Mystery Crime Books

I've enjoyed all of Ellen Byerrum's "Crime of Fashion" series and I think that they have gotten better with each book, a rare thing among series mysteries! "Grave Apparel" is no exception, I liked it a lot and I think everything about it was well done. The story is set at Christmas, but it doesn't have that "Christmas episode" throw away feel to it. The holidays are integral to the story and provide a funny episode as a start of the mystery plot.

The bit of Lacey's life in this story is set mostly in the newsroom of her paper, the Eye Street Observer. I liked the further development of some of her colleagues that the setting gave. I also was happy for a break from Stella the stylist, who makes only a brief appearance. Vic's Mom looks to be a great addition to the cast of characters too.

I was happy that Byerrum avoided her plot device of Lacey attending a big ball or other high social event as the ultimate "discover and confront" the bad guy venue. It had become predictable. There is still plenty of opportunity for Lacey to dig into her trove of vintage apparel and the Observer's holiday party is a grand event, Lacey just doesn't reduce anyone to a bloody pulp at it!

"Grave Apparel" is a great story and it is very well-written. For genre fiction it is less shallow both in content and in character and plot development than many others on the market. I'd recommend all in the series!

"Grave Apparel" is the fourth book in this mystery series about Lacey Smithsonian, a newspaper fashion reporter who works for "The Eye Street Observer" and who seems to follow her fashion sense nose into some weird and wonderful murder mysteries. Lacy is fortunate, she is an attractive career woman, she has good friends, and she has a glamorous vintage wardrobe, stored in a wonderful old trunk and inherited from her aunt. All this and more: Lacy also has a handsome ex lawman, turned security expert, for a lover, and he is also RICH!

However, Lacy yearns to be a "real" reporter not just a fashion editor, and because of this, she has previously placed herself in situations where she has had to confront cold-blooded killers to solve mysteries. However, after several close calls, she is reluctant to do so ever again.

But...this is the Christmas season and once again Lacey stumbles on a crime. Lacy gets placed in the middle of the battle between mother earth, anti-materialism editor Cassandra Wentworth, and the food editor Felicity Pickles. Cassandra is attacked in an alley during the Eye Street Observer's holiday party and Felicity's Christmas sweater is left at the scene. Lacey comes to Cassandra's help after a phone call from a young child dressed in a shepherd robe who witnessed the attack and who runs away before talking to the police. Despite her reluctance to get involved since she dislikes both women, Lacey is pressured into investigating by nearly everyone at the Eye, and because a child is involved as a witness, and the police seem determed to place the guilt on this young boy, Lacy decides to investigate the crime. Once again, her detective boyfriend Vic, her free-spirited friend and hairstylist Stella, and her lawyer/friend conspiracy theorist Brooke, help Lacey to solve the crime.

The Author, Ellen Byerrum's experience as a Washington DC journalist, shines through and helps to make this a fun and facinating series.

Gaudy Christmas sweaters may be a crime against fashion, but they shouldn't be a reason for capital punishment. However, newspaper columnist Lacey Smithsonian nearly discovers the contrary after she is blamed for an editorial attacking the sequined and glittery fashion faux pas. Lacy gets placed in the middle of the battle between the real culprit, cranky anti-materialism editor Cassandra Wentworth, and the food editor Felicity Pickles, who boycotts cooking her holiday treats until Cassandra recants. Instead, Cassandra is attacked in an alley during the Eye Street Observer's holiday party and Felicity's Christmas sweater is left at the scene. Lacey comes to Cassandra's aid after being summoned by a phone call from a young child, a street urchin dressed in a shepherd robe who witnessed the attack and escapes before talking to the police. Despite her antipathy towards both women, Lacey is pressured into investigating by nearly everyone, from Felicity's and Cassandra's two paramours to her fellow reporters who are suffering from the withdrawal of Felicity's baked treats. Against Lacey's better judgment she's soon interrogating Cassandra's fellow radicals as well as her stalker, all in an effort to discover who has it in for the unlikable woman. Much more important to Lacey though, is the desire to rescue the missing witness whose life may be in danger from the would-be fashion murderer.

The reluctant fashion columnist Lacey Smithsonian continues to be an entertaining heroine in this fifth entry in the Crime of Fashion series. The fashion tips never intrude on the plots, although they do often provide valuable clues. The reader sympathizes with how poor Lacey is virtually railroaded into starting an investigation, but it's her softer side compels her to find the sassy and savvy urchin who is homeless during the holidays. Again accompanied by her steadfast and resigned detective boyfriend Vic, her unique and free-spirited friend and hairstylist Stella, and her other BFF conspiracy theorist Brooke, Lacey shines through with her sharp wit and determination. Author Ellen Byerrum brings in her experience as a Washington DC journalist to reveal the fascinating - and hilarious - side of newspaper journalism to this continually enjoyable series. This is the perfect treat for the holidays or any other time the reader needs some Christmas spirit.

