You are cordially invited to a destination wedding to die for… “My rating for Drowning Lessons by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds is five stars. I loved the setting, the mystery is top-notch, the characters are very realistic, yet humorous, and the plot moved well. This series is one that I will be watching.”~Baroness’ Book Trove“There are so many fine things about this novel that it’s difficult to … that it’s difficult to enumerate them all. The characters are beautifully drawn; the dialogue sparkles; the setting is vividly rendered…This is sure to delight followers and fans of mystery novels !!”
~Kelly/Reviewer NetGalley
Welcome to Bocas del Toro, a remote chain of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Five days of glorious sun and lush rainforest await the forty guests celebrating Bridezilla Olivia’s dream wedding—but will a murder sink the catered affair? Before anyone’s got time to start working on a tan, an unfortunate snorkeling accident eliminates a member of the wedding party. Maid of honor Lexie Marino smells trouble, and is thrust into the responsibility of investigating, needing to solve the case before her bestie’s trip down the aisle gets tropically derailed. The show must go on.
Lexie’s a little too tall, a little too awkward, and a little too brokenhearted, but she’s determined to nail the real killer. Can this unlikely sleuth stay afloat as she’s hit by wave after wave of wildly entertaining characters, including an alpha bride, surfing detectives, and a high school flame long forgotten? You’ll find yourself laughing until the very end of Drowning Lessons, a debut cozy mystery that makes the perfect beach read. Rub in some coconut oil, dangle your feet in the crystal-blue waters of Starfish Beach, and sip a cool drink as Lexie discovers the deductive superpowers she never knew she had. Let the party begin!
“This story is much more than a cozy mystery. It is a dramedy where literally everything that can go wrong does. Twists, turns, craziness, and good old mayhem fill these pages all on an idyllic chain of islands . . . This was a fun book to read and a great start for this series.”
~Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
“Drowning Lessons is filled with humor from beginning to end, not to mention several twists along the way. It’s the perfect beach read.”
~Socrates’ Book Reviews
“Great debut for this new series: a compelling plot, a spectacular setting, and bizarre characters, nothing is missing.”
~LibriAmoriMiei
This is the first book of five in the Red Frog Beach Mystery Series. The Wipeout Affair, Book 2, will be released on October 17, 2019. For information and updates please visit RachelNeuburger.com
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The perfect beach read. This book is a great escape to a tropical location sure to leave you caught up in the story’s twists and turns. It was an enjoyable start to the series with entertaining characters that infused humor into the story. I can’t wait to see where the author takes Lexie and her adventures next!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
We arrive on Bocas del Toro, a remote chain of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama for the destination wedding of Olivia Fowlers. Alexandra ‘Lexie’ Martone is her maid of honor and is at the bride’s beck and call, as are all of the bridesmaids. Each one has received a binder/dossier with details about all 40 guests and all the activities the bride has planned for the week. Each bridesmaid has been assigned a group of people to watch over and certain events they are each in charge of.
The first event, snorkeling is all fun and games until one of the guests failed to come out of the water on their own. The bride quickly informs Lexie to handle it, a dead body is not going to ruin her big day. When the authorities determine the person was actually murdered the bride’s Zilla claws come out and she tells Lexie to keep everything a secret until her wedding goes off without a hitch. Lexie isn’t sure if the island detectives can solve the case since they seem more focused on surfing instead of the murder, so she starts to do a little snooping on her own. Even she knows this could end badly.
‘Lexie’ Martone has the patience of a saint. She is trying to recover from a bad breakup, doesn’t know how to swim, has put on a few pounds, and has always been the tallest girl in the crowd. She knows nothing about investigating a murder but she is going to give her the old college try. Everyone is a suspect and she doesn’t know who she can trust. Her time on the island is going to be the farthest thing from a delightful vacation. Lexie shows a lot of growth over these pages which makes me excited about this character.
In addition to Lexie, the author introduces us to a mixed bag of characters. New friends, old friends, a few relatives, work colleagues and one very wealthy character who is paying for this extravaganza. One ends up dead and then another and all those remaining land on the suspect list. Truthfully, with the exception of one or two, they weren’t a likable bunch for me or Lexie, so it wasn’t hard to believe that one or more of them could be a murderer.
Our protagonist didn’t do too much actual investigating. She leaned on her observations, overhearing conversations, and making a pest of herself, just being on the scene while trying to keep up with all her wedding chores. In my mind, she put herself in some risky situations for very little knowledge gained, but somehow it all came together by the end in a very enjoyable way.
This story is much more than a cozy mystery. It is a dramedy where literally everything that can go wrong does. Twists, turns, craziness, and good old mayhem fill these pages all on an idyllic chain of islands. A virtual beach escape or grab a copy and head to the beach. This was a fun book to read and a great start for this series. I am looking forward to the next book.
I will admit that I don’t read many mystery novels. The ones I do read though, usually end up being interesting and this one is no exception. What’s more interesting than a bunch of strangers shoved together for a destination wedding that has a giant bridezilla? Ones that have skeletons and secrets in their closets that they are trying to hide when the best man gets murdered.
