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Angel Lake Mystery #4

The Honeyed Taste of Deception

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The only thing worse than a pregnant bridezilla is a corpse as the wedding cake topper. When Elise Pepper begins her job at the Dream Wedding Boutique, she thinks her life is finally back on track. Her boss is more highly-strung than the customers, but she can deal with that, and she’s up for the challenge of a new job. Or so she thinks. When a bride turns up demanding a circus-themed wedding to honor her late father, things get a little crazy. Clowns instead of bridesmaids? A sword-swallower as celebrant? Elise is sure she can handle it all. A dead man in the wedding cake may be a little too much to deal with, though. Just when she thought she had it all together, Elise finds herself in the middle of yet another murder investigation. Can our intrepid heroine track down the killer before more wedding guests die? " Excellent! She has become my favorite writer and I have read two of her series, and going on to read more." "Addictive!" "Entertaining Whodunit!" "starsI didn't even see it coming"--Amazon reviewers

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2017

990 people are currently reading
450 people want to read

About the author

CeeCee James

88 books452 followers

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5 stars
523 (46%)
4 stars
383 (33%)
3 stars
171 (15%)
2 stars
41 (3%)
1 star
13 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
Profile Image for FangirlNation.
684 reviews133 followers
January 20, 2018
In The Honeyed Taste of Deception by CeeCee James, Elise has found a job, but it turns out that working for wedding planner Sonia is no easy task. But even more demanding than Sonia herself is the crazy woman who redefines the idea of a Bridezilla. Catalina, who originally planned her wedding for six months from then, suddenly announces that she needs her wedding to occur in two weeks. Things take on an even crazier note when Catalina abruptly decides, while under the influence of valium, that she wants a circus- themed wedding with lots of clowns. She comes from a family of “carnies” and wants to honor them with her wedding theme. So Elise spends the next two weeks running all over to help Catalina have her circus wedding.

Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
Profile Image for Karen.
503 reviews65 followers
February 6, 2017
Last week CeeCee James sent me her book The Honeyed Taste of Deception, this is book number 4 in the Angel Lake Mystery series. This one was the most fun so far. Normally I am not a fan of books about weddings but this one was so outrageous and fun, I could not put it down. With the new job Elise is busier then ever through in a bunch of robberies, a pregnant bride to be and a circus in town there is so much to admire in this fast passed and hilarious cozy.
Profile Image for Liz.
1,167 reviews10 followers
May 31, 2018
Little to no plot, annoying internal thoughts from the main character, and characters with zero depth made this hard to get through. It somehow managed to read fast and be drawn out at the same time and I couldn’t bring myself to be interested in the “mystery” or any of the personal problems going on.
997 reviews4 followers
May 24, 2018
Unusual mystery in that the solution suddenly comes and the explanation for how it all occurred and worked out comes after the fact. Few clues available to the readers as the story progressed. Then Elise in a split second "solves" the case and we only learn how through a conversation she has after. Unsatisfactory from my perspective.
138 reviews1 follower
January 15, 2018
Elise's new job as assistant to a premier wedding planner leads her to one of the most baffling mysteries she's encountered to date, and there isn't even a dead body . . .yet! A string of jewelry store robberies in the area has law enforcement on high alert, and of course Elise can't resist looking for clues, too. The clues are squeezed in between her many, far-flung, and uniquely challenging tasks helping brides realize their dream weddings. Elise's main client is the daughter of "carnies," and their circus is in a nearby town, so she and her fiancee want to get married within two weeks in order to have her family participate. Two weeks sounds impossible, and very nearly is, but somehow Elise and her boss are close to pulling it off when Elise discovers the dead body of the cake decorator. Unfortunately her discovery leads her to a face to face confrontation with the robber, and now murderer, and once again she narrowly escapes death with the help of her handsome and loving cop boyfriend. The bonus plot line of this book leads Elise to a new relationship with a homeless teen and possibly a future quite different from the one she had imagined.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
1,169 reviews7 followers
May 1, 2018
This is the 4th in the series. The main character is Elise and this time she has gone to work for a wedding planner and the very first day she witnesses a robbery at the jewelry store down the block . Without trying, she seems to fall into clues and all while she is running around town helping to get this wedding done in only 2 weeks. She has some crazy things to do and find and somehow she still trips over clues to help her boyfriend Brad find the jewel thieves. It kept me guessing to the end who was behind everything and I wouldn't have ever guessed right.
Profile Image for Carlin.
1,766 reviews18 followers
May 6, 2018
I short but very sweet cozy mystery, #4 in the Angel Lake series. This is the first one I've read but had no difficulty getting into the story and figuring out the characters. In this book. Elise has taken a job as an assistant to a high powered wedding planner. Just the descriptions of all that goes into wedding planning was worth the read! The bride Catalina was a "carney" or circus member and one of the funniest characters ever. I enjoyed this book and definitely would read others in this series.
Profile Image for Suzanne.
363 reviews8 followers
June 7, 2017
More Mystery Than Murder

The story was quite fun.

This time Elise has taken a job as a bridal planner's assistant. Witnessing a jewelry store robbery Elise gets involved with a neurotic bride, an over bearing boss and a homeless teen.

