This is book five in the Sarah Blair Mystery series by Debra Goldstein. You don't need to read the books in order (although you'll want to read all of them, they're that good) and the engaging protagonist keeps the action flowing and leaves the readers wanting more. Sarah's mother, Maybelle, is a delightful character who plays a key part in this book; she and her gentleman friend are selected for a reality show competition. This book is a delight--wonderful characters, a complex plot and of course, delicious recipes!

I really loved this book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end

Five Belles Too Many

by Debra H. Goldstein

I’ll give kudos to Debra H. Goldstein, the author of Five Belles Too Many, for starting off this cozy mystery with an explosive scene. The cast of the Southern Belle Perfect Wedding Competition is staying at Jane’s Place, an inn and restaurant. As the book opens, Jane is clearly upset over what she feels is a rigged show. Our main character Sarah looks on with mixed feelings because Jane is her long-time nemesis. Sarah is involved in this reality show because her mother Maybelle and Mom’s boyfriend George have been selected as finalists. The competing belles are required to have “chaperones” who stay at the inn at night and participate in some of the events.

At first there are just ruffled feathers as the videotaping starts, but then murders begin and there is talk of gambling. Jane is accused of murder because she has threatened it and the crime occurred at her inn. The plot is complicated with the announcement of the method of murder awaiting toxicology results. Many members of the cast and crew dislike the victim. Meanwhile, as taping continues, the contestants have to put their best side forward even while competing with others to have the wedding and honeymoon of their dreams paid for by the producing network. Vendors are also competing to be chosen to supply the cakes, flowers, etc. for the winning couple.

Reviewing this book fairly was difficult for me because I truly dislike “reality TV,” mainly because there is little real about it. To me, the scenarios appear staged, and the outcomes pre-decided when there are competitions. The contests themselves are often absurd, and this was the case in Five Belles Too Many. I also don’t like gambling and don’t want to understand the intricacies of “pushes” and other gambling terms. So, a reality TV and/or gambling aficionado would probably enjoy this book more than I did.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #5 in the Sarah Blair Mystery Series, but is OK as a standalone. I have only read one other book in the series and I had no problem jumping in with the plot and characters.
2. Recipes are included, but I saw nothing outstanding or with a strong tie-in to the story.

Publication: June 28, 2022—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

As she slipped into the chair next to her mother, she heard Alan loudly observe, “That, my friends, is reality TV.”

Their unselfish pride at each other’s accomplishments was the big factor that made them such a great couple.

The sun was up, which Sarah took as a good sign because she firmly believed light triumphed darkness.

Reality shows are all the rage. Run around naked on an island, learn to dance or sing, out cook a competitor, do whatever it takes to win is the main theme. While the shows might be fun to watch, it’s not something Sarah Blair would ever try. What could be worse? Having your mom as a contestant and chaperoning her, that’s what.

Maybelle and her, um, ‘friend’ George Rogers were chosen to be on the Southern Belles reality show. Five couples are competing in a variety of challenges to see who will win a dream wedding and honeymoon. Sarah’s worried—what if they win?

Her mother is more practical and says, no matter the topic of a reality show, there are always likely contenders so the audience will pick sides and root for their choice, sure losers who can and will be eliminated early on, maybe a dark horse who shows surprising promise, and the older, lovable couple who will stay on until the middle when sadly, they’ll be sent packing.

The best part of the deal is meals are scheduled at Southwind, where Emily, Sarah’s twin, is one of the owner/chefs. The worst part is contestants and chaperones are to stay at Jane’s Place, Jane being an enemy of both Sarah and Emily. Mostly Sarah. Jane’s not happy about the deal and is never shy about her unhappiness.

When one of the show’s creators is found dead, Jane was kneeling by the body, her hands covered in blood. Ditto when a second murder occurs. To protect her mom and George, get Southwind the publicity it deserves, and as an act of unappreciated kindness, Sarah decides to investigate and save Jane from a life behind bars, as appealing as that sounds at times.

Will Sarah be able to find the killer before the final episode wraps? Just keep in mind, whatever you think you know, you’re wrong.

This is book five in the series. Sarah lives with her Siamese cat, Rah Rah, and Fluffy, her rescue dog. With her job in a law office, helping with the restaurant (not the cooking!), and spending time with Cliff, a local contractor, she hardly has a minute to spare. What will book six bring? Given hints dropped, it’s going to be interesting to find out.