Poor Lexi is the maid of honor for her best friend Olivia’s wedding. Olivia is taking bridezilla to the next level with her destination wedding weeklong schedule. Lexi is trying desperately to keep everything from becoming a disaster when Olivia decides that nobody needs to know that the best man has been murdered, and that the wedding must go on. When Olivia’s sister shows up with a plan to ruin the wedding that includes an ex that broke her sister’s heart, Lexi’s problems hit nuclear level. Between love, lies, murder and lots of secrets Lexi learns a lot about herself and her best friend.
There are some really interesting characters in this book that have some surprises up their sleeve. The world building is pretty good, and I felt like I could feel the ocean breeze and picture the small coastal town so clearly. I mostly gave this book five stars because I was drawn into the story not just because of the murder mystery but because of Lexi’s struggles to come to terms with truths about herself, her best friend, and what she really wanted in her life.
I enjoyed “Drowning Lessons” by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds, though I must admit that I found the first half a bit slow-paced for my tastes. Fortunately, the story picked up in the second half, and I read most of the book in one sitting.
I found the characters to be enjoyably quirky, especially Lloyd, a.k.a “the Dissector,” the accused (but never proven) serial killer; flighty bridezilla Olivia; flirty Migs the photographer; and surfer detectives LaGuardia and McDonough. I wasn’t crazy about Josh, main character Lexie’s love interest, but since this book wasn’t a romance, I was able to mostly ignore that aspect of the story and focus on the other elements. I especially appreciated the book’s comedic elements, as well as the fact that the mystery kept me guessing until the end.
Overall, “Drowning Lessons” was a light, easy read, perfect for enjoying by the beach or pool. I will plan to read the next book in the series to see where Lexie’s adventures take her next.
*ARC provided by the author via Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.
Can they keep this death a secret or will it ruin the wedding?
Drowning Lessons by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds is an adventure filled murder mystery, with plenty of suspects trapped on an island paradise.
Likes
• The way the author breaks up the story into the days that the wedding party are on the island works so well.
• Olivia, the bride, has everyone’s cellphones taken at the beginning of the story works well at isolating the wedding party and guests.
• The island paradise and the way that the islanders are portrayed. I thought it was respectful and genuine.
• The La Guardia is open to allowing our reluctant sleuth to help with the investigation.
• The bridezilla, Olivia, is a wonderfully written narcissistic control freak. Who deserved her groom.
• The whole wedding scheme was outrageous, blood red everything, Goth outfits, a costume party, bats, drinking like a college spring break. It was all so crazy, like that train wreck that you can’t turn away.
• The Slam Book as a wedding planner was so utterly, Olivia.
• Emma is another marvelous character even though she is a lot like Olivia only sad. I felt sorry for her.
Lexi, our sleuth
Lexi is a fabulously flawed character. I love that she is this tall, beautiful woman but doesn’t see it herself. Then there is her whole “Left Behind” thing. I am so glad she figured out that she is better than that. Lexi also has a lot of class, and she handled some things that happen with her head held high. Oh, and Lexi is entirely loyal to her friend, Olivia. Which seems like a remedy characteristic but seriously, you have to read about Olivia to realize what a huge flaw that is.
I think that helping solve this murder let Lexi see who was actually on her side and who was using her. The friends that she makes while doing it also help her grow as an individual.
Mystery
The mystery is well planned, with lots of motives, plenty of suspects and such an exotic method of murder. I think my favorite part was learning about each of the suspects and how warped they were. Honestly, the first victim was a straight up arse, but he must have had some redeeming qualities. However, the second victim is sweet and is such a loss to society. Kudos to our sleuth and her temporary sidekick for figuring it out and explaining why via a Scooby Doo wrap up.
5 Stars for Drowning Lessons by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds
My rating for Drowning Lessons by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds is five stars. I loved the setting, the mystery is top-notch, the characters are very realistic, yet humorous, and the plot moved well. This series is one that I will be watching.
I highly recommend this book to all the cozy mystery readers out there.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Drowning Lessons by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
Happy Reading
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
I quickly became engrossed in this destination wedding/murder mystery from page one. What more could I ask for in a mystery? A great destination, adorable would be sleuth Lexie aka tall girl, a quirky list of characters and a bridezilla!!
A wedding guest winds up dead/maybe murdered? The list of suspects is long and complex because this particular guest is not the most genial person. Lexie has all she can do to keep the wedding on track now she has a murder to solve and her best friend Olivia’s wedding to save from this unfortunate event.
Lexie is brokenhearted from a recent breakup with her not so nice ex named Salty. Lexie quickly became a fun character for me and she has a lot of clues to put together in order to save the day and she assembles an unlikely team of would be Scooby Doo sleuths.
I really enjoyed this book, the characters grew on me and the mystery had a lot of twists and turns. I loved the side drama!
Rachel Neuburger Reynolds