Book Review: People Will Talk | Kieran Scott
Kieran Scott’s People Will Talk is a juicy little summer mystery that is more soapy than thrilling. People who are looking to avoid anything too dark or heavy in their mysteries will love this!
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What is People Will Talk about?
Kieran Scott brings her distinctive prose to this breathlessly suspenseful novel that combines Glass Onion with Big Little Lies as three women are implicated in a murder after a wedding goes horribly wrong.
When the Frank family throws their annual clambake at their gorgeous beachside home on Cape May, the seafood is always delivered to white-clothed tables on fine bone china. And Peter Frank, the beloved son and perennial heartbreaker, will make the rounds, charming every woman on the guest list.
Top of that list this year are Maya, his tennis star girlfriend just coming off the high of winning Wimbledon; Catherine, his high school sweetheart turned wildly successful wedding planner and influencer; and Leanne, the fiercely protective aunt and legal guardian of his only son. When Maya, Catherine, and Leanne arrive expecting an extravagant feast, they’re instead lured into a room together by a mysterious text to find Peter and…Tilly.
Tilly, all golden blonde hair and perfectly tan skin, explains to the three women that she and Peter plan to get married that night, that Maya and Peter are through, that Peter will no longer be investing in Catherine’s company, and that Leanne must give up guardianship of her nephew. The enraged women attend the impromptu wedding, but when a chandelier falls and crushes the bride, suddenly they’re three likely suspects with three perfect motives. Now they’ll have to work together to figure out who really did kill Tilly, and fast—because maintaining a good reputation in this crowd can be murder.
What did I think?
I think more books should kick off with a summertime clambake—it’s so delightfully summer-on-the-Atlantic-coast to me! In the case of Cape May, the Frank family’s annual clambake thrown outside their beachfront home is one of the events of the summer. That sly dog Peter Frank has a few things planned for this year, though. Namely, an impromptu wedding to a socialite, Tilly.
How fun is a surprise wedding? Your mileage may vary on that depending on the circumstances, because Peter’s girlfriend Maya is in attendance at the clambake and completely blindsided by the news Peter is marrying someone else. I mean… I think we can all agree that would be horrible. No one likes a surprise wedding that involves their significant other but not themselves. To add to the all-around awkwardness, Peter’s high school sweetheart, Catherine, is also in attendance (and she happens to be a wedding planner, to add insult to injury), as is a woman named Leanne who is the legal guardian of his son (whom he fathered with Leanne’s late sister, Monica). Oh Peter… this is messy!
The fun doesn’t stop with the blindside of three women attached to Peter, though. Tilly lets Maya know that her relationship is obviously over, and lets Catherine know that she and Peter are pulling their investment in her business. She also tells Leanne that they are going to adopt Hudson, taking him away from Leanne. Yikes!
When Tilly is found dead in the morning, crushed by the expensive chandelier she just had to have (hoisted by her own petard, as they say), all three women become prime suspects. They all have a motive to want Tilly dead, and they all had the opportunity. So who did it?
This is a juicy mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I love a cozy mystery and this was a more soapy and salacious one than we usually get. Fun! The setting was great, the plot was absolutely wild, and the mystery surprised me. Gossip, wealth, scorned lovers, surprise weddings, clams, and murder make this a perfect summer mystery!
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Thank you to Gallery Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.
One Comment
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