The Bridled Groom

After courting each other through J. S. Borthwick's five previous mysteries, English teacher Sarah Deane and internist Alex McKenzie are finally planning a wedding: their own. It should be idyllic, culminating in a reception at the beautiful Maine farm owned by Sarah's aunt Julia Clancy. But not even her own impending nuptials can keep Sarah from probing a local mystery. This time the troubles strike literally close to home. Aunt Julia receives a series of sinister nursery rhymes telling her to leave High Hope Farm, and then the disquieting incidents begin: A groom falls through the hayloft; the farmhouse is splattered by buckshot; two stable helpers vanish into thin air; and a psychic librarian goes about the neighborhood proclaiming ruin and blood on the new moon. The reception does go forward as planned, but the happy event is marred by the morning-after discovery of a corpse in the stable. Sarah and Alex are brought home from their honeymoon as witnesses: They just may have seen the killer dance at their wedding. Obviously, the newlyweds have no time to settle into married life. Murder comes first, and they must try to solve the crimes before a horse show offers the perfect opportunity to destroy High Hope Farm for good.