Book Review: Better Homes and Corpses by Kathleen Bridge

Better Homes and Corpses
Author: Kathleen Bridge
Series: Hampton Home and Garden Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Berkley (August 4, 2015)

Description: After Meg Barrett found her fiancé still had designs on his ex-wife, she decided it was time to refurbish her life. Leaving her glamorous job at a top home and garden magazine, she fled Manhattan for Montauk, only to find decorating can sometimes lead to detecting…

In between scouring estate sales for her new interior design business, Cottages by the Sea, Meg visits the swanky East Hampton home of her old college roommate, Jillian Spenser. But instead of seeing how the other half lives—she learns how the other half dies. Jillian’s mother, known as the Queen Mother of the Hamptons, has been murdered. Someone has staged a coup.

When she helps a friend inventory the Spensers’ estate for the insurance company, Meg finds herself right in the thick of things. Cataloging valuable antiques and art loses its charm when Meg discovers that the Spenser family has been hiding dangerous secrets, which may have furnished a murderer with a motive. As Meg gets closer to the truth, the killer will do anything to paint her out of the picture…

My Thoughts: Meg Barrett left her cushy job in New York City when she discovered her fiance-boss in a compromising position with his ex-wife. She moved to Montauk on Long Island and is building a career as a designer. When she is called by a college roommate Jillian Spenser to go through her wealthy socialite mother's attic, she walks in on a murder. The socialite,known as the Queen Mother of the Hamptons, is dead and the daughter has amnesia.

Meg gets involved in solving the case to help her old roommate. There are suspects aplenty from the estranged son Cole Spenser to the artist living in one of the cottages on the grounds. There are tangled relationships among the suspects too. Cole has been estranged from his family for seventeen years since he fought with his mother. Meanwhile, the son of one of the mother's confidants has moved into the role of son because of their shared interests in antiques and collectibles.

I liked the Long Island setting and the information about antiques and shabby chic decorating. I liked that Meg is trying to rebuild her life and career. The characters were all nicely developed and the mystery was twisty enough to keep my attention. Typical in cozy mysteries, the recipes in the back also looked interesting. They were supplied by Meg's dad who is a retired homicide detective turned gourmet cook since Meg's only culinary ability is doctoring up simple foods with herbs.

Favorite Quote:

Based on her side of our dorm room, I expected Jillian's room to have a Marcia Brady decor; instead, it was brothel madam meets Ernest Hemingway. Animal hide rugs coordinated with black and tan print pillows trimmed in gold. There were enough tassels to supply a pre-Mayor Guiliani strip bar. Fro some reason my thoughts went to the ugly stuffed boar up in the attic. It would fit in nicely here.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.