LEA WAIT has been an antique print dealer since 1977, making her the fourth generation in her family to work in the antiques business. She lives and works in Maine, where she is now a full-time author. Shadows on a Cape Cod Wedding is the sixth book in her Antique Print mystery series. This time fictional antique print dealer Maggie Summer is on Cape Cod to help with her best friend's wedding. She is interrupted by a murder and a hurricane, but ultimately solves the crime and the wedding takes place.

 

This is a very well-written and engaging mystery series, which has been a finalist for an Agatha award. The 'hook' for me is the description of a real antique print at the beginning of each chapter. The descriptions are so evocative that I can picture the print in my mind. For example, chapter 40 is headed "Papaver somniferum. Hand-colored print from A. B. Strong's The American Flora, 1846. White Poppy, with yellow center and green stem and leaf. This variety whose botanical name means 'sleep-bringing,' is the plant from which opium is derived, which is why L. Frank Baum had Dorothy and her friends fall asleep in a field of them in The Wizard of Oz. 6.5 x 9 inches, toned at edges. Price: $50."

 

This book is published by Perseverance Press, which is making a very nice name for itself  by rescuing authors whose series have been dropped by one of the so-called major publishers. Some of my favorite authors are now being published by Perseverance.