by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book, and a link to purchase it.

Hats Off to Missy DuBois!
Set on Louisiana’s Great River Road, the Crowning Glory is a delightful millinery shop, owned by Mellissa DuBois, catering to the most sophisticated of Southern brides. For their walk down the aisle, they can choose from a variety of lovely hats, headpieces, and hand-crafted veils. Missy is joined in the local wedding business and friendship with her employee Beatrice Rushing, cake master Bettina LeBlanc over at the Pink Cake Boxes, and her best friend turned beau turned fiancé, and in four weeks, turned husband Ambrose “Bo” Jackson who has the strength of character to ignore gender norms and follow his dream to design couture wedding dresses. Unfortunately, as of late, murder has found a place among the flowers and lace, and childhood friend and local detective Lance LaPorte has been more than just great support. From an unfortunate bride to a friend and realtor to a wedding planner, a developer, and now a unsuspecting groom, Bleu Bayou is unmasked and delightful mayhem is exposed.

What the Hatmaker Heard earns 5/5 Wedding Woes…Entertaining Fun!
Missy is in awe of the beautiful Honeycutt Hall, a mansion situated on an old sugar plantation. With its own private chapel, it’s the perfect site for the wedding between heiress Lorelei Honeycutt and Wesley Carmichael. Everything is set for the ceremony, but the bride is near hyperventilating over her veil. Missy is very familiar with last minute jitters, changes in opinions, and unreasonable demands, but she is very good at her job. Although there was that veil incident with Stormie Lanai, local newscaster in Baton Rouge, making each not very glad to see one another at the festivities. But, with Lorelei, she calms the bride, suggests a remedy, and agrees to be present at the rehearsal to ensure no wardrobe malfunctions occur. Missy overhears a discussion between the bride and groom that’s more curious than confrontational. The groom begs off participating in the rehearsal due his temperature, cough, and sniffles, but the next day? The groom is missing…later found murdered, and Missy is beginning to think she’s “cursed.”

Here Comes the…Fun! Sandra Bretting has penned a delightful sixth book in her Missy DuBois Mystery series. This southern gem entertains with an inviting first-person narrative sharing Missy’s inner thoughts and observations, and giving readers, like me, a vicarious role in the drama with the “I” perspective. From my technical side, I enjoy Bretting’s writing style rich with descriptions to fill the senses of the plantation-style estate and the various characters along with clever banter in her dialogue that does well to illustrate personalities, emotions, and tone. She also used words and phrases I remember from my grandmother making it fun: “Oh, sugar!” “Okeydoke,” and, my personal favorite, having the “heebie-jeebies.” The main drama has lots of obvious considerations, but I never ignore the obscure even though my inner Sherlock was stumped. The side drama added to the intensity of a murder investigation; Missy and Bo’s wedding has hit a few snags from a destroyed venue to a double-booked photographer to her own wardrobe malfunction, and although Bo says he’d marry her in a pizza parlor, it’s not the event of her dreams. But, the murder and the wedding all turn out brilliantly! I loved it.

Personal Observation: Missy’s VW named “Ringo” sparked delightful memories of my own first car. It was a 1967 red VW Beatle named Vladimir, the best alliterative “V” I could imagine. For fifteen years that Bug got me safely up and down California in good times and bad, in sickness and health, til…you know the drill. I do, however, still have the original key!

Missy DuBois Mystery
Murder at Morningside (2016)
Something Foul at Sweetwater (2016)
Someone’s Mad at the Hatter (2017)
Death Comes to Dogwood (2018) KRL Review HERE
Manor All Hats on Deck (2019)
What the Hatmaker Heard (2020)

Be a Big Sandra Bretting Fan!
LIKE on Facebook — Sandra Bretting Books
Website — Sandra Bretting

To enter to win an ebook copy of What the Hatmaker Heard, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “hatmaker,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen September 12, 2020. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. BE AWARE DUE TO THE CURRENT PANDEMIC BOOKS WILL TAKE LONGER TO GET TO WINNERS.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. A new episode goes up next week!

You can use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.