The Walled Flower by Lorraine Bartlett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the description - “If Katie Bonner's late husband hadn't invested all their savings in the crafts fair Artisans Alley, the Webster mansion could have been hers to remodel into a bed-and-breakfast. Instead that dream belongs to another young couple. But that dream becomes a nightmare when a skeleton is discovered sealed in the walls of the mansion. The bones belong to Helen Winston, who went missing twenty-two years ago. Heather's aunt, a jewelry vendor at Artisans Alley, asks Kate for help finding her niece's murderer. The case may be cold, but the killer is very much alive-and ready to go to any lengths to keep past secrets buried...”

This is the second book in the Victoria Square series and it starts out fast and never lets up. Katie finds herself in over her head with situations as disparate being pushed into becoming the Matron of Honor of a very demanding bridezilla, personality conflicts and accusations of theft in Artisans Alley, and murders 22 years apart but almost certainly related.

Add Detective Davenport, whose people skills still leave a lot to be desired, a looming deadline to find new living quarters, and a boyfriend who refuses to let her move in to the apartment over his pizzeria. Oh, boy!

The characters are really coming into their own in this one, particularly Katie who not only knows that she is taking on more than anyone could handle, but sticks to her commitments and sticks by her friends.

Also, Rose, one of the Artisans Alley vendors, has center stage in this story and she’s great! Katie and Rose together made a formidable team and I hope to see more of Rose in the future.

I have to say that I really didn’t want to put this down to go even to go to sleep. It was fast-paced, well-written, and lots of fun! I look forward to many more stories set in Victoria Square!

For the sake of proper disclosure, I received an ARC of this book from the author.


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