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The latest summer blockbusters are already hitting theaters—and that means that beach read season isn’t far behind. So now could be a good time to pick up the fifth installment in author Auralee Wallace’s Otter Lake Mystery series, Down the Aisle with Murder.
The story finds Erica Bloom bracing herself for a wedding. Her super-bubbly rival-turned-friend, Candace, is getting married to the ex-con love of her life, and Erica is trying to be happy for her. But, after moving home to be closer to the love of her own life, Grady, only for the relationship to crash and burn, Erica isn’t really feeling it—and it doesn’t help that her best friend, Freddie, is upset about something that he refuses to talk about. But when Candace’s maid of honor is murdered the night before the wedding, Erica has other things to worry about—like yet another murder to solve.
In her fifth trip back to the quirky little town of Otter Lake, New Hampshire, author Auralee Wallace catches up with Erica and her usual band of lovable misfits as they attempt to crack yet another case. The lakeside setting here is as charming as ever, as the residents hop in their boats and get ready for another summer season.
With each new installment, though, the setting may be the same, but Wallace tends to change things up with the usual cast of characters. The same characters don’t show up in every novel. This time around, Erica’s tense relationship with Grady takes a backseat to the murder, the wedding, and the tension with Freddie, and the third member of Erica’s awkward love triangle, Matthew, is out of town. At times, it feels like something is missing—especially when Erica and Freddie take a “friend break” through part of the story—but that also keeps the series from getting stuck in a rut.
Admittedly, the mystery isn’t entirely solid—or satisfying—but it makes a point that helps to move the series along. And, really, there are plenty of other storylines here to keep things interesting: some last-minute wedding re-planning, some relationship drama, and a relationship retreat at Erica’s mother’s resort. And when it comes to its conclusion, which comes with plenty of hints of what’s to come, you’ll be eager to return to Otter Lake to spend another season with Erica and the town’s other eccentric inhabitants.
More than just another cozy mystery series, the Otter Lake Mysteries are at times both charming and hysterical. Since some of the regulars are absent from Down the Aisle with Murder, it isn’t necessarily the strongest installment in the series, but it’s a light and entertaining read for your next trip to the beach.
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