Sarah’s someone you’d want for a friend but if you’re hungry, Emily’s the one to go to. At the back of the book, find recipes for breakfast biscuits, honey baked apples, and baked pears.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Any story that starts with Sarah playing chaperone to her mother is going to go some pretty weird places. It seems a reality show has come to town and taken from a limited pool five brides to be who want a dream wedding, including her mother. Each must have a chaperone as must each of the grooms to be.. The idea is that through the course of the competition, couples will be voted off until there are only two. Then one of the two will win the prize.

We have our litany of mamazillas who outnumber the bridezillas by a long shot. It seems pretty clear which couples will be fodder but the fates are conspiring to thwart what should have been a fairly simple elimination. In fact, it is the eliminations that mess things up big time. These are real eliminations as in murders. We have rivalries that have gone back generations, we have some shady moves to get things back on track and we have lots of chaos. We also have the motive which seemed a bit convoluted but in the end Sarah is confronted by the killer and the villain is brought to justice.

I have enjoyed other books in the series. This was not my favourite as the story seemed forced. Four purrs and one paw up.

When Sarah Blair’s mother participates in a reality show competition for brides in Wheaton, Alabama, things get a little too real as a murderer crashes the wedding party . . .

Sometimes Sarah’s mother, Maybelle, can be higher maintenance than her Siamese cat RahRah. Maybelle and her friend, Mr. George Rogers, have been chosen to be one of five couples competing for a small-town “perfect” wedding and dream honeymoon on a Southern Belles reality show—and guess who has to be chaperone. Even more vexing, the producers have decided to put up the crew and participants at the restaurant/bed and breakfast owned by Sarah’s nemesis Jane Clark.

But when someone turns up dead with Jane kneeling by the body with blood on her hands, she goes from being Sarah’s chief rival to the police’s chief suspect. Neither Sarah nor her twin, Chef Emily Johnson, can stand Jane—still, they don’t think she’s a murderer. The producers vow the show must go on, but to protect their mother and the other contestants, Sarah vows to find the true killer before someone else gets eliminated . . .
Amazon.com



Five Belles Too Many, Debra H. Goldstein’s fifth book in the Sarah Blair mystery series, will be released on June 28th. This book involves two things I have no experience with—reality TV shows and gambling. Most of my questions involve learning about these topics so please forgive my ignorance.

As a regular blogger with WWK, Debra needs no introduction. But please ask any questions I may have missed. Thanks!
E. B. Davis

Debra—did you study reality show psychology and marketing to write this book?

Having appeared on Jeopardy and participated in early try-outs for a show that never aired, I had a limited amount of personal knowledge of what happens behind the scenes on game shows. I also had the benefit of being able to interview a friend who once worked for an invitation company that produced an invitation that became a finalist for a similar “Perfect Wedding” segment. Finally, I networked and was put in touch with an individual who, having been associated with many reality TV shows, was able to explain the call sheet and the roles different people have for a television show to successfully be taped.

Jane is scathing to many people, but she creates her own problems by not taking the time to do her homework. Is she too busy, not detail oriented, or a scatterbrain?

Jane is none of the things you mentioned. She is an individual who dreams of hitting it big no matter what it takes to get there. Jane jumps at opportunities, but never thinks things might not occur the way she wants. Her continuous competition with Sarah and Chef Emily reflects a jealous desire to have the same level of success they do, but she fails to recognize the hard work they put into achieving their goals. When things to wrong for her, she blames everyone except herself.

Many of the contestants on the show know each other or have connections to the show’s production staff. Cliff is a contractor for the show and his uncle is a contestant. Maybelle is a contestant and her daughters own the restaurant hosting the show’s dinners. Aren’t all of these relationships conflict of interest to the competition of the show?

In real life, the interconnected relationships would never occur. I took some leeway in setting the show in a small town with a limited number of available venues, competitors, and experienced laborers. Rather than shying away from the conflicts, I highlighted them by having Jane and Chef Bernardi argue their impropriety, but I had the producer explain:
“We’re in complete compliance with the network’s rules for segments like this. We even have a compliance person on set every day. Jane’s Place and you will either win or lose on merit. The audience will vote on the invitations, dress, and things like that, but guest judges will be evaluating the competitions involving tasting of food and cakes. Their judging will be based on your abilities and final products.”

