THE WITNESS AT THE WEDDING ~ Fethering Mysteries #6 ~ by Simon Brett

Finally, Carole Seddon has something to make her happy. Her son Stephen ~ with whom she has an awkward relationship ~ has announced his engagement, and his wife-to-be is someone that Carole not only approves of, but actually likes!

For those of you who do not know, Carole Seddon is a well-off matron in her fifties, who is neurotic in a typically British sort of way. Not for her all those messy emotions surrounding her relationship with her son, and her painful breakfup with her ex. No, this thin-skinned woman uses WILLPOWER to SQUASH all of her irritating FEELINGS. 

And so, of course, they come back to bite her at suitably inappropriate moments.

Then Gabby comes into her world. The young woman is well-educated, charming, and poised, and it is clear that Stephen adores her. Plans for the wedding are set in motion. But then things, inevitably, start to go wrong.

Gabby becomes ill. She is plagued by serious back pain, and at times looks exhausted, so at odds with the bubbly girl that Carole first met. When Carole meets her parents, it is clear that something is not right. Father Howard is a perfectly pleasant man who would contribute more to the conversation if he were not so deaf. But what about Marie, Gabby’s French mother? Why is she so quiet? Why so self-effacing to the point of being invisible? Why does she look terrified? What can possibly upset her so much?

It turns out that the answer is, as so often, The Past.

Gabby’s family has had its share of tragedies, including a murder that happened thrity years ago. The young woman was Marie’s best friend, and since her murder Marie has never been the same. For, surprisingly enough, Marie was just as bubbly and full of life as her daughter is now.

Carole is concerned. She has genuinely become very fond of Gabby, and senses that the past is swirling around her duaghter-in-law-to-be in a sinister fashion. And so she consults next-door-neighbor Jude. 

What the two women find is not only who was responsible for the murder, but a chilling tale of wreckage that includes wrongful imprisonment, manipulation, and secrets. 

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