Bride-to-be and PI Cally Simmonds is undercover at a posh wedding venue when a bride winds up dead on the morning of her wedding. Cally and her police-detective husband find themselves in the middle of a puzzling investigation, which is made worse by the sudden disappearance of a famous actress—a rising star who hides a traumatic past. Will Cally be able to unravel the threads in time to save her?

Charlie Tyler’s THE TANGLED MANE weaves together two separate storylines that eventually converge in surprising ways. In the early 2000s, Mikey lives with his older sister in a squalid apartment, neglected by their mother and left to fend for themselves. They find little moments of joy, escaping into the pages of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and going for walks to see the bedraggled dog whom Mikey mistakes for a lion. Tyler’s writing is concise yet vibrant, seamlessly bringing their storyline to the present while painting a vivid picture of the upscale charm of their quaint town (in stark contrast to Mikey and Lucy’s poverty). With the novel’s fast pace, no moment is wasted; the dark side of social media descends on a broken family’s demons, dragging them into the light with vigilante justice.

While some of the connections that lead Cally to her discoveries sometimes feel a little too convenient, these plot contrivances are forgiven in the middle of such an engrossing story. Tangled, it is—a heartbreaking nightmare for all involved, leaving Cally to unravel its subtle layers of trauma, loss, betrayal, and suffering. Most compelling is Mikey and Lucy’s relationship—the driving force of the book—and how, despite their diverging paths, they each flourish in the spotlight but never quite overcome their hardships in their private lives. Cally proves that a past can’t always stay buried. She and her charming, supportive, lovable oaf of a fiancé are both astute detectives and strong, intriguing characters amid a cast of vivid personalities: the perfect foundation for this first-in-a-series of cozy mysteries. In the end, this is a deeply resonant story whose bittersweet poignance echoes after the last page and leaves readers looking forward to the next installment.

Set among the quaint charm of the Welland Valley, Charlie Tyler’s THE TANGLED MANE is an engrossing, fast-paced mystery with a cast of colorful characters and unexpected turns.

~Jessie Thomas for IndieReader