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It’s the week before Halloween and Kailani Pope has been asked attend her friend Morticia’s wedding. The weeklong event, which culminates with a costumed wedding ceremony on Halloween night, is being held on a private island which can only be accessed by boat. Things start off a little slow but become a lot more interesting when a tropical storm hits and one of the groomsmen turns up dead. Join Luke and Lani as this amateur sleuthing team attempt to determine if the killer is: the mummy in the kitchen who also serves as the chef, the seemingly blind butler, the sexy vampire who is also the maid and bartender, or one of the other kooky and spooky guests at this very unusual wedding event.
Excerpt:
When we got back to the pool we found
Luke and Cam chatting with an older woman with silver hair that hung
straight to her waist. She was sitting next to a chubby man with a
bald head who immediately reminded me of Uncle Fester from The
Addams Family.
“Lani, Kekoa, this is Dharma and her
friend, Oz.”
We both nodded and said we were happy
to meet them.
“Are you here for the wedding?” I
asked.
“I was asked to do a blessing and
Dharma was asked to do a reading,” Oz informed us.
“A reading?” I asked.
“Dharma is a psychic,” Oz
explained. “And a good one at that.”
“And you’re a holy man of some
sort?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that,
but because I’d just met them and was a guest myself I decided not
to ask.
“Have you been on the island long?”
I asked conversationally.
“Always,” Oz replied.
It appeared as if Dharma was sizing me
up. She was staring at me in a way that sent chills down my spine and
so far she hadn’t said a word.
“And will you officiate at the
wedding?” I asked the bald man.
“Perhaps.”
I wondered what was up with all the
vague. Either the guy was going to officiate at the wedding or he
wasn’t.
“You’re friends of the bride?” Oz
asked.
“Kekoa and I are,” I verified. “We
went to high school together, although we lost touch over the years.”
I jumped when Dharma took my right hand
in hers and closed her eyes. I glanced at the others. Kekoa frowned
as she glanced at our joined hands, Luke shrugged, and Cam grinned,
as if enjoying my discomfort. I turned to Oz, who had a look of
contemplation on his face but didn’t say anything.
“This is the one we’ve been waiting
for,” Dharma said after maybe fifteen very uncomfortable seconds.
She looked me in the eye in a way that made me want to crawl inside
my skin and hide.
“Waiting for?” I screeched in a
high little voice I was certain revealed my discomfort.
Oz gave Dharma a meaningful look but
didn’t reply. She let my hand fall to my side and took a step back
but maintained eye contact with me.
“Dharma had a premonition that a
guest with a specific purpose would attend the festivities,” Oz
explained.
“A purpose?”
“There’s no need for concern. If
you’re the one your role will be revealed in time,” Oz assured
me.
Okay, these people were creeping me
out. I lowered my head to break eye contact with the woman, who was
still staring at me. I looked at Kekoa, who had turned to Cam, whose
smile had slipped just a bit. It appeared my friends were as freaked
out as I was by this conversation. Oz gave Dharma another meaningful
glance that I was unable to interpret, but it definitely contributed
to my uneasy feeling.
“I guess maybe I’ll skip the swim
and just grab a quick shower before getting dressed for dinner,” I
announced after deciding it was time to bail on this conversation.
“I’ll come with you,” Kekoa
seconded.
Dharma looked at me, her eyes boring
into mine. “Do not trust what you see.”
I glanced at Luke. He took my hand and
gave it a squeeze. If I’d had my reservations about this wacky
wedding before I was full-on creeped out now.
Great book and a great series! Love Kathi's books!
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