annieb123's Review of The Bride Wore White

by Amanda Quick

A psychic desperate to escape her destiny—and a killer—finds her future in the coastal town of Burning Cove in New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick’s latest novel.

Being Madame Ariadne, Psychic Dream Consultant, wasn’t Prudence Ryland’s ideal gig, but it paid well which was reason enough to do the work—until she realizes that her latest client intends to kill her. But Prudence, a master at reinvention, finds a new job and home as far away as possible and is finally able to relax—which turns out to be a big mistake. Letting her guard down means being kidnapped and drugged and waking up in a bloodstained wedding dress in the honeymoon suite next to a dead man. With the press outside the hotel, waiting with their cameras and police sirens in the distance, it’s obvious she’s being framed for the man’s murder. Prudence knows who is responsible, but will anyone believe her?

It doesn’t seem likely that rumored crime boss Luther Pell or his associate, Jack Wingate, believe her seemingly outrageous claims of being a target of a ruthless vendetta. In fact, Prudence is convinced that the mysterious Mr. Wingate believes her to be a fraud at best, and at worst: a murderer. And Jack Wingate does seem to be someone intimately familiar with violence, if going by his scarred face and grim expression. So no one is more shocked than Prudence when Jack says he’ll help her. Of course, his ideas for helping her involve using her as the bait for a killer, but Prudence feels oddly safe with Jack protecting her. But who will protect Prudence from her growing fascination with this enigma of a man?

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Bride Wore White is the seventh book in the historical Burning Cove paranormal mysteries by Amanda Quick. Released 2nd May 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a character driven paranormal mystery with very tenuous tie-ins to characters in some of the other books. Since they don't follow on from one another, it can be read as a standalone without losing continuity. The series format focuses each book's plot around a couple and their romance and unraveling a mystery, in this case, solving a psychically motivated murder and revenge plot against the protagonist, Prudence, who keeps having to reinvent herself to escape each new attempt.

The plotting and writing are above average, the mystery is straightforward, and the solution inevitable, but otherwise an above average read for lovers of historical romance/mystery with a paranormal element. The dialogue is uneven, but nothing egregious (some minor anachronisms and occasionally overwrought passages, but otherwise fine).

Three and a half stars. Diverting and worth a look for fans of paranormal mystery/romance.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

21 May, 2023: Started reading

21 May, 2023: Finished reading

21 May, 2023: Reviewed