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Carnegie Kincaid #4
Death Takes a Honeymoon
You are cordially invited. . . . Don’t miss amateur detective Carnegie Kincaid, expert in all things matrimony and murder, in the Hallmark original movie Wedding Planner Mystery on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries!
TO SURVIVE THE WEDDING OF THE SEASON . . .
Wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid can feel the heat when she reunites with an old flame in the wealthy resort community of Sun Valley—but handsome smoke jumper Jack Packard is about to marry Carnegie’s former best friend, now a famous TV actress. With a star-studded ceremony to pull off, a noncommittal boyfriend back in Seattle, and a supercilious Frenchman barking orders, Carnegie has no time for carnal urges. Especially once murder joins the party.
YOU’VE GOT TO TAKE THE PLUNGE.
The victim was a local hero who leapt from planes to fight fire. But was his impromptu skydive a smoke screen for something sinister? With her florist going AWOL, her bride going ballistically Hollywood, and her curiosity running wild, Carnegie may be in over her head: Someone in Sun Valley is a killer—and it’s up to Carnegie to grill the guests and unmask the villain . . . or watch her glitzy job go up in flames.
TO SURVIVE THE WEDDING OF THE SEASON . . .
Wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid can feel the heat when she reunites with an old flame in the wealthy resort community of Sun Valley—but handsome smoke jumper Jack Packard is about to marry Carnegie’s former best friend, now a famous TV actress. With a star-studded ceremony to pull off, a noncommittal boyfriend back in Seattle, and a supercilious Frenchman barking orders, Carnegie has no time for carnal urges. Especially once murder joins the party.
YOU’VE GOT TO TAKE THE PLUNGE.
The victim was a local hero who leapt from planes to fight fire. But was his impromptu skydive a smoke screen for something sinister? With her florist going AWOL, her bride going ballistically Hollywood, and her curiosity running wild, Carnegie may be in over her head: Someone in Sun Valley is a killer—and it’s up to Carnegie to grill the guests and unmask the villain . . . or watch her glitzy job go up in flames.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 26, 2005
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271 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 4, 2020
To meet a 50-state challenge I needed to find a novel set in Idaho, and this one looked--from its cartoonish cover and its blurb--to be the light, fluffy mystery I needed after some very intense reading. It's #4 in what the book itself calls the "Wedding Planner Mystery" series; apparently Goodreads has renamed the series after the oddly named main character, Carnegie Kincaid, who is indeed the wedding planner in question.
Carnegie (sometimes answering to Carrie) plans weddings in Seattle, but for this one installment she's called back to her home town of Ketchum, Idaho, in the Wood River Valley, where the famous Sun Valley ski resort is located. One of her old high school friends, Tracy Kane, is marrying Jack Packard, the guy who took Carnegie's virginity back then and of course still triggers urges in her. Amusing scenes and furtive romps are sprinkled throughout as a variety of interesting characters (some of them more like caricatures) manage somehow to put on Tracy and Jack's lavish wedding, paid for by Tracy's phenomenally wealthy father Sam Kane.
Tracy herself is now a TV star and brings along actors and crew from her show, but the people who get paid to produce a wedding like this turn out to be even more temperamental than actors, and after some comic disasters Sam Kane puts Carnegie in charge of the wedding. At the same time Carnegie is trying to do right by her other old high school friend B.J. (for Brenda Jarvis), who called her for help in the first place--B.J.'s husband Matt, briefly out of town, mustn't find out that she had one of those furtive romps and lost the special necklace he expects her to wear at the wedding.
Why plead with your friend to fly to Idaho on a lost-and-found mission? She's sure the embarrassing necklace is in the personal effects of Brian Thiel. He's the guy she shagged and he was just killed; B.J. is very visible locally and doesn't dare be seen to take an interest in his effects. His death was ruled an accident, but you just know it was really a homicide, don't you? It takes most of the novel for Carnegie and an interesting older character Dr. Julie Thorstine to convince the sheriff they aren't just hysterical females, and really it takes to force his hand.
Comedy mixes with adventure as Jack, the late Brian, and several of the other wedding guests are smoke jumpers, that is, firefighters who parachute into remote locations to fight wildfires. Life among smoke jumpers is described in considerable detail, and their characters are fairly well developed. That's because, of course, this story is a mystery (of the cozy sort I think), and Brian's fellow smoke jumpers were the ones who found his body after their parachute jump so they're prime suspects.
