Sasha is serving as a bride’s maid for “the wedding event of the winter,” when she and her sister Maddie discover the body of the almost universally disliked best man. There is no shortage of suspects from among the many women of the bridal party who admit to a past with him or the men of the bridal party who felt cheated during a bachelor party poker game.

Once again Meg Macy has created a murder mystery that is thought out and well organized, leaving several feasible suspects to keep the reader guessing until the very end. Like always, the character subplots and the interactions of the town’s people are the life of the story. While the whodunnit fuels the story, I was really very interested in the new shops in town, the new neighbors, and the new gossip. It is small touches like that that will keep this series going forward. That plus adorable bears that I wish I could order.

So, why should you read this book? The author has a captivating writing style and has offered an array of colorful characters along with a genuinely interesting and suspenseful plot. There is substantial mention of the previous books in the series, but this could probably be read alone with few issues.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ( )

Another great book in the series. ( )

Sasha Silverman and her sister, Maddie, are pretty busy leading up to Valentine's Day - not just with work at the Silver Bear Shop and Factory but they serving in the bridal for their friend Cissy who is turning into a bridezilla! Things go downhill when the best man is found murdered in a ladies' room stall at the rehearsal dinner. Oops, that puts the wedding on hold! Well, while they wait for rescheduling (and whatever changes Cissy is going to insist upon) design efforts go forward on a Wedding bear couple to be ready for the June wedding frenzy. Further wedding party issues keep Sasha and Maddie busy trying to solve the murder so that the wedding can proceed.

I love teddy bears! So to have my first book of 2021 be chock full of teddies thrilled me but the mystery kept me enthralled as well. The characters are funny and lovable. The story was well-written with clues well-hidden. ( )

Wedding Bear Blues by Meg Macy has Sasha Silverman and her sister, Maddie as bridesmaids in their friend, Cissy Davison’s wedding. It is a busy week leading up to Valentine’s Day for Sasha at the Silver Bear Shop and Factory with everyone searching for the perfect gift for their Valentine. Sasha also has a tour to give and they are hosting a Chocolate Bear Bar on Sunday for Chocolair, the new chocolate shop in town. At the rehearsal dinner, Maddie and Sasha enter the ladies’ room to find groomsman, Dylan Campbell dead in one of the stalls. With Debbie Davison in the hot seat with the police, Cissy begs Sasha to help. Sasha, of course, cannot resist a mystery. Wedding Bear Blues is the 4th A Teddy Bear Mystery. It can be read on its own if you are new to the series. I thought this charming cozy was well-written with developed characters and adorable teddy bears. I enjoyed all the cozy elements that make up this entertaining tale: Sasha’s family, her pets, the community, chocolate, teddy bears, food, and Sasha’s beau. These elements make for a rich and lively story. The mystery was appealing. There is a dead groomsman with multiple suspects. I am amazed that a group of people did not get together to off this man sooner. There is a secondary mystery (of sorts) involving mystery men who wish to purchase a certain type of teddy bear. Sasha is certain they are up to no good. I enjoyed the humor scattered throughout the story (who doesn’t love a book that makes them laugh). Wedding Bear Blues is a beartastic cozy with wedding woes, seamingly innocent bear sales, doggie doo doo overload, a beastly bridezilla, a tiny terror, and tasty chocolate teddy bears. ( )

Sasha runs her family's teddy bear factory in Silver Hollow, Michigan. It's nearing Valentine's Day and Cissy Davison is getting married. She's finagled both Sasha and her sister Maddie as bridesmaids in the wedding, something Sasha isn't looking forward to. That, and having to wear four-inch heels. The night of the bachelorette party, a drunken best man stumbles in and tries to tell one of the bridesmaids that he's sorry and innocent - but no one is having it and the groomsmen drag him out. While Sasha wonders about the comment, she doesn't say anything. The next day at the wedding dinner, Dylan is found dead by Sasha's sister Maddie, and now, after hearing conversations at the party and during the dinner, Sasha looks on everyone with suspicion.

It isn't until the main suspect is found to be Cissy's sister Debbie that Cissy looks at Sasha with desperation. She wants her to prove Debbie's innocence - but Sasha isn't relishing getting involved in another murder investigation, Especially when there's so much going on and she hasn't got time. Or the fact that people are pointing fingers at everyone else. But when another tragedy occurs, Sasha starts to put things together. Or does she?

This is the fourth book in the series and I have read every one of them. My only complaint with this series is that the author has so many characters throughout that it's hard to keep them straight; so on top of the wedding party, we have extended members of Sasha's family thrown in, too. I like the series, but the author needs to cut down the number of characters in each book - it will please the reader not to have to write out a 'cheat sheet,' too.

There was also a darker side story thrown in that had to do with children. I'm not sure why it was there, because the mystery should have been enough. It was just interspersed here and there and that didn't give it any steam on its own, and took away from the murder.

But back to that: after sifting through the characters I pretty much figured out who the murderer was early on. But then I have to say that I read a lot of mysteries, so I've gotten pretty good at this anyway. Still, I think that the writing was good and the plot had enough drive for it in itself, but it's the mass of people in the book (not to mention the local characters that own shops thrown in for good measure) that make the book confusing.

All in all, I did like the ending and how everything turned out, and that's what a mystery should be in the first place. I will continue to read this series because of that. Recommended. ( )