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8th out of 70 books
—
20 voters
Better Off Wed (Annabelle Archer #1)
by
Laura Durham
The murder of a particularly difficult mother-of-the-bride has cast a pall on wedding planner Annabelle Archer's latest triumph -- and suspicion falls heavily on her sometime-business partner and friend Richard Gerard. Annabelle knows that even her trusted wedding emergency kit won't be able to salvage their careers if she and Richard can't find the real culprit.
It's no ea...more
It's no ea...more
Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages
Published
January 25th 2005
by Avon
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Wedding planner Annabelle Archer knew the wedding she was working on would be difficult, but she certainly wasn't expecting the mother of the bride to be murdered during the reception. The murder not only hurts Annabelle's reputation as a wedding planner, but her friend Richard Gerard, a caterer, is a major suspect. When there is a second murder which makes Richard even more of a suspect, Annabelle knows she has to work fast to clear his name. She has plenty of suspects but will she figure out w...more
Apr 09, 2011
Diane Morasco
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
beach-read,
chick-lit,
cozy,
fun,
hilarious,
humor,
my-library,
mystery,
mystery-chick-lit,
series
Goodness, Laura Durham is friggin' hilarious... or she is related to Lucille Ball. Either way Better Off Wed is a rip-roaring adventure. Yep, this chick knows her comedy like Joan Rivers knows plastic surgery & the Don knows hair pieces. Yeah, Laura is gifted w/ comedic timing & she knows where to deliver it in a book.
Better Off Wed was given as gifts to anyone who wanted a good read. Which isn't always easy to find in a world filled w/ books w/ not much going on. Which is totally not ec...more
Better Off Wed was given as gifts to anyone who wanted a good read. Which isn't always easy to find in a world filled w/ books w/ not much going on. Which is totally not ec...more
I love cozy mysteries and I always love finding new series where the main character has a different sort of job. Annabelle Archer is a wedding planner and when a brides super nasty mom ends up dead at the reception, Annabelle sets out to find the killer.
Of course!
I always wonder about the characters that just decide to do the sleuthing, especially when the cops don't appear inept. Reese didn't, in this case. I really liked that they didn't end up dating at the end of this book, though I'm sure t...more
Of course!
I always wonder about the characters that just decide to do the sleuthing, especially when the cops don't appear inept. Reese didn't, in this case. I really liked that they didn't end up dating at the end of this book, though I'm sure t...more
A fun read, filled with engaging characters and enough mystery to satisfy any fans of the genre.
Annabelle, Richard and Kate make an unstoppable, crime-solving trio, and the hot water that they're constantly in keeps the reader on their toes. Leatrice, Annabelle's nosey neighbour, also adds to the quirky fun in this novel. Girls will love the descriptions of all the disastrous weddings and frightening mothers-of-the-bride that is described here; many might even have experienced one or two of thos...more
Annabelle, Richard and Kate make an unstoppable, crime-solving trio, and the hot water that they're constantly in keeps the reader on their toes. Leatrice, Annabelle's nosey neighbour, also adds to the quirky fun in this novel. Girls will love the descriptions of all the disastrous weddings and frightening mothers-of-the-bride that is described here; many might even have experienced one or two of thos...more
Feb 05, 2008
Laura
marked it as to-read
I don't usually read this sort of thing, but they're written by a dear friend from highschool. I'm so proud of her & I've just got to give her books a try.
Such a cute book! The author and my aunt started their first wedding planning business together, so of course I had to read it :) It turns out it was a great chick lit read and Durham (real last name Weatherly) wove this mystery together quite well. Repeating aspects of the evidence repeatedly got a bit old, but everything else was light, fluffy, and hilarious; and it's a murder mystery!
Washington D.C. wedding planner Annabelle Archer finds herself caught up in a murder investigation when the mother of the bride is found dead at one of her weddings. With help from her assistant Kate, and caterer friend Richard, she follows leads and gets herself into trouble, to the chagrin of the ruggedly handsome detective, Mike Reese. A nice summer read.
