Five Belles Too Many by Debra Goldstein

Available June 28, 2022

Rating: 4 stars

Sarah Blair's mother has signed herself up for a reality TV show searching for the perfect Southern Belle to be blessed with her dream wedding. The show is fraught with disaster from the very beginning and the bodies are piling up faster than RSVP cards. Jane Clark, Sarah's arch-nemesis, is the most obvious suspect but Sarah doesn't buy it. Adulterer, thief, all-around jerk? Yes, that's Jane. A killer? No.

I loved the first book in this series (like yelling-out-loud-at-the-characters loved this book). I haven't read books two and three yet but when I read the fourth book, Four Cuts Too Many, I felt lost. It wasn't that the two books I skipped threw me off but it was the sheer number of characters and being simply unable to keep track of everything that was going on. This book felt exactly the same way. There are 10 show contestants, three main network employees (not to mention the camera people and other show workers), alongside Sarah and her family and friends, Sarah's sister Emily and her restaurant employees, and Jane and her chef. They were participating in activities at various venues, having filming opportunities, and doing small competitions, each one with conversations happening between different combinations of characters. Then outside people were brought in, there was gambling going on, other businesses got involved. At any given time there were a dozen or more suspects. Yes, it was as hard to follow as it sounds.

In books like this I try to just enjoy the story and not try too hard to keep track of who's who and who's doing what. If you can do that, you'll enjoy the story. If you can't do that this probably isn't the series for you. Sarah's a fun character and I'm anxious to see what happens between her and Cliff. Emily and Marcus are a sweet couple who definitely have great things coming. I also love Maybelle and George. I don't love the mystery angle of this series because it's just too involved but it's still an enjoyable book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.