The Devil is in the details . . .Cletus Byron Winston wishes to marry Jennifer Anne Donner-Sylvester (aka The Banana Cake Queen) posthaste! He’s spent the last year wanting nothing more than for the celebrations to be brief, libations flowing, and BYOB (bring your own blueberries). His future mother-in-law has other plans, plans his intended has been willing to indulge, much to Cletus’s chagrin. … chagrin. Therefore, so must he. To a point. But truth be told, he wouldn’t mind if the meddlesome matriarch disappeared, at least until the nuptials are over.On the night of Cletus and Jenn’s long-awaited engagement party, just when the surly schemer is of a mind to take matters into his own hands, a shocking event upends everyone’s best laid plans and sends the small hamlet of Green Valley into complete disarray. The final months leading up to Cletus and Jenn’s matrimonial bliss are plagued with chaos and uncertainty. Will Cletus and Jenn finally make it to the altar? Or will murder and mayhem derail their happily-ever-after?And most importantly, who done it? ‘Marriage and Murder’ is the second book in the cozy mystery series Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries. It is best read after Winston Brothers #3, ‘Beard Science’ (which can be read as a standalone) and Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries #1, ‘Engagement and Espionage.’
more
This series has quickly become my favorite set of Penny Reid books. As a lover of romance and mystery, these are the perfect combo. AND they feature my favorite Winston brother, Cletus, and his lady love, Jenn. I am ALWAYS up for more Cletus and Jenn!
This time around, we have an unexpected murder at Cletus and Jenn’s engagement party, derailing their wedding plans, and, frankly lives. When Jenn’s mom quickly becomes a suspect, Cletus and Jenn do their best to clear her name while figuring out what really happened. And it’s more complicated that it seems…
5 stars – 10/10
There’s a certain level of fear when picking up a book that is a spin-off of a series that you love, especially when it’s about your absolute all-time favorite character in any book, ever. Is there a point where too much information about a character, their love interest, and their families becomes tedious and perhaps ruins what you’ve loved about all of them for so long? In this case, no, there doesn’t seem to be a point where it all feels like too much.
I read to get lost in a world that isn’t the dumpster fire we’re currently experience but no world seems to suck me in and take me away from reality in the way that the Winston family and Green Valley does. For the glorious few hours I’m swept away into this amazing place I’m put through just about every emotion under the sun. Nobody makes me laugh like Cletus Winston. Nobody makes me cry tears of deep sadness AND pure joy the way that the Winstons do. Nothing fills my heart and my mind the way that Penny Reid’s words do.
If your leery of picking up the books in this series because of the cozy mystery aspect, don’t be. This feels very much like a Winston brothers story but in a different way. So many questions are being answered and in an entertaining, but authentic to the characters, way. I’m not sure how it’s possible but I’m falling in love with these characters more and more with each book and feel like I’m getting to know them in ways that I didn’t from the original series and I’ve yet to feel like it’s overkill.
I’m so excited for more Cletus and Jenn and the mysteries of Green Valley but I’m also extremely excited for the other spin-offs with some of our favorite, lesser “known” secondary characters!!
*I received an ARC from the author for voluntary review
I didn’t think I could love Cletus Winston and Jennifer Sylvester any more than I already did, but I was wrong. This book solidified them as a couple for me. I loved getting more of their sweet, passionate, amazing connection to each other. I loved where their relationship went in this one. The cozy mystery was an additional fun part of it all. This book was not only a great addition to this series but to the entire Winston Brothers series. I couldn’t get enough of it, and I cannot wait for the next book. I’m also excited to read Diane Donner and Repo’s book to find out more about that pairing.
Penny has done it again. I love the Winston Family; Jenn and Cletus are so much fun to read/listen too!
Chris and Joy do an amazing job and are such a joy to listen to!
Can’t say enough good things about this book. I literally wasn’t able to put down this series and read all three books in two days. That rarely happens for me. The quirky Cletus character is so compellingly interesting I wanted even more!
Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie #2) by Penny Reid is a cozy mystery told in first person, dual point of view. This series is a spin-off from the Winston Bothers romantic comedy series. It’s best read in order, after reading Beard Science (Winston Brothers #3).
The story follows engaged couple, Jennifer Sylvester and Cletus Winston, as they prepare for their upcoming wedding. When a dead body is found at their engagement party, many people are on the police suspect list including Cletus and Jenn, but her mother, Diane Donner, is their prime suspect. Will Cletus and Jenn figure out who the murderer is before their wedding day arrives? Will the Green Valley Police arrest the wrong person? Can anybody be safe when there’s a killer on the loose? Read the book to find out!
Jenn and Cletus are my all-time favorite Penny Reid couple. I never get tired of reading about them. I love them! When I read Engagement and Espionage, I wished that they had more time together on the page; that wasn’t an issue in Marriage and Murder. Jenn and Cletus spent a great deal of time together, and some of it was super steamy. The murder mystery was fun with twists and turns that kept me turning the pages. The story was mysterious, humorous, romantic, touching, and hot. I loved it!
