"Exciting Intrigue"

Mechanic and garage owner Charlie Larkin has a reputation around the small town of Utopia, Montana, for being unlucky and somewhat of a jinx in love. Or is it not a matter of luck, but a matter of evil intent, as the relatives of her deceased high school boyfriend maintain? Did she murder him and cause injury to several of her other boyfriends through the ensuing years? And what was her relationship to Josh Whitacker, whose body has just been pulled out of Freeze Out Lake?

Augustus T. Riley, who happens to be a true crime writer specializing in books that focus on women who kill their lovers, comes to town to investigate Josh's death for personal reasons, but after he hears the story of the infamous Charlie Larkin he recognizes an opportunity to turn her into the subject of his next book. He finds himself drawn to Charlie against his better judgement, wavering between what his heart tells him, that she is innocent, and what his head tells him, that women who kill have the ability to lure men into their traps.

Together "Gus" and Charlie form an uneasy alliance in an attempt to discover who is really behind the murders and mysterious attacks on the men in Utopia.

Focusing primarly on the intrigue, and less on the romance, PREMEDITATED MARRIAGE is a fast paced story that kept me guessing about the ultimate conclusion. Gus was a different type of hero who actually felt fear when venturing into the unknown, but was determined to solve the murder and hopeful that Charlie would be innocent. I did notice the presence of a few loose ends, questions that were not answered by the conclusion of the story, but it was still an entertaining book.

A note about the title and the back cover copy; they are misleading and do not give a fair accounting of the contents of this book. My advice is to ignore them and just dive right in to the story.

Reviewed by Janice Bennett
Posted November 18, 2002