How can “no kill” animal shelters put down about ten percent of healthy animals?

Shelters have different philosophies in terms of killing unwanted animals. Many traditional shelters used euthanasia as their means of dealing with too many animals for the shelter or an overflowing population of unwanted animals. It was an adopt some and kill the rest approach. Today’s No Kill shelters specifically reserve euthanasia for irremediably suffering animals or those whose behavior precludes rehabilitation. Instead of using death as a remedy for otherwise healthy animals, No Kill shelters believe in promoting adoption, fostering, targeted spay/neuter programs, and other means that control the flow into shelter life. Ten percent is a maximum with most having and achieving a goal far less than that.

Sarah blurts out her comments about Cuban cigars without a filter, and then she worries she’s becoming her mother. Do we all worry about that?

Don’t you? Although most of us love/adore our mothers, there are the times that they chide us, ask a question we don’t want to answer, or say or do something that absolutely embarrasses us. When that happens, we all resolve to never become our mothers. There is even an insurance company that now has a series of commercials about becoming our parents. In Sarah Blair’s world, Mother Maybelle can be the perfect Southern Belle who smiles sweetly while saying “Bless your heart,” and the woman Sarah hopes to never become, but Sarah loves her mother and will do anything for her (despite Sarah’s groaning and fear of becoming her mother).

I’m surprised that in this era the show’s management thought that cigars would be a perfect gift for the male contestants. Am I naïve? Do guys really like them?

I used cigars for two reasons. First, many guys really do like them as evidenced by the number of cigar stores that exist in most urban areas. Second, it was a play on the Southern tradition of the Gone with the Wind era when after dinner the women retired while the men had a final drink and a cigar. Stereotypical images of the South are deliberately being emphasized by the reality show producers in Five Belles Too Many. Besides the cigars, there is a challenge that includes Southern Belle costumes and another one with flower arranging.

Are reality shows less about the competition and more about the rivalry and conflict like any drama?

Reality shows are edited to make the viewers engage with different characters. If you think of Top Chef, the Bachelor or Survivor franchises, or any of the Housewives shows, the editing always makes someone appear to be a villain and someone a well-liked angel. Similar to a novel, without episodic conflict or drama, there would be no reason for a reader to turn the page or a viewer to tune in to the show’s next episode.

Does it matter that the contestants weren’t randomly picked? I guess none of them really are.

Almost all shows have try-outs. The contestants are then chosen based upon demographics the show’s producers want to have represented. In Five Belles Too Many, the segment, which will play on a New York televised show, is being filmed in Wheaton, Alabama. The big rivalry in Alabama is between Auburn and Alabama football. Consequently, there had to be a couple representing each team. The show also needed to have a couple who represented the stereotypical image people have of the South (think Jethro and Elly Mae from The Beverly Hillbillys). With the South covered, I went the opposite way by having one couple be fans of the Day of the Dead. Finally, because most couples trying to win a perfect wedding are young, I had four couples be in their twenties, but I gave the final slot to Mother Maybelle and her friend, George, to represent an over sixty dynamic. The mixture makes for great fun!

Is there outside betting on reality show outcomes?

Hopefully not, but the reality is that bookies take bets on anything. If you Google betting on game shows or reality shows, you will find many advertised lines of bets taken on scripted and unscripted shows. There also is the history of scandals involving the giving of answers or questions in advance associated with original game shows like The $64,000 Question.

What is a gambling line? Do gambling lines change during the competition? What’s a push?

In gambling, the line is the odds. It can change based upon circumstances and betting. A push in betting is a tie between the better and the house. In that instance, the odds maker fails to make money and the better only ends up with the return of his/her original bet.

Is the type of gambling set up by Chef Bernardi illegal?

The best thing to say about the way Chef Bernardi manages the gambling in Five Belles Too Many is that his actions aren’t particularly kosher.

How did you manage to delay the murder until Chapter 7? Did your publisher comment?

My editor/publisher loves Five Belles Too Many and never mentioned that the murder doesn’t happen until Chapter 7. In fact, I never noticed that fact either, until you asked this question. I tend to write short tight chapters and there was a lot of fun character and gameshow groundwork to lay before a murder occurred.

Why did Sarah go out of her way to help Jane by getting her counsel and investigating when Sarah can’t stand Jane?