The staff at the Eye Street Observer newspaper had a name for the fiasco that arose when an anonymous editorial (eventually discovered as written by staffer Cassandra Wentworth) disparages the seasonal sweaters worn as fashion statements. They call it Sweatergate.

Food editor Felicity Pickles champions the wearing of the artistic fare and proudly flaunts her seasonal collection of wearable "art." The editorial against her wardrobe choices causes her to stop bringing in her culinary creations to share with her colleagues at the office, and the boss notices.

He calls on fashion editor Lacey Smithsonian, who has a history of dabbling in mysteries, to repair the damage. Smithsonian's cell phone rings and the voice tells her to come outside where she discovers Wentworth on the street, whacked on the head with a huge candy cane, but living, and dressed in the most garish of holiday sweaters. That sets Smithsonian off and running on a quest to discover who did the terrible deed.

If you can get past the contrived character names and skip over the trite romance that adds little to the plot, you'll discover a truly intriguing mystery. Typical of the book's setting of Washington, D.C., you'll find politicians, lawyers, those driven by the latest cause, and even the homeless in the mix of characters. Add the other details of the clothes stolen from the figures in a creche scene outside a locked church, a party where business casual along with Santa hats are mandated, and a filthy apartment that housed the injured editor and her cause-obsessed friends, and the mix makes for an enjoyable quick read.

Be prepared to discover you didn't have a clue about the real mystery in this book until you almost reach the end--the way a fun mystery should be.

Armchair Interviews says: Grab your favorite seasonal sweater and be prepared for a great read.

If any book is positioned at Ground Zero for contemporary Chick Lit, this one is. The canny author, who is a member of a group of authors calling themselves "The Mystery Chicks," for Pete's sake, has hit just about all the points. "Grave Apparel" is a breezy-spirited book about Lacey Smithsonian, the attractive young woman with the glamorous wardrobe, the glamorous job, the (conventionally) wacky friends and the handsome hunk for a lover--a handsome hunk who has just unexpectedly turned out to be a RICH, handsome hunk.

In tried-and-true Chick Lit form, all is not perfect in Lacey's apparently glamorous life. She's trapped in her newspaper's fashion reporting ghetto--except for the odd occasions, that is, when she finds herself, by accident as it were, tackling cold-blooded killers with whatever improvised weapon might be at hand. But not to worry, that hardly happens more than once per book. The glamorous wardrobe may be both terrific and free, but in the four previous books in this series, it has led directly to those intimate encounters with the aforesaid cold-blooded killers, an unfortunate side-effect that some might regard as a definite buzzkill. And about that handsome, rich hunk, of course she's full of angst: Does he love her? Is he faithful to her? More important, should she be faithful to him? How does he REALLY feel about that unspeakable, clingy ex-wife of his? WHAT direction will her relationship with the hunk take, and WHERE will it all END?

Golden lads and lasses must, like chimney sweeps, come to dust. And so it is with mystery series: they must pay obeisance to the holidays. This is Lacey's Christmas Adventure. The holiday season--and tensions--in the District of Columbia make for a pleasing and slightly unfamiliar backdrop. Naturally we are presented with Lacey's chick lit shopping anxieties: how to make time to get to the stores and once there what to get. Can Lacey possibly give a gift to match one which she has received?

And naturally, there are adorable moppets to fire up strong maternal emotions.

Canny Byerrum is not foolish enough to change an effective plot that has worked four times before, so here is the plot of "Grave Apparel" [SPOILER ALERT!]: By a series of coincidences related to her job as a fashion reporter, Lacey stumbles on a crime. Lacey reluctantly, even half-heartedly follows up on the mystery, much to the annoyance of her colleagues who believe that she is poaching on their reportorial territory. Lacey delves into a trunk left to her by a dear departed Aunt that contains a treasure trove of 1940s and 50s high fashion stuff which just happens to suit her perfectly. [Say, how big is that trunk, anyway? It seems inexhaustible.] Almost by accident, Lacey finally confronts an individual of distinctly homicidal proclivity ... and goes into Wonderwoman-mode, stabbing, beating, bonking, bashing or otherwise seriously discommoding the aforesaid antisocial individual.

That is the plot of "Grave Apparel," just as it is the plot of "Killer Hair," "Designer Knockoff" and the rest. Now, before the self-appointed spoiler-police go apoplectic, I'll point out that the value of the story is not in its plot but in its handling and the details. Besides, equally accurate and sweeping generalizations could easily be made about the stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Peter Wimsey and Philip Marlowe.

