Murder in the Marshes by Carter Fielding was a disappointing read. In my review of Murder with a Twist, I mentioned that the spotlight was on Finley's personal life rather than the murder mystery. That theme seems to have followed to this installment too.

Finley's insecurities are at an all-time high. What I didn't like was Finley telling Max that someday he might love her half as she loves him. What is that supposed to mean? Also, at the end of the story, Finley believes her sister is marrying the second best man in the world. The first best man is Finley's beau. *eye roll*

Like I mentioned above, the spotlight was on family dynamics and Finley's personal life (her insecurities mainly). Whitt thought she knew the victim - the one found in a sleeping bag in the Airbnb house. Later, the sisters are told the victim was their cousin. Yet, nobody sheds a tear or bothers that he's dead.

Then, another body is found - skeletal remains. Still, no progress on the investigation. Nobody cares. No progress on this front either, not until the last four chapters where things are hurried up.

This was a disappointing read. I had high expectations from this book.

What fun! A southern wedding with all the hoopla leading up to the big day. Finley is going all out to make sure her sister has the wedding of her dreams. Mama seems a bit over the top but she is a southern belle. Wish she would come fill my refrigerator with all those goodies. But just as Whitt and David arrive at the rental a dead body shows up. So while the police do their investigating the party moves to a different house. And why does another body show up a few days later? Not how a wedding is supposed to be. Interesting story with lots of good family and friends, good food and I love how Finley keeps the police in line. I liked the book.

I enjoyed reading the Murder in the Marshes by Carter Fielding. It has an engaging narrative style and unlike other murder mysteries, this book was more on family relations and their stories. The sisters seems to find bodies wherever they go and it is in their best interest to clear up the mystery so that they can get on with the main reason that they have come back to their southern home.... Spend a wonderful time with their family and friends while Whit gets married.

Overall rating of 3.5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for offering me a copy of the book for my unbiased feedback.

Finley Blake discovers a dead bodies and bones that are set to stop her sister, Whitt's wedding to Finley.

The sisters are in Charleston for the wedding preparations and in a rental mansion a body and money fall through the ceiling.
Can the sisters solve the mystery and get the wedding back on track?

I received this book from Netgalley.

This book sounded intriguing and the cover looked good too! I was pretty excited to get started. Right in Chapter 1 I felt like I was already behind in the story. I feel like so much was spoken about and honestly it felt more to me like a second or third chapter - once we had been properly introduced. Mostly this has to do with the professions of the main characters. I feel like they are needed for part of the story but it's a bit confusing.

53% of the way through the book and I still have no idea what most of the main characters do for work. It seems as though the work is a big part of the story - it influences how the characters live as well as where they live. However, at the same time it feels like a bit of an afterthought. Like their jobs didn't need to be quite such a complication. We'll see if this changes at all. Even after finishing the book I don't really know what everyone did for a living, except that they all travel. That might be on me - maybe I just didn't understand properly.

At this point it's a bit of a struggle to get through the book. I feel like there isn't as much focus on the murders as I was expecting and it's a lot about the lives of the characters - separate to the murders. I feel like the wedding and the murders should have taken the main focus of the book and yet I don't feel like they were. The sisters really didn't do much investigating, if any, but it seems like that's something they would normally do - I'm basing this on the fact that there appear to be several books in this series and also based on what aom eof the other characters said.

Overall the book as alright, but it didn't grab me and pull me in like I'd hoped.

Publishing Date: 2023

Genre: Mystery

Rating: DNF

Review: Not much to review here as I gave up pretty early. Maybe it is my ADHD but it is hard for me to wade through and follow endless dialogue. Tanzania, love of my life, my house, his house, what does home mean, I love him so, strong jaw, blah blah. I really don’t care for those details of a life in an attempt to build characters, as the process tends to fail due to the summary nature of daily ruminations.

This is the very British style of writing that wears you down with descriptive verbage. This might sell really well overseas.