Mystery Crime Books

I had very ambiguous feelings about Kirsten Miller's first Kiki Strike book Inside the Shadow City. Although I loved the cover art and most of the characters, I felt like the book didn't live up to its full potential. Despite my misgivings (and the fact that no one shared them), I remained optimistic about Kiki Strike #2, feeling confident that it would be better than the first since Miller would have had more time with the characters she was writing about and to iron out her writing voice (which I thought was inconsistent in the first book).

Well, I finally had a chance to read Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb and am very happy to say, my hopes were not unfounded as this book was definitely better than the first in the series. Although this book does follow up on plot points from the first book, this one does stand alone. There is enough summary of important information that, if you read the first one a while ago (or not at all), the storyline will still make sense.

The story once again follows the Irregulars--brilliant albeit sometimes misguided Girl Scouts who were recruited by girl spy extraordinaire Kiki Strike to help her map Manhattan's secret Shadow City and protect it from criminal exploitation. This time, however, the Shadow City is not the major plot. Kiki and narrator Ananka Fishbein also take a back seat to fellow Irregular Oona Wong who, for lack of a better word, is the star of this story--just look at the cover if you don't believe me.

Master forger turned entrepreneur and sometimes blackmailer, Oona has always been one of my favorite characters and I was really happy to see more of her in this book. Unfortunately, the Irregulars don't feel the same as they grow tried of Oona's continued snark and snobbery. To make matters even worse, that means no one has time to hear Oona's important news.

That isn't to say that the other girls don't have problems. Kiki's life is in danger (again). Ananka's mother is threatening to send her to a boarding school in Virginia of all places if she can't get her grades up. Meanwhile Betty, the group's master of disguise, seems to have attracted the attentions of the giant squirrels that have started wandering the city's parks. Add to the mix a haunted mansion, a prodigal parent, and Oona's dramatic secret and you have a story jam-packed with excitement.

The tone of The Empress's Tomb feels a lot more even than Miller's first Kiki Strike book. I suspect this has to do with the book being grounded in one time period instead of starting with the characters at the age of twelve the way the first book did. In addition to being a fast-paced read, the novel also offers an interesting commentary on secrets (when to keep them and when to share them) as almost every character has something up her sleeve in the way of hidden information.

Speaking of information, Miller also once again includes some of Ananka's useful information at the end of some chapters. Her findings include: how to be mysterious (learn to be quiet and invent a secret among other things), how to find information in people's trash (and what to avoid placing into your own trash), as well as a quiz on events in the book that, were I a teacher, I might assign to students if I had them read this book in class--which I really could. Because Miller writes a good story with a lot of practical information that could be applied to everyday life (maybe you'll never be digging through someone's trash, but it's good to be aware of what people might find if they dug through yours).That is one of the reasons I stuck with Kiki Strike, and one of the reasons The Empress's Tomb was so much fun to read: Miller doesn't just write a good story she writes a good, informative (and fun) story.

Welcome to New York City, home of rogue princess Kiki Strike and her band of Irregulars. Sound familiar? Well, this story has nothing on Sherlock Holmes! The lead character in this particular mystery is Ananka Fishbein, one of the Irregulars. We begin our adventure helping with the mapping of the Shadow City - it's almost done, but this last little bit has some secrets of its own and Ananka is just the person to unearth them. However, giant squirrels are popping up all over the city while people are claiming muggings - by gigantic squirrels! What in the world could be going on? Ananka is suspicious of the stories until one of her fellow Irregulars is mugged - and now the only map of the Shadow City is missing. The Irregulars band together to solve the mystery of the secret squirrels - and end up uncovering a much bigger secret than a nutcracker!

