Emily and her charges have tagged along on a romance publisher’s tour, full of fans, star authors and the hopeful rising stars of the trade. There is plenty of jealousy, back-stabbing and name calling. This is the last thing Emily needs after the way the trip started off: her luggage was lost, the group’s hotel burned down and once settled into their new digs Emily’s suitcase shows up, only to be pillaged by the women on the trip who are now without clothes.

What’s even worse, one of the writer hopefuls appears at the bottom of the stairs dead, in one of the outfits Emily bought for her trip. Trying to keep her group happy is never easy. With both her mother and her randy grandmother on the trip, not to mention her ex-husband Jack who has had surgery and is now traveling as Jackie, Emily has more than her hands full.

Even though Emily and her group are traveling as part of the romance tour, the two groups never seem to meld. The characters are predictable - the smarmy publisher, the elderly twins, one of whom is the obligatory librarian. The twins have one distinct difference, but they are unwilling to share this with anyone, and when the difference is learned it doesn’t seem worth the trouble. Also Emily spends much of her time pining for her would-be boyfriend, who is always conveniently in the same country as Emily, yet the two never seem to connect completely. The details of the setting are travel book accurate, but the atmosphere never shines through. Emily is a very disorganized travel guide, especially one who has had a string of bad luck on previous trips. She is often unable to control her group or reorganize a plan when things go wrong (which they always do).

Jackie is an endearing character, though Emily’s willingness to accept her ex-husband’s new life, while gracious, never seems true.

Emily is the only person who seems truly concerned about any of the murders and it is the very end before she is able to solve the puzzle. She quickly realizes she is on the wrong trail and is able to correct her erroneous assumptions before more damage can occur. Murder and mayhem follow Emily wherever she goes. This mystery is full of possibilities, but the plot just never quite comes together as a long simmered sauce and is often as scatterbrained as the flappable tour guide.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry