Most people look forward to going home for the holidays, but Lily Bard's difficult past means that she is more than happy to stay in small-town Shakespeare for a quiet Christmas season. Unfortunately, she is not going to get to do that. It turns out her younger sister Varena is getting married, and that means a trip back home to Bartley.

Lily left Bartley after being raped and tortured years earlier. While it was clear the people in town cared about her, she just couldn't live with their constant looks of pity. She needed to move on from that experience and she could do that with the constant reminders the looks on their faces gave her.

Lily, who could never be considered an extrovert, slugs through all the traditional pre-wedding events knowing that she wants to be their for her sister. Surprisingly, she finds herself drawn into a mystery that involves an 8-year-old kidnapping case and a series of murders that seem to surround those involved with the wedding.

One pleasant surprise involving the case is the fact that Jack Leeds, her boyfriend and talented private investigator, has come to town because he has been hired to hunt down a lead involving the kidnapping. It quickly becomes clear that there are three likely suspects involved with the kidnapping, the local minister and his wife, Varena's landlord and his wife, and Varena's fiance Dill. All of them have 8-year-old daughters, and the three girls all appeared in a memory book picture that was sent in as the clue.

Lily and Jack swear to solve the case before the wedding in the hopes of either clearing Dill or preventing Varena from making a major mistake. They are also hoping that a quick resolution will mean an opportunity to head back home for the quiet holiday they planned.

I really enjoyed this book, which shifts the series out of the terribly dark and racist storyline that was the basis of the previous book set in Shakespeare. Readers get a chance to further explore Lily's roots and get to see where she came from. Up until know, she was primarily defined by her trauma and the fact that she is working so hard to get past that as she settles into life in Shakespeare. This interesting look at her family and hometown provides a glimpse of the woman she was before the attack.

As with Shakespeare, Bartley is filled with interesting and quirky characters. Some of them provide opportunities for light and comedic moments. The plot proved to be a really interesting one, and the combined crimes of murder and kidnapping really presented a unique twist not often found in mystery novels. All-in-all, this was a really good addition to the series.