The story moves along at a pleasant pace until past the 80% point, when it suddenly leaps into intense action on several fronts. I counted ten (10) major plot twists/revelations in only ten pages, and the surprises kept coming after that. I agree with other reviewers that the final sentence of the book strikes a very sour note (and desperately needs another chapter to follow it up), but I liked those ten twists well enough to keep the rating at three stars.
Carnegie (sometimes answering to Carrie) plans weddings in Seattle, but for this one installment she's called back to her home town of Ketchum, Idaho, in the Wood River Valley, where the famous Sun Valley ski resort is located. One of her old high school friends, Tracy Kane, is marrying Jack Packard, the guy who took Carnegie's virginity back then and of course still triggers urges in her. Amusing scenes and furtive romps are sprinkled throughout as a variety of interesting characters (some of them more like caricatures) manage somehow to put on Tracy and Jack's lavish wedding, paid for by Tracy's phenomenally wealthy father Sam Kane.
Tracy herself is now a TV star and brings along actors and crew from her show, but the people who get paid to produce a wedding like this turn out to be even more temperamental than actors, and after some comic disasters Sam Kane puts Carnegie in charge of the wedding. At the same time Carnegie is trying to do right by her other old high school friend B.J. (for Brenda Jarvis), who called her for help in the first place--B.J.'s husband Matt, briefly out of town, mustn't find out that she had one of those furtive romps and lost the special necklace he expects her to wear at the wedding.
Why plead with your friend to fly to Idaho on a lost-and-found mission? She's sure the embarrassing necklace is in the personal effects of Brian Thiel. He's the guy she shagged and he was just killed; B.J. is very visible locally and doesn't dare be seen to take an interest in his effects. His death was ruled an accident, but you just know it was really a homicide, don't you? It takes most of the novel for Carnegie and an interesting older character Dr. Julie Thorstine to convince the sheriff they aren't just hysterical females, and really it takes to force his hand.
Comedy mixes with adventure as Jack, the late Brian, and several of the other wedding guests are smoke jumpers, that is, firefighters who parachute into remote locations to fight wildfires. Life among smoke jumpers is described in considerable detail, and their characters are fairly well developed. That's because, of course, this story is a mystery (of the cozy sort I think), and Brian's fellow smoke jumpers were the ones who found his body after their parachute jump so they're prime suspects.
The story moves along at a pleasant pace until past the 80% point, when it suddenly leaps into intense action on several fronts. I counted ten (10) major plot twists/revelations in only ten pages, and the surprises kept coming after that. I agree with other reviewers that the final sentence of the book strikes a very sour note (and desperately needs another chapter to follow it up), but I liked those ten twists well enough to keep the rating at three stars.
October 23, 2024
She and Aaron bicker sooo much we are 4 books in. But I just love the style of writing. The mystery, I was totally wrong on the who done it, so good. The cliff hanger though OMG.
October 10, 2012
I enjoyed this book a lot, but if the sequel was not already out I probably wouldn't have read another book in this series because I *hate* when a cozy ends on a cliffhanger. I get enough of that with the fantasy series I read, so I expect cozies to be self-contained light reading. Since I read a lot, if the sequel wasn't out right now I would have written the series off and walked away from ever pick up another book by this author.
February 21, 2011
This book started out being fun and even a little funny. But the end of the story was way to intense for a light mystery and it ended with a thud. What actually happened to Aaron, did the inn burn, and how was Tracy able to change so completely in a matter of minutes?????!!!!! Authors in general have a really hard time ending stories and this one was awful!
February 17, 2019
I hated the cliffhanger, especially since my copy didn’t have a “to be continued” note of any sort. I thought it was a printing error until I read other reviews!
June 22, 2019
Interesting plot. Watch for the plot twist; I was just about to put the book down for the night when I got there. So I stayed up way too late in order to finish the book. And it ended with a cliffhanger! So be sure to have the next book ready and waiting when you get to the last 1/4 of the book.
It seems to me that there was a murder unaccounted for; I guess we're supposed to assume the same person did it.
It seems to me that there was a murder unaccounted for; I guess we're supposed to assume the same person did it.
January 5, 2026
I was enjoying this book until the last page. My first thought was that a page was missing, only to discover on this site that I’d have to find out the conclusion in another book! Four stars down to two because of this trick. Death Takes a Honeymoon was the first I’ve read by this author. If she ends all her books this way, then I’m not interested in reading any more.