And it is the handling of the story and its details that make "Grave Apparel" a thing out of the ordinary. Ms. Byerrum has set her sights low (although admittedly straight at the hard-core book buying demographic), but I think that deep beneath her glossy exterior she hides the heart and soul of a real writer. Most cozy mystery specialists turn out flat, straightforward prose, seldom venturing on verbal flights. Take a look at this description of Lacey attending a Christmas party in the National Press Club:

"It was a chance for the regular reporters to mingle in a place where they felt they belonged, by right of their profession, but they didn't, by right of the hefty membership dues.... The walls were covered with photos of famous journalists from the ubiquitous Helen Thomas, the reportorial bane of presidents, to Margaret Bourke-White, the glamorous journalist who made her name in the 1930s and 40s and 50s. All the usual famous male journalists were present and accounted for, too, but Lacey's attention focused on her role models, the women of the Fourth Estate. Missing, of course, were dames like Hildy Johnson, played by the fabulous Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, and the irresistible and in intrepid Brenda Starr from the comics." [Page 40-41]

Consider that transition, from mundane, work-a-day Thomas to distant, historical Bourke-White and then the leap into the realm of those magical dames, Johnson and Starr. (Don't worry, Lois Lane isn't forgotten, either. She turns up in Lacey's thoughts elsewhere in the book.) That's a leap not often found in today's cozy mysteries.

Or take this free flying commentary:

"For most of the year, Felicity wore shapeless smocks in a depressing palette of earth tones and faded floral prints. But when fall kissed the air and the days grew shorter, she suddenly embraced her wardrobe of eye-popping, seasonally themed sweaters with a love that only a mother could bestow on a balky child.... By the day after [Thanksgiving], Felicity's sweater mania was in overdrive. Christmas washed over her wardrobe like Santa's tsunami. Wool, cotton, or one hundred percent acrylic, her sweaters blazed with Christmas bulbs, sang with choirboys, shivered with snowmen muffled in crimson and green and plaid with icicles in gold and silver, ho-ho-hoed with Father Christmas in velvet-trimmed burgundy Victorian tableaus, and on-Dasher-on-Dancered with Santa Claus, the jolly old elf himself, with his sleigh and tiny reindeer. She was a woman possessed." [Page 3-4]

This is Chick Lit, and intentionally so, but it is also at bottom a finely crafted story from a writer who understands her business better than most. Yeah, sure it's Chick Lit but a guy can read it, and like it, too.

I have now read the first 4 "In Death" novels J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). I guess that officially makes me a fan.

These books are so good, I plan to read every one of them.

Each books had gotten better and better progressively. But don't get me wrong each one of them are wonderful.

The characters are great, and the stories intriguing.

Each time I finish one, I'm left wanting more. It is so nice to see character development throughout the series. After a while, you start to feel like you know them. Big props to Nora!

Happy reading.

Could not put this book down. Very exciting as only J.D. Robb can do it.

Although I enjoyed the first "In Death" book, I have to admit it's getting old. I keep getting this distinct feeling of deja vu everytime I read another book in the series. It's time to stop using the same recycled plot and change it up a little. This series has a lot of potential, but it seems that the author is too comforatable in the plot outline she is using now. A realize a lot of people love this series, but I'm finding it difficult to understand why. It took me three months to finish this book! Why? The explanations are too vague, the dialogue is too boring, and the plot is too predictable.

For those readers hooked on Robb's characters, Rapture in Death is a great contribution to the series. It focuses heavily on the just-post-marriage relationship of Eve and Roarke, especially Eve's struggle to come to terms with the strength of her feelings for Roarke (and his for her). It also includes some interesting developments in Mavis's career as a performer.

The mystery is interesting, but not quite up to the level of some of the other books in the series. It's pretty easy to see which possible bad guy is the red herring and which isn't, and the red herring gets drawn out a bit long in my opinion.

Since we're on the fourth book of the series, it can start to feel a little bit unlikely that so many of Eve's cases have ended up tied to people she knows so well. On the other hand, Robb knows her audience: people follow these books for the larger-than-life character drama as well as the mystery, and the way to do that is to give Eve a personal stake in her cases. So while the practical part of me balks a little at the coincidences, I have to admit that it's a very effective way to draw her particular audience in.

All in all, while this isn't my favorite book of the series, I definitely enjoyed reading it. As always, there's some hot & heavy sex between our favorite billionaire and cop, so it's for adults only!

