Deadly Vows

Written by Jody Holford

Narrated by Libby McKnight

Former Army brat Molly Owens is happily settling into her new life in the seaside town of Britton Bay--and into new her job as editor-in-chief of the local paper. But as tourists discover the desirable spot, the tide along the Oregon Coast is turning . . . Britton Bay is buzzing with preparations for a wedding at the bed and breakfast where Molly rents a small carriage home. Molly is even helping out and plans to interview the rising star caterer--until the woman is found dead. And then the bride-to-be goes missing. To make matters worse, the venue is owned by Molly's new boyfriend's mother--and Molly was among the last people to see the victim alive. All of which makes solving the crime her top priority . . . With the nuptials indefinitely on hold, Molly will have to sift through a sticky mix of suspects, including a rival caterer with a short fuse, a groom with an illicit secret, and a wedding party riddled with personal drama. And if she doesn't discover the truth soon, Molly might be her own front-page news . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781980056195

Reviews for Deadly Vows

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Deadly Vows is a light hearted and romantic cozy mystery. This second installment in A Britton Bay Mystery series can be read as a standalone. I like how the information from Deadly News was incorporated into the story. Molly Owens is happy with her new home and job. She enjoys spending time with Sam and her puppy, Tigger. Molly has the perfect location (her cottage) to watch the wedding drama at the B&B unfold. The mother-of-the-bride is controlling the wedding. Patricia Lovenly grew up in Britton Bay and has come back to gloat over how rich she is by throwing a spectacular, over-the-top wedding for her daughter. It does not seem to matter that this is not what her daughter and the groom want. Skyler Friessen is the chef for the event, and she is a prickly. It is no surprise when she turns up dead. Molly just needs to figure out which individual disliked Skyler enough to kill her which is easier said then done. There are a couple of suspects, good clues and misdirection. Deadly Vows is nicely written with steady pacing. I could have done with less repetition (I get it the first time). I did not like how many times Molly was told to keep her nose out of the investigation (it was not going to happen). I also felt the romance between Molly and Sam was too much for a cozy mystery. It came across as sappy (especially the dialogue) and their relationship progressed too quickly. We are introduced to numerous characters in this book and many of them had nothing to do with the plot. An example is Clay, the newspapers supposed social media coordinator. He added nothing to this story, and I am shocked he has not been fired. Some tweaks would enhance this cute mystery series. Deadly Vows is an easy breezy cozy mystery with a dead chef, a battling wedding party, an adorable pup, a handsome beau, and one a nosy reporter.

[joannefm2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Molly Owens is editor in chief of the Britton Bay Bulletin, their newspaper, and she also lives in a cottage behind the B&B her boyfriend Sam's mother Katherine owns. She's watching the tents being erected for a huge wedding at the B&B, and it's quite a spectacle. On her way to work one morning she talks with the owner of the local bakery, Bella, and discovers that the wedding party has brought in their own caterer, which means that Bella, who provides the B&B with baked goods, won't be supplying them during their stay. She also discovers that the owner of the paper, Alan Benedict, knows the bride's mother and is going to run a feature. But when Patricia Lovenly (MOB) arrives at the paper she's not alone. She's brought with her the caterer, Skyler Friessen, who doesn't seem to want to be there, and comes off as thinking she's better than anyone in the town. Later on, when Molly returns home she hopes to have an interview with Skyler, but needs to figure out a way to approach her. Reluctantly, Skyler agrees on one the next morning, but when Molly arrives at the hotel where she's staying, she finds out that Skyler is dead, and it's not long before her inquisitive nature leads her to the fact that she was poisoned. While she insists she's not investigating the crime, she can't help but wonder who hated the woman enough to want to kill her. Why would anyone want to murder a woman who, though unpleasant at best, didn't seem to be horrible enough to kill. But someone did, and Molly, who's in a perfect place to watch the wedding guests - since they aren't allowed to leave until the murderer is caught - starts putting the clues together. But will it be in time to save herself from being the next person to get iced?This is the second book in the series, following Deadly News, and I am happy to say that I found it to be just as good as the first one. This time out, Molly is secure in the fact that she's doing well as Editor in Chief at her job, and navigating her new relationship with Sam. She's still having trouble after her disastrous breakup with her ex, but Sam is winding himself into her life so easily that she's learning how to trust again.But then there's the murder. And the killer is more than likely someone the bride brought with her when they arrived in Britton Bay. The only clues she has are the ramblings of a local who isn't all there mentally, and the fact that the last thing she drank came from Bella's bakery - but she does know that Bella's not a murderer. Which leaves her back to square one, trying to figure out who is, even though she's telling herself she's not investigating.Molly is a great character; she's independent, strong, yet still scarred inside and is flawed, just like the rest of the world. She cares about the people around her, and it shows. Sam is a truly decent guy with a great sense of humor; although he's in for a surprise himself with something regarding his mother. The rest of the characters feed the story well, and even though we don't see as much of the people who work at the newspaper, their presence is still known.The mystery was done very well. The clues are there, but they're thrown in by bits and pieces, and you just have to look for them. There are a couple of red herring that lead you to believe other people just might be guilty, but that's exactly as it is supposed to be.In the end, when Molly discovers the identity of the killer, it all comes together nicely, giving us a tale that was entertaining and interesting; which also made Molly do some thinking of her own in the process on where her life is going. A very enjoyable book and I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended.

[pam50627 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Deadly Vows is an entertaining mystery set in a small town. A former resident of the town has rented out a B & B to host her daughters wedding. In a quest to make sure everyone knows she’s better than them, the mother also has a private chef coming in to prepare all food for the week leading up to & the wedding itself. Chaos ensues when the chef is poisoned & there are suspects every where you turn. I enjoyed reading this story. Molly seems like she’s really fitting into the town. Because of her friendly personality, people feel they can trust her & give her information they aren’t giving to the police for one reason or another. I really enjoy the relationship developing between her & Sam. They aren’t rushing into anything & it’s seems natural since I was able to pick up that she was cheated on before. I really enjoyed this story.