The Walled Flower

If Katie Bonner's late husband hadn't invested all their savings in the crafts fair Artisans Alley, the Webster mansion could have been hers to remodel into a bed-and-breakfast. Instead that dream belongs to another young couple. But that dream becomes a nightmare when a skeleton is discovered sealed in the walls of the mansion. The bones belong to Heather Winston, who went missing twenty-two years ago. Heather's aunt, a jewelry vendor at Artisans Alley, asks Kate for help finding her niece's murderer. The case may be cold, but the killer is very much alive-and ready to go to any lengths to keep past secrets buried...

This is the second book in Lorraine Bartlett's Victorian Square Mystery series, and it is a series that just keeps getting better and better! I really feel for the main protagonist Katie, a widow with so much on her plate, struggling to keep Artisans Alley afloat while aching to own the Webster mansion. In this book she's also desperate to find a new place to live, questioning her boyfriend's reasoning behind not letting her live above his pizza restaurant, dealing with the pressure of being a matron of honor and organizing a bridal shower, PLUS solve a murder or two!!! And I must commend Katie on her patience...Polly and Gilda would've been shown the door immediately if I were her!

The secondary characters in the series also shined in this book, especially sweet Rose. I love her friendship with Katie despite their age difference and hope to see more of her in future books. Katie's romance with Andy is a joy to read as well, and I find it cute how sick she is of pizza. (Never had that problem myself.) It will be fun to see Andy's cinnamon roll business take off. Heather was an extremely strong character even though we "met" her 22 years after her death.

This is definitely a page-turner with many twists and turns, and I enjoyed the revelations as to why the victims were killed. I can't wait to spend time with these characters again.