Tensions are running high amongst the Irregulars - Oona is being irascible while Kiki is missing meetings and not returning calls. With the introduction of Kaspar, the boy who lives in the park, to the group, uncertainty writhes its way into the trust of the friends. Not to mention the pressure from Ananka's parents, who are noticing her school absences and exhaustion which have been causing lower grades at her private school. With the threat of a farm-based boarding school on the horizon, she continues to risk her freedom for the Irregulars despite the doubts that have been creeping in about the loyalty of some members. Their arch-enemy (well, one of them at least) Lester Liu has retired from the crime life and has suddenly become a benevolent philanthropist, but the girls can't believe the abrupt change in character and dig to find the truth behind the haunted mansion where he now lives, as well as the art exhibition he's donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But will they live to uncover Liu's deceptions to the public, or will the Shadow City rats become immune to the rat-repellant fragrance and attack?

This is an awesome young adult/juvenile mystery. There is a lot of character development and many sub-plots going on to help with the concepts of loyalty and trust amongst friends & family, as well as the moral of believing in people and liking someone - no matter the age or sex - for who they are. Bonus information is provided on how to know if your house is haunted, improve your memory, and things you can learn by going through the trash.

Let me first say that the first book in the Kiki Strike series is my favorite book of all time, so I was, obviously, extremely excited when I heard that a second book was coming out. I had very high expectations, since I had loved the first book so much. Now, this book was written very well, and it is still notable, but while I was reading it, I couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed. It almost felt like one of those sequals that were written just because its predecessor sold so well. Nonetheless, I still fell in love with the characters once again, but this time, the plot was not as genious, and the book just didn't quite keep me at the edge of my seat.

Just as good as the first one and maybe even better! It's action filled and full of mysteries. This should go on everybodies must read books!

I thought this would make a nice present for my daughter, but as she's only 11, I thought I'd read a chapter or two to make sure it was appropriate for her. Danged if I wasn't up til 4am reading all the way to the end!

The author knows how to keep the story moving, and the internal dynamics of the seven friends will keep any reader's interest.

I wish these books were better known and easier to find than other, inferior books in this genre.

I purchased this book with some doubt. I wasn't sure if it was going to be what I was looking for as an aspiring horror & mystery writer. I have to say, I only read half way through this book so far; it's fantastic! Packed with information that any writer should know. This book covers everything from drugs, to criminals, to writing.

You don't have to be a writer to read this book. I find this as a manual, and it contains as much information as a criminology text book! You have to purchase this book, I promise you will learn things that you never had any clue about.

I know a lot of drug/criminal slang, and this book has helped me to learn every more. I can not say enough, Martin Roth wrote one heck of a book here. It has many graphs inside, it teaches you the structure of criminal gangs, and the drug charts offer everything from where the specific drug comes from, to it's effects and much more....

Thanks so Much
I know this book will help me with my writing 110%. I am proud to own this book, and I will never part with it.

Mikey/PA

The premise of this book appeals to every screenwriter that is ready to enter the world of crime and investigation, a book written for screenwriters regarding the world of crime. This book is the ultimate starting point for creating a believable world for thrillers, mysteries, and other related crime dramas.

Written by Martin Roth with adaptations from Sargeant Rey Verdugo, this book grabs hold of you at page 1 by offering the 10 most common mistakes writers will make regarding police work. So, Is "taking a suspect down to the precinct for questioning" an appropriate phrase to use in your screenplay?

Then, the Crime Writer Reference Book states the different types of crimes and possible motives for creating such crime. It allows you, the writer, to explore any possible scenario and making that scenario accurate.

The Crime Writer's Reference Guide: 1001 Tips For Writing The Perfect Murder by Martin Roth is a detailed resource especially intended for aspiring authors of mysteries, suspense thrillers, action/adventure crime novels, true crime stories, and police procedurals novels. Individual chapters cover what a writer most needs to know in order to avoid common errors and misconceptions when writing about crime, criminals, police, courts, and prisons. A highly recommended basic primer, this edition of The Crime Writer's Reference Guide is enhanced with a new Foreword and updated information supplied by Rey Verdugo, a former police officer, a top criminal investigator, and a technical consultant for film and television projects.

I don't usually write crime novels, but when I decided to try my hand at suspence I realized just how much help I needed. I searched through many reference books and found The Crime Writers Reference Guide by Martin Roth to be a savior for me. It gives great tips on investigating, cops, the courts, illegal drugs, the prison system and crime. A handy book to have by your computer when you need to amp up a scene or two or just need to be factual. I found the investigation, crime and prison chapters to be especially helpful. Plus, at the end of each chapter is a "Where to go from here" that gives you extra resources to look up, so you don't have to stop with this book and you have the titles and authors of others to investigate. A great companion to this book is one I found by accident titled "Crime Scene" by Larry Ragle. I wrote a review on that one too, so go there and check that out.

I'm not sure what the other reviewers found so compelling. I found little here other than pages and pages of lists. Some examples: 6pp. of LAPD police radio codes, 3pp. of FBI case classifications, 16pp. of org charts for the LA County Sherrif's Dept. My favorite, however, is the full page devoted to a listing of "Weapons Used by Criminals" which begins "Acid, Air gun, Ax, Bayonet, Bazooka, Billy Club..." Well, you get the idea. The portions of the book not devoted to lists tend to be laughably superficial (e.g., "Street gangs now battle over who sells the drugs and where." Really, thanks.) Granted, there are suggestions for further reading, but my advice would be to save yourself some money and do your readers a favor -- do your own research.

I had a lot of fun reading this mess of a book, but if you are looking for a 'normal' novel then you might want to run the other way. This is NOT a book to be taken very seriously (and if you try then you'll probably end up hating it). It's like the pass a long stories you wrote with friends back in school - it jumps around adding and dumping characters at will and it sometimes seems like the authors wanted to see how crazy they could make their chapter end to see how the next author would write their way out of the mess. I think it was pure ridiculously demented fun from Dave Barry's opening to Carl Hiassen's ending.

If you are a fan of any of these authors, do yourself the favor of sticking with their individual efforts. Hiaasen's chapter (the final one) cracks broadly at the missteps of several previous authors. I enjoyed only 3 chapters (Berry, Hall, & Hiaasen), and I put up with the rest to see how Mr. Hiaasen would tie it up. Even his talents could not salvage this - and here, I strongly agree with other reviewers - MESS.

I found Naked Came The Manatee to be an enjoyable read. I liked the different writing styles that wove the storyline together. I borrowed the book from our local library and liked it enough to buy my own copy. It was interersting and entertaining. The reason I gave it four stars was because I thought Dave Barry's first chapter, though good, was a little too chock full of detail. Although I have read Carl Hiaasen's Flush and Hoot among others and have enjoyed reading Dave Barry for years, I was not familiar with some of the other writers. Naked Came The Manatee has whetted my interest in reading books they have penned. All in all, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon reading. ~ Mrs. B.

First, I'd like to tell the authors that after reading this book, each of you owe me a few hours of my time which disappeared, worthlessly, from my life.

What starts out as a great idea - a gaggle of writers each crafting a chapter of a novel - quickly crashes into a confusing, poorly played game of "telephone."

You know "telephone" - the kids' game where one whispers something to the person next to him or her and the words circle the room, ending in an incomprehensible string of gibberish?

Naked Came the Manatee is a hobo stew of styles, with each writer leading us through silly plot moves and adding their own characters.

While reading each of these authors might be fun, their collective sum only reveals a bookfull of defective parts.

Back in the primary school days you probably partook in the exercise of everyone in the class writing a paragraph then passing the paper to the person sitting next to them who wrote the next paragraph, passed it to the next person and so on until everyone in the class had contributed to each of the 30 or so stories. Well that is exactly what the publishers of Naked Came the Manatee have done, with thirteen Florida authors, just on a bigger scale.

The quality of each chapter obviously varies with the quality of each author but that adds to the fun. Even though Hiaasen is on the spine also doesn't mean that all the authors are surreal humorous type writers either with some chapters being very crime thriller in style and even one, chapter 11 being poetic philosophy (must admit didn't really enjoy this one.) The story flowed on quite well (except from chapter 10 to 11) from author to author in most parts but you could definitely pick up the difference in style with each transition. The story overall lacked the high quality that many of these authors such as Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry have achieved in their own novels but it was still a very good and enjoyable read.

The basic plot of Naked Came the Manatee revolves around a Manatee, called Booger by the locals who is either part of or around the main action. Throw in a 102 year old woman, Fidel Castro, shiny steel boxes, dim-witted criminals, lawyers and politicians as well as the locals of Coconut Grove and you've got a pretty fun storyline.

If you like the multiple author novel and want to read another one that Dave Barry is in grab a copy of The Putt at the End of the World. Barry teams up with Lee K Abbott, Richard Bausch, James Crumley, James W Hall, Tami Hoag, Tim O'Brien, Ridley Pearson and Les Standiford in this surreal golfing adventure that golf related is to the world of novels what Happy Gilmore is to the world of movies.

Murder on the Oriental Express is a fantastic book. It starts out with world famous Hercule Piorot becoming supicious of a young lady who said she was a governess. Piorot tried to book a train, but it was almost entirely filled when at least he got a bunk. Shortly, the train gets stuck on a snowdrift and cannot move for a day or too. However, something of greater worry is that someone has been murdered, and is still on the train.
This wonderful mystery makes you look at every possible clue, every hint, every detail, and there is still no answer. Hercule struggles too, the suspect could be anyone on the train, but then he realizes, maybe the answer is right under his nose.

This book was a huge disappointment. The first fifth of the book was mildly entertaining, and it quickly went downhill from there. I forced myself to keep reading in the hope that it would become more interesting towards the end. I nearly completed the book, but stopped short of the revelation of who the murderer was. That should tell you something about how bad this book is. I had maybe five more pages to go to find out the final answer, and I didn't even bother. The buildup of the circumstances and the clues were so childish and contrived, that it made the final answer irrelevant. The end of the book will leave you not caring how the mystery is solved.

Agata Christie's 1934 mystery MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS has her Belgian sleuth investigating a murder on the legendary Istanbul-Paris route. After solving some case in Syria, Poirot hopes to unwind in Turkey for a few days, but receives a telegram urging him to come to London immediately. With some difficulty, he secures a berth on the train, finding himself surrounded by a lively cast of characters from Europe and the United States. Not long after departure, one of them is found dead, and Poirot is tasked with determining who of his fellow passengers is the culprit.

Agata Christie did not become one of the world's bestselling authors by writing particularly deep characters or original narrative. Poirot's international companions on the train are ethnic caricatures, with the Italian initially fingered as the murder because of that nation's supposed blind passion, and Americans portrayed as uncouth and rustic. The solution is in many respects a deus ex machina. Nonetheless, the novel is an entertaining enough read if one wants some light to pass a couple of hours. Christie's depiction of her protagonist, ambiguous in his sexuality and lacking fashion sense, is always amusing. The investigative methods used will also provide a chuckle in how they violate the rights of suspects and ignore local laws.

There's been a murder in compartment No. 2 on the Orient Express. The victim was stabbed twelve times. The body was found by the attendant when the victim didn't show up for dinner in the dining car. Could it have been Mrs. Hubbard in the compartment next to him? Perhaps it was Colonel Arbuthnot who had a silent, suspicious air about him?

Murder on the Orient Express leads you through an entire murder mystery, like a fly on the wall, observing everything as it unfolds. There is a brutal murder that takes place on the train while it's in transit to its destination, but who could the killer be? There are a number of killer prospects, because they were all on the train at the time the murder was committed and the killer could not have left the train since it's been stopped by snow drifts on the track, so we know the killer is still onboard.

