by Clare Curzon ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001
Fussy, repetitive plotting and a surfeit of unmemorable characters: one of Curzon’s lesser efforts.
Another demanding case for Detective Superintendent Mike Yeadings of the Thames Valley police (All Unwary, 1998, etc.). Huge shipments of counterfeit bills are coming into the country (possibly from Holland), and Yeadings is sure there’s a connection to the killing of Customs agent Oliver Webb. Various sources lead Yeadings to home in on Fraylings Court as a likely conduit for the next shipment. It’s an old manor house in spacious grounds, lived in by ailing Sir James Siddons, his wife Liese, their daughter Connie and her husband Julian. The family has fallen on hard times and decided to run a sort of school for paying guests—art, ballet, riding, etc. Yeadings promptly enrolls Det. Sgt. Rosemary Zycyznski (usually called “Z”) under the name Maeve Finnegan—supposedly a teacher interested in the art classes of elderly teacher Désireé (Dizzy) Crumm. The other guests are all possibles for involvement in the counterfeit scam: retired journalist Dennis Hampton; Gerald and Pattie Dunne; Jennifer Yorke, with small daughter in tow; the rather mysterious Smith, days late in joining wife Nadia. Z’s presence is augmented by Beaumont, another undercover cop, at work in the kitchen. There’s much sneaking about the grounds and barns by Z and almost everyone else, leading eventually to the finish of the money scam and the nailing of Webb’s killer.
Fussy, repetitive plotting and a surfeit of unmemorable characters: one of Curzon’s lesser efforts.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-312-20464-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Dunne/Minotaur
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
Share your opinion of this book
More by Clare Curzon
BOOK REVIEW
by Clare Curzon
BOOK REVIEW
by Clare Curzon
BOOK REVIEW
by Clare Curzon
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
Share your opinion of this book
by Nora Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 1995
Thoroughbreds and Virginia blue-bloods cavort, commit murder, and fall in love in Roberts's (Hidden Riches, 1994, etc.) latest romantic thriller — this one set in the world of championship horse racing. Rich, sheltered Kelsey Byden is recovering from a recent divorce when she receives a letter from her mother, Naomi, a woman she has believed dead for over 20 years. When Kelsey confronts her genteel English professor father, though, he sheepishly confesses that, no, her mother isn't dead; throughout Kelsey's childhood, she was doing time for the murder of her lover. Kelsey meets with Naomi and not only finds her quite charming, but the owner of Three Willows, one of the most splendid horse farms in Virginia. Kelsey is further intrigued when she meets Gabe Slater, a blue-eyed gambling man who owns a neighboring horse farm; when one of Gabe's horses is mated with Naomi's, nostrils flare, flanks quiver, and the romance is on. Since both Naomi and Gabe have horses entered in the Kentucky Derby, Kelsey is soon swept into the whirlwind of the Triple Crown, in spite of her family's objections to her reconciliation with the notorious Naomi. The rivalry between the two horse farms remains friendly, but other competitors — one of them is Gabe's father, a vicious alcoholic who resents his son's success — prove less scrupulous. Bodies, horse and human, start piling up, just as Kelsey decides to investigate the murky details of her mother's crime. Is it possible she was framed? The ground is thick with no-goods, including haughty patricians, disgruntled grooms, and jockeys with tragic pasts, but despite all the distractions, the identity of the true culprit behind the mayhem — past and present — remains fairly obvious. The plot lopes rather than races to the finish. Gambling metaphors abound, and sexual doings have a distinctly equine tone. But Roberts's style has a fresh, contemporary snap that gets the story past its own worst excesses.
Pub Date: June 13, 1995
ISBN: 0-399-14059-X
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
Share your opinion of this book
More by Nora Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Nora Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Nora Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Nora Roberts
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.