. Tory Benning is a landscape architect working hard to adjust to running the company after her father’s recent death. The love of her rescue Pomeranian, Iris, her fiancé, Milo, and her family, has been carrying Tory’s through her grief. Tory and Milo are married, but Milo disappears under mysterious circumstances before the reception. Tory is distraught, and a policeman with a grudge seems determined to pin the act on Tory. When another body is found at the reception site with a connection to Tory and when the insurance company questions the nature of her father’s death, Tory finds herself in a maze of confusion, secrets, lies, and accusations. Tory must find her way to the truth before another person is murdered or ends up in jail.

I liked this book. I thought it was a great introduction to a series. I recommend this book to fans of cozy murder mysteries featuring socialites, family business and businesses, landscape architecture, and pets.

#MurderintheSecretMaze #NetGalley

I read this in under 24 hours. It grabs you from the moment you start reading right up until the end. The twists and turns and surprises are endless. A really fun story from a new-to-me author. Fantastic read!

Tori Benning a landscape architect, daughter, granddaughter of a wealthy family, has lost her father three months prior to her Wedding Day. That was hard enough, after her wedding ceremony, her new husband has disappeared, what happened to Milo? Then we have another murder! Someone is killing off people in her family, what is going on, who has a grudge, that would lead to murders?
This could have been a good story, the problem is, I figured out the killer the moment the names were given, which made some of the conversations between Tory and her lifelong friend Ashley, seem very juvenile to me. How could Tori go from losing her husband to getting the hots for another man within a one month period? This story is not realistic in the least, if you want a light mystery, with silly moments, then yes, read it, with tongue in cheek.
Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

Tory Benning is getting married! Sadly, she just buried her father a short time ago and the wedding is bitter sweet. But the ceremony comes off with out a hitch and it's time to get the party started...only now the groom has gone missing right after their nuptials. As Tory and her BFF Ashley look for the missing groom, they find some things in the garden maze that Tory and her company built that makes the missing groom appear to be a dead groom. Tory needs to find out what happened to her husband before the police arrest her for the deed or the murderer reunites the bride and groom forever.

A new cozy set on the California coast. I would love to have given this another star, but the reality of a bride losing her husband right after taking their vows would render her far more upset than the protagonist is in this book. But there are a whole lot of red herrings and suspects to keep you busy while trying to overlook that one gaping hole and get you to the reveal of whodunit.