Sofie is further relieved when husband Dean suggests they move to Greenwich, Connecticut to start a quieter, suburban life.  Sofie is sad to say good-bye to her job at Black Orchid mystery bookstore, but is pleased to learn that her new neighborhood hosts a mystery book club.  Sofie is slow to make friends with the other members of the group who keep the newcomer at arms’ length until they know her better. 

Priscilla of the white carpeted living room (bring a pair of “Indoor Only” shoes if you don’t want to be barefoot) is the painfully proper, overbearing leader of the group; Susan follows in Priscilla’s shadow and is in an unhappy marriage;  Ashley, the second wife of Stewart is younger, and more than willing to be considered the “dumb blonde” of the group;  Julia, who often challenges Priscilla rounds the group out.  The wives even socialize as a group with their successful husbands where playful flirting often goes on.  

On their morning walk one October morning, Sofie and Priscilla find Julia hanging from her tree in the front yard.  At first it appears a suicide, but then Sofie sees something which Priscilla points out to police that means Julia was murdered.  Now Greenwich detectives are questioning the members of the mystery book club and their husbands, each woman certain that the group, with all their reading experience, will be able to solve the crime handily. 

The more questions the police ask, the more hidden secrets come to life.  Someone, however, is harboring the greatest secret of all, and there’s no telling what they will do to keep it hidden.

They Did It with Love is great fun, ala Desperate Housewives, almost poking fun at life in the privileged suburbs.  Each character, how they appear publicly, and how they are privately, is fascinating, each thinking they are outmaneuvering one of the others.  It is Sofie about whom the most background is shared, but it is Sofie who often offers the biggest surprises. 

The chapters are short vignettes, each focusing on a separate character, or a pair of characters.  The murder investigation reveals a very sordid side of each of the characters, but there are very little clues to the real murderer and motive to go on.  In the end, everyone gets what they deserve, good or bad. They Did It with Love ios a fun, fast read with a few twists at the end that readers may not see coming.   

                                                            --Jennifer Monahan Winberry