BORING-get a life Ms. Roberts, were I your agent not one of your books would have been published. Did you invent "reality TV"? 'If you have half a brain' (credit to Rupert Holmes)you too will fall asleep reading this author's books. So I can say something nice, her works are better than sleeping pills. I wish that I had originally known what her other name was years before I purchased the #1 of this series, I also wish I had known that each book is a carbin copy of the others, victim name changed, sometimes, to protect the innocent reader, and purely for greed.
I did give 1 star (there was no lower one to choose) as I respect all books and wish more people would read books.

Mrs. Pollifax never ceases to amaze and entertain me. She's hard at work again. A great adventure as always.

I haven't read or listened to any of the other Mrs. Pollifax books, but it seems other people's enthusiastic reviews of the book edition are based on their love of the characters rather than on the story itself. As someone new to this series, I have to say this audiobook makes me uninterested in the rest. My father and I had a long road trip and I borrowed this book from the library to pass the time. There were so many clumsy plot devices that I had to wonder how Mrs. Pollifax could be such a wonderful CIA agent yet be so completely dense that she thinks the item slipped into her luggage by the Jordanian man sitting next to her on the plane was merely a nice gift for him to give. Even I am suspicious enough to be alarmed when something I didn't pack shows up in my baggage... and I'm just an average middle-class traveler who has been cheated and swindled plenty while abroad. Even though Pollifax noticed that a car was following Ferrell and her, why didn't she tell her partner so that they could stick together at Petra, instead of letting her partner trot off ahead around a corner so that she was left alone with a stranger? My father and I turned the audiobook off in the middle of disc 3 (of 6) and I'm returning it tomorrow. Neither of us are interested in hearing what else happens or has happened in the previous 13 or so books.

This book takes you on an adventure in the deserts of Jordan, with castles, multiple bad guys, camel rides, and a quaint old lady who is also a part time CIA operative. Our hero meets up with an unusual character on her airplane ride across the Atlantic, and the simple job isn't so simple anymore. This book is Murder She Wrote meets Lawrence of Arabia.

This entry in the Pollifax canon shares many traits with many of Gilman's other books, but still manages to entertain and intrigue. Yes, Emily has had to wait around a monument to meet an opposite number she's never before met. Sure, she's already been befriended by families and found refuge in the desert. But, somehow, the formula continues to work without feeling stale. An entertaining read throughout.

Mrs. Pollifax's friend Farrell asks her to accompany him on a mission to Jordan to retrieve the manuscript of a dissident author in Iraq. The author was a friend of Farrell's who was killed because he told uncomfortable truths about the reign of Saddam Hussein. On the flight to the Middle East, Mrs. Pollifax sits next to a man who turns out to be someone other than who he says he is. Farrell and Mrs. P. go through the requisite chases, shootings, and beatings until a happy conclusion is reached. I am curious about why Mrs. Pollifax married Cyrus in an earlier book in the series, because author Gilman manages to keep him well away from his wife's adventures. As always Mrs. Pollifax delights the reader and does not seem to need a leading man.

I have read almost all of Penny Vincenzi's novels and loved every one. Once you get started with Almost a Crime, it's hard to put it down. But due to its length - 627 pages- and the depth of characters etc the reader is forced to take a break. I won't say this one is better or worse than her other novels because every one is "the best".

I first became familiar with Penny Vincenzi in the London airport. I grabbed two of her books because the front looked interesting. Since then I have bought everything she has written, even going so far as to have them picked up for me there by an exchange student. I love, love all her books and hate to come to the end of them. I love that they are thick and she writes in detail aout all her characters. Do not pass up any and all she writes.

For years, Penny Vincenzi has been a bestselling author of huge blockbuster novels in her native England. Recently, the Overlook Press has brought Vincenzi's talent to the United States with the publication of her popular Spoils of Time trilogy, gaining her fans on this side of the Atlantic as well. Now Overlook is releasing some of Vincenzi's other smash hits for her new American fans, starting with ALMOST A CRIME, which was originally published in the United Kingdom in 1999.

The central character of ALMOST A CRIME is Octavia Fleming, mother of three and wife to Tom Fleming. The two of them have the textbook "power marriage," written up in national newspapers under the heading "Combine and Rule." Octavia runs a charity consulting group, procuring funds and providing publicity for charity groups. Tom is the co-founder of a political lobbying firm. At the novel's opening, readers see how the two combine their successful careers in ways that are mutually beneficial for themselves --- and for their companies. Sometimes, though, Tom's dubious business scruples run afoul of Octavia's moral sensibilities, such as when Tom urges Octavia to use her charity connections to raise support for a new development (run by one of Tom's clients) set to be built in a wilderness area.

