SYNOPSIS:
Swinging Sixties Mystery Series
It's August 1965, and Dot Morgan is finally getting married to the dashing reporter Ben Dalton. Her wedding day, August 14th, promises to be perfect—if only it didn't follow Friday the 13th. What could go wrong?
Planning a wedding with the members of the Camden Chapel, Dot thinks she’s overwhelmed, but then it gets worse when a body is found on the church lawn. Dot decides to focus on her wedding to Ben, but when police reveal the victim didn't jump from the belfry—he was pushed—she can no longer look away.
Her suspects aren't hardened criminals; they're the same church members who bring casseroles and ask about her family. With her wedding day fast approaching, Dot must unmask a killer hiding in plain sight, or the secrets of Camden Chapel will remain buried in the summer heat.
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Even jumping into the series late
(this is the fifth book in A Swinging Sixties Mystery series), readers will
have no trouble keeping up. Trent gives us enough information to understand
that main character Dot is a murder magnet and has already worked through a
significant body count, sometimes with the aid of her reporter fiancé, Ben.
“I’d been walloped by June Cleaver
with an anvil.”
The real pleasure in reading Crying
in the Chapel is all the sixties pop culture references. Though the book is
set a couple of years prior to my arrival on the planet, many of the trends stayed
around long after: an abundance of linoleum, doilies, and white curtains; the
Samsonite cosmetic case (um, I may have a fifty-year-old, goldenrod-colored one
in my closet and may have used it as recently as a year ago); the hairstyles
and fashions. Fabulous, one and all, and the author’s descriptions nailed the
vibe right down to the humid, sticky Texas heat that back then wasn’t as easy
to escape.
“Maybe I could sleep through the
day and handle the world tomorrow. It would surely be a nicer, kinder, more
tolerant place by tomorrow. Doubtful.”
Though set over sixty years ago, in
Crying in the Chapel, there are many issues from back then that persist
today— but also all things old are new again, for better or worse (I’m looking
at you, trad wife trend). Trent makes valid points and social commentary for
sure, but it’s done with a light touch that makes the reader think but doesn’t
ruffle any feathers. Plus with two suspicious deaths, a wedding on the horizon,
and a baby about to burst on the scene, there are plenty of other plot points
to dwell upon as each inches the story forward to a heckuva conclusion.
My quibbles with Crying in the
Chapel are few and minor. I found it odd that a couple like Dot and Ben,
who have next-level inquiring minds and have been together two years (with families
who are also in the same small town) don’t know more about each other. Also,
with Emily Post as the go-to for wedding etiquette, not to mention the
abundance of church ladies around, there was a pretty big faux pas committed
relating to Dot’s wedding showers. These are easy enough to forgive, and happily,
the book had just a few typos that caught my eye, but none of this slowed me
down much. Perhaps if I’d read the prior installments, some clarity would be added
(you betcha, I’m going back to the series starter The Twist and Shout Murder).
Or perhaps this is an intentional device so that future installments (there simply
MUST be with five more years left in the sixties) have more relationship fodder
to explore.
With short chapters and a steady
pace, Crying in the Chapel is engaging reading with its comfortable cozy
mystery and historical elements that make a reader want to stay within its
pages. Kudos to Teresa Trent for coming up with a unique murder motive I did
not see coming. I’m happy to have a new go-to series for when I need reading
relief and can’t wait to dive into this series from the beginning; I anticipate
a four-book binge-read on an upcoming road trip.
Check Out the Full Mystery Series
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AUTHOR BIO:
Teresa Trent is the author of four different mystery series: The Swinging Sixties Series which features Dot in a small town in Texas starting in 1962; The Henry Park Series, which features Gabby, an artist in Colorado who is also psychic; and The Piney Woods Series featuring Nora, a woman who came to a small town in Texas to find out she is related to many of the people there. Her first series, The Pecan Bayou Series, she started writing way back in 2011. That series has nine books and features Betsy, a woman who writes helpful hints and solves mysteries. Teresa is the voice of the Books to the Ceiling Podcast where she narrates scenes from new mysteries coming on to the market. Books to the Ceiling is featured wherever you listen to podcasts. Teresa lives in Texas with her husband and son.
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