While the solution to the mystery, and this was more mystery than murder is easy to figure out. It was fun getting there.

I would have given a five star rating but there were to many editing problems in the first part of the book.
Profile Image for Sheryl Robert.
227 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2018
Elise found a job working for a wedding planner, How hard can it be? help ladies for their wedding seeing she wasnt getting married anytime soon. On her first day there was a burglary in the jewelry store, along with like a flash mob of painters in front of the store. She is freaking out and makes sure everyone is safe inside and bolts the door locked until everyone is gone.
She has a new client that is picky, and used to work for a circus. Read how this turns into a night mare and find who the real thief is. Surprise! I never guessed it in a million years,
670 reviews7 followers
April 30, 2018
Nothing worse than a bridezilla except a dead body.

Elise has a new job being the assistant to a bridal shop owner. A job she thought would be interesting and fulfilling, until she gets involved with a bride who wants a circus wedding and a dead cake decorator. It's not going to end like you think!
237 reviews
September 2, 2018
Rating should be higher?

Average rating could be my fault for starting with book 4. There were things about the characters and relationships that I would have been comfortable with if I had started with book 1. Always a balancing act in a series to include enough info for new readers but not so much loyal readers feel there is nothing new.
34 reviews1 follower
January 6, 2021
Better as the go but

Each book in the series is better than the one before. My biggest complaint is I hate when storylines aren't finished or dragged out too long. Enough of the Mr. G mystery. Elise finally meets him but we still haven't. Not cute just annoying. Annoying to the point that it's a 3 star not a 4.
144 reviews1 follower
February 15, 2021
Needs Money, Will Work

Mysteries are like honey - light and smooth or dark and deep. This is light sailing mystery. Light enough to read before bedtime and smooth enough to keep you reading. Have you ever taken a job solely because you needed funds to survive. That's what Elise did and had to tell herself every day why she needed this job. And so the story begins.
Profile Image for Emme.
413 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2017
Having a background in event planning I could completely relate to the storyline. I enjoyed that it wasn't about solving a murder, but a jewelry store heist. The book definitely had a cast of characters. I really enjoy this series and look forward to more of Elise's adventures.
Profile Image for Jana Gundy.
1,919 reviews17 followers
December 19, 2017
I so enjoy this series

Elise is back and this time, she’s an assistant for a wedding planner. Things are crazy and there’s a string of robberies to solve. I always enjoy the writing and the mystery, never a dull moment.
21 reviews
January 20, 2018
Got me again

This is a great series. Lots of fun characters, plot twists and surprise endings. I read it out of order but it still works. Looking forward to starting another of her series.
Profile Image for Linda Rainey.
2,348 reviews21 followers
March 17, 2018
A Great Cozy Mystery

Elise drags us on her journey as a wedding planner assistant.
We are pulled through the book with the entertaining storyline, larger than life characters with lots of twists and turns.
Another great read for cozy mystery fans.
Profile Image for Lisa.
662 reviews4 followers
May 15, 2018
So-so mystery

This one is just a bit to formulaic for my tastes.
And it needs a good edit. Things happen twice and need to be fixed!
But if you are looking for a mindless read or need something to put you
to sleep, this will do it.
Profile Image for K.T..
Author 39 books66 followers
May 30, 2018
I would describe this novel as very light reading. I read it in a couple of sittings. Some of the characters are a little one dimensional but it was an enjoyable read with a good premise. I didn't see the whodunit coming so an extra star for that.
719 reviews
August 3, 2018
The Honyed Taste of Deception

A quick read cosy mystery. Murder, thievery, best friends, red herrings, budding romance....a cute plot, fun book to read. Great for a rainy afternoon or just some down time.
Profile Image for Linda Walters.
189 reviews4 followers
May 5, 2017
Great review

I loved it. I never even suspected the real culprit. I cannot believe the ending. I thought we were going to finally meet Mr. G.
211 reviews1 follower
May 11, 2017
Enjoyable

Another fun book, with murder, mystery and fun. These main characters are so great to read about. The author keeps your interest from beginning to end.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
407 reviews1 follower
September 11, 2017
wow. This was the third of three books I finished today (product of hurricane irma) and the second with bridezillas. ENOUGH ALREADY! :)
Profile Image for Alice Vaughn.
130 reviews
September 26, 2017
Good book!

Love this series, keep it up!
I wish all I could read all day, these books are fun! Great job!
4 reviews
February 5, 2018
Great book

Left me in suspension till the end…so far have loved all of Ceecee James books & can hardly wait to read the next one.
59 reviews
February 8, 2018
Great series of books.

You can't go wrong by reading this series of mysteries. Every one has some romance as well. These books are well written and entertaining.
1,833 reviews4 followers
April 29, 2018
Different

I'm not sure if I understand this story.There's just too many twists and turns.Mystery,suspense and thrills.With a whole lot of action.
1,280 reviews2 followers
May 5, 2018
Very quick read. Characters fun. This was about a crazy Carney wedding, jewelry store heist and a muder.
74 reviews
May 6, 2018
A real surprise

A fast paced story that really had me surprised at who done it! Will be fun to catch more from CeeCee!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews

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