We follow Mr. Hercule Poirot, detective, throughout the whole book, as it's him who's doing all of the questioning, and solving this unbelievable case. As the book goes on each chapter has more twists than the last, and it grows more confusing until you don't know which way is up! The people who you suspect have evidence that proves them innocent, and the people who could never be the killer are suspected for the murder! And just when you can't make heads or tails of who to suspect, and who to throw out, Hercule sits back and reflects on all of the evidence, alibis, and clues, and solves the mystery in his head.

This mystery keeps you guessing until literally the very last chapter. This book is a real page turner and I personally couldn't put it down and I'm sure you won't be able to either. Another well written mystery novel by Agatha Christie, and a must read for any mystery lover.

I only recently saw the movie version of this with Albert Finney, and that prompted me to read one of the Agatha Christie books I missed reading growing up. It was wonderful and is now my favorite mystery novel of all time. I loved the fact that it's sort of based on a real event (Lindbergh baby kidnapping) and that they all did it. That was so ingenious. Twelve suspects and they all did it. I don't think I'm really giving anything away since most people are familar with this story. I have already started a second reading to find the clues I missed the first time, and I have ordered a couple of other Hercule Poirot books I missed reading in my younger years. (The Clocks, Cat Among the Pigeons, never heard of them) I can't believe there are so many featuring Hercule Poirot. I also like that other people are reinventing this character, or character-type. I love watching "Monk" episodes.
Cat Among Pigeons: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
The Clocks: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Mystery Masters Series)
Monk - Season Five

This classic Hercule Poirot novel carries a certain unique trait. As few other Agatha Christie novels, with its surprising ending it not only manages to come all the puzzle pieces fall into right place, but shifts the complete story upside down. (Something similar to "Death on the Nile") This leaves the reader wonder "How could I not see this coming?" The feat is all the more impressive, since Dame Agatha this time plays a real fair game and offers almost all necessary clues to solve the crime, although scattering them properly throughout the plot. Especially the later two-thirds of the book or so are also a very pleasurable read, too. And although the story dates back to 1934, the characters are so lively that the story could well happen today. So - find out for yourself whether you can guess who killed the wealthy usury woman from Paris aboard a plane...

Nice work; not her top work; but well above the bottom. Agatha has her moments, as always. Nice reread too.

Like all great Agatha Christie's books, this one is also a gem.

Agatha Christie's Death In The Clouds comes to life under Hugh Fraser's experienced voice: his past experiences bring other Hercule Poirot mysteries in the series to life lends a uniformity of experience and sound to this latest. The sudden death of a female passenger on an intercontinental plane flight involves investigator Hercule Poirot in a search for the culprit - even when the investigation seems to point to Poirot as the possible perp. Fine tension and mystery evolve slowly and grippingly.

We grew up in America thinking of this novel as DEATH IN THE AIR, it's nice that the various US publishers are now reprinting Christie's novels with the titles she wanted them to have. I wonder why they thought "in the air" was better than "in the clouds" anyway? One of those long-ago decisions that will always remain something of a mystery.

Poirot is especially bright in this novel. Until picking it up again at the New Year, I hadn't thought of this book in many years and definitely it came as a surprise to me how interesting it was, on many levels. Christie's skills at characterization again come into play. She gets you involved with everyone, even the initially unsympathetic and crass Countess of Horbury turns out to have a human, appealing side, while the gentle country romance of her husband with the horsey gentlewoman the Hon Venetia Kerr is handled robustly and plainly, like Trollope might have. For comic effect we have Mr. Clancy, who writes a series of detective novels with a detective who bites his nails in every book; even though Clancy admits it's a disgusting habit, he feels bound to put in a scene of nail biting in every novel, otherwise the fans will complain. Wonder if Ed McBain ever feels that way, with Steve Carella and his "Asiatic eyes"?