This book is an addition to the Winston Brothers series by Penny Reid. Although it is a stand alone I would read all of the Winston Brothers before moving onto this one,
I think you will enjoy it more and the series is great. Penny Reid’s Knitting In the City series also ties in with the Winston Brothers and it is also great. If you have not read either of these series you have a whole summer of funny and enjoyable reading to looking forward to.
Cletus and Jenn’s marriage is quickly approaching and everyone is celebrating with a huge engagement party. What better way then to celebrate it with a murder and the bride’s mother having some surprising secrets (unless you’ve been reading several of Penny Reid’s little shorts surrounding the Winston Family universe).
I love the reappearance of Repo and Twilight and the revelation of the secrets these two bad boys of The Wraiths MC harbor. Add in Jenn discovering a hidden side to her sexuality and Cletus learning to trust and let himself loose with her and these two have quickly become my favourites of the Winston Brothers series.
I love anything Penny Reid. She writes as though everyone is as smart as she and that’s saying something. Her books make you think while being highly entertaining, funny, and romantic.
How much fun was this story? How much did I love this return to Green Valley?
So. Much.
I have to admit, it was fascinating to see Cletus slightly off his game. He’s so clever and usually a few steps ahead of … well, everyone. Here? Not so much. A humbler Cletus is an intriguing Cletus. That’s one of the things I love about this author: her ability to introduce new facets to established and beloved characters. Where Jenn is concerned, his brain gets scrambled. It makes him more relateable and it’s sweet.
And how much has Jenn grown since we started to get to know the real woman in Beard Science? I love the way she’s able to stand up to Cletus, can hold her own with his super intelligence, and has the ability to see things in such a positive way as to influence a change in his perspective.
Through it all, Cletus and Jenn are able to bring a balance to the other. They communicate well with each other, and support each other through some tough realisations. It’s a beautiful thing to read.
Plus, we get more of the Winstons!
The only negative thing I can say about this book – and it’s not even a true negative, more like a wish – is that I might like is to get references to some of the characters from the wider Smartypants Romance universe.
Bring on the next in the series!
Favorite Quotes:
Good Lord, the woman had invited everyone in East Tennessee and all their neighbors but none of their children. An intimate engagement party is what she and Jenn had promised me last year when the wedding planning had begun. This evening would be as intimate as an orgy in Times Square and would likely be better attended.
This chafed like wet pants on a ten-mile hike.
The woman was not usually one to offer comfort. At her most agreeable, she was saltier than a sardine.
She looked like a lawyer. You know, learned and poised to argue.
My Review:
This was a delightfully fun and highly entertaining read with romance, sizzling sensuality, family drama, a murder mystery, and my best-loved character from among my favorite family of quirky hillbillies, Cletus. I am enamored with him as well as his intended bride Jenn. They are an adorable couple and both with odd and complicated family dynamics. The storylines were intriguing, the characters were delectably peculiar, and the writing was cleverly amusing and kept me fully engaged on all thrusters. I hope to be reading these tales into perpetuity with these characters reaching the age of having spirited nursing home shenanigans.
It is time for Green Valley to have themselves a wedding . You are cordially invited to attended the union of Cletus and Jen but wait first we need to find a killer and solve a crime!
Jen and Cletus are sweet, sexy, have wonderful chemistry and are just a delight together. It is time for these love birds to finally tie that knot. Oh how I loved revisiting my old friends and watching this whole mystery and love story unfold. Get ready love, laughter, mystery and intrigue. Get your thinking cap on and watch those clues as there is a crime to solve.
~~Michele McMullen ~~
I am definitely loving this series! Cletus and Jenn are so much fun to read, and getting inside their heads each book is truly a revelation.
On paper, Cletus and Jenn seem to be diametrically opposed as a couple. They are such different personalities, but their combination is one of the most fun couples to read in Penny Reid’s Winston Family world. While the origin of their relationship was a romance, this series is a cozy mystery series with romance elements. Here was have a murder mystery and the long-awaited wedding of Jenn and Cletus.
Each book we see Jenn come out of her shell more and more, becoming more confident as herself thanks to both Cletus’s love and her complicated, evolving relationship with her mother. This book is filled with witty dialogue, masterful scene-setting, action and intrigue. Cletus is also constantly growing, learning to love and care about Jenn and setting other priorities besides what Cletus wants. They are not only growing individually, but also as a couple.
Can’t wait for more shenanigans from Cletus and Jenn!
Cletus and Jenn and a murder? Ummm yes please….so mini spoiler alert…someone dies and no I’m not telling you who. But it does set off a whole chain of events that really stir things up in Green Valley. Plus catching up with the whole Winston clan is never a bad thing.
I love how Cletus loves Jenn. So fully and without hesitation. How he defends her and puts her first in all things. Even as he was plotting and trying to deduce whodunit, it was always with her at the forefront of his mind and actions. And when she gets caught up in the cross hairs of the investigation, it was all he could do to try and get ahead of someone who was playing a dangerous and deadly game.
The way that Penny Reid wove the elements of danger and mystery into Jenn and Cletus’ epic romance that kept me glued to the pages of Marriage and Murder. Everything had a purpose, a reason to be there. And that ending, goodness me, it was perfection wrapped up in Dickies, happiness and love.