It was good first book, kind of predictable. Follows a lot of other Cozy's that I've read, a very likable heroine , with a cast of quirky sidekicks, strange by endearing neighbor, gay caterer, and her business partner who keeps mangling slang or sayings which would be cute if she was say from another country, but as far as I can tell she isn't, so that's a bit odd.
The mystery moved along well, and the clues were revealed at a good pace. If you're a fan of Cozy mysteries then you'll probably enj...more
The mystery moved along well, and the clues were revealed at a good pace. If you're a fan of Cozy mysteries then you'll probably enj...more
Warning: For beach reading only!
It's rare that I find an award-winning book to be less than worthy, but that's the case with this Agatha winner. It was light (a little too light IMHO), OK for the sun and sand, but really rather mindless. I left it at the condo for the next renter - not bothering to lug it back to resell to Half Price Books.
It's rare that I find an award-winning book to be less than worthy, but that's the case with this Agatha winner. It was light (a little too light IMHO), OK for the sun and sand, but really rather mindless. I left it at the condo for the next renter - not bothering to lug it back to resell to Half Price Books.
Nov 26, 2007
Huiling_mei
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who likes Mysteries
Shelves:
advisorybooks
Another mystery book by Laura Durham about Annabelle Archer. Clara Pierce a women hated by many was killed by someone very close or it can be someone very far and unknown. The one who had killed Clara Pierce was her own husband Mr. Boyd. At first they had thought that her ex-husband killed her Dr. Harriman, but it was not him. Her husband wanted everything from his wife and after he killed her, Annabelle was looking around once again. And again she almost gets herself killed.
There have been m...more
There have been m...more
I wish that I would not have read the 2nd book first. However, I did thoroughly enjoy it. If I had read them in order, I would have stopped at the first book in the series. My call: go to book two -- For Better or Hearse.
I thought it was great. Granted not really my normal read but still an amazingly good book. It kept me on my toes an when I thought I figured it out a twist came in, making me have to think it threw all over again.
This was a very quick, quirky read. A fun wedding caterer "whodonit". Very enjoyable.
Light, easy read. Silly plot. I wouldn't consider this in the mystery genre.
Light and fluffy mystery, but better than a lot of light and fluffy mysteries.
I had the time and the book so I just read and didn't stop until I was done. Pretty entertaining.
Very funny series about a wedding planner. Love these books.
Couldn't put it down. Finished it in one sitting.
It's predictable but cute and enjoyable.
A fun read.
Made me want more...
Made me want more...
No substance at all, but a fun read.
This book was a fun quick, easy read. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next one.
Annabelle Archer is a wedding planner in Georgetown with two hysterical sidekicks, Kate, her scantily clad assistant who can never get an expression right, and Richard Gerard, friend, caterer and sometime-business partner. When the mother-of-the-bride turns up dead at a wedding Richard becomes a suspect. They will try to solve the murder mystery together in order to salvage their careers. This was a fun, light read. I look forward to the next book in the series! Wedding Belles, clever name!
Lame.
This was a cute book. I enjoyed it and can see it becoming a series if it hasn't already. Fun quick read.
Book #42 read in 2006
An okay first book for the author. I would have liked to have a couple of clues to the killer's identity throughout the book. I could not participate in Annabelle's "a-ha" moment at all. I will give the second in the series a try before I decide whether to abandon it completely.
An okay first book for the author. I would have liked to have a couple of clues to the killer's identity throughout the book. I could not participate in Annabelle's "a-ha" moment at all. I will give the second in the series a try before I decide whether to abandon it completely.
This book had some funny stuff, and the clues and mystery were interesting, but I just couldn't get into the characters and really didn't get enthralled.
This was a fun, light mystery, with a bit of romance thrown in as a bonus. I really liked the main characters, Annabelle, Kate and Richard, not to mention the loony neighbor lady! I'll be looking for the next in this series!
I didn't expect much but it was fun. The characters are silly and I liked all except the malapropsims were a bit much. Set in DC which was also a plus.
Funny book light read Annabelle Archer is entertaining
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