My favorite character is the heroine, the beauty parlor manicurist Jane Grey. You don't have to be an expert to know that Christie had a passion for gray eyes, and a number of her pert, "modern girl" heroines have gray eyes. She liked the name "Jane," too, even if it denoted someone plain in her day. Jane Gray is remarkable appealing and fun. The guff she puts up with from her upperclass customers is appalling but she takes it all in the right Bridget Jones spirit, and she and her fellow workers have fun laughing at the customer's affectations. Her passion for her new dentist boyfriend is very real and very well sketched, but it is her relationship with Poirot that makes the novel worth reading. By the end you might almost imagine an unwritten sequel in which Jane Grey and Hercule Poirot move together romantically closer. She's adorable.

There's one crumby anti-Semitic slur uttered by Gladys, Jane's friend, that kind of spoils it for modern readers. Today we don't need to read about "Iky Andrew," thank you.

This book was disappointing. I liked the main character, I liked his dog, I liked a couple of his low life buddies, but the plot needs work. The best part of the book was when Carpenter was finding missing children. The Disney world section was great. Those were the only sections with real detective work going on.

But the main plot line about the all-powerful, all knowing serial killer gang was not well written. Also, I hate plot lines where the police(and the media)just hate the hero and believe the killer for no good reason. There were too many opportunities for the hero to catch the bad guys and he lets them get away. I was tired of the story way before it was finished.

Hmmm. I like a good serial killer cop novel as much as the next guy (and even more if they're set in south Florida, for some reason -- must be residual affection for "Dexter" DVDs), but this one really didn't do it for me. Felt sloppy, pieced together, rushed, slightly implausible. There were some good scenes, the child abduction at Disney World being the most exciting, but on the whole I've read better.

I have read all of Mr. Swain's Tony Valentine books and enjoyed each of them. Then I picked up Midnight Rambler. What a surprise! The subject matter of this book is quite a departure from the Tony Valentine books. And while the other books were interesting, I found this book riveting. The pace never slowed, the characters were fascinating and the plot was creative yet totally believable. If you love thrillers you won't be disappointed with this book.

This is the first novel I've read by this author. I enjoyed the style in which he writes. The protagonist is a relatively complex character who certainly places himself in temptation's path but holds true to his morals to remain faithful to his wife, despite their separation. His compassion on another level is for the downtrodden women of society; castaways and runaways. The plot was also compelling enough to hold my interest and kept me looking forward to the next page.

I read this book on audio CD. It was my first time to read a Swain book. The reader for the audio did a great job. I enjoyed the book, the dog and the missing children information that was worked into the plot. I will now go back and try some of the Tony Valentine stories.

This is another great book by Jessica Fleatcher. The detail is once again perfect. I plan on reading more of these books.
The person I purchased this from shipped it out quick .

I have read several of the other "Murder She Wrote" books by Donald Bain, and I must say that this was the worst. There are so many inaccuracies in descriptions. For instance the so-called Indian food that Jessica's friends prepared is actually Middle eastern/Moroccan/Greek. Information like this is very easy to verify. Just go to an Indian restaurant and look at a menu or do a Google search.

Jessica is also a big busybody in this one. She sticks her nose where it has no business being. The murderer makes no sense or at least how Jessica arrives to that conclusion is implausible.

I loved the television series. It was one hour of relaxation after a hard day of studying. The books, on the other hand, disappoint. Give me Miss Marple any day. I realize that these books cannot be compared to real mystery novels, but a little more attention to detail would be appreciated.

Christmastime in Cabot Cove and time for the annual Christmas Festival. But where's Santa? Why, he's been shot dead out on the farm! And Jessica (J.B.) Fletcher is on the case. This continuation of Cabot Cove capers is a comfortable visit with old friends.

The "Murder, She Wrote" book series is "based on the Universal television series" ostensibly written in the 1st person by Jessica Fletcher, with a little help from Donald Bain. This series could have been just an effortless knock-off capitalizing on the TV show - but it is, actually, quite good and could be a standout stand alone series of its own. More's the better that it offers the opportunity to continue the Cabot Cove characters we've come to cherish on TV.

It's a (quaint little cozy and) Wonderful Life! (and death.) /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer.

