Kipps (Hell’s Kitchen Homicide, 2009, etc.) pairs his genuinely original protagonist with a cheeky, charming partner. The...
Conor Bard, the NYPD’s singing detective, makes a second page-turning appearance in the case of the blood-red diamond.
Diamonds were not Zivah Gavish’s best friend. Her elegant throat cut, she’s discovered in her sumptuous New York apartment, the fabulous red gem that had been in her custody gone with her murderer. The well-known, well-liked, extremely successful dealer was also young and beautiful, and as Conor looks down at her lovely, lifeless body, he finds it difficult to maintain the detachment other veteran cops manage so routinely. “Because I’m not really a cop,” he tells himself dismissively. “I’m a musician.” Forty-something Conor, in possession of a been-there, bluesy baritone that audiences—particularly females—respond to, has demonstrated a first-rate sleuth’s willingness to think outside the box. Clues and suspects abound, as does pressure from the NYPD brass to crack the case yesterday. Stepping up the pressure is Conor’s new and inexperienced partner, who’s confronted with her first big-time homicide. Lieutenant Rooney thinks that more seasoned help is called for. But Conor likes sharp-tongued Rosita Rubio. He thinks she’s bright and resourceful and a good fit for him professionally. And she certainly is eye candy.
Kipps (Hell’s Kitchen Homicide, 2009, etc.) pairs his genuinely original protagonist with a cheeky, charming partner. The results are refreshing.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4391-3995-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
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