These professional disagreements are merely window dressing for their deeper personal problems, which quickly come to a crisis. Tom has always felt a bit cowed by Octavia's hugely successful father, who has never made a secret of his disapproval of Tom. Both Tom and Octavia feel like they never have enough time to spend with their children, let alone with each other --- at least without clients around. But, to make matters far worse, Octavia soon learns that Tom has been having an affair.

Devastated by her discovery, Octavia resorts to personal and professional revenge. She makes a very public statement against one of Tom's biggest clients and begins her own relationship with a member of parliament, a man who is Tom's polar opposite in politics, manner and attitude. Octavia also confides in her closest, oldest friend Louise, who is quietly nursing her own grief --- and might be hiding more than a few secrets of her own.

Octavia's biggest dilemma is whether to pursue a divorce from Tom. If she were anyone but the female half of the country's premier "power couple," the choice would be easy. But, for someone like Octavia Fleming, the decision is far more complicated: "Their marriage would not be broken neatly and cleanly, nobody's was of course, but theirs would be a multiple fracture, more messily painful even than most, crossing as they constantly did the lines of public and private life. They would become not only single people, but famously unsuccessful ones, would no longer effortlessly straddle two worlds, but would scarcely stand on the top of one; their association and their marriage would be no longer powerful, it would be a public as well as a private failure." Not even Octavia, though, recognizes the repercussions the end of her marriage could have on everyone around her --- friends, family and business associates alike.

It's this ever-widening circle that Vincenzi so skillfully encompasses in ALMOST A CRIME. As in her previous novels, she practically defines the term "page turner," as she shifts rapidly from subplot to subplot, from character to character, effectively discouraging readers from putting down the book until they find out what happens next. From Octavia's father, his mistress and her children, to Octavia's friend Louise and her husband, Vincenzi deftly moves among her characters over the course of one eventful summer, leading up to the news of Princess Diana's death, which affects all the characters in one way or another.

ALMOST A CRIME may be a slight disappointment to readers who first met Vincenzi through the Spoils of Time trilogy, since it lacks the sweeping epic scope and probing character development that marked those magnificent novels. However, it should still contain enough characters, plot twists and subplots to satisfy most --- in fact, some American readers might be rather perplexed by the references to British politics, class distinctions and school systems. Nevertheless, Vincenzi's latest novel to cross the pond is likely to solidify her reputation for writing ambitious, glamorous novels that take readers deep into their characters' fascinating lives.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

I consider myself to be a big Penny Vincenzi fan. I was so addicted to her "spoils of time" trilogy that I had read it twice in the span of three years. This is saying a lot for me, since I don't read books more than once unless they are really that good. That's why I hate to be negative about one of her latest books. "Almost a Crime" did not grab my attention from the beginning. It was hard to follow the story since it lacked excitement and characters were not very believable. Maybe a huge part of my disappointment had to do with the fact that it is set in the 1990s and lacks the nostalgic charm of No Angel, Something Dangerous, and Into Temptations. I'm still a big fan of Penny vincenzi but not of this particular book.

I became a fan of Penny Vincenzi when No Angel was released in the states and have been reading her books ever since. Almost A Crime is her first US release after the Spoils Of Time trilogy.

Londoners Tom and Octavia Fleming had what seemed to be the perfect high power marriage. They complimented each others careers while juggling their personal lives but it all came to an abrupt end when Octavia found out that Tom was having an affair. Octavias father, who never liked Tom was pushing her to leave him, Toms business started to fail due to financial problems and then Octavia found out who the other woman was and then everything started falling apart.

For those of you who love a book that you can sink your teeth into, Almost A Crime is the perfect choice for your next read.

I am a blatant francophile and I frequently visit Paris. When I need a Paris fix I turn to Cara Black. Murder on the Ile Saint Louis was my first introduction to Aimee Leduc Investigations. Cara Black transported me to Paris beginning with the street map. The character of Aimee Luduc is real and believable to me. She isn't 'cutsie' or 'blase'. I also like the way all the characters are untroduced as plausible pieces in the story line. Cara Black provides a geographical background and complex story line that is enjoyable.

What could be a better read? The fascinating life of a computer detective involuntarily involved in a predicament and that draws you in to it and compells you to keep turning pages until the final solution to the puzzle is reached. I have admiration and respect for an author who researches her subject to such a great extent. On my next trip to Paris I will visit Ile St Louis with more interest. Thank you Cara Black

This Aimee Leduc series by Cara Black gets better all the time. Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis features a well-designed plot and a more fully developed Aimee. As always, the fast-moving action and detailed descriptions of Paris lured me right in. I read this book twice (something I never do)--once to enjoy the plot and a second time to savor the ambience of one of my favorite cities.

