Mind-Bending Murder (Merry Wrath Mysteries, #17) By Leslie Langtry
Former CIA Agent Merry Wrath is accused of murdering a man she has never met. I loved how Merry went about trying to prove her innocence. I wish the Girl Scouts had been in the book more, but at least the parts they were in was super funny. I really enjoy how the Scouts and Merry play off each other. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. Leslie Langtry Mind-Bending Murder earns 5+/5 Amnesiacs...Always Engaging Entertainment!
“Fasten your seatbelts; it’s gonna be a bumpy night!” Bette Davis had to be referring to Leslie Langtry’s Merry Wrath series. Each adventure is filled with exciting predicaments, clever mystery, misdirection, witty, sometimes snarky humor, surprise reveals, and a troop of preteen spitfires...and “Mind-Bending Murder” is no exception! It’s bad finding yourself in a “windowless room with one door and a dead guy five feet away.” It’s worse being arrested for the guy’s murder by a cop who knows you couldn’t possibly...well, maybe? Merry has no memory of how she got where she is and why she’s wearing someone else’s clothes next to a guy she doesn’t know. There were handcuffs, a night in jail, a friendly warning she’s gonna need a lawyer, and a budding bounty hunter stalking her every movement waiting for her to stray from court-ordered restrictions...still she has no memory. But, it doesn’t stop Merry, and her friends, from sifting through the witness’s statement and crime scene, and what does the book, “Boats of the Midwest,” have to do with murder?
This seventeenth book starts off with the click of handcuffs and doesn’t let up. Merry finds herself in quite an “out on bail” quandary. Despite her CIA past, most know Merry couldn’t have committed this murder, except for residents of Bladdersley (rival to Merry’s Who’s There, Iowa) and the most antagonistic sister-in-law who hopes to see Merry jailed. Her loss of memory adds a great element putting her alongside us readers learning in real time details and clues as they are uncovered. Murder shouldn’t be a laughing matter, but I challenge you to not giggle out loud with Langtry’s wit, a bunch of CIA-worthy Girl Scouts, and continued intervention from the Druids and the bounty hunter deftly played out on the pages. The characters have creatively been developed, building connections and sharing experiences over the series, and despite this book being a standalone treat, I implore newbies to read from the beginning. I love Betty, cringed whenever sister-in-law Ronni entered, and enjoy page after page of mirth, mystery, and murder!
Disclosure: I received an ARC from Gemma Halliday Publishing. My review is voluntary with honest insights and comments. Leslie Langtry I received an ARC in return for an honest review.
The Merry Wrath Mysteries is one of my favorite series. In this book, Merry (former CIA agent who was embarrassingly outed as a spy) is accused of murder in a neighboring town. The problem is that she doesn't remember anything and she doesn't trust the local police in Bladdersly to prove her innocent as the sheriff can't stand her. Bladdersly is a very odd town with many odd folks and customs. When she finds a book on boating that is not what it seems, things really get interesting. All of her friends, family and even some of the Girl Scout troop jump in to help. There are many laugh out loud moments (especially with Betty, Ivan and Ron). This will keep you guessing until the end. I didn't see it coming. Leslie Langtry Merry ALWAYS makes me laugh with her Girl Scout troop, and this time she let her teenage Druid Cult in on the story, increasing my laughing! But having Merry accused of murder? And in Bladdersly, Iowa to boot? (Bladdersly is the arch-nemesis of Who's There, Iowa and Merry's home town.) Not funny at all. Worse yet, Merry can't remember a thing about that night before waking up with a dead guy in Bladdersly, and wearing a Best Bye shirt. Good thing she has Betty and Loren (girl scouts in her troop) and others on her side.
For yet another wild and wonderful tale about Merry Wrath, ex-CIA spy extraordinaire, you won't want to miss this book! A treat from Leslie Langtry for the new year! Leslie Langtry How does Leslie Langtry come up when these Merry Wrath books! This one is very involved with several plots and many twists and turns! There are lots of suspects, but no real evidence. I couldn’t believe the ending even though I was reading it! This series is hilarious, yet a really good mystery. If you like absurd mysteries that make you laugh out loud, read a sentence twice because “that can’t be what it said!” and never guess the bad guy, then you need to read this series! They are stand-alone books, but I’d definitely start with the first one. You need to find out how all of this craziness started! Leslie Langtry
From USA Today bestselling author Leslie Langtry comes the latest laugh-out-loud Merry Wrath adventure!
