Lily White Lie

Lily White Lie by Connie Chappel is the 3rd in the Wrenn Grayson Mystery series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Black Rose Writing, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Series Background (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books):
Wrenn Grayson is a busy lady, holding down three jobs in the small town of Havens, Ohio. She works for Mayor KC Tallmadge part-time. She also writes historical articles for the newspaper. Usually, the main thing that keeps her busy is being a Historian-for-hire. She tends to stick her nose into everybody’s business, so she often finds herself in some rather strange predicaments. Wrenn lives in a small cottage with her partner Gideon, who is a History Professor at the local university.

My Synopsis:
Wrenn is on her own while Gideon is hunting for a week. When an old buddy of his stops in with news about Gideon’s fugitive father, he decides to stay until Gideon’s return. He decides to stay with Wrenn, in her small cottage, and without her actual approval. Brett is going to be a pain.

A new councilman is stirring up issues for the Mayor, and it looks like the Mayor may be on his way out in the next election, which means Wrenn may lose her job as well. She isn’t sure she would mind, as she is not happy with the political shenanigans happening in Haven. This may leave her more time to devote to her passion, which is research and writing. Fortunately, she has been given an old watch to research so that the owner’s descendants could be re-united with this family heirloom. She hopes to find out who the original owner is, and then write a feel-good story for the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Wrenn is receiving flowers and strange notes. She would like to brush these aside, but Brett is convinced that she is in danger.

My Opinions:
I almost stopped reading this one. I hate bullies, and I hate women who will not stand up for themselves. Connie Chappel created both these characters (quite well), and the respect I had for Wrenn in the first couple books has diminished – drastically. In this book, every time I think she’s going to grow a pair, Brett sweet talks her out of it. Hated that part of the book.

However, I am glad I continued reading, because Brett ended up having some redeeming qualities, just not quite enough to make me like him. Also on the good side was the plot, and as always, the writing was clear. Chappel writes straight-forward mysteries. Although I suspected early on who the culprit was, the motive behind everything was a twist I didn’t see coming.