Cara Black takes her detective heroine, Amy LeDuc, to another Parisian neighborhood, the toney and historic Ile St. Louis, to resolve a series of murders that appear connected to criminal behavior by a major corporation. As in most of the books in this series, more than half of the enjoyment is in the author's detailed descriptions of the city's landmarks, architecture, cuisine and social behaviors. The story line in "St. Louis" is above average for this series and the characters still appeal, though the heroine's continuing bad judgment in men is aggravating--when is the author going to allow for a less steep learning curve? Overall, a good read, particularly for those folks seriously in love with Paris.

This is an excellent murder story and mentions many places and streets in Paris which makes it interesting for anyone who has been in Paris. Not the kind of plot to make one nervous while reading it. Good read.

MURDER ON THE ILE SAINT-LOUIS is an Aimée Leduc book. This time out, we see a softer side of Aimée, as she is prompted by a phone call from a frantic woman to come down to the courtyard of her building. Not knowing what to expect, Aimée slips on her kitten heels and grabs her gun. Instead of trouble, she finds a tiny baby girl wrapped in a denim jacket. Okay, for Aimée, that is trouble. Uncertain what else to do, Aimée enlists all of her friends to help her care for the baby until the mother returns for her.

Of course, Aimée doesn't sit idly by and wait for this to happen. Instead, she tries to find out how the mysterious caller knows her, how she came to select the unlikely Aimée as the child's protector, and to determine what is keeping the mother from returning to claim her infant. Along the way there is a healthy dose of Parisian history, a few more dead bodies, and some lovely couture frocks acquired at bargain basement prices.

Of the Aimée Leduc books I have read, MURDER ON THE ILE SAINT-LOUIS is my favorite. It has the same wonderful descriptions of the architecture and the historical stories that I enjoy so much, but it has a kinder, gentler Aimée, too. In this book, she must make the safety of the baby her primary concern and she tones down her often reckless and thoughtless behavior. A more considerate main character involves me more in the story because she is easier for me to relate to.

Favorite character? René, Aimée's business partner and emergency baby sitter. In this book, his unfulfilled wishes are there for all to see as he cares for the baby. Did I guess it? Some of it. Will I read another? Yes.

I've been skipping around a bit in reading this series, so some of the events in this eighth novel in the series I was already aware of, as part of the back-story in later episodes. Again, most of the action takes place within the extended family of Charlotte Pitt, wife of Inspector Thomas Pitt, one of Victorian London's finest. Where Charlotte married down, her sister, Emily, married up, to Lord George Ashworth. The Ashworths are paying an extended visit to his maternal relations, the Marches, and Emily is in agony over the attentions her infatuated husband is paying to the wife of one of his cousins, while ignoring her. But then George is found poisoned one morning, and it quickly becomes apparent that one of the eight family members (including Emily) must be the guilty party -- but which one? And then a second, connected murder takes place in the house, and family loyalties require that Emily take the blame. Or perhaps it was the only other outsider, Jack Radley, who is there for inspection as a possible suitor for the youngest daughter of the family. The story involves the gradual paring down of the list of suspects, largely through the efforts of Charlotte, who has come to keep her distraught sister company. This part of the narrative is quite good, but the author makes a strategic error in introducing a completely separate murder mystery at the very beginning, and then ignoring it entirely until the very end of the book, when she manages to weave it into the larger mystery. A pretty good story, though, especially (as always) in its portrayal of the suffocating strictures of Victorian Society, especially as regards women.

Being an Anne Perry fan I was disappointed in this mystery. It is the 8th in the Pitt series, and by far the least interesting. I don't know if I didn't like it because there wasn't much about Charlotte and Thomas and their children or what. Perry just seemed to rattle on with too many details. I hope the 9th book is better.

The customer "reviews" of this book are plot summaries which will spoil a potential reader's enjoyment. This is the best Anne Perry I've read so far (I've read about ten.) As usual, it exposes Victorian crimes against the poor and rebellion against one's own class by a few of the wealthy. But, in addition, Perry this time crafts several middle of the night, suspenseful horror scenes.

I'm often let down by Perry's endings. Not enough analysis/explanation is provided, and only the principals are allowed to react to the denouement.

I would like to see a chronological listing of her books. If you read them out of order, too much about earlier happenings is revealed. I knew, for example, that ____ could not have been the murderer in this book because he is alive and well in a LATER book which I had already read. Also, another character's death (from an earlier book) is referred to repeatedly.

I still love the Victorian settings and a glimpse into the rigid lifestyle and the grinding poverty of that time.

In the first mystery in the Pitt series, the Ellison family lost a daughter to the Cater Street Hangman. Since that time friends have suffered unspeakable tragedies, and now Emily Ellison March, Lady Ashworth, is suspected of murdering her husband George by putting belladonna in his morning coffee. Families with this kind of luck need to have someone married to a police detective!