Former CIA agent and current suburbanite Merry Wrath knows she’s having a bad day when she wakes up wearing someone else's clothes in a locked room with a dead body and a dozen copies of the book, Boats of the Midwest. It doesn’t help matters any when the police burst in and arrest her on the spot for the murder of a man she’s never heard of. With an unimpeachable witness placing her at the scene of the crime, her Girl Scout troop trying to bust her out of jail, and a sister-in-law who’s launched a one-woman campaign to send her to prison, Merry knows that this time she’s in trouble.
And Merry finds it’s tough to clear your name when you’re being followed by a wannabe bounty hunter who’s chasing you down and dealing with a group of teenage druids who have just bought a hearse and an old church they call The Chapel of Despair. Added to her trouble are a couple of tattoo artists with a creepy fixation on Lance Armstrong, a witness who works at the Pump & Pawn pawnshop/gym, and most of the town of Bladdersly, Iowa.
Can Merry solve this locked room mystery before she ends up locked in a cell? Mind-Bending Murder (Merry Wrath Mysteries, #17)
Thank you to Gemma Halliday Publishing for the review copy of this book. I cannot get enough of the Merry Wrath Mysteries by Leslie Langtry! Mind-Bending Murder is the 17th installment in the series. This book had me in stitches from the very first sentence!
This story begins with Merry Ferguson waking up in an unknown location, with a dead body she doesn’t recognize. All signs point to her guilt, but she knows she’s no murderer. Merry has to fly under the radar to prove her innocence as she goes back and forth between Bladdersly and home with an overzealous bounty hunter on her back just waiting for her to run. Of course, there are appearances from Merry’s troop, Riley, Rex, the Twins, and the teenage droids.
Mind-Bending Murder has definite vibes from the movie The Hangover as Merry works to unravel the events leading up to her waking up with a murdered body and solve the murder before she finds herself in jail. It’s not impossible to begin reading this series here and be entertained, but you will want to go back to the beginning to enjoy all the high jinx in this wonderful series! Leslie Langtry Love this series! This time Merry need to prove her innocence, after waking up in a room next to a dead body. Merry isn't one to just sit around when there's a case to solve, especially when she's the main suspect, so she gets to work, trying to figure out what really happened.
This series is full of fun, quirky characters (and places) and we meet quite a few new ones in this story. The girls are also in it, not as much as I would have liked, but there's still enough of Betty's crazy antics to keep you laughing. Betty is a favourite of mine!
This was another fun addition to the series, and I can't wait to see what's next. Leslie Langtry It astonishes me how Ms. Langtry can write multiple books in this series and have every single one of them very different from each other yet stay within the storyline of the overall series. There is one thing that remains certain throughout every book, never underestimate Merry! This time, Merry wakes up in a storage shed with a dead body of a guy she’s never met, wearing a shirt she’s never seen before, with no memory whatsoever how she got there! In addition, before she can figure out where she is the police (in the nearby rival town of Bladdersly of all places) show up to arrest her for the murder of this stranger, stating they have a witness (who is a beloved preacher in the town) who saw her force the victim into the shed! The entire book I’m on the edge of my seat thinking, how in the world did she get in this predicament? But Merry was an undercover spy and she knows all the tricks to get to the truth in this delightful addition to the Merry Wrath series. Leslie Langtry I have read & enjoyed every book in this series. This one is by far my favorite. It started with the mystery on page one & end with a surprising who done it. The usual gang helps Merry along the way to figuring things out. I look forward to the next book! Leslie Langtry Incredibly
Oh my goodness this as so great. Really kept me guessing. I love the humor in this series it is so awesome.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book but loved it so much I bought a copy. Leslie Langtry
summary Mind-Bending Murder (Merry Wrath Mysteries, #17)