Marriage and Murder is the second book in the Solving for Pie cozy mystery series from the wonderful Penny Reid. And yes the books need to be read in order since the books interconnect with each other. Marriage and Murder finds Cletus and Jenn celebrating their engagement but gate crashers soon ruins the party. Next thing you know, there’s a dead body and the mother of the bride is a primary suspect. The dead body also happens to be the troublesome, not ever going to be invited to the wedding, father of the bride. Now, it’s up to Cletus and Jenn ( and maybe some government agencies) to solve the mystery before the actual wedding!
Marriage and Murder has all the excitement and crime solving wonder of Cletus Winston as the first book, Engagement and Espionage. It’s moderately paced helping to build on the thrill of how everything is going to end and how the wedding is going to be. It’s a finely balanced mystery and romance storyline that’s guaranteed to keep readers on their toes plus evil genius Cletus is on the job!
Marriage and Murder by Penny Reid is the 2nd book in her Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries Series and I think her 29th (?) book overall & I can honestly say they just get better. I adored the Winston Brothers series so much that I was feeling adrift when I finished Beard Necessities but when Penny Reid started this series it was like she turned the lights back on.
In this book Cletus and Jenn are working towards finally getting married with all the hoopla a good southern wedding needs. The End. No actually, not the end! Because it was Cletus and Jenn, the story took about 48 different twists and turns and kept whiplashing me about like I was on a roller coaster. Jenn and Cletus are coming into their own personalities more and more and figuring out what they can and cannot compromise on. This is a steamy, funny, engaging, complex, emotional, and exciting story that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Although this book can 100% be read as a stand alone and still be amazing, for all those of us who have read other books by Penny Reid, there were so many awesome extras that we picked up on!
While Cletus and Jenn navigate joining their lives through marriage chaos ensues. As a fan of the Winston Brothers, I was very happy to catch up with every single Winston sibling and their partner. Even where they played secondary characters, each Winston sibling was still so well thought out & three dimensional. There were also some awesome female empowerment messages through friendships that resonated deeply with me.
The turmoil set forth in this story has some of our favorite characters acting out of character, some stepping out of the shadows, some ginormous secrets unveiled, and some epic scenes that had me ugly crying. Characters we might have been indifferent to or even hated became sympathetic and others became so much more complex.
I so love this spin off series about Cletus and Jenn. This is a couple that is so underestimated by most folks has a love that outshines everything!
This story picks up with Cletus and Jenn finally celebrating their engagement. And what a party it is. Mayhem ensues and a new mystery needs to be solved.
Cletus has got to be one of the most fascinating characters I have ever read. His quirkiness, and his love for Jenn is just inspiring and the talent of Ms. Reid to be able to create such a unique hero is just a testament to her writing talent.
I love how past characters make appearances, but they don’t overshine the main plot of the story, they just add to it.
This story is full of mystery, love, charm and swoons. Oh and as the title says, marriage! But I am not going to spoil it for you.
Another stellar story from the great mind of Penny Reid, get your hands on it!
Marriage and Murder is the second book in the Solving for Pie series, and while it is loosely tied to the first book, it can be read as a standalone. Readers of the Winston Brothers series may enjoy it more though.
Penny Reid’s writing is as clever as I have come to expect from her, and the fact that this murder mystery is more complicated and serious than the one in the first book is welcomed. I liked the different layers; however, the story is simply too long and drawn out. I prefer my mysteries — even comedic mysteries — to be more fast-paced. I’m not a fan of hanging threads, and unfortunately the book ends without a complete resolution for some of the key parties involved.
I doubt I’ll ever tire of the Winstons, though, and we get plenty of the entire Winston family in this book. I adore Cletus and his cunning and humorous ways. I am also fond of Jenn, who is completely devoted to Cletus and no longer the shrinking violet she once was. It’s been wonderful to see her blossom. Cletus is so far gone for Jenn that he’s a distracted, mushy mess and it’s a wonderful thing to witness.
Even though this book isn’t my favorite of Reid’s, there is no denying the appeal of the characters and the entertainment they bring to this series.
* I received an early copy of this book to voluntarily read.
Penny Reid is a phenomenal writer spinning the yard an elaborated scheme that involves a murder mystery and planning a wedding. Cletus Byron Winston wishes to marry Jennifer Anne Donner-Sylvester, but will they be able to get it together while trying to solve a murder?
Cletus and Jennifer and all the Winston family are together for their big engagement party. The happy couple gets caught up in the murder of Jen’s father, and while they were hiding from the gunman, Cletus sees that it’s Jennifer’s mom who is washing blood off her hands.
What comes next is a series of investigations, a surprise, a confirmation, and finally, weddings. It’s a good story and one that kept me intrigued as the prior interactions between Jennifer, her parents, and the people who her dad scammed are all involved in this tale. I really enjoyed catching up with all the family, and loved the ending with Ashley and Drew.
While this one can technically be read as a stand-alone, I wouldn’t miss the first one, and the entire Winston brother’s series.