If you are reading the stories chronologically, you will have followed the relationship of George and Emily through several novels. While I was initially sad to think his good-natured presence would be missing from future stories, I have to confess that there was little spark between the two. Maybe a change of pace is what Emily (and Perry's loyal readers?) need.

Charlotte (Emily's sister) and Thomas Pitt continue to develop as characters and sleuths in this story. Charlotte is even beginning to learn a bit of judicious caution and investigative skills! While the solution to the mystery was not entirely surprising, the twists and turns of the plot take the reader into some interesting and unforgettable aspects of late Victorian England. I highly recommend this book, and even if this is the first one you read you will enjoy getting to know the characters.

I have been reading the Pitt series in order from the beginning, and this is the best one yet. They are all good reading, but this one in particular offers the classic English mansion who-done-it feel. I highly recommend this series, but do read them in order. A complete ordered list can be found on the author's website, anneperry.net.

Excellent mystery,don't want to put the book down, and with God in the center of it all - outstanding!

I could not lay this book down. Great suspense and action. Colleen Coble is my new favorite author.

Colleen presents her story world in a way that makes me want to be there, then makes me believe I am there. The characters are real and likeable, including her beloved search-and-rescue dog, Samson. When he turned up missing, I wanted to search for and rescue him. When someone got in trouble underwater, I found myself helping by holding my breath. I was thoroughly involved in this warm, taut suspense with happy ending.

One of the most pleasurable thing in these books is the vivid atmosphere, and the depth of all the characters. It seems they are all friends or acquaintance of yours.
From the dogs to the sherif and Bree and her friend they all are very attractive.
But please, stop inserting God all over the pages. All the readers are not that religious!

I was up until midnight finishing this book. The setting is so vivid I thought I could walk outside my door and find myself in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and the characters felt like real people. The main character's search for a murderer is complicated when her beloved dog Samson is snatched by a dog-fighting ring, and I agonized along with her every step of the way. I loved the scuba diving scenes, too! A great mystery suspense story. I can't wait for Coble's next, which her website says will be based in Hawaii. I've always wanted to visit Hawaii, and I know this talented author will take me there as surely as if I've been there in person.

Not to be disrespectful but are you people for real? I can't believe this book is getting 4 and 5 stars. There was nothing good about this book. A bunch of people in the book did not even matter, Bill Kendall's wife, the new anchor man Pete whatever his last name was, the boss Yelena, Eliza's boyfriend, the priest, even the soon-to-be-president and his wife, I mean what's the point in even mentioning them? They were not involved in the main events. She didn't even talk about what happened to them at the end. The judge is the only one that matters, and she didn't even write about him all that much. Really disappointing. As I said I don't mean to be disrespectful, but to give this book 5stars, you must have read either bedtime stories all your life, or not have read anything.
DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY that's all i have to say. sorry

I really enjoyed this novel. The author is very good at thickening a plot and drawing you into it!

Do You Want To Know a Secret is a well-written book that entertained me throughout the whole novel. It was about a few newscasters who all had secrets that could ruin their reputations. However, their secrets get out. Unfortunately, they don't know how or who told. There are characters in this book who aren't the people that everyone thought they all knew. This book has many twists and turns that keeps you on the edge. I enjoyed this book very much. If you are looking for an exciting and wonderful book then read this.

I was at a book sale when I spotted Mary Jane's 3 first novels. I decided to buy them because I had read all of Mary Higgins Clark's novels and Mary Jane's books reminded me of Mary Higgins Clark. I decided, why not, the worst that can happen is that it is a boring book and the best that could happen is that I discover another great author like Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson and Philip Margolin. Was I glad I did. This first novel was a bit slow at the beginning but it had enough suspense to keep me reading and the ending surprised me. I was happy to find out that Mary Jane has quick, snappy diaglogue with a mix of characters that keeps you guessing. Needless to say, her writing keeps getting better. Yep, the other two books were even better.

By now y'all know Mary Higgins Clark is the ex-mother-in-law of our author here, Mary Jane Clark. Many speak to the similarities of style -- a dashing (and gorgeous wholesome single mom, young widow, and accomplished professional) leading lady who overcomes all odds; enough violence and suspense to entertain and befuddle; and a nice clean ending we can all feel good about. Well hopefully that could be said about many a good book. The differences I see are more interesting. First the venue -- set mostly in the surrounds of a major news network, midst the tribulations of the early morning shows and anchor broadcasts at night, we certainly get (ala the movie "Network News") plenty of up close looks at the pressured lives on the news set. In the best tradition of write about what you know about, MJ speaks from personal experience as a producer and writer for CBS News. Indeed, Dan Rather gets a cameo mention in the story, as he does in the acknowledgments up front for his encouragement to the author. I just hope the romances reported among many co-workers aren't quite that prevalent, although as we know, propinquity is a powerful force (said Zelda to Dobie...).