Sarah can’t help herself. Despite Jane (aka the Bimbo) breaking up Sarah’s marriage, trying to steal Sarah’s Siamese cat, RahRah, sabotaging Chefs Marcus and Emily’s restaurant endeavors, and being a general pain in the neck, Sarah doesn’t believe Jane is a murderer. Consequently, Sarah’s better nature beats out the hatred she feels toward her greatest nemesis.

I was confused by the doctor, who I assume was the ME or coroner, who took orders from the police chief. Isn’t that a conflict of interest? Isn’t the norm that they are separate offices so the chief wouldn’t have undue influence to bend the forensics to his line of inquiry?

Wheaton, Alabama is portrayed throughout the series as a small town with a limited police presence. Besides the Chief and another officer, the doctor does double duty as a detective and the coroner. In small towns, coroners are often appointed or elected. In Wheaton, it is an appointed position held by a very scrupulous individual who believes in doing things the right way rather than jumping to conclusions. In this case, it is clearly indicated in all the books that Dr. Smith never deviates from proper forensic behavior.

Sarah asks herself is Harlan a saint or fool for helping Jane, but he’s doing it for Sarah. Shouldn’t she ask herself that question?

Don’t all of us sometimes miss the most obvious question that we should be asking ourselves?

Is Cliff really changing or does he want to be with Sarah again?

Throughout the five books, the individual arcs for each character change. The Sarah from One Taste Too Many goes from being an insecure woman who married at eighteen, was divorced at twenty-eight, and only got RahRah, the Siamese cat out of the marriage, to a woman with more confidence and the ability to believe in herself as she interacts with others and successfully solves crimes that allow her to protect family and friends. Cliff, too, matures. They have a special relationship which may or may not be a permanent one.

A “Day of the Dead” wedding theme. Really?

When it comes to weddings, anything is possible. One thing to remember in terms of reality shows is that not everyone enters for the prize that is being given. In this instance, the Day of the Dead couple has an ulterior motive for competing and saw this wedding as a means to distinguish them from other competitors trying to win a spot on the show.

To me, tiramisu is much ado about nothing. What’s the appeal?

Tiramisu, which is a recipe found in Four Cuts Too Many, is either loved or hated. I, for one, love its strong coffee flavoring and the texture of tiramisu – as well as the fact that the amount of coffee and sugar the dessert contains gives one a quick energy boost.

What’s a bromance?

A bromance is a very close non-sexual relationship between two men. In the Sarah Blair books, Sarah often thinks Harlan and Chief Gerard have a bromance because of their mutual respect and interaction, despite the Chief always getting it wrong until Harlan and Sarah feed him the correct information and conclusions.

What’s a kill fee?

A kill fee is an amount of money a party makes after scrapping an agreed work or project. In writing, an editor may accept a story, but then, pay a kill fee when the editor decides not to run the story. Where parties have contracted for food or other services with reliance by the second party, the one canceling the agreement may pay a kill fee rather than having a dispute tied to breaking a contract
What’s next for Sarah?

That is up in the air. Her fate is in the readers’ hands.

There are no easy solutions in this, the fifth Sarah Blair Mystery. A wedding competition is coming to town, kicking into gear a competition for a dream wedding. The backdrop of reality television combined with plenty of quirky personalities made this an entertaining mystery filled with twists and turns. I appreciated the fact that Sarah tried to keep herself out of the investigation, but that circumstances dragged her in. This is, in a sense, a very cerebral series, so it’s perfect for those who like their sleuths to reason through the clues to eventually unmask the killer.

Sarah Blair has agreed to be a chaperone for her mom, aka Maybelle, so she can participate in a Southern Belles reality show. Maybelle and George are competing for the perfect wedding and honeymoon. Unfortunately that means staying at Jane's Place, the B&B owned by Sarah's nemesis Jane Clark.

Things get intense when Sarah and Maybelle walk in on Jane leaning over a dead body. Jane quickly becomes the police’s chief suspect. Even though Sarah and Jane don't like each other, Sarah knows Jane's not a murderer, so she needs to identify the killer

I like this series. It's an enjoyable read. The recipes are a nice bonus.

Sarah Blair's mother Maybelle decides to participate in a reality wedding show competition for couples in Wheaton, Alabama. But a murder threatens to end the whole show, and Sarah's nemesis Jane could be the cause. Sarah also questions the ethics of the network and the intentions of some of the participants. Will anyone win the dream wedding or will the entire town lose?
I liked the backstage pass to reality TV. It made me question my loyalty and enjoyment of this entertainment genre. The contestants all have unique personalities and motives, too, which keeps things interesting.
Sarah is also a responsible woman who's devoted to her pets and her family. She's smart and likable.
The writing is okay. There's quite a bit of repetition and the dialogue seems forced in places. There are also lots of characters. It's challenging to keep everyone straight.
While this book is the third in a series, it can stand alone. The author does a good job of filling in the backstory for readers like me who are new to the series.

What a delightful addition to the Sarah Blair Mystery series! It's set within a reality tv show which is really fun and funny to read about. Of course there's foul play, which has Sarah donning her sleuthing cap to find the culprit and put a stop to anything else that might happen.
With its interesting characters and intriguing storyline, I was kept highly entertained (and guessing whodunit) throughout the entire book.
I highly recommend all the books in this series.

Many thanks to Kensington Cozies and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

As a cozy mystery reader and blogger, and someone who watches reality shows (I’m picky about them. Many aren’t for me), I had to give FIVE BELLES TOO MANY a try. I’m happy I did!

Author Debra H. Goldstein has delivered fast paced, intriguing whodunit that will have you suspecting everyone, including yourself. There’s such a variety of characters, narrowing down the suspect list wasn’t easy! And as you may have guessed, no, I didn’t figure out the killer.

Skillful writing, great plot, and recipes too! Rather you’re fan of reality tv or not, you will be a fan of FIVE BELLES TOO MANY.

Five Belles Too Many is book #5 in the Sarah Blair Mystery series by Debra H. Goldstein.

Sarah’s mother, Maybelle, and her friend George are participants on the Southern Belles reality show for a chance to win a dream wedding. The brides-to-be must be chaperoned, so Sarah is assigned that task along with her day job. They learn about reality TV and that the show must go on, even in the case of a murder.

I enjoyed this story. The lack of reality in reality TV was entertaining and probably pretty accurate. It made for a lot of suspects and kept me guessing about who the guilty party was. The pace really picked up at the end and I can’t wait to see what happens in the book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This series does an excellent job of creating a wonderful mystery! This book takes it to a new level! You can see an entire field of suspects and the obvious one isn't it, even though you really, really want that person to be the guilty party. Ample red herrings and wonderful character interactions make for a great mystery. Add in the traditional aspects of a cozy mystery including a quaint small town, excellent characters, great pets, a bit of indecision on the main character's part about the direction her life is going and an insatiable curiosity on the main character's behalf and you have a book that you just can't put down! I'm curious to see the direction that the next book will take the characters in and can't wait to read it!

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Sarah’s mother, Maybelle is a gem handled in small doses. In this fifth installment of the Sarah Blair Mystery Series, Maybelle and her friend George will be participants in a reality television show to win the “perfect” wedding and honeymoon of their dreams. They are the eldest of the five competing couples but they still need a chaperone and Sarah has been chosen for that task. To make matters worse, the crew, the contestants, and the chaperones have been booked to stay at Jane Clark’s B&B meaning Sarah will be spending a lot of time with her nemesis.

The reality show takes a devastating turn when Jane is found kneeling next to the dead body of the show’s director, her hands covered in blood. While Sarah does not trust Jane farther than she can throw her she doesn’t believe she is a murderer. The show becomes somewhat of a free for all as the producers try to keep filming. Sarah uses that to her advantage as she tries to protect everyone and catch the real killer before someone else gets voted off the island permanently, I mean gets killed.

Again Ms. Goldstein has packed these pages with a story that grabs a hold and hangs on tight.

Her characters and their continued development is so strong. Sarah seems to be almost in constant motion except for the little bit of time she takes to give her Siamese cat RahRah and her rescue dog, Fluffy a little bit of love. Her boss, Harlan has a big legal case coming up so he needs her in the office. She wants to help out at the restaurants she owns with her sister too. But the reality show and her job of chaperoning her mother is much more time-consuming than she could even imagine and that was before the murder happened. Maybelle is high maintenance but it seems George knows how to take care of her. They do make a cute couple. I was thrilled to see Emily, Marcus, and Southwinds get the recognition they deserved and that restaurant was used much more than originally contracted. Harlan also steps in to help anywhere he can and Cliff is back as the show’s general contractor. All these characters feel so genuine and their interactions and dialogues read very true to life.

