Review: Engaged in Murder (Perfect Proposals #1) by Nancy J. Parra + Giveaway

Engaged in Murder (Perfect Proposals #1) by Nancy J. Parra

Published June 3rd 2014 by Berkley

Paperback, 288 pages

Series: Perfect Proposals

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source:  I got a copy of this book from the publisher  in exchange of an honest review.
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads

There’s no planning for murder…

Event planner Pepper Pomeroy is making the most of her current unemployment by arranging a surprise for her sister, Felicity. Warren, Felicity’s boyfriend, plans to lure his lovely lady into a private jet, propose, and whisk her away on a romantic vacation. He just needs Pepper to handle all the fine details in order to make it the perfect proposal—and it is. Everything goes so well when Warren pops the question that he suggests Pepper do this sort of thing professionally.

But before she can get her new business off the ground, there are some disturbing questions. Like who’s the dead guy Pepper finds in the ladies’ room of the jet hangar? Is it possible Felicity’s high-flying fiancé has been hiding more than the engagement ring? Pepper’s not married to the idea of having a criminal in the family, so in order to protect her sister, she takes off in pursuit of a killer…

A delightful start to a new series!

Nancy J. Parra has done it again. She has created another entertaining, fun and imaginative mystery series that hooks the reader from the very first page. With it's lively characters and creativity, Engaged in Murder was a read hard to part with. 

Pepper Pomeroy is recently unemployed event planner. So when the opportunity comes along to plan her sister's proposal, it becomes a perfect chance not only to give her sister the best day of her life - but to also put her skills to a great use. Little did Pepper knew that day would also have her stumbling upon a dead body. To make things worse, Warren her sister's new fiancé could also be the prime suspect in the murder case.

Great story. Pepper is going to be a fun character to follow. Sure this is book one and like most new characters, she has a lot of work to do with growing. Pepper is smart, creative, with the world of imagination in front of her. When life knocks her down, she finds a way to bring herself back up. With Warren's encouragement, she is well on her way of starting her own business and really re-evaluating her life. She dumps her deadbeat boyfriend, and in turn ends up with an unlikely man in her life. She jumps into her new business, and get's plenty of great surprises.

So while trying to plan her sister's engagement party, Pepper is also snooping around in hopes of putting some ugly accusations of her future brother-in-law to rest, before her sister marries a murderer.

I liked this book. I liked Pepper. There was only a few things I had issues with. First, I couldn't believe that Pepper stayed with her boyfriend for as long as she did. Seriously, that guy was terrible and I hated him for the few pages he was in.

Second. I was a bit disappointed by not only Pepper's, but also her mother's reaction to the murder and in a way, doubting Warren's innocence. I would kind of assume they would protect their new son-in-law and give him the benefit of a doubt? Instead of trying to find out if he really did it so her sister wouldn't marry a murderer. I understand wanting to help her family member, but that was a bit strange with me. Also her reaction to Warren's secret he kept from her sister was also a bit over the top, especially since her sister was totally cool with it.

Besides those few things and Pepper's really easy start in the first year of business, the story itself was really fun. I liked following Pepper as she looked for clues in hopes of putting the ugly rumors to rest. I also loved the way she took control and did everything she could to make the perfect proposals for some of these women.

So my loveliess. Thanks to the publisher I have for you today Engaged in Murder (Perfect Proposals #1) by Nancy J. Parra  Just fill out a really quick raffle and comment below. 

Open to US Address only

Must be at least 13+ to enter

Winner will have 24 hours to claim their prize. Giveaway ends June 13th

a Rafflecopter giveaway