An easy-listening whodunit that brings its likable hero one step closer to the success he dreams of.
Novelist/ghostwriter Stewart Hoag’s latest attempt to get away from it all lands him in the middle of it all for the 12th time.
As 1993 draws to a close, Hoagy feels that he’s back. Not entirely back, since he’s still divorced from movie star Merilee Nash and still a one-trick novelist after 10 years. But, warmed by the hospitality of his ex, who’s loaned him her Central Park West apartment while she’s in Hungary shooting The Sun Also Rises, he’s finished 100 pages of that elusive second novel. Craving a break, he borrows Merilee’s car and drives out to her place in Connecticut, fully aware that his last stay in Lyme was marred by murder most foul. Shortly after his arrival, he’s accosted by auxiliary state trooper Austin Talmadge, who demands to see Merilee and vows reprisals if he doesn’t. Austin, as Hoagy soon learns, is "a highly unstable, anti-social delusional psychotic who has the emotional maturity of a ten-year-old boy" and a billionaire whose wealth is eclipsed only by that of attorney Michael Talmadge, his brother and trustee. For years, Michael has paid child psychologist Dr. Annabeth McKenna, of the Yale School of Medicine, $1 million a year to keep his brother in line. This year it’s not enough. Detained, sedated, and locked away, Austin easily escapes, kidnaps Hoagy and his beloved basset hound, Lulu, and imprisons them in a root cellar on Mount Creepy. His long-range plans, whatever they are, are scuttled when his throat is cut. Since Austin’s lifelong campaign of nasty tricks on virtually everyone in New London County gave them all a grudge against him, which of his many victims has finally turned on him?
An easy-listening whodunit that brings its likable hero one step closer to the success he dreams of.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7278-9248-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A character-driven tale whose Christmas cheer pretty much edges out the feeble mystery.
The merriment you’d expect between Thanksgiving and Christmas is stifled by murder in Lighthouse Cove, California.
The star of the season is the Cliffs Hotel, a marvelous restored Victorian mansion overlooking the ocean. Building contractor Shannon Hammer and her crew are working on plans for a Christmas Fun Zone on the grounds highlighted by a carousel and of course Santa. Shannon is close to Bill and Lillian Garrison, who own the Cliffs, and their children, who all work there except for the eldest, Logan, who is in the Navy. Logan’s stunning but awful wife, Randi, is a close friend to Shannon’s archenemy, conniving backstabber Whitney Reid Gallagher, who ruined Sharon’s long friendship with Arabella Garrison. Soon after Logan surprises the family by leaving the Navy and taking a job as community director for Homefront, a community supporting veterans, cracks quickly appear in long-standing family relationships, and it’s clear that Logan and Randi’s marriage is on the rocks. Shannon is enjoying a fancy pre-Christmas dinner at the Cliffs with her fiance, popular author MacKintyre Sullivan, and their circle of friends when the lights go out. When Shannon goes to check the circuit breakers with Mac and their friend Police Chief Eric Jensen, she finds Randi with her throat slashed. The fact that one of Shannon’s pink tools was used to do the deed makes her determined to find the killer. Luckily, both Shannon and Mac already have some experience as sleuths, and there’s no shortage of people who hated Randi.
A character-driven tale whose Christmas cheer pretty much edges out the feeble mystery.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9780593637647
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
A complex mystery and yummy grilled cheese recipes. What’s not to like?
The queen of grilled cheese proves for a third time that she’s also a pretty good detective.
Carly’s Grilled Cheese Eatery is the place where Carly Hale serves up delicious and exotic sandwiches. Her latest customers are Dawn Chapin and Klarissa Taddeo, whom she remembers from high school. Klarissa is about to marry Tony Manous, but not all is moonlight and roses. She blames Dawn, her wedding planner, for not reserving a venue for her bridal shower on time. The pair talk Carly into making grilled cheese doughnuts for the party, which Dawn’s mother will host at her mansion. Dawn and Klarissa have been best buds forever, but Dawn, who’s not fond of Tony, feels underappreciated. The shower unfolds without incident until Tony shows up, has a fight with the videographer, and turns up dead at the bottom of a staircase. Neither Carly’s boyfriend, Ari Mitchell, nor Police Chief Fred Holloway, a family friend, is happy to see Carly, who’s been entangled in murder cases before, get involved in this one. But she can’t resist a little sleuthing, and she agrees to help Dawn, who’s naturally come under suspicion. For better or worse, there’s a lot of tension between the Manous and Taddeo families, so Dawn’s not the only suspect. When town manager Gretel Engstrom, who had problems with Tony, goes missing, the case becomes even more unnerving.
A complex mystery and yummy grilled cheese recipes. What’s not to like?Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72823-838-8
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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