A Rather Charming Invitation
American heiress Penny Nichols is supposed to be planning her nuptials to dashing barrister Jeremy Laidley in this pleasant if underplotted installment to Belmond's Rather series (A Rather Curious Engagement), but she keeps dithering. Complications quickly arise when Penny and Jeremy visit her aunt Leonora and uncle Phillipe, who offer them use of a family heirloom at the wedding—a valuable antique bridal tapestry—and their chateau for the ceremony. But while the happy couple is away trying to convince Jeremy's overbearing British grandmother that the French wedding they are planning will meet her exacting standards, the tapestry is stolen, and Penny and Jeremy put on their detective caps. Family secrets involving Penny's French and Jeremy's English relatives are revealed, but the couple's investigation into the missing tapestry isn't handled very well, with obvious details overlooked until the plot requires the simpatico duo to piece things together. Series fans may find this outing agreeable if slow; the uninitiated will have a hard time sussing out the backstory and should read the earlier books first.(Feb.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.