July 20, 2017
This cozy mystery has a unique group of characters, is set in Idaho, and an ending that invites the reader to look for more tales in this series. copy right 2005
August 30, 2019
A fast read and a decent story. I like this series, even if it is “fluff”
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
January 22, 2026
Great book, but wow, the cliffhanger!
December 1, 2007
I really enjoy this "cozy" murder mystery series, with amateur sleuth/wedding planner Carnegie Kincaid. Deborah Donnelly's story lines are always entertaining and liberally sprinkled with humor at the expense of Carnegie's Bridezilla du Jour.
This particular story was a bit convoluted, with a number of new characters dumped on the reader simultaneously. Even at the end of the story, I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep up. All the same, Donnelly does a fairly good job of distinguishing even the most minor of characters.
A good, but not overwhelming plot, coupled with a look into Carnegie's past, makes for a solid book. I must say, though, the cliffhanger ending is a bit over-the-top. If Aaron's truly gone, then I say good riddance. I wasn't too thrilled with him anyway.
This particular story was a bit convoluted, with a number of new characters dumped on the reader simultaneously. Even at the end of the story, I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep up. All the same, Donnelly does a fairly good job of distinguishing even the most minor of characters.
A good, but not overwhelming plot, coupled with a look into Carnegie's past, makes for a solid book. I must say, though, the cliffhanger ending is a bit over-the-top. If Aaron's truly gone, then I say good riddance. I wasn't too thrilled with him anyway.
January 8, 2011
This is the fourth installment of the Carnegie Kincaid series. In this one, Carnegie learns about her cousin's death and flies to Idaho. From there, she reunites with Brenda and Tracy, two of her oldest friends, as Tracy gets married. She was first there as guest, and then as wedding planner, when things goes awry. Carnegie also deals with an uncertainty on Aaron's commitment and learns of her mom's new relationship, as she learns about smoke jumping forest fires and who caused her cousin's death. The closer things gets, things gets intense, as an old cold case turns up and family secrets, when there's a brewing forest fires. I'll finish this series next year with #5.
September 23, 2009
Some of the books in the Wedding Planner series are fun to read. This one was a good story, but I couldn't wait for it to be over. There is always a conflict within the main character of confidence and complete lack thereof, but this time was far too extreme, and it just did not serve the story well. I really don't care if she and Aaron learn to get along, because frankly it just doesn't seem like a great relationship.
February 3, 2014
Cliffhanger ending!!!!!! Can't wait to get the next one started right now!
Basically, the adventures of Carnegie Kincaid, wedding planner, who heads home to attend a friend's wedding and ends up assisting in pulling off the wedding.
Murder, forest fires, twists and turns kept my attention all the way to the end!!!
Have read the three previous mysteries by the author and have enjoyed every one!!
Basically, the adventures of Carnegie Kincaid, wedding planner, who heads home to attend a friend's wedding and ends up assisting in pulling off the wedding.
Murder, forest fires, twists and turns kept my attention all the way to the end!!!
Have read the three previous mysteries by the author and have enjoyed every one!!
July 5, 2023
This book is lit! There were a lot of developments within the characters - family, friends, old lovers, and the present. This story was a rollercoaster ride for me. I laughed, got sad, confused, and angry with the characters. This story has a lot of plot twists that will make you never stop reading until you finish it and the ending is such a cliffhanger that I love it.
It made me buy the next book to know what will happen next.
It made me buy the next book to know what will happen next.
April 25, 2011
This is the second book in the series I've read and it left me wanting to read more as it ended in a major cliff hanger (I hate it when authors do that). I enjoyed the characters, mystery and more insight into the life of a wedding planner.
April 28, 2008
The 4th wedding planner mystery takes place in Sun Valley where Carnegie gets roped into overseeing an old friend's wedding and can't resist nosing into the murder of a local.
August 11, 2008
I like this book it was fun and a good mystery.
April 25, 2009
A humorous cute mystery - good for a light read
September 25, 2009
Mystery
Read
October 6, 2010Another good one. Had a lot of suggested sex, but nothing graphic. Surprise ending!
May 17, 2016
Another excellent entry in this series! I just cannot get enough of these books. They are well-written,, well-plotted, and definitely even more than a good read!
July 2, 2012
just good work
December 13, 2013
Wedding planner Carnegie Kinkaid goes to a college roommate's wedding in Idaho and serves as a helper. It was good until the end. It seemed like the last chapter was missing.
Not so hot.
Not so hot.
August 21, 2023
Fun series. Worth re-reading.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews