This is, for the most part, a fun read. The story takes on the task not only of developing its own plot, but of developing what will obviously be recurring characters in a series.Where the story succeeds is in its quirkiness: an unusual protagonist, describing lovely settings of the Pacific Northwest, some funny "bride-zilla" episodes. Things bog down considerably in some of the longer action sequences and in some of the dialog, which at times is stilted or implausible. There are a lot of subplots and a few seem to get lost rather than resolving.This isn't a bad start, and it seems likely that the series will improve.