We meet several new characters in the contestants and crew of the reality show. All these new characters are cleverly crafted. Many are pretty sketchy or hiding something which is great for a reality show. Drama drives up those ratings, which is why some of the drama is totally scripted but I really loved when anyone went off-script.

The plot was very interesting and not just because of the murder mysteries. The behind-the-scenes look at a reality show was entertaining with the crazy competitions and the decisions made that weren’t usually on the up and up. The method of death was unexpected but I was surprised because I had recently seen it used on a television show. I think the author implemented it better than the tv show did because I was kept guessing right up until the very end. Ms. Goldstein did an excellent job of twisting things up so the reveal was very dramatic.

After the case was wrapped up there was a very heartwarming ending.

Every trip to Alabama to visit Sarah, her family, and her friends has been a Perfect Escape and all seem to end too soon. As soon as I turn the final page I can’t wait to return. So while I know Six _________ Too Many will probably not be released for a year, this girl can hope. Thank you, Deborah J. Goldstein. Five Belles Too Many was a delightfully entertaining story that I totally enjoyed.

To get maximum enjoyment I do recommend reading this series in order but the author has written this story to stand on its own.

Five Belles Too Many is the fifth book in the Sarah Blair Mystery Series by Debra H. Goldstein; I hope it is not the last. Sarah's mother, Maybelle, signs up for a reality wedding show in hopes of getting a lavish, all expenses paid wedding. What fun....or not! I am not a fan of reality television, but I do love this series and all the characters, so there was no question whether or not to read the book. It was fabulous---both the setting, the mystery, and the "ins and outs" of the reality business. I was so interested in the way everything came together and of course, the characters were their same sweet selves ---for the most part. Don't miss this wonderful edition to the Sarah Blair Mystery Series.
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for granting my request for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I review books I love for friends and followers to find them ,too.
#FiveBellesTooMany #NetGalley #Kensington

Five Belles Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein is book five in the 'Sarah Blair Mystery Series' and was a great read! In my second in the series, I got to catch up with Sarah who is a receptionist at a company of lawyers as well as doing her bit as co-owner of her twin sister, chef Emily's restaurant, Southwind. She even volunteers at the local animal shelter. I find busy cat lover, Sarah extremely likeable and always willing to help. In this instalment, Sarah's mum, sixty-three-year-old Maybelle is a contestant in a reality tv show. The participants and crew are staying at Jane's Place, a restaurant and B&B owned by Sarah's nemesis, Jane Clark. When Sarah finds Jane hovering with bloodied hands over a dead body she cannot believe Jane is the murderer.

With a generous portion of suspects and motives, a Siamese cat named RahRah, rescue dog Fluffy, and murder this was a thoroughly enjoyable page-turner. The plot is solid and entertaining and the characters are a very varied, likeable bunch of folk. The writing style of Debra H. Goldstein is very appealing and I was perfectly comfortable reading this cozy as a standalone novel. Events and occurrences kept me invested in the story until its fulfilling conclusion. Overall, a delightful cozy read that I highly recommend so dive in as soon as you can!

I received a complimentary copy of this novel, at my own request, from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this book I have loved the others in this series. Hopefully I will read it in the future. I'm very sad about this.

This is the fifth installment in the very enjoyable Sarah Blair series! Even though this book does very well as a standalone, as with any series, I believe you should start at the beginning to really get to know the characters and understand their interpersonal relationships and their dynamics. As with the previous books, the character development, storyline and the resolution of the mystery are very well done! There are plenty of suspects to hold your interest and keep you guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The fifth entry in this series does not disappoint. The reality show provides a nice setting for murder and drama, especially with the contestants involved. The main character, Sarah, gets pulled in as her mother is a contestant. There are different suspects, and I was more than happy that Jane was finally one of them. While this book can be enjoyed without having read previous entries in the series, some elements are better understood and appreciated if one has read the previous books, especially the dynamics between characters. This book is strongly recommended for readers who enjoy well written, intelligent mystery books.

Sarah's Mom, Maybelle and George, enter a reality show for the perfect Southern wedding. When the head of the show is murdered and Jane, Sarah's nemesis, is found kneeling over the body. Sarah gets involved. A fun read with good characters. This fifth book in the series is the best one yet!