Jen Marie Wiggins’ debut novel The Good Bride (Crooked Lane 2024) recalls a line from a famous Robert Burns’s poem, usually translated as “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” Despite meticulous planning, everything imaginable goes wrong with Ruth Bancroft’s wedding. The lead-up to the event is complicated by stormy weather, stolen jewelry, the search for a missing guest, gunshots, and family secrets that pop out at inopportune moments. The Good Bride blends mystery with complicated familial relationships, a sprinkling of social commentary, and, of course, a dollop of romance. In short, it’s an entertaining story that could be the perfect Christmas or birthday gift.
Ruth really only wants a simple beach wedding in the small Florida Panhandle town where the family owns a waterfront mansion. No way that’s happening. Not with a mother like Caroline determined to create the social event of the season. Not with a sister like Sophia, a celebrity social media influencer determined to increase her following by posting every wedding detail online. Ruth has always been the “agreeable” daughter, the one who tries to please others, so she lets her mother and sister take over her wedding plans. She doesn’t think she should have to apologize for being good, for trying to see the good in others:
“The world was ugly, damn it. Cynicism was easy. It took real strength to find the good in people no matter what.”
The Good Bride is set in the fictional town of Blue Compass, nearly leveled by Hurricane Charlie a year before the wedding. Wiggins drew inspiration for this setting from the devastation and rebuilding struggles of Mexico Beach, Florida, from Hurricane Michael. As rebuilding gets underway, those who want the town to hang onto its laid-back, Old Florida style clash with big-money developers who want to build high rises.
One resident trying to rebuild her business post-storm is Kayla, the owner of Two Be Wed. This huge Bancroft wedding has the potential to make or break Kayla’s reputation as a wedding planner.
Wiggins rotates the narrator from chapter to chapter, providing many viewpoints. Readers hear from the bride Ruth, the groom Teo, Ruth’s mother Caroline, Ruth’s sisters Sophia and Jo, wedding planner Kayla, and even the sheriff. Complicating family dynamics further, Ruth’s estranged alcoholic father shows up prior to the event—all while her mother is planting serious kisses on Mayor Bob.
The novel raises one question after another. Will Ruth’s father stay sober for the wedding? Will Kayla manage to keep her business afloat? Will the sheriff find out who stole the expensive diamond necklace Ruth was supposed to wear? And who is sending threatening texts to family members—are they a prank, or does someone have evil intentions? And most of all, will Ruth and Teo surmount all the obstacles and tie the knot? Searching for the answers to these and other questions will keep readers engaged from the first page to the last.
Jen Marie Wiggins
Jen Marie Wiggins’s first book, the nonfiction title Married AF: A Funny Guide for the Newlywed or Bride, was published with Sourcebooks in 2022. She has a background in advertising and public relations, and her writing has appeared in Southern Coastal Weddings, Savannah Magazine, and Savannah Homes.
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