Mystery writer Jessica Fletcher feels that this Christmas will be her best ever, as she finally has time to relax in the sleepy little town of Cabot Cove, Maine. A town that she has formally adopted as her own. Without a deadline holding her down this December, Jessica feels that she'll finally have the opportunity to embrace the small-town festivities, starting with the annual Christmas festival. However, when the body of one of Jessica's beloved neighbors, Rory Brent - a.k.a. Saint Nick - is found, a bullet-wound to the head, the Christmas season takes a turn for the worst. Suddenly, Jessica is determined to find out who shot the man everyone admired, for donning the big red suit each and every Christmas Eve, in an attempt to brighten the eyes of each and every girl and boy by ho-ho-ho-ing his way into everyone's hearts as Santa Claus at the annual festival. Jessica knows that there will be no peace on earth until the murderer has been brought to justice, but with everyone in town pointing the finger at Rory Brent's longtime enemy, and resident town mean man, Jake Walther, no one seems to be considering the possible other suspects roaming around the small town. People who may seem innocent, but could be hiding a very deadly secret. Now, as Jessica begins snooping around, she starts to uncover some very important evidence that leads her to believe that the sheriff has made a very big mistake, and arrested the wrong person. Now, Jessica, with a little help from some of her friends, is determined to bring the true murderer to justice before Christmas, or else there's no chance of this holiday being merry or bright.

I was an avid watcher of MURDER, SHE WROTE when I was about 7-years-old, but then I lost touch with TV, and forgot about Jessica Fletcher, and her sleuthing skills. So when I happened upon this holiday mystery starring the mystery writing detective in Barnes & Noble, I absolutely had to have it. Boy did it bring back memories. Not only was this an enjoyable mystery, that left me wondering whodunit, but the flow of dialogue was amazing, and really showcased Donald Bain's knowledge of the show and its characters. I literally felt like I could hear the characters speaking as I read their lines throughout the novel, as they were so true to what I was used to on the show. Jessica, as always, was a pleasure - sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, but not in an obnoxious, overbearing way; more of a caring, concerned neighbor way; and the interaction between her and Dr. Seth Hazlitt, along with the slew of other characters was amazing. What was so perfect about A LITTLE YULETIDE MURDER is that it truly does revolve around the holidays, and doesn't just try and pass itself off as a Christmas book like so many other holiday releases nowadays. Donald Bain has truly outdone himself, and won a fan for life. Have yourself a merry little murder with the Cabot Cove gang!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Its early December in Cabot Cove and the denizens of this small Maine town have gathered to plan their annual Christmas Festival. After a while someone notices the absence of the ever-jovial Rory Brent who always plays Santa at the festival. Knowing that only something serious could keep Brent away from this meeting the townspeople send someone to check on Santa. To the great dismay of the whole town, Rory Brent is found in one of his barns, shot to death.

Following the murder there are more than a few questions floating around Cabot Cove not the least of which is who will play Santa this year. One thing that everybody seems certain of however is the identity of the murderer. Jake Walther is almost universally disliked in Cabot Cove and it is well known that he and the victim didn't get along. Furthermore, the victim's son immediately accuses Walther of the murder so that in the eyes of the public Jake has already been tried and convicted. Jessica is not sure whether or not Jake is guilty but she is very disturbed by the attitude of her fellow citizens. She keeps reminding both others and herself that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. She doesn't get actively involved however until Jake's wife Mary asks for her help and the more the famous mystery writer finds out, the more she digs. Along the way she discovers that "Saint Rory" wasn't so saintly after all and that several other people aren't really who they seem to be.

I have always been very fond of the books in this series that feature Cabot Cove and I particularly enjoyed spending Christmas in this quaint little snow-covered town. The plot is a little slow to develop at times but the author still manages to make this book very hard to put down. Just enough information dribbles in during each chapter to make you really want to find out what happens next. Even more enjoyable is the fact that some of the characters in this book are very complex which is not the norm for this series. Actually, I found the ending of the book to be quite touching and the depth of feeling that came across from the characters was very moving.

