Author: Hazel Edwards
Publisher: BookPOD
Copyright Year: 2018
Synopsis
‘I buried my father, married my sister and sorted the missing will.’‘
Quinn, a celebrant with style and a few obsessions but a good heart, solves quirky problems, mysteries and the occasional murder at weddings, funerals and naming ceremonies in her country town.
Ex-actor with a great voice who writes eulogies to die for! Not forgetting a few quotable ‘Quinn’s Laws of Relativity’. A romantic, but asexual, Quinn lives with her long term partner Art who runs community Channel Zero.
The work style of a celebrant is never routine. Fake I.D. Fraud. Fights, even to the death, over wills and inheritance. Mislaid rings. Lost bride. Food poisoning. Clients of various ages and cultures are well looked after. Even vintage millionairess Flora with the much young lover who might be a con- artist.
Quinn solves most problems but not always in the expected way.
Reviewer: Sarah Jackson
Quinn, a self-described asexual and part-time actor, part-time celebrant (weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies and alike), describes how sleuthing skills come in handy when dealing with the ins and outs of the local’s lives in a rural town.
Celebrant Sleuth: I Do … or Die by Hazel Edwards is a little difficult to classify. I must admit, that the title lead me to believe that it was going to be a cosy mystery, but it is more a collection of amusing anecdotes, rather than what I describe as a standard crime/sleuthing offering. It certainly doesn’t follow a traditional mystery/crime book style (not necessarily a bad thing).
The stores are presented in first person, in memoir-style vignettes, and cover a range of weird and wonderful events that could happen in the life of a celebrant. It is clear that it is well researched, and I suspect that more than one of the stories is based on a true event. Once I shifted my style/genre expectations I enjoyed the book.
The book is well-written and fun to read. The bite-sized chapters make it an excellent choice for holiday reading, and managing on public transport voyages.