Speak Now
By Margaret Dumas

      Finding a dead woman in your bathtub is not an auspicious start to a honeymoon. The police are called and after questioning, Charley and Jack are moved to a new room. No sooner are they settled, all of Charley’s friends show up to welcome her home. Simon, the artistic director of Charley’s repertory theater, is excited about a new play that they will soon be performing. Unfortunately, the director has disappeared. Charley is persuaded to fill his shoes.

    The next day Charley and Jack are off to a command performance at her rich uncle Harry’s house. Harry raised Charley, and he has been overprotective from day one. Knowing how he worries, Charley decides not to mention the dead woman they found. Harry is convinced that there is something unusual in Jack’s background. It is just a matter of time until he finds out what it is. Jack was in the Navy, and trouble followed him every place that he was stationed. Still, Jack somehow manages to make a good impression on Harry. Therefore, when Harry is called with a ransom demand for his daughter, he decides that Jack should be the one to deliver the ransom.

     Charley isn’t about to stand by and let the man she loves go into danger alone. She and her best friend tail him to the drop site and manage to get themselves captured. After a daring rescue, Charley begins to wonder if her uncle is right. Maybe there is more to Jack than meets the eye. Only instead of a troublemaker, Charley is beginning to wonder if her new husband is really a spy.

      The kidnapping and the dead body are just the beginning of the mayhem. The story moves rapidly from one adventure to the next. The dialog is wonderful, with lots of witty banter. The mystery is set against the backdrop of the frantic rush to open a new play. A smattering of adult language does not detract from the engaging story line. This is good book.