Second, we get a pretty good story line. The first shocker is the apparent suicide of a famous anchor, followed thereafter (but paced well) by the murders of his doctor and his secretary. Even the most dense of us realize the connections, though the trained newshounds seemed to miss it. A big surprise at the end serves up a murderer I dare say few suspected more than a page or two before the unveiling, so high marks for suspense.

Third, and of course not as welcome, we do get an awful lot of characters, relationships, AIDS pleas, disease causes, snippets of events, changes in scenery, etc.; to me, all that clutter gets a little tiresome. Certain loose ends never do get wrapped up, and I'm not even sure that a major subplot, the campaign machinations of a presidential candidate, really advanced the basic story line that well. I also personally disliked chopping the book up into 141 (!) chapters - do the math, they span 302 pages, so that's like two pages each. And the last 35 span only 25 pages, so we're down to barely more than the "sound bites" so lovingly quoted throughout.

So - for her first outing (of four to date), not bad. Clean things up, simplify a little, give us a little longer reading stretch with out raising and lowering the curtain a hundred times, and we might have something here. I'll at least move on to number 2 - "Do you promise not to tell?". And you?

Great for use in the classroom any time during my mystery unit. The students love trying to puzzle out the answers. Even when the answers are easy, they delight in hearing them.

A fun read but many of the solutions can only be solved if you have a very expanded knowledge of everything, such as the natural habits of cows and turtles, etc. Also, many of the solutions are "probable" and not clear black and white solutions. It is still easy reading and worth the time.

I love books like this, even though I can very rarely solve the mysteries. What I like about the books in this series is that unlike some mysteries, where key elements aren't revealed, the stories give you all the information you need to solve them. This is a great book for anyone who is a fan of mysteries, short stories, or both.

The Peabody-Emerson clan is preparing to return to Egypt for the winter season of digging. WWI is making travel difficult and causing the local Egyptian political situation to be even more unstable than usual. Further adding to their difficulties is their complicated and ever expanding household. This season the entourage will include Radcliffe, Amelia, their son Ramses, and his wife Nefret, Sennia (who they adopted in FALCON WHO GUARDS THE PORTAL), her cat, Horus and even the family butler, Gargery. The only thing they will not have to worry about is the Master Criminal who figured so largely in their earlier adventures. Shortly after his true identity was revealed he died in a most heroic manner - or did he?

After they safely arrive in Egypt though, it becomes all too apparent that Emerson will once again be denied his quiet season of peaceful digging. As their former reis Abdullah used to remark "another year another body" and this year proved to be no exception. Bodies, mysterious intrigues and even the dreaded (to Emerson at least) starred crossed lovers appear.

If you have no idea who any of these people are begin at the beginning of this delightful series, with CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK and continue through in order. The overall story arc of this series (AMELIA PEABODY) is much more of a factor than in most mystery series. The mystery/suspense aspect of this series is much less than in many mysteries. The real attraction here is the continuing story of the family itself as it is told from Amelia's own eccentric point of view. Fans of the series will delight to read about Ramses' and Nefret's married life, the continuing banter between Amelia and her beloved Emerson as they are once again being outwitted by a precocious child and will particularly love running into other characters from previous adventures.

I have enjoyed this whole series and it keeps going strong with Lord of the Silent.

Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels) used to know how to write a great, scary mystery. Now she needs to hang it up.

This was the first of Ms. Peters' books that I read. Maybe if I had had the background of the other books, I would have found it more interesting. As it was, I kept thinking "Get on with it already". There were too many exceprts about Nefret and her hubby and then it would switch back to Peabody and Emerson, and it rarely went back to the murder. When it did, there were so many characters and so many nicknames for characters that I was totally confused and often had to go back in the book to see who was who. The setting in this book and Peabody's wit kept me reading, though.

I was thoroughly disappointed while reading Lord of Silent, as the overall action and suspense was kept almost at a minimum.

It seems almost as if Peters went on a long tangent about the Emerson's family life, writing a lot of filler to go along with the main plot. Until the last forty pages or so, I struggled to get through the book because there was no suspense at all. No cliff-hangers or anything of the sort.

Ramses and Nefret, though darling, only thickened the struggle. I don't think that all the interaction between them was really necessary; perhaps Peters wanted to throw in some romance, but is wasn't working.

Lord of the Silent is a sheer failure of Peters's story-telling skills, as in many of her other books her talent proves to be quite brilliant. Save your money and buy a different Peters's book.