In my opinion, this is one of the better books in this series and I highly recommend it to any fan of Jessica Fletcher or warm fuzzy mystery novels. Plus, you'll never guess who ends up playing Santa!

I love these books, but this one time I was sent a remedial book which left alot to desired.

So Sue Grafton is pretty much the modern-day mistress of mysteries. She invents a wildly wonderful leading character who is wittily observant and cynical of the various mysteries that flock her. The writing is simple, to-the-point, yet totally in tune with the world. It's a fun, sexy, mystery led by a delightfully unconventional heroine.

Qute a few reviewers rated this starter of the alphabet series with 3 or less stars! Well, I think it was a fantastic beginning to her amazing series. The ONLY offerings in the series which are 'average'
(3 Stars) are "H" is for Homicide and "M" is for Malice, but I love her
still.

It's been a while since I read Grafton's alphabet series from the beginning, and a few things immediately came back to me:

1) I still love Kinsey. Yeah, she's rude, yeah, she's a little too fond of her vino, but nobody's perfect. That's what makes her a great character.

2) This book does a very good job of demonstrating just how detailed and boring real PI work is. It's not like in the movies, where a major clue/revelation unfolds at the first stakeout or interview. There are a lot of seemingly disparate bits of information that have to be drawn out of uncooperative people and eventually put together--somehow. This book covers that very well.

3) The early Milhone books show their age, especially this one. I'm not talking about the technological antiques littered through the book, like lack of cell phones or even the virtual absence of answering machines (they weren't common in 1982). It's in the style and pace of the writing. Grafton had a great deal of freedom to tell her story in a more deliberate, painstaking, detailed way. You don't see writing like this very often anymore.

Things like violence, language and gratuitous sex don't bother me in a PI mystery. Grafton obviously wasn't shooting for soft-boiled or cozy here, so making Kinsey virginal and polite, and the narrative squeaky clean and civil would have made the series more like a Nancy Drew turns 30 piece. Sorry, but Nancy Drew stops being great by the time most people are 12. If you're a grown up, you're allowed to read (and write) grown up stories. I think Grafton was deliberately trying to get a Chandleresque book with the twist of a female Marlowe. Female PIs were just about unheard of when Grafton wrote this book (I think Marcia Muller was the only person using the device before Grafton).

Anyway, after Chandler and Hammett, Ross MacDonald and Mickey Spillane, I also thought it was sort of normal for a PI to get tangled up romantically/sexually with a suspect (even THE suspect!). It's sort of a given in the genre, but the masters know how to make it work. Grafton wasn't quite at that level in this book, but Chandler, Hammet, et all, weren't masters with their first efforts, either. If you're gonna do hard-boiled California P.I., ya gotta get some S=E=X in the mix. Surprisingly, this was one of the more believable parts of the book, at least for me. I could well understand Kinsey's attraction to Charlie--I'd gone out with about a dozen non-murderous copies of him back in my own single days. So just because that aspect doesn't ring true to some people...believe me, it can ring very true to others.

In conclusion, the book isn't the greatest ever written, or the best Grafton's ever done, but it's a good introduction to the series. The author created an intriguing character I wanted to read more about, and I definitely wanted to see how Kinsey went about solving other mysteries. Thankfully, Grafton got the chance to do it. The series gets progressively better with each book after this, in every respect, with the plots and Kinsey getting stronger in direct proportion to Grafton's confidence in her writing and storytelling.

As the first in the series of Alphabet Mysteries, Sue Grafton just begins to "flesh-out" the Kinsey Millhone character. I really liked this book and although the antagonist was predictable, I enjoyed getting to know the characters involved in this novel, as many of these characters will be seen again in the later books in this series. This book sets a groundwork for the later novels and gives some basic insight into Millhone's motivations which are expounded in later novels. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this as I have all of Sue Grafton's works. This would have gotton 5 stars if the outcome hadn't been so predictable.