Speak Now

by: Margaret Dumas

Published by: Poison Pen Press (Hardcover) Signet (Mass Market Paperback)

Reviewed by Carrie Padgett

Good mysteries are difficult to write well. Humorous mysteries are very rare. Margaret Dumas' debut novel is a funny, tender, romantic thrill ride.

Commitment-phobe, San Francisco heiress Charley Van Leeuwen married Jack Fairfax after a whirlwind courtship in London. When they arrive back in her hometown, they're met with a corpse in a bathtub in their suite at the Mark Hopkins.

As Charley tries to figure out who the body was--and why it was left for her (or Jack?), she also learns there is a lot she doesn't know about her new husband. Is he "just a weatherman" as he claims? Why did the Navy send him to predict weather in Oman? And most importantly, can he really cook?

The theater company Charley founded needs a hit show, and she is persuaded to direct their new play. But it's hard to fit in rehearsals between ransoming back her kidnapped cousin, following her meteorologist husband, and planning dinner party menus.

Both Charley and Jack are fully realized characters with chemistry so real, I expected the pages to be smoldering each time I picked up the book. The secondary characters are quirky but not cartoon-ish. The villain is plausible. My only quibble has to do with the dead body in the bath.

Any Miss Marple fan would know who it was much sooner than Charley did. But I forgive her for not figuring that out earlier, as she was pretty busy with her honeymoon and the play. Oh, and the kidnapping. And the disappearing theater staff.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a debut novel that promises great things to come. Just one question for author Margaret Dumas: When is Charley's next story coming out?