Laurie Moore Constable’s Wedding

Constable's Wedding

Laurie Moore

Five Star, Oct 2005, $26.95

ISBN: 1594142491

Tarrant County Constable Jinx Porter panics as the clock is running down on his chances to persuade Raven not to marry her fianc Tommy Greenway who is incognito somewhere in the Sudan or a similar locale. The office is working on retrieving a five years old girl Magick whose mother died and father Fleck is a satanic cultist; her maternal grandparents want the child with them. Raven especially worries because she fears the youngster will be sacrificed in an upcoming summer solstice ritual.

As they search for the child other events interfere with Raven's wedding plans. Her elderly neighbor dies, bashed in the head; a gypsy she arrested ate her engagement ring; and the DEA is investigating the florist while the caterer is simply dead. Then there is Sigrid the new investigator in her life, and finally a groom whom has remained incommunicado for the past five days. Wedding blues seem too trite.

The Constable police procedurals are some of the best on the market today. The latest one is the typical amusing yet serious mystery as Raven gets closer to marriage, but her groom is somewhere in the middle of nowhere surrounded by terrorists. The missing child cult subplot adds depth to a strong tale. Fans will want Moore Jinx-Raven and ilk tales from this wonderfully entertaining author.

Harriet Klausner