Sexe: female
Lieux de résidence: Texas, USA
Oakland, California, USA
Courte biographie: [from author's website]
Marla Cooper was astonished when, at the age of 18, she realized people could actually get paid to write things. So she switched her major from business to advertising—much to the relief of her accounting professor—and began her career as an advertising copywriter. She later became a freelancer so she could take advantage of perks like working in her pajamas, and now she writes a little bit of everything. It was while she was ghostwriting a book on destination weddings that she found inspiration for her first novel, Terror in Taffeta. Originally hailing from Texas, Marla lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and her polydactyl tuxedo cat.

Membres

Critiques

Terror in Taffeta: A Mystery (Kelsey McKenna… par Marla Cooper

Fun mystery with a destination wedding I Mexico and one of the bridesmaids turns up dead. And the wedding planner is put in charge of finding the killer.

Signalé

ChrisWeir | 2 autres critiques | Jul 2, 2023 |

Terror in Taffeta: A Mystery par Marla Cooper

This book was laugh-out-loud funny, without resorting to wacky hi-jinks. I hope Ms Cooper writes many books in this series!

Signalé

Beth3511 | 2 autres critiques | Jun 5, 2017 |

Dying on the Vine: A Mystery (Kelsey McKenna… par Marla Cooper

In Dying on the Vine, the second book in the Kelsey McKenna Destination Wedding Mystery series, author Marla Cooper weaves an intriguing cozy mystery tale that follows the amateur sleuth adventures of wedding planner Kelsey McKenna when she finds rival wedding planner, Babs Norton, the self-proclaimed Queen of Wine Country Weddings, dead on her office floor. Kelsey is determined to find the killer before another wedding planner is next, herself included!

Dying on the Vine is a captivating and fast-paced whodunit tale set in the scenic wine country of California, that has enough quirky characters, witty banter and humor, drama, intriguing twists and turns, and conspiracy theories that will keep you guessing the identity of the murderer. You can't help but get caught up in the drama and calamity that ensues as Kelsey tries to solve the murder case of a rival wedding planner before another wedding planner is killed! Kelsey's amateur investigative adventure unfolds with a wonderful balance of comedy, drama, and suspense that easily kept me guessing, and left me wanting more. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I enjoyed the rich description of the wedding destination setting of the California wine country, it sounds like it is a wonderful place to have a wedding!

Dying on the Vine is an entertaining cozy murder mystery that will easily engage you to join Kelsey in her latest wedding destination adventures!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2017/04/dying-on-vine-by-marla-cooper-...… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

JerseyGirlBookReview | 4 autres critiques | Apr 10, 2017 |

Dying on the Vine: A Mystery (Kelsey McKenna… par Marla Cooper

Dying on the Vine is the latest novel by Marla Cooper. This is the second book in Kelsey McKenna Destination Wedding Mysteries. Kelsey McKenna is a destination wedding planner in San Francisco, California. She is attending the Wine Country Wedding Faire to assist her friend, Brody, a wedding photographer. He has a booth at the fair and needs extra assistance. In the afternoon, Brody introduces Kelsey to Haley Bennett and Christopher Riegert. They are in desperate need of a wedding planner for their event in four weeks at the Higgins Estate. Kelsey agrees to meet them the next morning. The day is going well until she runs into the obnoxious Stefan Pierce, assist to Babs Norton of Weddings by Babs. Stefan seems to delight in being rude, condescending and nasty. Kelsey is glad when she escapes his presence. The next day she meets with her new clients. It turns out that they originally had Babs as their wedding planner until Haley’s father fired her. Kelsey bites the bullet and calls Babs. Babs agrees to meet Kelsey the next morning and turn over the files on the wedding (the bride knows none of the details regarding her wedding). Kelsey picks up pastries along the way. Kelsey hits the buzzer and receives no answer. She finally sneaks in when someone exits. The door to the offices is open and Kelsey enters when no one responds. Kelsey is startled when a phone rings and the pastries go flying around the room. She gets down on the floor to pick them up and discovers Babs dead behind the couch. Kelsey manages to call the police despite her fright. She attends Babs’ funeral with her assistant Laurel and is invited back to Babs house afterward by the deceased sister, Margot. Stefan is not pleased by Kelsey’s attendance and announces to one and all that she killed Babs. When this announcement affects her business, Kelsey starts searching for the real killer. Kelsey will need to be cautious since it seems to be open season on wedding planners. The killer strikes down another one and, if Kelsey keeps poking around, she could be next.

Dying on the Vine is a humorous cozy mystery. It has more of the cozy element than the mystery. I found the book to be easy to read with a good flow. The main character owns her own business, is clumsy, babbles when nervous, and prefers to avoid confrontations (uncomfortable situations, people she does not like, etc.). I prefer strong female characters who are intelligent and confident (especially when they own their own business). While this is the second book in the series, it can be read alone. Terror in Taffeta is the first book in this series. I give Dying on the Vine 3 out of 5 stars. Dying on the Vine is just not my type of book. I am not a fan of the inane humor in Dying on the Vine. It had me rolling my eyes until I gave myself a headache. The mystery was complex (which is why I gave it a 3) and many readers will not guess the identity of the killer. The descriptions of the wine country were lovely. I can see why brides like to have weddings in Napa Valley. If you enjoy comical cozy mysteries, then I suggest you give Dying on the Vine a try.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

Kris_Anderson | 4 autres critiques | Apr 3, 2017 |

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