Murder at the Wedding by Christine Knapp

Maeve O’Reilly Kensington loves her job as a nurse-midwife at Creighton Memorial Hospital in the quintessential New England seaside town of Langford. Nothing could bring her more pleasure than helping women usher new life into the world… except possibly having a child of her own with her husband, Will. In the meantime, she’s happy to celebrate the families of those she treats and content to support her husband in his newly formed catering business.

However, when Creighton Memorial’s chief obstetrician suddenly drops dead at his daughter’s extravagant wedding reception, catered by Will, Maeve’s two worlds collide in the worst possible way. Suddenly murder is on the menu, and Maeve is desperate to help her husband and find out who killed the doctor.

With the help of her wealthy, acerbic sister Meg and quick-witted Boston Irish mother, Maeve sets out to solve a murder and clear her husband’s name. Can she stay one step ahead of the killer? Or will they strike again… this time closer to home?

Christine Knapp recently spent some time with The Big Thrill discussing her latest mystery, MURDER AT THE WEDDING:

What attracts you to this book’s genre?

I love a good mystery and years ago was totally taken with Dame Agatha Christie. A great setting, a female sleuth and midwifery vignettes were begging to be written.

Christine Knapp

What was the biggest challenge this book presented? What about the biggest opportunity?

The biggest challenge was to present midwifery but not be too graphic. The biggest opportunity was to present midwifery philosophy to readers who were not familiar with the profession.

Was there anything new you discovered, or that surprised you, as you wrote this book?

I thought I knew my characters totally. Then as I wrote they reacted in ways I did not expect.

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about your book that we won’t find in the jacket copy or the PR material?

Every chapter starts with an interesting pregnancy epigraph. The book also includes recipes.

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why?

Walter Mosely/ great characters & storytelling
Agatha Christie/setting/characters/intricate plots
Stephen King/ setting/ characters/plot
John Irving/ characters
S.A. Crosby/characters

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Christine Knapp practiced as a nurse-midwife for many years. A writer of texts and journal articles, she is now thrilled to combine her love of midwifery and mysteries as a debut author. Christine currently narrates books for the visually impaired. A dog lover, she lives near Boston.

To learn more about the author and her work, please visit her website.