Agnes Sharp and the wedding to die for

The melancholy final installment of Swann's Agnes Sharp trilogy (after Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime) finds Agnes and her octogenarian housemates in the English village of Duck End planning a wedding. Jack, an ex-contract killer, and Bernadette, a blind former police informant, have decided to hold their nuptials at the ritzy Foxglove Manor in Duck End. The only snag is that Foxglove requires at least 20 people to attend the ceremony. Glamorous vlogger Charlie suggests that her fellow attendees go online to find dates to pad out the guest list, and retired policewoman Agnes reluctantly agrees, while nursing private fears that Bernadette--her best friend--is about to abandon her. When the housemates receive an ominous RSVP letter whose author promises to "be there to make sure your big day goes off with a bang," Agnes secretly opens an inquiry to avoid worrying Bernadette. With the help of a private investigator, she tries to uncover the source of the threat--and discovers a recent murder in the process. As always, Swann offers witty reflections on aging and stocks the narrative with charming, eccentric characters, but the book's surprisingly sad home stretch may catch fans off guard. Still, it's a solid send-off for a strong series. (Apr.)

One of the half-dozen elderly residents of Sunset Hall is marrying. And she's not the only house sharer who'll be exiting the property. As the great day approaches for Bernadette Brown, her bridesmaid, ex-copper Agnes Sharp, is beating the bushes for wedding guests. The contract with Countess Constance Purr, the owner of Foxglove Manor, requires a minimum number of guests that far exceeds Bernadette's relatives (none) and friends (precious few). Of course, ex-military Marshall, wheelchair-bound introvert Winston, and wacky vlogger Charlie will attend. So will batty Edwina, assuming that she ever stops pretending to play dead long enough to make it to Foxglove Manor. Agnes and Charlie's online search for other candidates turns up retired plastic surgeon Christopher and Richard the Lizard, who attaches himself to the deeply uninterested Agnes even though Edwina has obviously taken to him. The list is supplemented by the arrival of Bernadette's old schoolmate Dorothea Gretchen, who wasn't invited even though she played "bookworm" to the sightless Bernadette's "blindworm." Rattled by a series of menacing notes and especially suspicious of Christopher, Agnes hires private detective Benjamin Stout to keep an eye on him, a strategy that falls flat when Stout is found dead in the Foxglove maze shortly after Dorothea's stabbed to death on a bench at a local bus stop. Bernadette's bridegroom, Jack, announces that the killer's hallmarks remind him of a former colleague known as the Sugar Man. That revelation, which doesn't come in time to prevent a third murder, is especially troubling because Jack used to work as a hit man himself. Beginning with its opening premise, Swann manages to make this sparkling box of riddles both decorous and utterly zany. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.